Ektar is also particularly challenging for the novice photographer. The emulsion does not have the wide exposure latitude of Portra 400 or even Ultramax 400, and shifts colors slightly based on slight over- and under-exposure. Self-scanning Ektar is also a pain with consumer-level scanners. Ektar benefits greatly when processed and scanned through professional level machines by those with extensive experience with the emulsion. Portra 400 appears to have a somewhat finer grain than Kodak Gold 200 . Although, it’s still chunkier than Portra 160 and Ektar.

It works because nothing in the image is overdone, yet nothing is bland either. I assume, since I never shot them, that it’s like they took the differing attributes of the NC and VC versions and somehow got them to work together. All that said, for a cheap 35mm film with a rating of 400 ASA, the grain in Ultramax 400 could certainly be a lot worse!Capture stunning, lifelike images with Kodak Portra 400 120 film. This medium-speed, colour negative film is perfect for portraits and well-lit scenes, producing natural skin tones and rich, vibrant colours. There’s also a new ISO 400 colour negative film made in Germany by ORWO that I’ve recently reviewed: Wolfen NC 500 . Unfortunately, it’s neither cheap nor capable of rendering colours as accurately as UltraMax. It has charm and applications, but you can’t use it the same way as consumer colour films. Additionally, the rolls I got did not have DX coding, rendering NC 500 unusable on most point-and-shoot cameras . Kodak UltraMax with Canon QL25, scanned at a minilab (Chiang Mai). How much does Kodak UltraMax 400 cost, and where to buy it. You have to know what you’re getting into. The plastic lens on the Ektar H35 is not going to produce the same level of quality as a 50mm f/1.8, and if you go in with too expectant a mindset, you’ll probably be disappointed when the scans come out. Image sharpness is pretty rough, especially at distance – the lens seems to do best at around 1.5-2m from the subject.

I also had some issues with the casts appearing in certain image areas after being balanced out in others. This is why I think it’s a lot easier to work with this film in full sun or warm-tone lighting. An exception to this rule may be skin tones, which appear natural in most conditions (whereas building materials, the sky, and certain natural textures will suffer).

About Kodak

If I wanted to give one of my point ‘n’ shoot cameras to a friend who doesn’t shoot film to try and see how they liked it, Portra would also be a likely choice. I think it’d give them results that’d make them want to shoot more film. Ultimately this is a premium film with very powerful chemistry, and the photos it will produce for you are going to be beautiful Whether it’s a price worth paying is up to you. If you haven’t shot it before, I’d recommend you try it at least once. I could see myself using multiple rolls for a project too, to take advantage of its quality.