Kodak Ultramax 400 Color Negative Film (ISO 400) 35mm 24-Exposures - 2 Pack (2 Items)
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Kodak Ultramax 400 Color Negative Film (ISO 400) 35mm 24-Exposures - 2 Pack (2 Items)
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
Kodak Portra 400 is objectively better than Ultramax 400, there’s not really any question about it. However, how much that matters depends on what you’re shooting and what actually matters to you. The film is grainier than Portra 400 and makes a slightly more stark and contrasty image, which makes it pretty much perfect for moody, dimly lit scenes in which grain and contrast are welcome. Images made with 800 look more like a traditional color negative film, which is welcome considering how close to digital perfection images from Portra 160 and 400 can be. But compare it to Kodak’s professional offerings and Gold 200 begins to lag behind. Its slightly more saturated color palette places it firmly in the consumer film category, and will take a little bit of post-processing to get looking absolutely perfect. The film’s latitude also isn’t as wide as Kodak’s other offerings, limiting its usage to daylight shooting. You can easily overexpose the film up to 3-stops while retaining ample highlight details. However, I did notice that overexposed images have a slight yellow color cast on them, especially the skin tones. Kodak UltraMax with Canon QL25, scanned at a minilab (Chiang Mai). How much does Kodak UltraMax 400 cost, and where to buy it.
Last in the Portra line is Portra 800, Kodak’s higher speed color negative offering. In some ways, Portra 800 is a bit redundant considering Portra 400’s exposure latitude covers nearly all of Portra 800’s effective range. But Portra 800 is another spectacular option when light gets really low, and I find Portra 800 shines particularly when used for this intended application. Kodak UltraMax 400 has a pretty solid exposure latitude. The wide exposure latitude of the film ensures that just by shooting at the film’s box speed, you will end up getting well-exposed images. It is difficult to go wrong with the film when used at box speed. Also, the fact that it is DX coded, cameras with auto-exposure can automatically set the ISO to 400, all ready to take some fantastic images. All that said, for a cheap 35mm film with a rating of 400 ASA, the grain in Ultramax 400 could certainly be a lot worse! This leaves us with Kodak Portra 400 , the only* remaining freshly-made, non-rebranded colour negative film that isn’t UltraMax or NC 500. However, Portras do not fit in the “general-purpose” category since Kodak markets them as “professional” films. This means higher prices and fewer chances to find some at a local drugstore (though I would argue that the new ORWO film is also relatively rare).As well as some people disliking the look it gives, I wonder if part of the reason Ultramax isn’t as loved as Gold 200 is due to its current moniker. With all that going for it, the question of why it isn’t as loved as Gold 200 sounds a good one to ask. One thing to note is skin tones may come out a little too yellow if you overexpose. With the wide exposure latitude though, you should be safe from this if you’re shooting at box speed and with a camera with a working light meter. It sounds shallow to suggest people would like a film more if it had different words on the box, but we all know how much branding matters. Not just for film, but for anything we consider buying. I just wonder how some people might feel differently about Ultramax if it was still – and always had been – Gold 400. Colour-balanced for smooth skin tones and natural hues, it delivers bright blues, greens and reds out of the box – perfect for all kinds of photography; from portraits to action scenes. Features:
There may be others that I’ve missed. Regardless, what we do know is they all date from 2007 onwards. Before that, from 1997, this film was known as Kodak Gold 400. If you want minimal grain in your images, just be sure to expose the image well. Keep an eye on the camera’s light meter, or use an external light meter if your camera doesn’t have one. With a good amount of light, the grain is never overbearing. You can even try overexposing the film by a stop or two. You’ll be surprised by the results you can get this way. However, you will notice a slight yellow color cast if the film is overexposed too much. If you can accept that warmness, I think you’ll find the colours to be pretty balanced overall. They are well-saturated, but they’re all well-saturated. There’s no single standout colour like you get with your reds when shooting Fujicolor Industrial, for example.This article will help you to decide which of these you need to go for, what will work better for you and which of these is the best in general. Price
Due to Ultramaxs saturation, it might not be perfect for skin tones as it might render some colours a bit bolder than you might expect. Portra 400 on the other hand renders pretty natural colour and skin tones. Since its introduction in 2008, Ektar has built a reputation as one of Kodak’s premier films. It’s the emulsion that promised to fill the void that the world-famous Kodachrome left in the company’s catalog when it was discontinued. Like Kodachrome, Ektar is slow (ISO 100), fine grained, and has a much sought-after vibrancy in its color palette. But unlike Kodachrome, Ektar is a C-41 color negative film, enabling it to be processed by any film processing lab. Kodak also say Ultramax is designed to be developed in their own Flexicolor chemicals, which of course they would say, and to handle the undeveloped film in total darkness without the use of a safelight. For regular sized snapshots, it seems negligible, with the amount of grain overall perfectly acceptable for me. However, when using it for street photography, it definitely gives you a bit more versatility – that word again – when it comes to the light you can shoot in.When I reviewed Gold 200, I did talk about the warmness being too much if you wanted a more gritty street photography look and it being more suited to holiday or travel shots. I especially love the way it renders skin tones. No matter what kind of skin tones you throw at it, Kodak UltraMax 400 reproduces it graciously. However, you will need to ensure that you are exposing it correctly. Incorrect exposures will show a mild color shift. But they can be corrected easily if you are planning to scan the negatives. The first thing you can tell about the film before popping a roll in your camera is its I SO rating of 400. Compared to the ColorPlus 200 and Gold 200 which has an ISO rating of 200, UltraMax has an ISO rating of 400 and is faster by a whole stop than the former two. In simpler terms, UltraMax is twice as sensitive to light as the two. The higher ISO rating is one of the prime reasons why UltraMax is so versatile, as you get fewer images that are underexposed when using the film. Ektar is also particularly challenging for the novice photographer. The emulsion does not have the wide exposure latitude of Portra 400 or even Ultramax 400, and shifts colors slightly based on slight over- and under-exposure. Self-scanning Ektar is also a pain with consumer-level scanners. Ektar benefits greatly when processed and scanned through professional level machines by those with extensive experience with the emulsion.
Consistency and predictability are other areas where this film shines. When taking an image, it is very important that you know what you are going to get. This is even more important for a film camera now that we have been spoiled with the comfort of using digital cameras. The film delivers consistently good exposure with great color accuracy and saturation. However, since the film is daylight balanced, you will want to account for the light sources you’re using when taking photos.These days that question is much more important because there’s a big difference in price between Ultramax and Portra, so it begs the question, is there a big difference in quality In most cases, a well exposed photo taken in decent lighting conditions on Ultramax shouldn’t produce much grain visible to the naked eye. That’s not me describing it as merely not bad, by the way. What I mean is some people not liking it doesn’t mean it’s objectively bad. Though it is arguably Kodak’s best emulsion in about twenty years, I would not recommend Ektar for every situation. Ektar shines in bright daylight and in colorful scenes, but will need some extra post-processing work when dealing with overcast and low-light scenes. It’s also a challenging emulsion to use for portraiture and general people pictures as the emulsion tends to emphasize reds, which in certain situations can make people look Oompa Loompa-ish.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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