Ektar 100

Last week, I bought and shot my first roll of Ektar 100, a film made by Kodak.  As I am new to film, I scoured the internet for recommendations on different rolls of film.  Ektar 100 was consistently in the top 3 best films, so I figured it needed to happen.  I found a great review with tons of demo photos at the Phoblographer’s site.  

The writer points out the pros and cons, and I more or less agree.  Ektar is moderately priced, and offers great quality images.  The film shoots at 100 iso, which means it has a very fine grain to its image.  Ektar is admittedly, one of the finest grained films on the market.

The author continues by showing their photos from the roll, explaining the colors and qualities of the roll under different circumstances.  Specifically the way that light adds to the saturation and color profile of Ektar.  

So I searched around my local film shops and found Ektar 100 for $9.  I researched online and found it going for as little as $7 and as much as $15.  The blog I read had noted that pricing is kind of tricky with Ektar. 

After loading it into my camera, I read over what the author noted about the film.  Being a 100 speed film, it would flourish in brighter light situations, so I tried to shoot with that in mind.  I finished my roll and dropped it off to get developed and waited for the results.

Getting my photos back was exciting.  I tore into the envelop and sorted through them, quickly finding my favorites.  I’ll share my top 5 below.  

This was one of the first ones I had taken. I was riding in the with my friend on the way to a show downtown. It was raining and we got stuck at a red light for a few minutes. I took this while waiting. I focused the lens on the rain on the window, casting the lights in the background out of focus. 

This one highlights the way the film shows a warmth in low light. I was working on a table read for a film a friend is putting together. The low light shines with a red-orange glow. 

I recently have been experimenting with tape recording and sound design with tape. This image was captured during a session in my studio space. The grains can be seen pretty well in this, mostly due to the low light usage of a 100 film. 

While visiting the art museum on campus I snapped this one. The contrast between the white wall and red piece on the wall is sharp. The red really pops, colors are a strong suit for the Ektar. 

Finally, my last photo from the roll.  I was visiting the Dunwoody Nature Center. I love the bright color details in the rocks, especially against the dark mass of the stones overall. The spectrum of the Ektar is wide. 

Overall, I have really enjoyed the qualities and colors from Ektar 100.  I found that the Phoblographer’s take on the film was really spot on. They accurately described the quality of the film. I plan on visiting their website again to pick a new roll to try soon!