Reviews: Kodak Ektar 100 35 mm: Pushing the Limits for Grainless Photos

I’ve not shot with a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film before. So before I went blasting a roll, I did a bit of homework to see what I could expect from the film. When used with an SLR, the results I saw were great. The colors came out nice based on what I saw online. But I don’t normally shoot in the open and in even lighting. So I decided to use the film with my LC-A+ Russia Day edition as this would make an interesting combination. I wanted to know what the results would be like when used with a camera known to saturate colors. This was a risk I decided to take as this roll of film is not cheap compared to a normal roll of Fuji or Kodak film.

What I discovered about the film and camera when used on a cloudy day, at a day funfair, indoors and at night were photos that turn out better than expected. For street photography, this can be both a good and bad film to use. If you like to take more landmarks and structures than people in the street with your LC-A+, then this is a good film to use.

But obviously, this is not the film to use if you want to catch and freeze action in the streets. Unless you do want some blurred motion in your photos. That said, if you time it well, you can freeze the action when your subject strike a pose.

Or when a celeb poses with a fan.

Yet, and I contradict myself here because the LC-A+ is such a versatile and unpredictable camera, you can get some great on-the-fly snaps that are sharp. But timing plays a major role here. Not to mention how well you can judge the distance with your zone focused camera. Chances are, you will also be taking quite a fair number of indoor photos. If you support your camera well enough without a tripod or rest it on flat surface, the results are still acceptable.

But when you’re caught with half a roll in your LC-A+ and it’s already night time, fret not as this is where the film lives up to its promise. These snaps surprised me a lot as I didn’t think it would turn out well. But they did.

Based on this test roll, the results are impressive even in less than ideal lighting conditions for an ISO 100 film. In fact, I feel that this film has great potential as a film of choice for long night exposures.

This camera review was written by Lomographer uncle_jay. Get your own LC-A+ at the Online Shop or Gallery Stores.

written by uncle_jay on 2013-01-14 #gear #food #events #review #cheerleaders #singapore #kodak #funfair #orchard-road #night-photography #ngee-ann-city #kodak-ekta-100 #george-young #children-charity-fair