Velvia

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Velvia (RVP)
Maker:	Fujifilm
Speed:	50/18°, 100/21°
Type:	Color slide
Balance:	Daylight
Process:	E-6 process
Format:	35mm, 120, 220, 4×5 in, 8×10 in, 9×12 cm, 13×18 cm
Grain:	very fine
Exposure latitude:	±½ stop
Saturation:	very high
Application:	Nature

Velvia is a brand of daylight-balanced color reversal film produced by the Japanese company Fujifilm. The name is a contraction of "Velvet Media", a reference to its smooth image structure. It is also known as RVP, a classification code meaning "Reversal/Velvia/Professional series".

Velvia was introduced in 1990 and quickly replaced Kodachrome 25 as the industry standard in high-definition color film. It had brighter and generally more accurate color reproduction, finer grain, twice the speed, and a more convenient process (E-6). Kodachrome 25 fell out of popularity a few years after Velvia was introduced, and Kodachrome 64 and 200 have followed more slowly. Many photographers credit Velvia with ending the Kodachrome era.

Velvia has the highest resolving power of any slide film. When shot with an excellent lens, a 35mm Velvia slide will hold detail equivalent to 25 or more megapixels of image data according to data supplied by Fujifilm (available in the List of photographic films).

1 Appearance
2 Speeds
3 Long exposure issues
4 Velvia in cinematography
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Appearance

A photo taken with Fuji Velvia 50 film

Sunset over the St. Lawrence River, shot on 6x6 cm Velvia 50

Velvia has very saturated colors under daylight, high contrast, and exceptional sharpness. These characteristics make it the slide film of choice for most nature photographers, including such respected artists as John Shaw, Steve Parish, and the late Galen Rowell.

Shaw, who is known for his extreme close-ups of flowers, has praised the film for its accurate reproduction of the color purple, which has been a difficult color to accurately capture on other films. This was a major issue with Kodachrome, which tended to render purple objects as blue.

Velvia's highly saturated colors are, however, considered overdone by some photographers, especially those who don't primarily shoot landscapes. Its tendency to oversaturate skin tones makes it unsuitable for portraits, because it gives pink or brown skin a red cast. Velvia is referred to as "Disney-chrome" or "Crayola-chrome" by some detractors.

[edit] Speeds

The original Velvia is an ASA 50 film. However, many photographers manually set their cameras to ASA 40 or 32 to over-expose it slightly (one or two thirds of a stop respectively) in order to yield less saturated colours and more shadow detail.

In 2002, Fuji introduced Velvia 100F, which offers similarly saturated colors but much lower contrast.

In February of 2005, Fujifilm announced Velvia 100 as a replacement for Velvia 50, which was being discontinued. Velvia 100 is about as saturated as the original 50 version but has lower contrast. The newer speed also has finer grain (an RMS value of 8), and uses the color correction layers found in Provia 100F.

In October 2006 Fujifilm announced the production of a new Velvia 50 film, tentatively named "Velvia II"^[1]. Fuji revealed that the original Velvia 50 had been discontinued due to difficulties in obtaining some of the raw materials needed to make the emulsion. Fuji had reportedly been inundated with requests to continue making Velvia 50 since announcing the discontinuation. Due to this demand, Fuji R&D worked to create a new emulsion which substituted different materials in its manufacture yet retained the appearance of the classic Velvia. The new Velvia film is expected to be available by the middle of 2007.

[edit] Long exposure issues

A problem with the original Velvia 50 is that it suffers from the effects of reciprocity law failure much more than other films. Exposing the film for as little as 16 seconds will produce a marked colour shift, typically to purple or green, depending on shooting conditions. Anything over four seconds requires the use of blue colour correction filters if correct colour balance is required, and anything over 32 seconds is "not recommended" by Fuji.

Velvia 100 is much better with longer exposures. A 2.5B color compensation filter (CC0025) is sufficient to correct the color shift of an eight-minute exposure for Velvia 100.

[edit] Velvia in cinematography

Many commercials have been shot on Velvia film stock, but it has rarely been used for feature films. When used for movies, it is usually for shooting stock landscape shots and special-effects background plates. One example is the 1998 film What Dreams May Come, which took place largely within a painting.

Since 2006, Velvia 50 D (also sold as Cinevia) is available in Super 8 via three independent companies, Pro8mm in the US, and GK Film and Wittner Kinotechnik in Europe. However, demand for it is higher than those companies together are currently capable to supply properly.