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Kodak Ektar 100

James Thorsen

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
May 20, 2019
Messages
58
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Format
35mm
Hello - hope everyone is doing well. I recently picked up a roll of 35mm Ektar 100. I've used Ektar 100 before in 120 format, however, this was only during bright daytime hours. I have been interested in low light photography and have been experimenting with tripods, shutter releases, high iso films. Wondering if anyone has experience using a wide open aperture (2f in my case) and 60th of the second shutter speed during low light/night shoots. I recently did this with some Colorplus 200 and was able to get good high lights as well as darkness - I was pleased with the results at open aperture and 60th/second. I don't mind if the image is underexposed a bit, just looking for a moody Neo noir type vibe.
 
I don't see how you could get much from a 100 speed film with that aperture amd shutter speed. I can rarely get good indoor night photos at those settings, even with 1600 ISO film. I don't know how much, if at all, you can reliably push Ektachrome since I've never used it.
 
According to the charts on <this Wikipedia link>
Table 2 shows "Floodlit buildings, monuments, and fountains" = EV(100) of 3 to 5, and "Night street scenes and window displays" = EV(100) of 7 to 8

... and Table 1 shows, if EV=3, at f/2 you need an exposure of 1/2 second
at the higher end (EV=8), the recommended shutter speed for f/2 is 1/60th sec.
 
Remember that the color temperature of the illumination (Ektar is designed for daylight ) requires filters for good color balance. Using a Kodak guidebook works great for determining correct exposure. If you are looking for great color you need to use filters or go back in time and buy tungsten balanced film.
Part of why Dig*** is so popular.
 
If by "low light" you're thinking town business districts at night or something similar, you'll almost always get something. There is a huge range of brightness from deep shadows to bare lightbulbs, neon signs, etc. As such, best bet is try some variety of exposures, keep notes, see what you like. An exposure that brings out detail in a dark ambient background may wash out the color in more intensely lit places. But again, my experience is, you always get "something."
 
Thank you everyone for responding.
 
It is very easy to overexpose Ektar if you key to the shadows - key off the highlights and you should be fine.
 

Hi Thor - I appreciate the response - just wondering were you hand holding those photos (wide open aperture and 60th shutter speed) or was that a tripod you were using (at slower shutter speed). The type of exposure I was thinking of is similar to that (even maybe a bit darker).

Thanks for sharing your photos - nice images - makes me want to do the same in France!
 

Most of them were done with a tripod — just a cheap, light Manfrotto aluminum tripod. The widest aperture on the Yashica Mat 124G is 3.5 so my shutter speeds were usually around 1/10s.

I’ve recently been experimenting with Lomography’s 800 speed color film at night. It’s cheaper than Portra 800 and is almost as nicely saturated as Ektar, and at ISO 800 I can handhold the camera at 1/60s.
 
Thorpelyon said:
I’ve recently been experimenting with Lomography’s 800 speed color film at night. It’s cheaper than Portra 800 and is almost as nicely saturated as Ektar, and at ISO 800 I can handhold the camera at 1/60s.
Click to expand...

Was about to post similar. Lomo 800 is a very nice film, and for a consumer film doesn't tend to loose shadow detail as quickly as some others.
It's the film that allows me to keep shooting colour during the winter.

However, unless the scene is very brightly lit, I still wouldn't use if for hand held night photography. At f1.8 and 1/60s I'd want 1600ISO minimum, and probably 3200ISO to get reliable results
 
Outside in the street, unless there are well lit shop displays or Vegas-style neon/LED displays I wouldn't use Ektar. The colour balance and saturation of Ektar probably wouldn't suit such scenes and over exposure of Ektar overblows the reds. Certainly not without something to rest my camera on and longish exposures and I wouldn't expect accurate colours...though the results may well be artistically interesting.

I do a lot of shooting in a jazz/blues club which is dimly lit. I have got away with f1.8 and Fuji Superia 800 and Lomography 800 but most of the time I shoot Ilford HP5+ with 1/15s or 1/8 sec and f2.8....processing for around 2000ISO. For night time outside street shots I tend to close down to 5.6 or f8 and leave the shutter open a few seconds on B&W film at anything from 400 to 800ISO.
 
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