[The following is not a particular shot at anybody...]
IMHO, it seems to me the way to go, especially in difficult situations such as
high contrast lighting, is just to bracket more. If an individual finds they
prefer their shots consistently exposed over or under the given speed, then
rate it differently, by all means. (I generally rate Kodak slide film at 1/3 of
a stop faster than that recommended). Taking advice is of course normal, but
blindly following another photographer's experiences with a different camera
under different conditions would seem strange I'm also about to try Velvia for
the first time, and I'll be starting out with the ISO set at 50, bracket
heavily (as for any film I'm using for the first time), take notes, and make my
decision from there.
Cheers
Andy
P.S. Ken, do you prefer the results you get in prints using internegs? Any
reason you don't use Ilfochrome?
P.P.S. To anyone wondering, "fair dinkum" (mentioned in another thread) is
Australian for 'genuine', 'for real', etc ;-)
------------------------------Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 11:48:09 -0500
From: "Ken Norton" <image66@xxxxxxx>Subject: Re: [OM] Velvia speed?
>I'm about
to try Velvia for the first time, but am confused by the speed
>ratings I've
heard being used. I know Fuji rates it at ISO 50. Yet I'veseen
>mention in
several discussions, magazines, etc that it is often shot at ISO>40
>or
even 32, which seems to go against wisdom that slide film should not be
>overexposed. Is there something special about Velvia as opposed to regular
>slide film?
Velvia and Microsoft Windows have become popular "whipping
boys" lately. It has become quite fashionable to gripe about velvia being a
"disneychrome"and what horrible things it does to skin tones, etc.I
reluctantly switched from Fuji 50D, which I carefully aged, to Velvia because
of
availability problems. Honestly, I could get super-saturationwith the 50D yet
retain more shadow detail. The Velvia was sharper thoughand had less apparent
grain. If you want eye-popping color and plan on making enlargements for
art-prints, etc., I would recommend the Velvia being shot right at ISO 50.The
color saturation pays off once the interneg is blown up to 16x20 orposter sized
prints.Until recently, I typically shot the Velvia at 40 or even 32, but have
"rediscovered" the joys of the saturation possible at 50. It comes
down to one fact though--shadow detail. Expose for the shadows! If you are
out
in Sunny-16 conditions, you will want to overexpose by 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop
asthe
shadows will block up on you. Anytime you are not shooting direct sunlight
with
extremes in exposure values, I'd say glue the ISO dial to the 50 position.
As always YMMV.
Ken N.
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