Fuji Provia 100F

Bruno Gracia · 08-02-2012

Hi there guys, from south Spain! (47º now..).

I just buy a Leica M2, will be my first camera without TTL, always using the M7 which I sold months ago.

I'm very frightened but I have to training with my m8 first, so in 7 days My couple and I will go to Portugal, Lisboa and Porto, on holidays. I've purchased 18 rolls of Fuji Provia 100F (good offer), and I want to know, how is this film, never shot slide...

Lenses: 50 1.4 asph and 35 2 asph, (I'm afraid I won't use big apertures, at least until 8 or 9 pm).

All advices and conversation will be welcome.

Bruno

Vics · 08-02-2012

Bruno, do you have a hand-held meter? The Provia will need very precise expoisure. Sorry about the hot weather. May be cooler in Portugal!

Bruno Gracia · 08-02-2012

I Don't have Vics! Just the iPhone!

Would You recomended a Seikonic or something like that?

thegman · 08-02-2012

Hi Bruno,
I had a Sekonic Twinmate, it's simple and cheap, but I prefer the Voigtlander VC METER II, it's even simpler, and clips nicely into the hotshoe of the camera. I would advise you get a meter of some kind for slide film.

Cheers

Garry

Bruno Gracia · 08-02-2012

I Have a Leica Meter MR, it's ok? I never used it...

By the way, I have to meter to the light or shadows?

k__43 · 08-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruniroquai

I Have a Leica Meter MR, it's ok? I never used it...

By the way, I have to meter to the light or shadows?

I've a MR (4) and I find it exact enough for slides. it covers the area you see with the 90mm frame lines .. so for 50 or wider it's a center spot (I try to meter a mid-bright area in the frame not the shadows or the highlights). I'd advice you to really test this with a slide film before you travel. make notes for what you were metering for each frame so you can compare them to what you see on the slide when you get it back from the lab! I always think I can remember these things - but I can't.

Brian Puccio · 08-02-2012

I picked up a Bessa (and quickly migrated to an M6) and shot almost exclusively Provia. The day I got an incident meter and just cheated for every exposure is the day I stopped having a third of my photos exposed not so well. I was hardly ever very wrong, but given the price of film, it's much easier to use an incident meter instead of bracketing.

thegman · 08-02-2012

I had a Leica meter for a while, I found it a pain to use, but seemed accurate enough.

anjoca76 · 08-02-2012

My MR-4 works great--it's spot on--but it eats batteries like candy. Not sure why...

You'll definitely want some type of meter with the M2 and slides, though. I shoot color neg and b&w all the time in it using sunny 16, but slide film is worth making sure it comes out correctly. A perfectly exposed slide is a thing of beauty. On the other hand, a blown-out or underexposed slide usually can't be saved even in post-processing. Provia is great. Enjoy!

joeswe · 08-02-2012

Bruno,
if you never shot slide film before, use a meter (the MR should be okay for now, but test its accuracy with slide film before you set off!) and bracket your exposures when there is a lot of contrast.
Provia 100F is a nice film, it's color balance is neutral, some dislike that in can produce a slight bluish cast in the shadows (which is a consequence of its high color fidelity as has been pointed out). If you prefer slightly warmer colors you can shoot Provia with a Skylight 1A filter. Have fun in Lisbon, it's a beautiful city.
John

znapper · 08-04-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruniroquai

I Don't have Vics! Just the iPhone!

Would You recomended a Seikonic or something like that?

Hi

Just came back from Turkey (similar temperatures, that place was a major sweat-box and over 30 degrees in the water too *phew*), and I shot many rolls of film with my Hasselblad 503CW which does not have a meter either.

You can download a free app for you iPhone, just do a search for "Light meter" and download the free one.

It doesn't have spot metering though, more of a center-weighted area that you can "spot meter" with.

I've tested it against my other cameras and the app is spot on with my Canon 1v, if you have nothing, the app is actually pretty good.

Remember to shoot to save the highlights, rather than saving the shadows. Slide-film is almost the opposite of your typical negative film in that respect. (and very similar to digital).

The app even has EV readings, so getting a relative measurement between highlights and shadows is pretty easy as well.

semilog · 08-04-2012

Meter incident light, expose at box speed.

Bruno Gracia · 08-06-2012

Thank You all, tomorrow I'll start to shot with the slide and the M2! Today I'm training with the m8...