On my recent trip to Wyoming, I shot a box of the new Kodak Gold 200, alongside the usual Ektar and Portra 400. This was my first time using Gold in any format. Once scanning was finished, and I began flagging the best shots, I was surprised to see how many Gold 200 shots were selected. Not only are colors rich and natural, but very consistent in both bright and dark scenes. When using Ektar, it can be a struggle to avoid teal skies and garish red tones. This is not the case with Gold.
For those of you who travel, Gold 200 is much less sensitive to storage temperature conditions. This can give you peace of mind when your film is sitting in an airplane overhead for hours or on location during summer months.
Pentax 645Nii | 150mm | f6.7 | EI200
Depending on your expectations of film, grain can be a negative or a positive. Working primarily with landscapes, I enjoy the subtle look and feel of grain. There is, however, a fine line where it can become distracting. While pleasing on the shot above (peaks around Titcomb Basin), the dark grey clouds during sunset (see below) are too grainy. I will be able to clean this up some with noise reduction, but I prefer not to do this. The apparent grain is very reminiscent of a fast film like Portra 800. It might serve as a less expensive alternative when more grain is desired but added speed isn’t required.
Pentax 645Nii | 150mm | f6.7 | EI200
100% CROP
BOTTOM LINE:
Kodak offering a new 120 film, that is more economical than Ektar, is fantastic to see. Much like my newfound love of Pro-Image 100, I have enjoyed using Kodak’s budget films as they perform well in the technical department and are easy to scan. Gold 200 will be a great all-purpose travel film and I recommend trying a box for your nature & landscape shots. As long as you’re not grain adverse, you may find that it exceeds your expectations.
