Velvia

Velvia RVP
Maker	Fujifilm
Speed	50/18°
Type	Color slide
Balance	Daylight
Process	E-6
Format	35mm, 120, 220, 4×5 in, 8×10 in, 13×18 cm, Super 8†, 16mm† †Third party
Grain	RMS 9
Exposure latitude	±½ stop
Saturation	very high
Application	Nature
Introduced	1990
Discontinued	2005

Velvia 50 RVP 50
Maker	Fujifilm
Speed	50/18°
Type	Color slide
Balance	Daylight
Process	E-6
Format	35mm, 120, 220, 4×5 in, 8×10 in, QuickLoad 4×5 in
Grain	RMS 9
Exposure latitude	±½ stop
Saturation	very high
Application	Nature
Introduced	2007

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

Velvia 100 RVP100
Speed	100/21°
Type	Color
Format	35mm, 120, 220, 4×5 in, 8×10 in
Grain	RMS 8
Exposure latitude	±½ stop
Saturation	very high
Application	Nature
Introduced	2005

Velvia 100F RVP100F
Speed	100/21°
Type	Color
Format	35mm, 120, 220, 4×5 in, 8×10 in, 9×12 cm, 13×18 cm
Grain	RMS 8
Exposure latitude	±½ stop
Saturation	high
Application	Nature
Introduced	2002

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. The original incarnation of the film was called "Velvia for Professionals", known as RVP, a classification code meaning "Reversal/Velvia/Professional series". It is known for its extremely high level of color saturation and image quality.

Velvia was introduced in 1990 and quickly replaced Kodachrome 25 as the industry standard in high-definition color film. It has 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; Kodachrome 64 and 200 followed more slowly. Many photographers credit Velvia with ending the Kodachrome era.

Velvia has the highest resolving power of any slide film. A 35 mm Velvia slide can resolve up to 160 lines per mm.

Appearance

A photo taken with Fuji Velvia 50 film

Velvia has very saturated colors under daylight, high contrast, and exceptional sharpness. These characteristics make it the slide film of choice for many nature photographers, including such respected artists as Rodney Lough Jr., John Shaw, Steve Parish, Peter Lik, 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 do not 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," "Crayola-chrome," or "Velveeta" by some detractors.

Speeds

The original Velvia is an ISO 50 film. However, many photographers manually set their cameras to an exposure index (EI) of 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 saturated colors and higher contrast.

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

In October 2006 Fujifilm announced the production of a new ISO 50 Velvia film, tentatively named "Velvia II". Fuji revealed that the original Velvia 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 (RVP) 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 film, called Velvia 50 (RVP 50), became available around the middle of 2007.

Long exposure issues

A problem with the original Velvia (RVP) is that it suffers from the effects of reciprocity failure much more than other films. Exposing the film for as little as 16 seconds will produce a marked color shift, typically to purple or green, depending on shooting conditions. Anything over four seconds requires the use of magenta color correction filters if correct color 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.

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 of properly supplying. Spectra Film and Video has also been loading Fuji Velvia into Super 8 cartridges and for 16mm. They recently modified the Kodak-supplied cartridges to ensure a smoother transport of Velvia film through the cartridge.

Fuji discontinued the Velvia motion picture film stock in 2006 and replaced it with a color negative stock called Eterna Vivid 160, which produces roughly the same color effect and is more easily processed.

External links

• Fujichrome products page
• super8camera.com for Velvia samples & other super-8 stock.
• Velvia film blog sharpness comparison