Ill be shooting some waterfalls tomorrow with some very old Ektar 25. Does anybody know when this film was made and how long expired it is. Its been kept in a fridge its entire life, however I am weary of the results. Any opinions? I also have some Agfa 50...
I believe it was made until around 2000? I've had good results lately with Ektar 25 that expired in 1992.
I used Ektar 25 from early summer 1999 just into the new year of 1999 actually. It was a great film, but exposure had to be on the money. Later on Ektar 25 Professional came out, I used that almost exclusively until the late nineties, exposure for that film also had to be on the money. Generally, I found the true speed of Ektar 25 Professional to be 15 DIN or 25 ASA. Sometimes I would find a slight overexposure to be a good thing, exposing at 14 DIN or 1/3 of a stop slower than 25 ASA was sometimes right on the money. This is a film that really requires you to be the one that processes and prints, otherwise quite a lot of your efforts will go unnoticed. The film has a staggering reciprocity characteristic of about 10 seconds, before you have to allow longer exposure. This is an extremely good feature in low light stuff you may be shooting. By all means bracket, but if you can I would suggest you expose, develop and print one roll first. Looks as though you cannot do this, but as this is obviously a film in short supply and can never be replenished in your camera bag, maybe you could think about it. Be prepared for a high contrast outcome, which in Australian light is not too good, unless your waterfall is shot on an overcast day or it is in a forest. Mick.
Thank you very much. Would I be better off shooting the Agfa 50 on the waterfall? Does anybody have knowledge on this film?
Are you talking about Agfacolor Ultra 50? If so, then this film is pretty good for landscape, not the the greatest for conventional portraiture as the colour saturation is over the top. If used with a polariser filter you probably will not believe the colour saturation and vividness of the prints you can make. I have a few rolls out on the mousepad as I write this, I'm packing them along with some other film for a shoot tomorrow as it happens. This film works best at 18 DIN (50 ASA) or 17 DIN which is 1/3 of a stop under 50 ASA. Basically with colour negative you should give correct exposure if possible, with a slight leaning to a tiny bit of over exposure rather than under exposure. Although colour negative films are about the best with exposure latitude, they really do work best with very close to optimal exposure. Once again the film you are using has not been manufactured for many years, so once you use it, it's gone, use it wisely. Both films you are thinking of using are great, they were specialist films in their day, both are higher contrast than their peers, with the Agfa one being the one with super saturated vivid colours. Dependent upon whether your landscape is more pastel like, or very colourful, should make your decision easier. Mick.
I just shot 20 rolls of Ektar 100 120 in Colorado last month - mostly snow melt run-off. If Ektar 25 is anywhere near the Ektar 100 in terms of contrast, make sure you bracket. Many images where water was lit by direct sun and the shaded background (or north side of stumps/limbs n the water) were quite underexposed. Great film, but tough to shoot in contrasty lighting situations.
I have several bricks of ektar 25 and generally it has kept well. Generally it loses speed with age so i'd shoot it a stop or more overexposed. I usually rate it around 12-15 asa. Negs come out as expected, with appropriate density. A great film, no doubt. -Ed
