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Re: [OM] Ektachrome VS

Subject: Re: [OM] Ektachrome VS
From: John Hermanson <omtech@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:19:47 -0500
Thank you!

John

Dave Bulger wrote:
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From:   John Hermanson [SMTP:omtech@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent:   Wednesday, March 17, 1999 7:46 AM
> To:     olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject:        Re: [OM] Ektachrome VS
> 
> I've heard this new Ektachrome is great.  Does anyone have any
> experience with it?
> 
> John
> 
> All,
> 
> Below is an edited note I wrote to another listee re VS and Velvia.  Take
> it for what it's worth...
> 
> George,
> 
> Thanks for the info on RF & Velvia...
> 
> Get ready for another dissertation.  I'm really not this verbose in person,
> BTW... <g>
> 
> RVP vs EVS.  Let's go:
> 
> Note:  I did some scanning of DejaNews last night looking for reciprocity
> stuff & Velvia.  This debate (RVP vs EVS) has been going on a while!  No
> conclusions, of course, but it was interesting to see the number of posts
> saying "Velvia is the best!  I don't need to test VS or anything else!"
>  Kinda reminds me of the PC/Mac debate.  Sadly, preferences count, facts
> don't.  We have sharp lenses to accurately depict reality, we have smart
> meters to accurately depict reality, but hell!  More color is better,
> regardless of it's adherence to what was actually in front of the camera!
>  Kinda scary.  In the 70's we had to take little pills to achieve the same
> effect...
> 
> Conditions:  Outdoors, partly cloudy day with strong, overcast,
> directionless light.  Overall the light was a bit on the contrasty side,
> but not by much.  3:00 in the afternoon.  Subject matter included 2 of my
> daughters, green plants/trees, the neutral gray of an overpass, water,
> dirt.  I shot these on a hike-n-bike trail at Wolf Creek just outside town.
>  Pretty much identical shots and exposures (taking film speed into
> account).  RVP at 50, VS at 100.  I've traditionally shot Velvia at 40, but
> used 50 this time.  Lots of 1/3 & 2/3 stop bracketing. I rarely shoot Auto
> or Program, sticking to the zone system philosophy, metering & placing
> highlight & shadow zones with the spot meter on the 2sP.
> 
> Overall VS did very well -- better than I expected.  Kodak managed to push
> the saturation up to but not over the line that Velvia has crossed.
>  Excellent transparencies with lots of saturation/contrast while staying
> out of ToonTown.
> 
> Exposure Latitude:  Velvia was far more forgiving than EV was, particularly
> on the overexposure side.  +2/3 stop w/Velvia gave me a useable shot,
> whereas EV was pretty out there -- too overexposed to do much good.  I'm
> also being picky, however.  When the exposure with EV was on, however, it
> was on.  Excellent shadow detail, it held the highlight detail very, very
> well.  I shoot trannies exposing for highlights and kinda letting shadows
> fall where they have to, and tend to aim for that often elusive "bright as
> it can be and still have highlight detail" area.  I seem to be able to find
> that edge with EV easier than with RVP, even with a single roll!  Being the
> anal guy that I am, I can sit down with a loupe and find something, no
> matter how miniscule, wrong with just about every exposure I make.  Not so
> with about 5 shots on the EV roll -- that's an excellent record with me!
> 
> Saturation/Contrast:  EV is pretty darned contrasty.  Not as much as RVP,
> but pretty contrasty.  Subjectively, that's a good thing.  I personally
> like contrast as long as my highlight/shadow detail doesn't get lost, and
> EV looks like it's going to deliver.  Punchy greens without going overboard
> as RVP does -- you know how Velvia likes green!  Both films delivered on my
> youngest daughter's bright red shirt.  I didn't have any blues or yellows
> in the shots so I can't comment on those.  RVP delivers a bit more red in
> the neutral gray areas of concrete, etc., though still very acceptable.  EV
> produced more neutral grays than RVP, but the red caught up to you in the
> shadows, again within acceptable limits.  Neither film is gonna cut it if
> you're a gentle, pastel kinda guy, but I'm not, so...
> 
> Flesh tones:  Hehe -- I'm not subjective on this.  EV produced far more
> accurate flesh tones than RVP did, which is to be expected.  Velvia is not
> a portrait film!  However, I actually like my flesh tones on the cold side,
> and RVP delivers that without a problem!  I don't shoot the portrait stuff
> with reversal film anyway -- I use neg for that.  EV's flesh tones were
> much more accurate, though again going red pretty quickly in the shadow
> areas.  My middle daughter has dark brown hair and was wearing a white
> sweatshirt in strong indirect sunlight, and EV kept full detail in her hair
> while ensuring that every thread in the white shirt was visible -- I'm
> pretty impressed with that.  RVP blocked up the shadow detail in the hair
> in one shot, and blew out the white shirt highlights in another.
> 
> Sharpness:  From what I can see through the glass, they're both pretty
> sharp.  RVP with it's saturation/color contrast appears on the surface to
> be sharper, but I believe that's an illusion.  When I crank up the darkroom
> upon my return from vacation we'll see...
> 
> Grain:  Again, we'll see when I do some printing.  Unlike you LF format
> guys (insert jealous grumble here), being a 35mm guy I'm real, real
> concerned about grain.  While I rarely print larger than 8x10 with 11x14
> being the absolute max, I've gotten some pretty crappy 8x10s from perfectly
> exposed negs, and so I'm wary.  I'll tend to use the slowest film I can,
> i.e. Agfa APX25 for B&W work, despite it's tendency to fall from zone V
> directly into zone I or II dark stuff, simply for the tight grain.  I can
> dodge, burn and drag a zone III from it if I have to, but I can't
> compensate for grainy negs.  Gee, I miss Panatomic X!  That + HC110/C could
> give you a 16x20 you could view from 3 feet even if you could celebrate
> multiple birthdays during development...  Contradicting myself, I LOVE
> HP5's tonal gradation for portrait stuff when shot at 400.  Just don't go
> above 5x7 for that, though.  It's better than Tri-X as far as I'm
> concerned.  I'm a bit concerned about EV's T-grain structure -- I've shot
> about 10 rolls of T-Max and haven't been impressed at all.  I'm processing
> it w/D-76 1:3 rather than T-Max developer, though.  Might make a
> difference.  My results have been flat negs with mediocre grain...
> 
> Speed:  EV is a stop faster!  That's a good thing...
> 
> End result:  I'm taking 10 rolls of Velvia and 10 rolls of EV to Utah,
> along with the APX25.  After the money I paid for the two I hope I'll have
> enough money for gas to drive back with.  <g>  With 3 bodies I can pretty
> much limit RVP's use to things I want oversaturated, and use the EV for a
> pass at depiction of reality <g>, as if them mountains in Utah can be
> considered reality to this Texas boy who considers anything over 1000 feet
> in height as a funny shaped building...
> 
> Pls let me know your impressions...
> 
> >From the trenches,
> 
> Dave
> 
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