Gold 100 and 200 In 120 Format

[braxus]

Im aware Kodak made both Gold 100 and 200 in 120 format up until the late 90s. I assume both were discontinued around the same time. I really wish Kodak would bring back Gold 100 in both 35mm and 120, but since that will probably never happen, it would be nice if they offered Gold 200 in 120. That would sell to Millenials wanting a cheap film option in 120 to shoot on their medium format gear. And they all seem to like the look of Gold 200, so I think Kodak should consider it again. I'd buy it in 120. More grain and bolder colors. Gold 200 has a different color balance then Ektar 100, and more obvious grain. Plus there really isn't a cheap $5 to 6 dollar a roll option at the moment. If you want 120, you pretty much have to shoot the Pro films which are twice the dollar amount. I dont know why Kodak won't slit a small batch off the master roll in 120? They certainly sell enough of this in 35mm.

That said, Gold 100 was one of my favorite color films until they discontinued it. I grabbed a roll out of the freezer in 120, and it is dated 06/94. Being over 25 years old, and no idea how it was kept before I purchased it a few years back, I'd like to shoot some of this to see what I end up with. Im expecting color shifts, massive grain, loss of speed, and some fogging. Im wondering if I should rate this at 25 ISO to be safe? Im shooting it in my Fuji GW690, so Im only wasting 8 shots if it doesn't turn out. Any recommendations?

 

[Paul Howell]

Going by one loss of one stop of speed per decade shooting at 25 seems a safe bet. You might get better results with Gold 100, lower ISO films are not as prone to fogging as higher ISO films.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2021/04/expired-color-film-treasure-kodak-gold.html

My one experience with 2000-vintage Gold 100 was successful. I exposed it at EI=64 in my Hasselblad. This roll had been frozen. The color balance was off, but the grey dropper in Silverfast Ai took care of most of the color shifts. Unfortunately, I don't have any more rolls.

Oops, here are some more examples:

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-abandoned-thomastown-school-of.html

 

[braxus]

My problem is I don't know how the roll was stored all those years before I bought it. It could have been room temperature all that time.

 

[MattKing]

My problem is I don't know how the roll was stored all those years before I bought it. It could have been room temperature all that time.

If the room temperatures were fairly temperate, it will probably have held up well.
If the room temperatures swung wildly, all bets are off.
You know - Tsawwassen vs, Chilliwack .

 

[braxus]

True Matt, but I bought it off Ebay, so who knows. I'm going to shoot it today and send it off after.

 

[MattKing]

True Matt, but I bought it off Ebay, so who knows. I'm going to shoot it today and send it off after.

Do a bit of bracketing, and try both high contrast and low contrast scenes.
Tough, I know, with only 8 shots available.

 

[koraks]

I dont know why Kodak won't slit a small batch off the master roll in 120?

AFAIK the base for a 120 film would actually be different. So it's not just slitting a 120 pancake off a master roll, but manufacturing a different master roll to begin with. Not to mention it's not just slitting off 120 pancakes but also having to deal with the rest of the finishing process AND the associated SKU's for backing paper, packaging etc.

 

[mshchem]

Presumably, Kodak has got the prices of film to where they can make a profit. If a Kodak Gold offering took away sales from Ektar and Portra at a lower price point, that wouldn't be good.

With the changes at Fujifilm is Kodak the only company to offer 120 color negative film?

 

[BrianShaw]

Perhap it would nip at Portra/Ektar sales but I’d probably buy 2 or 3 times more Gold200 than I currently buy Portra.

 

[MattKing]

AFAIK the base for a 120 film would actually be different. So it's not just slitting a 120 pancake off a master roll, but manufacturing a different master roll to begin with. Not to mention it's not just slitting off 120 pancakes but also having to deal with the rest of the finishing process AND the associated SKU's for backing paper, packaging etc.

In addition, there are all sorts of other technical changes that relate to the fact that backing paper is sandwiched with 120.

 

[braxus]

Ok. I guess there are more then just a few changes to do in 120. I wonder if Kodak would still entertain it though?

 

[koraks]

They would if they thought they could make money from it. The fact that there's no Gold in 120 format (or any hints to its inception) means they apparently don't see a way to make money with it.

 

[mshchem]

Are there any good estimates of market for 120 color negative film? I would think it's dismal.

 

[BrianShaw]

Are there any good estimates of market for 120 color negative film? I would think it's dismal.

I doubt that there are even accurate bad estimates. I’d guess the same, though. Sad but probably true.

 

[braxus]

Is it true Lomography Color Negative Film (in 35mm and 120) is a special roll of Kodak Gold made for Lomo? Some claim this Lomo film is indeed Kodak Gold (whether the 100 is Gold 100 or 200 I don't know). The saturation of colors suggests it might be, though the colors seems a little over the top. Not sure if thats because of the scans done or not. Anyone know exactly what this Lomo 100 film actually is? I purchased 6 rolls in 120 just to see if this is indeed Gold or not.

 

[Paul Howell]

If made by Kodak could be Pro image 100 as Kodak no longer makes Kodak 100 gold.

 

[BrianShaw]

Looking forward to your assessment!

 

[braxus]

The colors of Lomo seems to suggest more saturation then Pro Image 100. And Pro Image 100 is no longer made in 120 from some years back. And the Lomo film is also available in 35mm, so to cannibalize their Pro Image 100 sales at Kodak by sending it out to another seller, makes me wonder. I look forward to trying these rolls of Lomo 100 though. It definately has high saturation according to the pictures they post.

 

[Paul Howell]

Could be that Lomo paid Kodak to custom coat a master roll, could be any number of emulsions that Kodak has on file.

 

[braxus]

Its been said Lomo 100 could be the current Color Plus 200 film, with overexposure to bring out the colors. Or it could still be some variant of Gold. It should be interesting to see what my rolls end up like once received.

 

[Arcadia4]

The lomography films seem more likely to be similar heritage to colorplus, there also being also an obvious vacancy in their lineup in terms of avoiding competition.
As for Pro image 100 the name is a false friend, it isnt an iso 100 film (labelled as e.i.), more a variant of gold 200.
I am sure kodak could produce gold 200 in 120 if they thought the demand was there and had the capacity. The lomo 120 films (and 110) were labelled made in China so presumably converted there as a minimum, but its unclear who by, and therefore if its a kodak facility still or in a former one.

 

[Paul Howell]

Lucky uses a 80s vintage Kodak coating line, although I cannot find any current Lucky film on the market, not to say that they do not custom coat for Lomo. When Kodak and Lucky were in partnership Lucky was not officially sold in the U.S, the rolls I only recall seeing 35mm, no memory of I20.

 

[Adrian Bacon]

Are there any good estimates of market for 120 color negative film? I would think it's dismal.

as an Amazon seller, I can say that 35mm film outsells 120 by a huge margin. For every roll of 120 I sell, I easily clear 20-30 rolls of 35mm.

 

[Agulliver]

There's no way, in my opinion, that the Lomography CN films are Gold. The saturation and palette are more like the older VR films. Ergo it's more likely they are similar to Color Plus. It's never been proven but it's possible Lomography 100 is Color Plus over exposed by a stop. and Lomography 400 could be the old VR 400. The Lomography 800 has a different look to it and might well be what Kodak puts in it's single use cameras. Max 800 I think they called that.

Gold in 120 would probably be welcomed by some users but would take away sales of Portra and Ektar. We need to see more sales of 120 C41 film for it to make sense. With Fuji reducing the films available, perhaps Kodak will find a gap to fill in the future.