p.1 #1 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
I've been searching this topic and looking at some different sample images and I feel like no two sources agree. Some people say both films need a warming filter. Some only Provia does [or that it needs a stronger one] while others say the opposite. Some use the same filter in all lighting, some say you only need one in shade / cloudy, some say a weak one in daylight and a stronger one in shade / cloudy. Some say 81A, some say 81B, some say 812 if your priority is skintones (which it would be for me). Some photos make the problem seem worse than others (but of course you seldom know exactly how people are scanning or how much editing they did).
So I thought I'd ask for a little discussion here. I'll probably do some testing of my own since warming filters are not expensive (ouch, the film is though!), but it never hurts to get other opinions too.
My main use case portraits and environmental portraits, using daylight-balanced strobes in a pure studio setting and also outdoors in conjunction with daylight (and maybe sometimes sunset / golden hour. probably not shade / cloudy). Gelling the lights can also be part of the repertoire--I have a big gel collection--but I don't think alone is the correct solution since I understand that it's not in the highlights but in the shadows that these films are most apt to go blue.
(I'm also gonna post this over on Large Format Photography forum, so if you see this twice, it's not because I'm a bot )
p.1 #2 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
I have never needed a filter for Provia under any circumstances. I shoot it in the Studio under artificial lighting and also outdoors. It shoots a little on the cooler side but I think it's the default color scheme for all of Fuji's own digital cameras for a reason.
E100 is sort of the the same way for me, just more on the warmer side. However, E100 also came in E100G and E100SW and I would probably want to use a filter to get those to look more like the more modern/flexible E100.
I also do my own scanning - sometimes I let Silverfast color-correct, sometimes, I let NLP do it (it's a newer feature which I would have thought would be useless but it's actually great), sometimes I do it. So...your results may vary.
p.1 #3 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
Assuming that you are shooting in lighting conditions that match your films intent, is a filter designed to remove the shadow color cast? For example, shooting an environmental E100 portrait with directional light, will yield a strong red tint where shadows fall on the face.
p.1 #4 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
bwcolor wrote:
Assuming that you are shooting in lighting conditions that match your films intent, is a filter designed to remove the shadow color cast? For example, shooting an environmental E100 portrait with directional light, will yield a strong red tint where shadows fall on the face.
I’ve never seen a red cast with the new Ektachrome E100. Sure we’re talking the same film? In my experience it leans blue and green, hence why some people use warming filters with it.
Re topic:
With Ektachrome I prefer to use an 812 filter in the shade to bring in some warmth and magenta (or Heliopan KR3 if the light is very cool). The 81A / 81B filters don’t have the magenta component if I recall, so would probably not use them with Ektachrome.
It has been a while since I’ve used Provia, but it might lean more magenta on its own? so maybe the 81A/81B make more sense there.
Some flashes cast a cooler light - more like 6.000-6.500K, so a warming filter might be useful if that’s your dominant light source (and a PITA if mixed with daylight).
Btw there is documentation by how much these filters shift white balance in terms of Kelvin. If you know the white balance of the environment you’re shooting in (roughly), you can get a good idea how much those filters would neutralize the cast. And of course removing all color casts is rarely desirable from an artistic standpoint
p.1 #5 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
fjablo wrote:
I’ve never seen a red cast with the new Ektachrome E100. Sure we’re talking the same film? In my experience it leans blue and green, hence why some people use warming filters with it.
Re topic:
With Ektachrome I prefer to use an 812 filter in the shade to bring in some warmth and magenta (or Heliopan KR3 if the light is very cool). The 81A / 81B filters don’t have the magenta component if I recall, so would probably not use them with Ektachrome.
It has been a while since I’ve used Provia, but it might lean more magenta on its own? so maybe the 81A/81B make more sense there.
Some flashes cast a cooler light - more like 6.000-6.500K, so a warming filter might be useful if that’s your dominant light source (and a PITA if mixed with daylight).
Btw there is documentation by how much these filters shift white balance in terms of Kelvin. If you know the white balance of the environment you’re shooting in (roughly), you can get a good idea how much those filters would neutralize the cast. And of course removing all color casts is rarely desirable from an artistic standpoint ...Show more →
Agreed, in the old days Kodachrome was red and Ektachrome blue, so this surprised me. I shot one roll for a function test of a new to me Fuji GS645. I did not save any of the images, but managed to find a JPG left on my drive. I really didn’t try to correct much here. Large windows and indirect sunlight..so blue cast isn’t a big surprise. The white walls have a blue cast, but the shadows have gone red. This is the new E100 fresh from B&H.
p.1 #6 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
Old E100 had a cool cast as it was designed to be projected with typically warm tungsten bulb projectors. If it was shot in sunny conditions it would look OK without filters but cooler than the ambient light. It would look quite blue if shot in shady or cloudy conditions and could be warmed by an 80 or 81 a,b or c. I think choice of filter was more a matter of taste than a precise science, although filter manufacturers might pretend otherwise.
I haven't tried the new Ektachrome, but Jason Kummefeldt from Grainydays youtube channel is a fan and uses a warming filter plus polariser when shooting in sunny conditions. Note, polarisers tend to cool things a bit.
If you are intending to digitise, you can always adjust the white balance digitally.
Would be interested to to hear how your tests go.
p.1 #8 · Provia & Ektachrome: Filters in Various Lighting Conditions
When I started shooting more chrome, I just left a slight warming filter on my lenses. Negative film basically sees right through them but it greatly improves both Provia and E100 imo.
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