A post for my fellow photographers, (sorry married-to-be’s!) here’s a comprehensive comparison of VSCO’s fifth pack side by side with the RAW followed by my conclusions, let me know what you think, would you buy it?
Agfa Vista series
Top left: Raw || Bottom left: Agfa Vista 100 || Top right: Agfa Vista 400 || Bottom right: Agfa Vista
Black and Whites
Top left: raw || Bottom left: Fuji Neopan 400 contrast/fade || Top right: Kodak BW400CN soft highs || Bottom right: Kodak BW400CN
Agfa Vista 100 variations
Top left: raw || Bottom left: Agfa Vista 100 cool+ || Top right: Agfa Vista 100+++|| Bottom right: Agfa Vista 100 warm
Kodak series
Top left: raw|| Bottom left: Kodak gold 100 || Top right: Kodak max 800 || Bottom right: Kodak gold 200
More Kodak series
Top left: raw || Bottom left: Kodak royal gold 400 || Top right: Kodak ultramax 400 || Bottom right: Kodak ektar 100
Conclusion
VSCO called this the archetype collection, which “captures the essence of mass market, consumer-friendly stock from the past twenty years, the golden era of analog.” Personally I’ve always liked Kodak tones, so when I saw how many Kodak options there were I jumped for it. I have VSCO 4, which is the slide film pack and one thing I noticed when comparing them side by side was that these Kodaks are almost more contrasty than their slide film pack. The skintones are lovely, although some of the Agfa’s are a little too pinky for my liking. The black and whites didn’t really do much for me, I don’t feel they’re much different from previous VSCO packs, so if the b+w’s were your main motivation for buying this, with only 3 new options (+ variations of contrast/fade/soft highs) I wouldn’t bother. My favourites are probably Kodak Ektar 100 and Kodak max 800. I do think some of the other more heavy vintage styles look cool, but it’s not natural enough for my tastes to edit a wedding with.
Hope that helps anyone who was considering buying VSCO 5! Let me know your opinions in the comments below!
