Re: Sensia II?

[P3D Gregory J. Wageman <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Paul Talbot asks:

>Greg, do you mean this for all shots?  I used to consider myself grain-
>detection impaired, but in the T'dRB I find Velvia quite grainy in blue
>sky.

Greg Erker also comments:

>  I have shot one roll of E100S (airplane hypers) and found
>the grain to be fine but certainly not invisible in sky areas
>and other areas without fine detail. Even K25 fails this test
>but I find it the least objectionable.

I have to agree that film grain is most easily detectable in blue sky.
But I'd have to give Velvia a slight edge even in this area.  Note also
that I shoot it at the manufacturer's rated 50ASA.  This may have some
effect on perceived grain.

Paul again:

>I seem to recall that "The 35mm Film Source Book" calls K25 the
>"sharpest, finest-grained film," but not the "finest grained film."
>That could be a significant distinction?  In the spec chapter, K25 is
>listed as the lowest RMS (9).  But, as the book explains elsewhere,
>a variey of factors affect *perceived* graininess.  Purely obejctive
>measurements, it seems, will never establish a "finest grain" champion.

When was the book written (not published, but written)?  If it pre-dates
the Elite II emulsion, then it is missing some important data.  My
photofinisher has only been carrying the Elite II for about a year.
Given the lag time between researching and writing a manuscript and
getting it published and into stores, many things can change.  For
example, does it mention the new APS emulsions?

I agree that grain is at least partly a subjective issue, and that's why
I'm just asking about people's personal preferences.  If I find that
other people's subjective impression of grain differ markedly from mine,
I might favor a different film when that's the deciding factor.

Greg Erker again:

>  I'd say they're about the same. But I do much more people
>shooting with my Realist than with my Sputnik/twin-Ricohflex's
>and I find the skin tones of Velvia to be too reddish. I like
>the skin tones of Kodachrome 25 very much.

No argument there.  Velvia definitely favors the magenta.  I have
found that using electronic flash fill when shooting people tones
down this tendency somewhat, but doesn't eliminate it.  On the other
hand, it's great on roses, fushias and other flowers.

KM25 is my choice for "documentary" work, when I want accurate color
reproduction.  Velvia's colors are way hyped-up, but there are many
times when that's the look I *want*.  Elite is also hyped, but in a
different way (it's warm, i.e. favors oranges and browns) and not to
the same degree as Velvia, which makes it a nice intermediate between
the somewhat stark reality of Kodachrome and the nearly-cartoonish
saturation of Velvia...  All in my subjective opinion, of course. :-)

        -Greg W.



------------------------------