Kodak to offer Ektar 100 in 120.

[johnastovall]

"Kodak Now Offers its New EKTAR 100 - World's Finest-Grain Color Negative Film - in 120 Format ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) continues to expand the options available to photographers by offering its new KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTAR 100 Film in 120 format. Announced at Photokina in October 2008 and currently available in 35mm format, EKTAR 100 Film offers the finest, smoothest grain of any color negative film available today."


Look for it in April, no fooling.

 

[Bill_Green]

Very curious to see how this compares to Fuji and how it looks through a Mamiya 7.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Interesting to see that they say that the grain is comparable or finer than E100G -- that is pretty impressive. That is always been one of my barriers to color negative -- while I don't mind grain on black and white, I don't like it on color.

 

[cam]

a flickr buddy already has some photos up with it -- it looks edible!

 

[TRSmith]

Are there online or mail order labs that will process the film and then do a decent scan? I'd be very interested in having a service that could provide the negative as well as a set of hi res scans either on disc, or available for download. Anyone aware of a service like that?

 

[dfarkas]

Are there online or mail order labs that will process the film and then do a decent scan? I'd be very interested in having a service that could provide the negative as well as a set of hi res scans either on disc, or available for download. Anyone aware of a service like that?

Tim,

We can develop and scan 120. Check out our photo lab website at www.dalelabs.com.

David

 

[TRSmith]

Thanks David! I sometimes forget that you're a lab as well as a dealer.

 

[Oxide Blu]

If you are sending 120/220 film for processing you may want to buy some polypropylene boxes to ship the exposed film in. Tap Plastics sells a variety of sizes. I used them to carry around my film at weddings. Also works great to protect the film when shipping. The lab will send the boxes back to you.

There are also polypropylene tubes with snap caps for 120/220 film similar to the polypropylene tubes that 35mm film comes in when you buy it. Same, just bigger for 120/220 rolls. Not to take away from anyone's business, but Miller Labs will send them to you, free, when you use their services. I would think all professional mail order processing labs would have them.

http://www.millerslab.com/

 

[Lars]

Ektar might be an interesting option for 6x12 and 6x17 instead of E100G, the extended DR of neg film is always welcome in panoramic format. I'll certainly give it a try.

I looked at samples, it's fine-grain indeed. Saturation seems a bit over the top though.

Here is a link to a comparison with Velvia, which Ektsar 100 seems to handle well.

http://www.stockholmviews.com/kodak-ektar-100-review/index.html

 

[JimCollum]

a shot from the Xpan on Ektar 100

a 100% crop

(scanned from an Eversmart scanner at 3200 dpi... unsharpened)

 

[Lars]

a shot from the Xpan on Ektar 100
a 100% crop (scanned from an Eversmart scanner at 3200 dpi... unsharpened)

Looks like grain isn't what limits resolution (good for Kodak, bad for Jim )

The Ektar seems to have really handled the tonal span well, keeping foreground detail and sky saturation. Looks like a winner for dawn/dusk.

 

[Oxide Blu]

Looks like the Sutro Baths.

 

[viablex1]

Tim,

We can develop and scan 120. Check out our photo lab website at www.dalelabs.com.

David

and I can say Dale lab " is the Tits" for sure you cannot go wrong with them!!!:thumbup::thumbs::thumbs:

 

[TRSmith]

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to hijack this thread a little...

After 25 years without shooting film, I'm making a return. And guess what? I don't have a clue about which films are out there and what might currently be considered "the" films to use.

I'm curious about the new Ektar in 120 (I'll be using 120 film). How about for transparencies? Kodak EPP any good? I know zip about Fuji, and have only read about Velvia as it is used often to compare looks with digital.

And even B&W, I'm tempted to just go with T-Max 100 and maybe some TriX 320.

But I'm completely open to suggestions. Any ideas?

 

[Stuart Richardson]

Well, here are my general ideas...

EPP has natural colors, and low contrast, but it can be a bit bland...it also has larger grain than the latest generation of slide films. My favorite overall slide film is E100G -- it has natural, but saturated colors, good contrast and very fine grain. It is probably the closest current slide film to Kodachrome, though it has higher contrast and not quite the same look. Provia is Fuji's equivalent, which is also very good.

Astia is a slide film with lower contrast and good skin tones that is geared towards portraiture. It is closer to EPP.

EPN is dead neutral -- completely as your eye sees color. Strangely, no one shoots it except for catalogs etc.

In the 400 range, Provia 400X is the go to film -- very low grain for the speed, and a very versatile film.

Velvia has very saturated colors and high contrast. Fairly ruddy skin tones that are not very flattering. Extremely fine grain.

In my very subjective opinion, E100G is the best 100 speed slide film and Provia 400X is the best 400. Astia is my preferred slide film for portraits.

In black and white, I am partial to the Fuji films. Acros is extraordinary -- super fine grain, great tonality, and very easy to process. It also has no reciprocity correction up to 10 minutes or so. Neopan 400 is like tri-x with slightly finer grain -- still a very nice classic look. Tri-x is still great.

Here are some samples, though monitors and scanning can obviously change the look of things.

E100G:

Astia 100F:

Velvia 100:

Acros:

Neopan 400:

For anything faster, Neopan 1600 is the one to go for.

 

[Lars]

For slide film, output is nowadays often from scans so people like fine grain and lower contrast/saturation for later digital processing. Astia, E100G are good candidates with extremely fine grain (a LOT finer than your old EPP) and low "punch". Of course Velvia 50 still looks great on the light table and is equally fine grain, as is Provia (higher contrast than Astia but not the overthetop colors of Velvia). If you step up to 4x5 and larger then grain doesn't matter so much.

Anywhere in the Southwest you should try E100VS. Just never, ever, use a polarizer over a blue sky with VS.

VS samples:
http://www.8x10.se/pages/gallery-large.asp?id=443
http://www.8x10.se/pages/gallery-large.asp?id=22
http://www.8x10.se/pages/gallery-large.asp?id=11

 

[TRSmith]

Thank you Stuart and Lars for your recommendations and beautiful samples! I will put together a short list based on your suggestions and start trying them as soon as the camera arrives.

You're both already quite a ways down a path I'm just beginning. When I was using film, there was no need (or ability) to scan it unless it was for separations. So finding the right combination of elements--film, developer, scanner, etc.--that will resonate for me, will be an interesting challenge.

Is there ever a reason to shoot color negative film and scan it for digital processing?

Thanks again,
Tim

 

[Oxide Blu]

Is there ever a reason to shoot color negative film and scan it for digital processing?

That is exactly what Hollywood does -- shoots movies on color neg film, scans to digital for effects and editing. I don't think there are any major motion pictures being shot on color reversal film anymore.

 

[Lars]

There is definitely a strong case for color negs - latitude. When slides and digital will clip overexposed highlights, negs will hold detail. This gets more important with larger formats, as bracketing get impractical and costly. It also means you can rely on a less accurate metering method, whereas with slide film you'd better be spot on.

 

[Stuart Richardson]

some people like color negative, but I generally don't. We'll see if Ektar 100 changes it. Some things I don't like -- it has much larger grain than equivalent slide film (well, until Ektar), the colors require individual and specific correction in most scanning programs -- the mask makes it more difficult to get accurate colors. It also has a significantly shorter archival life than E6 films. Finally, slide film has a "bite" that color negative film just does not have -- the richness of the colors, the microcontrast and the overall look just looks much more natural to me. And when you are scanning, you already have the final, perfect starting point to compare to on the lightbox. Should the colors be a certain way? Just look at the slide and you'll see. If you want to change something, you can always do it after you reproduced the slide as it is on the lightbox. Color neg has no such reference...you have to do it all from memory.