My first year of shooting film Part 11
After shooting 13 rolls of Kodak Portra 400 I thought it was time to give Ektar a try, as was suggested by some people who read my previous posts. A couple of weeks ago I loaded a roll in my M2 with the intention to try it on my regular daily photography. But after a day or so my man and I decided on a last minute trip to Karpathos (a Greek island in the Aegean Sea) since the Dutch summer wasn’t really taking off properly. As I wasn’t sure yet on the outcome of Ektar, I took a some Portra 400 with me as well, and concluded that it was a good opportunity to compare them both. We were only in Greece for three days, so I more or less shot one day with Ektar, and one day with Portra. The weather was very much the same over those few days: clear blue skies with only a very small hint of cloud if you looked really hard.
So here are a few comparisons, I tried to match the used lens, time of day that the photos were taken, and viewpoint with respect to the sun. They are not exactly the same, sometimes even different, as I didn’t take the exact route for my photography expedition each morning. But I am confident that there are enough similarities for a fair comparison. I rated Ektar at box speed or EI 100 (after reading this and this), and I rated Portra 400 at EI 100 too. I metered with the iPhone app myLightMeter PRO. The top photos in the comparisons are taken with Portra, the bottom ones with Ektar.
The early morning, before sunrise shots:
Again: just before sunrise, but a different angle:
Just after sunrise, with the first light hitting the rocks:
A bit of rising sun on Greek churches. Although they are different churches, the photos were taken at a very similar hour, and in the same direction.
Midday, hard light. Again, I didn’t have a the same location, but it is in the same direction with respect to the sun, so I think they can be compared.
As expected, Ektar has deeper, more saturated colours, specifically in the blues. The Ektar photos also seem to have a hint of red haze over them. But generally the results are closer than I expected. Of course it is a matter of personal preference, but I generally prefer the Portra colours over Ektar. However with the shots that are taken before sunrise Ektar helps to bring out the very subtle colours. And somehow when an object like a boat is in the photo the pop of colour brings a fun element, while I prefer the softer tones for the landscapes.
Next a couple of photos that show what I perceive as the strength of each film. First some landscape photos on Portra with the subtle colours that I really like. This might sound in contradiction to some earlier comments of mine where I was looking for more colour, but the photos below do not look pale to me, just more desaturated. The colour still feels dense enough to me, if that makes sense.
And finally some images where the saturated colours of Ektar work really well (and the top featured photo of this post was also shot on Ektar):
I want to add that I had these photos printed, something I didn’t do before. And I must say that the prints look much better than the scans. It started with an experiment done by AG photolab. In one of my previous posts I mentioned some dots in the scans of my photos of Curacao, and AG photolab printed a few of those photos to check the negatives. Those prints looked absolutely beautiful (also showing that the issue was in the scan, not in the handling of film). This inspired me to order more prints, which I did for the film I shot in Karpathos. Soon I will have a real retro/nostalgic afternoon when I am going to put them in an album (also called ’empty photo book’ ).
All photos were developed and scanned by AG Photolab.
If you are interested you can find more of my photos, both digital and film, on my website: whataukjesees.com. I am also doing a 366 project on film, which I record on tumblr.
Thanks for reading, and Hamish, thanks for having me!
Read Part 12 of journey into film here.
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Matthew Maber on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Mitch Zeissler on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Marcus didius falcos on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Always good to see & hear a film photographer actually getting their photographs PRINTED:) None of this ghastly digital phenomena of just viewing "images" on a computer screen & then said "images" languishing on a hard drive/CD/DVD/Cloud, without beiong viewed ever again:(
That is the what I love about film photography-shooting film, making prints, sharing them amongst friends & family:)
Keep shooting, keep printing:)
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Brendan on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
jeremy north on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
David S. de Lis on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Lee on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Comment posted: 25/08/2016
Greg Antikian on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 26/08/2016
The photos look very nice but I would go with Ektar for landscapes. Portra doesn't look bad at all, it's just that it's known to be so wonderful with skin tones and somehow in my mind it's locked for that !!
In any case, it's really good that you made the comparison and after all having so many films to try is part of the fun !
Keep it up and definitely keep printing !!
Comment posted: 26/08/2016
Dexter on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 27/08/2016
Comment posted: 27/08/2016
Mark on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 27/08/2016
I have mixed Ektar and Portra 400 in a single project, and with scanning and appropriate colour correction (given the vagaries of colour in scanning...) it was almost impossible to tell them apart. For me the main differences were a slight sharpness advantage to Ektar, and much better tolerance to over-exposure from the Portra. Both are excellent films.
Comment posted: 27/08/2016
John Lockwood on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 27/08/2016
Comment posted: 27/08/2016
Frank Lehnen on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 29/08/2016
Comment posted: 29/08/2016
Comment posted: 29/08/2016
Ken Hindle-May on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 30/08/2016
I've never really clicked with Portra, though. Most people rave about it but the rolls I've shot have tended to disappoint, coming out grainy and slightly underexposed at box speed. I've found the 800 to be particularly poor. That might be down to poor storage at the stores I've bought it from and I really need to get a fresh box of five to test, instead of buying a roll here and a roll there. I just wish there was a 400 colour film out there that was a bit nicer than Fuji Superia and a bit cheaper than Portra.
Comment posted: 30/08/2016
Eric Sorensen on Kodak Ektar 100 Vs Portra 400 In Greece – By Aukje
Comment posted: 17/11/2016
Comment posted: 17/11/2016