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 !

Portra: A Full Head-to-Head Comparison | Gridfiti Cinestill vs. Portra: A Full Head-to-Head Comparison | Gridfiti

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): Ektar / Summilux 50mm Ektar / Summicron 35mm ASPH Ektar / Summilux 50mmVersatility: Kodak Portra 400 film is suitable for a wide range of applications, including portraits, landscapes, and everyday scenes. Even when shooting in difficult conditions such as overcast or a dull winter’s day, Portra 400 holds up pretty well. It’s well know that overcast it’s really the best conditions for color landscape photography, however depending on the scene you can still make it work. If Portra is what you have loaded in your camera, don’t worry about it. 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. While I’ve shot a fair bit of Portra 400, it’s all been 35mm. I’ve yet to shoot this film in 120 so please bear that in mind as you continue to read! Shooting Portra 400 At Box Speed

Kodak Portra 400 - 120 Film - Analogue Wonderland

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. Portra 400 / Summicron 35mm ASPH Ektar / Summicron 35mm ASPH Unlike perhaps popular believe, Kodak Ektar film can be great for portraits and skin tones. I find it works best for faces with a less red complexion and also out of direct sun. Ektar 100 saturated colours adds a nice pop to an image especially on a grey day. The super fine grain is also amazing and perhaps my favourite feature of Ektar, both 35mm and 120 versions. The price is also good which helps me like Ektar 100! I prefer the Ektar in every shot, I think. It seems warmer and smoother. I wonder whether the overexposure is making the Portra look a little harsher than it would at 400? Of course, the biggest difference between these two films is how they render skin tones – Ektar being a bit too red while Portra is famously flattering – and that’s not being tested here. Personally, Ektar is my go-to summer holiday film. I know there’s going to be enough light and I know it’s going to make sun-drenched scenes look great. I even find the slightly ruddy skin tones suit tanned (or sunburnt) subjects, making them appear slightly more so and thus evoking scenes in a manner perhaps closer to our memory of them than to reality. Originally Portra 400 came in two variants: Natural Colour and Vivid Colour. A technical upgrade in 2010 made this separation redundant, and since then there has only been one variant with the best of the chemistry and 'The World's Finest Grain in Colour 400'! Best Uses: Kodak Portra 400 is often considered the most standard of the films. It’s not a bad idea to shoot it at ISO 200 and develop it at ISO 320. You can use it in pretty much any situation as long as you’ve got great lenses that let in a lot of light.

The modern iteration of the Kodak Portra film was heavily designed for scanning. So it will translate into digital very well. Kodak Portra 800 wasn’t designed for scanning: it’s got a more classic look to it. Lomo 400, on the other hand, accentuated the fall colors brilliantly. The yellow and red autumn leaves appeared more saturated, and simply dominated the image. In some ways, that was exactly how I wanted it. In others, I wish that I had a little bit more control.