Ektar 100 is easily one of my favorite films: low grain, lots of details, lovely colors – simply what I would call high a quality film. Some of you may remember when I exposed a roll of badly expired Ektar, but this time let’s have a look what it can really do.
Processing (ECN-2) and scanning was done at Silbersalz35 in Germany.
Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 17: Kodak Ektar 100 ECN-2 processed
Kodak Gold 200 again? Hasn’t there been an article covering this film already? Yes, but the Silbersalz35 guys started offering a new lab service in 2022 for developing some of the popular C-41 still photography films with the more complex ECN-2 process. But is it a good idea? I wanted to find out, I received the scans, so let’s have a look together.
Processing (ECN-2) and scanning was done at Silbersalz35 in Germany.
Update May 2023: more pictures added
Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 16: Kodak Gold 200 ECN-2 processed
Over the decades some exotic lenses saw the light of day that have a bit of a legendary status now and these also happen to be my favorite lenses to review. One such lens is the Contax-G 16mm 8.0 Hologon, an eccentric ultra wide angle lens still made by Zeiss in Germany, when every other part of the Contax-G system had already been manufactured in Japan. The Hologon sure looks cool, it has a history, but is it also still relevant today? We will try to find that out, see how to change its bayonet for M-mount and I will tell you what cameras it can best be used on.
Lens is being tested on 42mp Sony A7rII and 24mp Leica M10
Leica M10. The Camera. Photography reduced to its essentials. This is what Leica says about this camera. If you care what I think of it: keep on reading.
Update: this article is now 3 years old and because of it some Leica fanboys still show up outside (or rather in the comment section) with pitchforks and torches. Joking aside, this is one of the most commented-on articles I ever wrote, reason enough to revisit it and see what happened in the meantime and also tackle some arguments from the comment section.
For many people owning a Leica camera is a dream. But why is that so? Is it simply the high price tag, the Bauhaus look or the huge “Made in Germany” writing, not hidden on a sticker at the bottom of the camera, but easily visible on the back?
It surely isn’t image quality or ease of use. You get more of both, elsewhere, for less. This is why Leica cameras are often perceived as vain men’s luxury items, that happen to be able to take photos from time to time.
The Ultramax 400 is Kodak’s cheaper – hard to use that term in this context – ISO400 color negative film. This is also reflected by the fact that it is available as 24 exposure film. These days it is just as expensive as any other color negative film and whenever I came across it, it had been sold out shortly after. So I should probably consider myself lucky for having seized the moment and bought a roll at the local camera store – for what felt like way too much for a 24 exposure roll…
Processing and scanning was done at urbanfilmlab in Germany.
The pictures you see in this article are from 1 roll.
Continue reading Analogue Adventures – Part 15: Kodak Ultramax 400