I found the results better, than with Elitechrome 100. But that's of course difficult, as I would have to try the films at the same day and under the same conditions.
However, I think, I'll stick with Fuji. My question is only: are Fuji Provia better suited for aircraft photograpy than Sensia? Should I try it? Does anybody have any experiences with both films?
Thanks in advance and kind regards
Gerardo
dominguez(dash)online(dot)ch ... Pushing the limits of my equipment
Blackened From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 1455 times:
The Sensia 100 is Ok and I guess many people use it. Provia is better because it has a finer grain but it's more expensive. I don't think there is such a big difference between Sensia and Provia. The Sensia is also very good for aviation photography. If I were you I'd definitely try a roll of Provia just to see how it turns out. Try both film on the same day. I think the difference will be mostly about grain but not too big. You don't necessarily need the Provia to make good pics but I would say it's the best film around.
(I was talking about the Sensia 100 BTW. The Sensia 200 is in my eyes too grainy for shots in good light - noticably worse than Provia. Take the 100 instead as long as the light isn't too bad)
Gerardo From Spain, joined May 2000, 3480 posts, RR: 35 Reply 3, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago) and read 1433 times:
Provia 400? I didn't even know, there are Provia 400. But the next time I go for spotting, I will possibly try both, the Sensia 100 and the Provia 100, which isn't very easy to find, BTW.
Aer Lingus: "Oh BTW, that Emirates A330 is a shoe-in"
I hope, it means, you like the pic As english isn't my mother language, I don't understand every expression...
Thanks for the comments so far.
Kind regards
Gerardo
dominguez(dash)online(dot)ch ... Pushing the limits of my equipment
Blackened From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 5, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 2 days 3 hours ago) and read 1422 times:
I've never seen a Provia 400 and they don't have it on their website (?).
Here's some photographers' names with their films:
(hope you don't mind me doing this guys but you told that you're using these films here in the forum )
Sensia: Florian Kondziela, Pixair
Provia: Charles Falk, Chris Coduto
(as far as I can remember)
I don't know if any of their pics were taken with those films.
Jasonm From Australia, joined May 2000, 238 posts, RR: 6 Reply 7, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 2 days ago) and read 1414 times:
Hi Gerardo,
I generally use Sensia II also. It's a good consumer grade slide film. The Provia is a bit more expensive but fantastic quality and yields beautiful scans.
Here is one of my favorite shots that I feel shows Provia at it's best
By the way, I love your Emirates shot too! Well done!
Bodobodo From Canada, joined May 2000, 553 posts, RR: 13 Reply 8, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 1416 times:
I use a both Sensia II 100 and Provia 100F. I'll never claim that Sensia is as good as Provia but for most purposes it does a good job. It's my main film since it's quite a bit cheaper than Provia but it is definately grainier than Provia but most films are grainier than Provia. I find that Sensia II is a bit more forgiving of exposure errors than Provia. You can check out my photos on the site if you are interested under the name Felix Sieder.
BO__einG From Canada, joined Apr 2000, 2759 posts, RR: 20 Reply 9, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 1410 times:
Whats with the story with Fujis ASTIA?
I learned that it too is a slide film just like Sensia ll and Provia series.
Can anyone tell me what good that film is and if it compares in quality/light to Provia or Sensia?
Are there some shots taken with ASTIA?
BO
Expanding my global domination one spotter at a time..
AirNikon From United States of America, joined Apr 2000, 290 posts, RR: 40 Reply 10, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 1421 times:
Astia is a low-grain slide film, but lacks the contrast and saturation that Provia provides. I tried five-rolls of Astia once, and will never use it again.
Don't get married, don't have kids, and you will have more money than you know what to do with...
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 15 hours ago) and read 1400 times:
Hi,
I switched to Provia last year and really love it. It's got just the right amount of saturation (Velvia is a little bit too saturated, I think), gives you an extra stop or so over K64, and has no detectable grain.
My only problem is in scanning, where I am still changing my system now and again, but have no intention in changing my film.
Provia 400F does exist, (there is even a 1600F) and I've shot a few rolls of it. There is a bit more grain, I'd say the performance and grain is about on par with Sensia II 200, but with an extra stop of speed. I don't plan to use it any more since I picked up my 70-200mm f/2.8, which gives plenty of light for 100 speed film, even in poor weather. But if you have a slow lens and you can't seem to make it work with 100 speed, try it out.
Under a loupe, everything is as clear as anything you can imagine - absolutely no grain. The colors are also exactly what was there in front of me that day. Any fuzziness is due to some bluriness in my scanner which I have to try to correct.
Provia is essentially a Sensia where they pushed the grain and color performance a bit more than would be possible with a consumer grade film (i.e. one which does not need to be refrigerated to have a shelf life of a couple of years.)
Gerardo From Spain, joined May 2000, 3480 posts, RR: 35 Reply 15, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 1378 times:
Charles
the first pic with the Volare A320 has a bit of a grain on the dark side of the engines. Is that also "due to some bluriness in your scanner", which you mention in your post?
Gerardo
dominguez(dash)online(dot)ch ... Pushing the limits of my equipment
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 19, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1377 times:
Gerardo,
Yeah, I got a little careless with compression and sharpening. I hope I've sorted that out - my current process is:
1) Scanning with Nikon software with a 1.1-1.2 gamma adjustment
2) Resize, crop and sharpen with Corel Photopaint
3) adjust saturation with Thumbsplus.
If at any point I get careless with jpeg conversion settings, I get those results - in addition, Johan compresses the files some more when they are added to the database.
Here's one where I got it right. Provia 100F again...
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 20, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1374 times:
I forgot to mention - I only "discovered" the gamma adjustment feature in the past few weeks. Duh! My Nikon scanner tends to scan dark, and now I use the Gamma setting on the scanner software to fix that. But if you don't do it right, you get that scatter in the dark areas, like you see on the dark underbelly of the Volare.
Hell, all this time and I'm still learning. I'll probably change procedures again in a few weeks.
Blackened,
Sensia is a consumer grade film, which is made to be kept on store shelves for a good long time, just like Kodak Gold or other common brands. Provia is "professional" film, which means that its shelf life if stored above 15 degrees celsius (about 60 F) is only 1 or 2 months - obviously not long enough for the usual consumer, who might keep a loaded camera for months, and for stores not equiped with a fridge for films.
Gerardo From Spain, joined May 2000, 3480 posts, RR: 35 Reply 21, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1364 times:
Ah, yes! The MD11 pic looks better.
Thanks for the input.
Charles, you said, that you had problems scanning the Provia slides. Doe you have problems only with Provia 400 or also with 100? And are those problems hardware related (i.e. scanner driving you crazy) or is something you can fix with software settigs, as shown on the MD11 pic?
Regards
Gerardo
dominguez(dash)online(dot)ch ... Pushing the limits of my equipment
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 22, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 1371 times:
It's the scanner. It's driving me nuts. For one thing, I keep getting these vertical lines when the scanner hasn't warmed up yet - and it takes about an hour's worth of use before it's warmed up. Also, the pictures always seem a little out of focus, even at 2700 dpi and with the autofocus turned on - the slide itself is always much sharper.
By the time I've figured out a foolproof process, it'll be time for me to upgrade my scanner and start all over again!
Cfalk From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 24, posted (11 years 10 months 3 weeks 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 1362 times:
They actually seem to be the easiest ones to scan. I've had more problems with Kodachrome and Elitechrome. Velvia also is tricky, but produces terific results if you figure it out.
26 Gerardo: Great pics, Felix! Could it be, that the colors on the provia pics are a tiny little bit "stronger" (more saturation?), than on the other pics? I had
27 Bodobodo: Hi Gerardo, Thanks. It's possible that Provia's colours are a little more saturated (not at Velvia levels, though) but the problem is that I only shoo
28 Blackened: I hope you're right about Sensia. I never dare to have one in the camera because it's not cool enough there. But I had some in the camera for months a
29 Lewis: Thanks! Great pics. What scanner do you use?
30 Bodobodo: Thanks. I'm using a Minolta Scan Dual II slide/negative scanner. Keep in mind, however, that the quality is somewhat degraded from what I first upload
31 Lewis: The thing is that I will be shooting slides (Provia) and I want a cheap scanner that can produce high quality scans. I was thinking about the Minolta
32 Dazed767: I have a roll of Sensia II I haven't used yet. I've heard it sucks basicly. 'Computer like' results I've heard. I guess I'll have to try it out for my
33 Cfalk: "and I want a cheap scanner that can produce high quality scans." That's what we all want! I use a Coolscan III, and hope to buy a Coolscan 4000 soon,
34 Gerardo: I have a Minolta Dual Scan II since a 2 months and I must say, I simply LOVE it, specially together with the scan software Vuescan. As for the 50-slid
35 Gocaps16: I used my first roll of Fuji Sensia II 100 film on June 15 at DCA. It's been over 5 business days and Ritz still says that my slides are not ready. Th
36 Gerardo: Kevin, you're apparently in a similar situation than I. About two months ago, I bought also a new Minolta Dual Scan II and now I am looking for a good
37 EGGD: Wow all nice pics! I have tons of KR64 here, but once i have shot them all i was thinking of trying some Fuji Sensia, is it a good/bad idea? Also, my
38 Gocaps16: Gerardo, Nice pictures. Finally I can get some blue sky, hehe. I hope my computer doesn't lock up while scanning slides. As for provia films, no photo
39 Gerardo: Kevin, it was indeed the once thing which amazed me looking at my first bunch of Sensia-slides: the blue sky actually turned out blue on the slides. F
41 Cfalk: Gerardo, I think you'll find that Provia is a tiny bit more neutral. The biggest difference is in the grain. There is none. Charles
42 Gerardo: Charles Besides the color, the most important for me (perhaps also for others) is indeed the grain. As I don't have much experience yet with slides: h
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My Nikon scanner tends to scan dark, and now I use the Gamma setting on the scanner software to fix that. But if you don't do it right, you get that scatter in the dark areas, like you see on the dark underbelly of the Volare.
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