Gold 200 in 120

Whilst on holiday I had chance to use my roll of Kodak Gold 200 in 120 format. I took my Rolliecord Va with me, so loaded it up and off I went. This film has been around for quite some time, and I’ve used quite a bit of it over the years, but it’s only recently that Kodak have made it available in 120.

I’ve read a couple of times that this is a “cheap” colour film for 120, well it might be cheaper than Kodak’s Ektar or Portra offerings, but they have recently rocketed in price, so whilst this is indeed cheaper than those – this roll still cost me more than I used to pay for Ektar! That all said and done, I do appreciate the choice – so well done Kodak – keep ’em coming!

The first thing I had to do was to remove the yellow filter that I most often use with B/W, and had been shooting all week. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve taken the first shot on a colour roll and it’s been bright yellow, wasting a frame and then having to re-take it without! Otherwise the Va performed well, I had my glasses not only with me, but on, so I could focus properly too! (Always a bonus!). I exposed the roll as 160asa, I usually slightly over expose Kodak film a little, I prefer the results, and it’s my opinion that the film reacts better to that, than under-exposure!

All the photo’s here were made within about a half hour walk, from here it’s but 5 mins walk to the “Circus” below, a circle of town houses with a lovely, large tree at it’s centre on the green.

Carrying on down Gay Street, and on again, I reached the Abbey.

My last exposure on this visit, but not on the roll, was the bridge overlooking the weir. For this I used one of the plus features of the TLR, namely, having set focus and exposure, cocked the shutter, held the camera at arms length, on it’s side, so I could hold it out over the wall to get a better view. Not as easy as it sounds! If you have a TLR try it! Getting the camera level was a joint race of patience, and arm strength! I’m reasonably happy with the result!

If I’m honest I can’t really see much difference between Gold and Portra, Ektar is certainly higher in colour saturation, which I do quite like, in the right situation. I might start to use Gold instead of Portra, to save a little. I do have a little stash of Ektar 120 in the fridge, that I bought before the price rocketed. I’ll keep that for brightly coloured, seaside, countryside type shots where I want “high” colour!