Bob Jarman
(K=3145) - Comment Date 3/13/2002
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Hi Sean,
Velvia rules the underwater world. Every trip I have ever taken I probably shoot 80% velvia. The color and saturation cannot be beat.
Speed can be a problem, but it really only matters if you are shooting fast moving objects. If your after sharks, fish and the like Provia 100 is a great film. I have even shot a couple of rolls of 400 Provia.
For most you shots which will be stationary and still lifes, try velvia and set your asa at 40. Remember, the flash is providing the light! You wont believe the difference, especially in your macro shooting.
Best fishes,
Bob
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sean slavin
(K=3488) - Comment Date 3/13/2002
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cool... i'll give it a shot. heading out for a night dive on sat but i haven't decided if i'm taking stills or video yet. i need another warm water trip bad. dry suits are awesome but it's getting old. 8)
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Phillip Cohen
(K=10561) - Comment Date 4/4/2002
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I like to shoot Kodak E100SW or E100VS for my underwater stuff. Nice colors and a bit faster then velvia for penetrating the shadows a bit farther.
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k m
(K=324) - Comment Date 9/29/2002
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It all depends on what you're shooting. For a night dive, for instance, velvia is perfect, because your strobes will make the slow film speed a non-issue. For ambient light UW however, I like to shoot Kodak EBX100 (E100VS) at 200 (pushed one stop).. the colors really pop out, and it gives me that extra bit of speed I need for atmospheric silhouettes and wrecks.
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Espen Rekdal
(K=47) - Comment Date 4/19/2003
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Thought you'd all like to know that Fiji will be hitting the market with a 100asa velvia in September 2003. Great saturation and same grainsize as the old 50asa film.
Cheers,
E.
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Melissa Milligan
(K=549) - Comment Date 4/22/2003
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Velvia is a great film, and it certainly does reign supreme w/UW photogs.
However, the film you choose also depends on the color saturation you're trying to get. Velvia is definitely on the blue side and that's great if that's the effect you want. Sometimes it looks 'too blue' - too saturated, but it's a very subjective call.
However, if you're diving somewhere in the South Pacific with a lot of orange & red soft corals, (not to mention fish!) you might want to try for a more warm-toned film, like Kodachrome (altho not E6 - a major drawback I think) or Ektachrome SW (saturated warm, which changed its name recently - anyone know what it is now?)
Norb Wu shoots a lot of Kodachrome, and you can see that in the more natural greenish tones of his Northern California seal & kelp shots, for example.
Personally, I usually shoot Velvia underwater, primarily cause I'm don't go to the South Pac a lot (more's the pity.) When Velvia 100 becomes available (and if it's as good as 50), I'll probably use that as my 'usual' film.
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Des Paroz
(K=422) - Comment Date 5/8/2003
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Velvia is a very nice film, but I find that the correct rating is closer to 40 or even 32, depending on the batch.
Recently I've been using Kodak EliteChrome 100 Extra Colour, the "consumer" version of their excellent E100VS. This film has similar saturation to Velvia, with the advantage of 1-stop (+) greater speed.
I've actually started to think that consumer films are better for UW photogs going to remote places (as I tend to do) where they can't guarentee continual refrigeration of the film until 30-60 minutes before the dive.
I will certainly be trying out Velvia 100 when it hits the stores.
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