[Leica] New Provia

[Alexey Merz <alexey@webcom.com>]

So I just got my first couple of rolls of the new Provia
(RDP III) back from the processor and I am not happy.

The film isn't bad - the grain is very fine and the color
rendition is quite neutral - but it seems to have lost the
very characteristics that distinguished it from its 
competitors. So far twhat I've seen from the new Kodak E6
emulsions is more impressive, especially in terms of 
acutance and ability to handle shadows. 

True it has finer grain than the old film but it now
seems to have lost some of the old film's graces: 
unusually good preservation of light midtones and 
highlights with great separation of tones and unusualy
good acutence in those tonal ranges. Instead the new
film is more neutral and  seems keyed to the midtones,
yet it still lacks any ability to handle shadow detail.

The one situation that looks really good on these rolls
is low-contrast, colorful scenes where I've slightly 
underexpeosed. Just the opposite of the old film.

So the very situations where I have chosen Provia 
over the last few years are not handled so well by this
new film. Of course this  is only a few rolls sent 
through my usual pro lab (PhotoCraft in Portland), but
they are usually *very* consistent. 

Anybody have a thought on what's going on here? Did 
Fuji release a poduct that is still in beta, or did I
get an unlucky emulsion batch or processing run? 

Am I missing something here? 

- -Alexey Merz