Kodak EKTAR 100 Film Stock Review
Shooting film can be a tedious and long process especially if you are developing and scanning your own photos, but the results are always incomparable. You may notice the difference more-so if you are shooting 120mm or larger, but regardless, film will always have that slight difference in quality, which is why many photographers still choose to shoot with film.
One film stock that has always held weight in the film industry is Kodak Ektar, or formerly known as Kodak Ektar TessAR, which was originated in the 1930’s when it was used mainly as a cinema film stock.
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Kodak Ektar
In 1989, Eastman Kodak introduced the semi-professional film stock, Kodak Ektar
When it was re-introduced in 2008, Kodak had only offered 35mm color negative film, but the market seemed to enjoy the stock quite a bit, so Kodak launched EKTAR 100 in 120mm, and then eventually even added 4×5
If this progress isn’t enough to prove this film stock’s quality then I’m certain its fine grain, vivid colors, and professional, sharp quality will win you over in the end! Let’s take a deeper look at this film in our review of the Kodak EKTAR 100 Film Stock.
Ultra Fine Grain
Since Kodak Ektar film was created in 1936 Kodak has always held a firm ground on their fine grain capabilities and performance quality. It is said that the 100 ISO film speed and its high saturation are the reason that Kodak Ektar has the smoothest grain of any color negative film available on the market.
Due to this it is an excellent choice for commercial photographers and advanced amateurs shooting anything from fashion and product photography to nature and travel photography.
Vivid Colors
Another incredible quality of this film stock is its vivid colors. Unlike many other film stocks on the market today, Kodak EKTAR 100 has a vibrant and natural feel to its colors, giving you a more clear, vivid picture.
This film stock has Optimized Emulsion Spectral Sensitivity Technology as well as Image Modifier Chemistry to ensure that your colors will come out crystal clear and they will represent what the camera truly captured.
Professional, Sharp Quality
One of the best parts about this film, other than its ultra fine grain, is its overall image quality and sharpness. With this film you see no haze or dim light, you see a crisp picture with acute details and incredible quality.
While creating the film stock, Kodak integrated Advanced Cubic Emulsions in the film to help optimize the image sharpness and they also added Proprietary DIR Couplers to ensure fine detail and distinct edges. This technology is far more advanced than many other film stocks and it definitely shows after processing.
Overall, this film is an incredible stock and lives up to its reputation of having the world’s finest grain. No other film stock compares to this one in that regard, and in many other aspects Kodak EKTAR 100 is a better choice than many others.
However, for some specific jobs you may want to find a different film stock to suit a different job. So make sure you’re always keeping an eye out for new film stocks and film stocks that you have never heard of or seen before and give it a try – you never know what film stock you’ll like the best!
We hope this film stock review has helped you learn some background knowledge so that you know exactly what you are shooting! For more film stock reviews check out the articles below:
If you are looking for some other analog photography tutorials, check out these articles to help you get started!
After shooting mono for many years, especially Ilford XP2 Super and Kodak BW400CN Chromogenic films, I tried a few rolls of Kodak Ektar 100 colour print film. I was very pleasantly surprised by the colour saturation and vividness of the results. We toured the south coast of England this summer and I photographed the Sussex Downs and colour shots of the glorious seaside towns. Even the homeless men stood out from their surroundings. And as for the Royal Pavillion at Brighton, well. It was stunning on Ektar. I thoroughly recommend this film. All shots were taken on a Leicaflex SL (1972) and 35mm f2.8 Elmarit -R, 50mm f2 Summicron -R, 90mm f2.8 Elmarit -R lenses made between 1964 & 1976.