Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks Matthew!

Matthew Maber replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Ive used some Ektar medium format in my `Yashica 120G, but its a but prohibitively expensive at 35mm imho. Im a bit more experimental with 120 film compared to 35mm - Ektar, Lomo, Fuji 400h, Portra and a few others. For me 120 just suits trying something different. Porta on 35mm I dont much prefer over my usual Poundland Agfa Vista 200 tbh, especially my recent trials at 100 in the rare British sunshine! Just a shame its only 24 frames. Ive also recently (thanks to Negative Feedbacks "cheap film comparison" - check youtube) tried some Kodak ColorPlus 200 (at 100 again) and that stuff is lovely, but a bit more expensive than Agfa Vista. Ive just not been overly impressed with Portra 35mm.

Pete replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

I can see portra as a natural skin tone film whereas Ektar works well as an alternative to higher saturation slide films; I’m expecting higher dynamic range. I have to ask a seemingly unrelated question: How do you transport film through airports? I have a few projects in my mind for this year but having read a lot of negative experience shared in various forums I am dreading the airports .

Hamish Gill replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

You should try Kodak 400 ultramax - its a little more grainy than portra but has a less less refined colour pallet like the other cheaper films have

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

WRT film and airports: always keep the film in your handluggage, you should be fine if it is scanned no more than 5 times. Otherwise ask for hand check, but it is a bit of a gamble as they don’t always do this for you.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks Mitch. It is nice to have options, right?

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks Marcus. And you are right about the printing. By now I have made an album, and I love the result. It also made me think of my father who used to put real effort in our family holiday-albums.

Blinx replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Completely agree Marcus.

Frank Lehnen replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Instead of printing I often prefer making a book just for myself... there are lots of options out there.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Hi Brendan, Portra 400 seems to work fine with 2-3 stops overexposure, and it gives me some margin not to underexpose. For example for reference see http://www.johnnypatience.com/metering-for-film/ and http://www.35mmc.com/02/05/2016/overexposure-latitude/ . But, I also use Portra 400 in an auto-exposure camera without changing code on the can, and those photos usually look good too. I once did a few exposures on one location, and the difference were very small (see http://www.35mmc.com/22/03/2016/quest-colour-guest-post-aukje/, scroll down to the mirror trees). So basically, exposing at 100 is safer for me.

rollbahn replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Ektar works very much like E6 film and is meant to be shot at 100 and looks great at that rating while Portra is known to be a film that can be shot all over the place in terms of exposure. It looks great at 400, 200, 100, 50 etc - I've been 5 stops over by mistake and the scans look fine. Most people just meter for the the shadows with Portra safe in the knowledge that the highlights will never blow out. I set my incident meter to 400 and stick it in the shadow to get a quick reading and then shoot from there. This is wise for film in general but you won't get the same results with cheaper consumer film like Fuji Superia or Kodak Gold. It will allow some latitude but not like Portra does. The only thing you don't want to do with any film is underexpose as you just can't recover the shadows that much. If you use an AE camera like Aukje then you also make sure that when the camera gets fooled by bright backlight then you'll still be safe at 100 as you have two-stops of light to make up for the mis-read metering by the camera.

Mike replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

It's pointless to meter Portra 400 or almost any other neg film at anything other than box speed UNLESS you are pushing or pulling it in development. Trust me, I have shot slide and neg film for over 30 years. There is a new "trend" perpetuated by professional bloggers like Johnny Patience but all their posts indicate is a lack of experience and knowledge about shooting film.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks for your response, Mike. Part of the reason I rate the film at different speed is because of advise I read online, which I am sure is liable to trends. But it has also to do with being insecure about exposure, and since Portra as most film has more latitude for over-exposure rating film at lower speed is safe. I have noticed however that I like the results I get with Portra 400 in my Minolta Riva Panorama, which shoots at box since I can't be bothered to change the DX code on my film. And since I started scanning myself I noticed dark negatives are more difficult to scan too, so I plan to shoot closer to box speed next time.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks for you reaction. For me it made sense as I don't have a lot of experience with different colour films, and I wanted to see the difference when used in similar conditions. There is a price difference, and some people advised me to use Ektar instead of Portra 400, so I wanted tot try it as an alternative for Portra 400, which I rate at iso 100 too. But trying in low light is a good suggestion too, I might get around trying that another time.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks so much, David! But this place is so beautiful that it is hard not to make a nice photo.

David S. de Lis replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

It does look a really beautiful place, indeed, but now your modesty is a bit annoying! ;-) Your talent is evident even to a complete newbie like me, your blog is full of fantastic pictures, and even I know taking a picture is more than pressing a button! It's pressing a button after framing a great picture... and a bit more! ;-) You just keep up the good work and we'll keep admiring it, huh? ;-)

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Thanks for your comment Lee. I agree that it really takes a lot of time to fully understand everything about a given type of film, but you have to start somewhere.

Matthew Maber replied:

Comment posted: 25/08/2016

Agreed, initial reactions are important though.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 26/08/2016

Thanks! You should visit K(C?)arpathos if you have the opportunity, really nice people and great food too!

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 27/08/2016

Thanks Dexter! Have a nice weekend and I hope you enjoy Portra.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 27/08/2016

Thanks for the compliment and thanks for sharing your experience! I didn't notice a difference in sharpness, I will check again...

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 27/08/2016

That is so nice John, thanks! And yes, I am enjoying the journey myself, I love to learn.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 29/08/2016

Who knows, maybe one day I'll convert/convince you... ;-)

Frank Lehnen replied:

Comment posted: 29/08/2016

Aaaaaah, those colors..... do not tempt me!!!

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 30/08/2016

Thanks for your reaction, Ken. I think it's a good thing that different people have different taste. I don't know if exposing Portra at 400 makes it more harsh, in my experience (and also from a test by ukfilmlab) there is not a lot of difference, even a bit softer when over exposed, as long as it is not underexposed.

Aukje replied:

Comment posted: 17/11/2016

Thanks, Eric! I don't have any experience with Ektar except for these in Greece. I expect some Ektar I shot in gloomy Scotland in my mailbox any day now, that will give me some idea of Ektar on a cloudy day. I do have some results of Portra in a city (Bruges) posted on my website: http://whataukjesees.com/sweet-city-bruges/, there is a mix between Portra and digital files, but I do like the portra shots here very much. So I would say that Portra is a good starting point. When I have my result from Scotland I will share a link of that too.