Kodak Ektar 100

Original (research + scan validated). See the notes and the Knowledge base.

The film

Kodak Professional Ektar 100, "the world's finest grain color negative film" per Kodak's own datasheet (pub. E-4046, archived in _reference-sources/datasheets/). ISO 100, daylight-balanced, KODAK Advanced Cubic Emulsions. Marketed for commercial/landscape photographers who want vivid, sharp, "digital-like" colour from film. Sheet specifics:

• Print Grain Index < 25 at 4×6 (25 = visual threshold). Essentially invisible grain at normal viewing size; 38 at 8×10, 66 at 16×20.
• "High saturation and ultra-vivid color."
• "Optimized sharpness" via the Advanced Cubic emulsion structure.

Real-scan confirmation (2 images, analysis-only)

1. Autumn street scene, daylight (a red vintage Porsche among golden foliage): saturated warm hues pop hard (red car, orange/gold leaves), asphalt and sky read close to neutral grey-blue (not warm-cast like Gold, not cool-cast like Superia), crisp detail throughout, no visible grain.
2. Night long exposure (railway station forecourt): deep near-black sky, warm tungsten building glow, vivid red tail-light streaks, brick texture still crisp. Fine grain holds up even under demanding low light, and the film shows real contrast capability (deep blacks + bright warm highlights) without crushing detail.

Both confirm the datasheet: saturated-but-neutral-balanced colour, very fine grain, real sharpness, and more contrast/punch than a forgiving portrait negative like Portra.

The grade in one line

The most vivid, sharp, fine-grained colour negative in the bank. Punchy but true-to-life colour, not a warm or cool "mood," closer in spirit to a slide film's saturation delivered with negative-film handling.

Why Velvia (tamed), not Classic Chrome or Classic Negative

• Classic Chrome is muted/desaturated, the opposite direction from Ektar's headline trait.
• Classic Negative shifts hues toward cyan/amber (the Superia signature), not what real Ektar does; Ektar's saturation boost is fairly even-handed across hues, not a stylised colour shift.
• Velvia is the only base vivid enough to match "ultra-vivid," so it's used here tamed: — + Highlight —(softer than Velvia's harder slide shoulder) gives a negative-film roll-off instead of a slide-film one, while keeping the saturation.

Why it's NOT a portrait recipe

Color —on a saturated base tends to push skin ruddy. Consistent with Ektar's real-world reputation as a landscape/product/travel film rather than a portrait one. Drop Color to —/—for people.

vs the rest of the bank

• Kodak Gold 200: warm, soft, forgiving. Ektar is the opposite: neutral-balanced, punchy, unforgiving of exposure error.
• Kodak Portra 400: huge latitude, muted saturation, skin-first. Ektar: tight latitude, maximum saturation, landscape-first.
• BewareMyVelvia (Bold): a creative slide-film vivid look; Ektar is the negative-film vivid look. Same saturation ambition, different tonal handling (softer shoulder, less aggressive shadow).

Validation status

Datasheet-validated (PGI, saturation, sharpness, archived PDF) —eal scans (daylight + night). Scan coverage across more light conditions (overcast, portrait skin, indoor) still pending. Drop into references/.