KODAK EKTAR 100 - A COLOUR FILM REVIEW | OLIVIER MEIER
Kodak Professional Ektar 100 Film is a high saturation, ultra-vivid, contrast-rich low grain colour negative rich film. In fact it is described by Kodak Alaris as the world's finest grain colour negative film. I don't know if that's true...but it could be. What I do know is that it is my favourite colour film - and what I mean by that is, that when I see a fantastic display of colour, it's the film I reach for.
Red Flowers | Zürich, Switzerland |Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 | Kodak Ektar 100
Blue Water | Nice, France | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 | Kodak Ektar 100
Green Leaves | Cape Town, South Africa | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 | Kodak Ektar 100
If you read the captions above, you may have noticed that (at least for me) KodakEktar is a travel film. It finds its way into my bag, whenever my wife and I travel somewhere or in general just have plans to go out into the sun. Its low speed and colour attributes are made for fantastic sun-bathed-scapes of all kinds. It's one of the few films that can make a regular looking scene explode in colour. This also makes it a very easy film to shoot. For example you can use a popular slide film such as Fuji Velvia as an alternative, but this photographer has never experienced that same intense saturation of colours. I've concluded that this is as a result of user error in either exposure or scanning, but in the end it does not matter...the fact remains. It is in this respect that I say, Kodak Ektar is a very easy film to expose and scan...yes it scans very well
Swiss Alps | Bivio, Switzerland | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
Cape of Good Hope | Cape Town, South Africa |Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
The Big Blue | Cannes, France | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
Windows | San Remo, Italy | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 85mm f/1.8
Red, White & Blue | Nice, France | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
Primary Colours | Zürich, Switzerland | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 28mm f/2.8
One thing to note about this film is that it does have a strong tendency to accentuate a magenta tint. There are some photographers who use this film for portraits, but in most cases, this will result in a reddish skin, especially on light skin. I haven't experimented much with Ektar & portraiture as I generally reach for a Portra film then, but it's something to keep in mind...but it shouldn't stop you.
Cinematique | Zürich, Switzerland | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
On the road again | Miami, USA | Voigtländer Bessa R3M | Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic
Across the street | Miami, USA | Voigtländer Bessa R3M | Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic
When I first dropped everything digital and moved to film I knew I wanted to try out as many different films as possible, to then finally settle on my go to films. I'm not yet finished with that process, but one thing is clear: Kodak Ektar 100 is a film that has made it on to my shortlist and I certainly hope that Kodak Alaris continue manufacturing it, for a long time to come. Give it a try…there’s a high probability, you’ll love it.
Beach | Miami, USA | Voigtländer Bessa R3M | Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic
A view | Tuscany, Italy | Hasselblad 500CM | Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 C
Family Picnic | Zürich, Switzerland | Nikon FM3A | Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
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Olivier S. Meier is a film photographer based in Zurich, Switzerland. Here's what he says about his work: