Kodak Ektachrome E100 - 35mm Colour Slide Film
They brought it back. The film community is still not over it.
Discontinued in 2012. Relaunched in 2018 after enough noise from enough photographers.
Kodak Ektachrome E100 35mm Film is an ISO 100 daylight-balanced colour slide film and the only slide film currently in production by Kodak. Introduced in 1946 as a successor to Kodachrome, discontinued in 2012 as digital made slide film commercially unviable, and relaunched in 2018 following sustained pressure from the film community. It produces images with ultra-fine grain, natural and moderately enhanced colour, and the particular depth and luminosity that only slide film produces. It requires E-6 processing, not C-41. DX coded, 36 exposures.
Important: Ektachrome E100 requires E-6 processing. Chemical Dependency Lab currently processes B&W and C-41 colour negative film only, though E-6 is in development and coming soon, so watch this space. In the meantime, our friends at Not Quite North in Lincoln offer a mail-in E-6 service for both 24 and 36 exposure rolls. Find their E-6 service at not-quite-north.co.uk. Once it is developed, send the slides to us and we will scan and print them. Transparency is the one format where a print on paper genuinely competes with holding the original up to a window.
What Makes Kodak Ektachrome E100 35mm Film Habit-Forming
The Comeback Story Slide film was the professional standard for decades. Kodachrome and Ektachrome built careers, filled National Geographic, and defined how colour photography looked from the 1950s through the 1990s. Digital killed the market. Labs closed, stocks disappeared, and E-6 processing became hard to find. When Kodak announced the return of Ektachrome in 2017 the response from the film community was extraordinary. The relaunch mattered as a statement as much as a product.
Slide Film: A Different Kind of Result Slide film produces a positive image directly on the film rather than a negative. The result is viewed by transmitted light: projected, lightboxed, or scanned from the original positive. The colours have a luminosity that colour negative film, however good, renders differently. Ektachrome's balance is natural and moderately enhanced rather than aggressively saturated, which places it closer to Provia than to Velvia.
Ultra-Fine Grain and Exceptional Sharpness Ektachrome E100 uses Kodak's T-GRAIN emulsion, producing grain barely perceptible in 35mm at standard print sizes. Sharpness is exceptional, with 40 megapixel scans revealing detail that makes the lens and scanner the limiting factors rather than the film. Reviewers consistently draw comparisons to Provia 100F on grain performance.
Natural, Moderately Enhanced Colour The palette is neutral and accurate, with moderate enhancement that gives images presence without tipping into Velvia's boldness. Blues in particular are rendered beautifully, which is why landscape photographers have favoured it for so long. Skin tones hold up well in good light with accurate metering.
Exposure: Meter Carefully This is the important practical note for anyone new to slide film. Ektachrome has no forgiveness for overexposure and limited tolerance for underexposure, and it will blow highlights or crush shadows on half a stop. High contrast scenes are genuinely challenging. A reliable meter, an understanding of how to expose for slide film, and a willingness to bracket in demanding light are the prerequisites. Get it right and the results are extraordinary. Get it wrong and the slide will show you exactly where.
Built for Scanning The T-GRAIN micro-structure was optimised for scanning, and the clear base means scans come through cleanly with good highlight detail. Ektachrome is one of the more cooperative slide films to work with.
Refrigerated Storage Recommended Kodak recommends cold storage until use. Keep it in the fridge, shoot it in good light, and get it to an E-6 specialist promptly after exposure.
DX Coded, 36 Exposures DX coded for ISO 100 in automatic cameras.
Best For Landscape, travel and portraiture in good light, and any photography where the depth and luminosity of slide film is the point rather than an incidental characteristic. It rewards photographers who meter carefully and understand slide film exposure. It is not a film for low light, fast shooting, or fixing exposure in post.
Perfect for: Landscape and travel photographers who want the slide film look, experienced shooters comfortable with demanding exposure, photographers who want to project or lightbox their work, and anyone whose analogue dependency is ready for the film the community fought to bring back.
Ektachrome E100 is not the easiest film to shoot, store or develop. It demands accurate metering, specialist processing and cold storage between purchase and use. In return it produces a quality of light and colour that experienced film photographers describe as unlike anything else currently available.