 Davina |
developing VELVIA films... ? Hey All... I'm new to this... I'm interested in trying out a roll of Velvia film for my outdoor and nature works... ANy ideas on how to get the roll developed at the store (a professioinal photo store)? Is it pricey? Also, when shooting with VELVIA, can you shoot in automatic mode as well as manual? thanks :)
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Jon Close |
The chemical development process for Velvia (like most other slide film) is E-6. Most photo stores are only set up to do C-41 developing (color print). For E-6 slides they will send the film out to a regional lab. It is generally about the same development cost as for print film. When the film is developed, the final color image appears on the film. It is then cut and mounted into slides. You can shoot Velvia in autoexposure modes as well as in manual. Note that autoexposure or the camera's through-the-lens meter does not always give an absolute correct or best exposure. Slide film is much more sensitive to exposure errors/variation than is print film.
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- Craig m. Zacarelli Contact Craig m. Zacarelli Craig m. Zacarelli's Gallery |
http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=23191 check out this thread, I asked a question about Velvia and got tons of great info.
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Davina |
Thanks for the help so far... it seems kinda tricky... I would feel safer shooting in AUTOMATIC mode, because I am still mastering manual... HOw tricky is it really to shoot in Auto mode with velvia??? all those f stops that people were talking about in Craig's thread make my head spin. Speaking of... Craig have you tried the velvia yet? THANKs
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Mark Feldstein |
Greetings Davina: No guts, no glory. Don't be intimidated by what you've heard about transparency films, just try some keeping a few basic rules in mind. First, you tend to get better color saturation by slightly under-exposing slide films by 1/3 to 1/2 a stop. If you don't know how to figure out those increments, just let us know. While Velvia provides nice color renderings of things like landscapes, when it gets a bit too underexposed, you tend to quickly lose detail in shadow areas. So, like any other film you try, you need to experiment with what works best for you under what circumstances. The first few times you shoot with a new film, it's always handy to keep some notes as to your exposures. One thing Velvia rarely needs is any filtration, even a warming filter like an 81A or 81B can push the film towards over color saturation, making the colors look unnaturally heavy. Unless that's something you want, then you ought to at least avoid filters initially. Polarizers really block up shadow detail with Velvia, causing them to look even darker or heavier than normal. So, if you use a polarizer, you may just bracket a little more than the 1/3 or 1/2 stop range. And if you don't get the results you were looking for, don't be discouraged, just shoot another roll or try a different slide film. It takes awhile to get this stuff dialed in. For example, I tend to shoot a lot of Kodak Ektachrome EPR or EPP in different formats. Reason is because I know how the film will record different scenes with various kinds of filtration, render different colors, how to have it processed to get the results I want, etc. As far as processing, ideally, you can find a Kodak Q Lab near you, either in the phone book or at the Kodak site under professional services. These are quality assured e-6 labs that do an excellent job on slide film. If you don't have one and your local camera place can't tell you whether the e-6 lab they use is a q-lab, tell them forget it. Instead buy some mailers from B&H at http://www.bhphotovideo.com. They sell those for a lab called A&I in Los Angeles. Just drop them in the mail and a week later or so, your film is back. Also, if you're scanning your finished slides, instead of having them mounted, you might be better off just having them sleeved in 6 shot strips for ease of handling and scanning. OK, next week, we're going to talk about the virtues of shooting Kodachrome Pro and the K-14 process. (OHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!! Not ANOTHER slide film !!!!!) LOL !!! Take it light.
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Davina |
WOW... where to begin... :) 1/3rd and 1/2 stop is half japanese to me. I'm not sure where to start... Is that necessary in automatic mode? now... if I were to have my slides mounted, can I process prints from them? scanning slides sounds like a good idea - I can put htem on my computer, etc... how do you scan slides? can the photo processor scan them for me? on to a CD rom? thanks again... great advice!
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- Craig m. Zacarelli Contact Craig m. Zacarelli Craig m. Zacarelli's Gallery |
No Davina, not yet.. lol I just asked that question last night I believe plus, I dont usually shoot film, its all new to me so, Im trying to use up the regular 35mm thats loaded in the camera right now. The problem is, I love me 350D but when I use the elan with the grip I love how it feels, almost like a part of your hands! I love my 350D and the fact that by chimping each shot by looking at the preview screen, I can get better shots with it. the whole not looking after the shot when using film is very scarey to me.. spending 8 bucks to get a roll of out of focus or under/over exposed really bad pictures back stinks! ...lol Craig-
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Samuel Smith |
hey davina, you surely jest.slide film and auto? in a past life we may have known each other. get a grip and learn your camera first,then move on. there is no correletion between money and expertise. slide vs film vs digital. classic,sam
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