Kodak Ektar 100 35mm Film (C-41)

Kodak Ektar 100 is a professional ISO 100 colour negative film and one of the most technically accomplished colour films ever made. Built around Kodak's T-GRAIN emulsion and VISION Film technology, it delivers an ultra-vivid colour palette, extremely fine grain, and exceptional sharpness that rewards careful shooting and high-quality scanning.

Ektar is not a neutral film — it's designed to make the world look more vivid, more saturated, and more alive than it did in real life. When the light is right, the results are extraordinary.

Price is per roll.

Why photographers love Ektar 100

Ektar has a look that's immediately recognisable. Colours are bold and saturated without tipping into artificial territory — greens are electric, reds are deep and rich, blues are vivid and clear. In good light it produces some of the most striking colour negative results available from any film on the market.

The grain is exceptionally fine for a colour negative film. At ISO 100 with T-GRAIN technology, scans come back remarkably clean and sharp — even at large print sizes the grain structure holds together beautifully. It's one of the best colour negative films for scanning, which is part of why it's a favourite among photographers who want to get the most out of their negatives digitally.

It does have a cooler, more critical exposure response than something like Portra or Ultramax — it's less forgiving of underexposure and skin tones can shift towards magenta if not metered carefully. For landscapes, architecture, travel, and any subject where bold colour matters more than skin accuracy, it's exceptional. For portraits, it requires a bit more care.

It pairs especially well with sharp, contrasty lenses — the Contax Zeiss range, Leica M lenses, and Nikon's prime lineup all complement Ektar's technical character perfectly.

A bit of film history

Kodak introduced Ektar 100 in 2008 as a replacement for the original Ektar line from the 1980s and 90s. The new emulsion was a significant technical achievement — at the time of its launch, Kodak claimed it as the world's finest-grained colour negative film. It quickly became a benchmark for colour negative photography and remains one of the most respected films in production today.

Processing

Ektar 100 requires standard C-41 colour negative processing. We process C-41 in-house at Ikigai Film Lab in Melbourne, with scanning available on our Fujifilm Frontier and Noritsu HS-1800 scanners.

Common questions

Is Ektar 100 good for portraits?

It can be, but it requires careful metering. Ektar's vivid saturation and cooler colour rendering can push skin tones towards magenta if underexposed or shot in certain light. Photographers who use it for portraits tend to expose generously and shoot in warm, golden light where the colour response works in their favour. For reliable portrait work without the extra care, Portra 160 or Portra 400 are more forgiving choices.

How does Ektar 100 compare to Fujifilm Velvia?

Both are known for vivid, saturated colour but they're very different formats — Velvia is a slide film (E-6) and Ektar is a colour negative (C-41). Velvia has a warmer, more contrasty character with famously punchy greens. Ektar is cooler and more precise, with finer grain and better scanning characteristics. Ektar is also significantly more forgiving of exposure than Velvia, which is notoriously unforgiving.

How does Ektar 100 compare to Kodak Portra 160?

Both are professional ISO 100-ish Kodak colour films but they're built for different purposes. Portra 160 is designed around accurate, neutral colour and flattering skin tones. Ektar is designed for maximum colour impact and technical sharpness. Portra for people, Ektar for places.