Reflx Lab 100D (Daylight) Film
Reflx Lab 100D (Daylight) Colour Negative Film
Analog Film Review
Reflx Lab 100D (Daylight) Film
Reflx Lab 100D - Low ISO Fine Grain Film
I had some unpleasant experiences with CineStill 50D a long time ago. So it made me hesitate to reshoot this film stock. I shot multiple rolls around 2014, and there were “blood stains” on my rolls, and they all looked like expired films to me. Later, I convinced myself to try the Kodak 50D in ECN-2, which looks marvellous. Now I had the opportunity to use this 50D removed remjet, and I trust Reflx Lab because they used fresh film stock; the result is good, and you won’t notice any grain from the images! If you have watched Happy Together directed by Wong Kar Wai, they have similar colour palette.
In this post, I have used Hexar RF with Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4 ASPH and Summicron 50mm f/2 Rigid, Nikon F3 HP with 28mm f/2 ais and 105mm f/2.5 ais to do some test shots.
Kodak Vision 3 50D - Its Base Emulsion
This film stock originated from Kodak Vision 3 5203 motion picture film stock. One main difference between Kodak 50D and Reflx Lab 100D is the halo (glow) around highlights (bright areas), slightly higher contrast and the cooler tone. This film is colour balanced for daylight illumination (5500K) for still photography. For other light sources, use the correction filters. It is a very fine-grain film when it develops in ECN-2. When processing it in C-41, there isn’t any grain too. It is an excellent film for use at a wide aperture during the day and for those who want high contrast but a slightly orange-tinted colour tone.
How to Use a Daylight film (Warm Tone)
The “D” in 100D stands for daylight film. Using this film during daylight will give you a neutral colour temperature due to its default temperature of 5500K. For example, when you shoot during the day, it will be slightly cold, but if you use it approaching sunset, it will give you more orange and warmer tint. And if you use this film at night, it will render a much warmer tone caused by the street lights.
Colour Tone and Performance
Reflex Lab 100D is best to shoot at sunset to achieve the so called “Golden Yellow” colour tone; it has a rich earthy tone that creates some nice magenta colour in its shadows. Its palette has some orange and green tint. Some movies used this Kodak 50D as their main film stock, such as Carol (2015), directed by Todd Haynes and The Hateful Eight (2105), directed by Quentin Tarantino. Processing Reflx Lab 100D in C-41 gives you a slightly higher contrast than its original stock without losing its excellent tonality from highlights to shadows. However, something worth noticing is that even during daytime at around 2-3 PM (when the sun is still above your head), the colour temperature still gives you a cool tone rather than the warm tone I got with the original Kodak 50D and 250D. If you really want to create a more signature Kodak warm tone, I suggest you shoot it at sunset, at night or indoors.
C-41 and ECN-2 Process Difference (Must Read)
Typically colour negative motion picture films are developed in a process called ECN-2 (Eastman Colour Negative 2) that includes a step to remove the rem-jet on the film layer. This Reflx Lab emulsion can be cross-processed in C-41 chemistry. In other words, it is without remjet on the base layer. Most processing places do not have the service to remove the rem-jet layer, which will contaminate the chemistry in the machine affecting not only your roll but any other film passing through the machine at that point. Make sure you deliberately tell your lab this is safe to develop in C-41 if they don’t know about it. Or do a quick examination of the base layer; a matte and sheen are finishing on the film base emulsion.
ECN-2 gives you a flat tone allowing film directors to post-process the film in different tones. Using C-41 process gives you more contrast, adding extra flavour to your shots.
What’s that Red Glow (Halo)?
Same as CineStill, the highlights of this film also produced the halation. An anti-halation backing prevents the light from bouncing back from the camera pressure plate (to keep your film flat) into the emulsion. Without it will give out a glowing red around the highlight (bright) areas.
Quick tip for everyone: Only some people love the halation. Someday you would like clean images and have already loaded this film stock in your film camera. Try to avoid overexposing the film stock to reduce the amount of halation. E.g. Shoot it at ISO 100 or ISO 125 to avoid obvious halation during the day.
Conclusion
If you have followed me long enough, you know I am a Noctilux f1 guy. This film stock is excellent if you like to shoot wide open during the day without using an ND filter, which will decrease the quality of your resolution. This film is a great option if you are looking for ultra-fine grain film stock at a reasonable price.
But something to remember is that if you want a warm tone like Kodak Ektar 100 or other Kodak film stock, you need to shoot it during sunset or use a colour correction filter during the day. Let me know if you have any questions. Share any tips if you have shot with it and CineStill 50D! I would love to hear your story and refine this post for all film lovers!
Get some fresh Reflx Lab film stock HERE!
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