Kodak Royal Gold ISO 100

I have not been a big user of slow films because 100 is so slow and the colour suspiciously lively, but the unexpected natural quality of this ISO 100 is very tempting. I got very natural colours from outdoor photos and an appealingly fine grain structure. All from a minilab too. I estimate one could make 18x12 prints before grain becomes distracting.

Safe colour rendition from Kodak minilab. Grain no problem whatsoever.

Speed.

Fuji 100, Store brands.

My favorite film. Sure, this slow-speed film works best outdoors with fast-aperture lenses, but the extra work--and sometimes a tripod--yields great results. Even though an "expert" buddy urges Fuji, I've shot a dozen rolls recently of my newborn, and it precisely captures his skin tone and colorful stuffed animals.

Captures skin colors Tolerant of under- or over-exposure Widely available, including eBay

Slow speed Kodak may discontinue?

A slow Fuji (way too pink)

NA

I don't know why I passed this film over until just recently. I think I was categorizing films into just two categories: 1) professional/can only be bought at a real camera store, and 2) consumer/can be bought anywhere and shouldn't cost more than $10 for a pack of four! I guess Kodak RG just slipped through the cracks thanks to my opposite ended definitions. But now that I've found it I think I'm going to stick with it. Like another reviewer said, it strikes the perfect blend of everything I want: color accuracy/intensity, sharpness, skintone forgiveness, shadow and highlight detail...pictures just came out the way I envisioned them when I pressed the shutter. I think my "keeper" rate for the last roll was just about the highest it's ever been. Incidentally, it was at a wedding with every range of light and dark, lots of color, and verrrry difficult lighting. I plan on using RG as long as they offer it and I'm shooting film.

-perfect blends of: color accuracy/intensity/skintones, contrast/subtlety in detail. -fairly affordable -readily available (for how long?) -flexible for many uses3

-not the sharpest film -

Reala Gold 100 Supra 100 Impresa 50 Portra 160VC í

...

For me, this is the best ISO 100 film on the market. The colors, contrast, and grain are more to my liking than any other film I have ever used. I do agree that it may seem, too contrasty for some, or even too saturated, but this is how I like my pictures to come out. Images converted to Black & White, whether digitally or traditionally, provide better results than other films. Sunsets are vivid, portraits are brilliant, and candids can compare to set-up shots.

Great Color Saturation Practically Grainless Great Contrast

Kodak has stopped selling Royal Gold 100 for the US market. They are now only available imported and are extremely rare in Hawaii. I am hard pressed to find a satisfactory replacement. Fuji Reala does have great skin rendition, but still kind of iffy on the other things.

Kodak Gold 100 Kodak Porta 160VC Kodak Supra 100 Fuji NPH 160 Fuji Superia 100

This is a follow up review for this film. After using this film for more than a year, and using every other low speed print film on the market (and, I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!) Royal Gold remains my favorite ISO 100 film on the market. It seems to capture the perfect combination of texture, tones, contrast, color, and detail. And, any lab on earth can develop it well. Reala has stronger colors. The Fuji NPS has lower contrast. NPC has punchier colors. And, I find uses for all their strengths. I have never liked the color or contrast palatte of the Portra series (save the ISO 800) However, Royal Gold is an exceptional compromise of all these films. It is a perfect fail safe film, that almost guarantees wonderful well exposed photos. Neutral to high contrast that holds an exceptional amount of shadow detail (unlike NPC), great textures and tones (unlike NPS), and delightful skin tones (better than Reala in my opinion). The overall result is very moody, very rich images with almost lifelike color fidelity. Royal 100 still gives me the best skintones i have ever seen. With everything, film is VERY subjective. The difference between different films is far more noticable to my eye than the difference between different lenses. And, in my opinion, Royal Gold 100 has created some of the best looking images to my eyes I have ever shot.

Jack of all trades ISO 100 film Great sharpness. Lovely (but not overblown) contrast. Wonderful tones. Makes surface textures (brick, wood, skin) appear very lifelike. Great skintones.

Speciality films can handle special purposes better. Reala creates stronger colors for landscapes. NPS is wonderful low contrast film for weddings. NPC is punchy for low contrast lighting scenes. Royal just happens to be the best d*** compromise of all of them.

all of ''''em

never used