At 10:34 PM 7/22/2003 -0700, Moose (in support of what AG Schnozz said) wrote:
Thanks for finally raising a crucial issue. I've stayed out of this
thread, since I've never shot Velvia in my life. There are a whole lot of
folks, and I bet lots on the list, who are shooting with meters that
haven't been checked for a long time. If you get into using a film where
1/3 stop makes a significant difference, you have to either get the meter
calibrated or calibrate the film and meter through bracketed test shots
until you find the correct iso for YOUR METER. Listening to some guy(s)
telling how Velvia is really an iso 40, or 60 or 25 or 100 speed film (and
I've heard all of these) and taking it on blind faith that their meter(s)
are accurate or inaccurate in the same direction as your meter(s) is silly.
[snip]
I've been shooting chromes as an amateur for thirty years, and with the
exception of Kodachrome (which I always shot underexposed by 1/3rd or 1/2
of a stop), I've never shot any chrome, including Velvia, at anything other
than its rated speed. (I "de-rated" the Kodachrome because I loved the
saturated effect it achieved -- these days, I just use Velvia for a similar
effect...). I love Velvia for some things, but my all-time favourite
chrome film these days has to be Provia.
If I understood what was going on in the light values of a scene I was
shooting, I've consistently enjoyed excellent results, regardless of the
film type. On the other hand, when I've turned my brain off (and the
auto-exposure on), I have from time to time gotten some really bad results.
"Shoot film at its rated speed" would be my ultimate encapsulated advice
for anybody who needed a short answer. I figure I can't do better on
average than the folks at Kodak, Fuji, Agfa or Ilford when it comes to
rating film's response to light.
Garth
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