Kodak Ultramax 400 is a color negative film rated at ISO 400 and balanced for daylight, one stop faster than Gold 200. It’s developed in C-41 and comes in 35mm rolls of 24 or 36 exposures.
Kodak Ultramax 400
ISO 400 color negative film
Updated
Quick facts
- Brand
- Kodak
- Type
- ISO 400 color negative film
- Speed
- ISO 400
- Process
- C-41
Specs
- Type
- Color negative
- Speed
- ISO 400
- Color balance
- Daylight
- Process
- C-41
- Formats
- 35mm (24 or 36 exposures)
- Print Grain Index
- 46 for a 4 × 6 in print from 35mm (25 is about where grain becomes visible)
- Storage
- At 21 °C (70 °F) or below, in the sealed package
How to expose it
In daylight, at 1/500 s
For front-lit subjects, from 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset.
| Bright or hazy sun on light sand or snow | f/16 |
| Bright or hazy sun, distinct shadows | f/11 (f/5.6 for backlit close-ups) |
| Weak, hazy sun, soft shadows | f/8 |
| Cloudy bright, no shadows | f/5.6 |
| Heavy overcast or open shade | f/4 |
Under artificial light
Kodak’s starting points for color filters. Without them, a lab or your scanner can correct most of the cast. Under fluorescent light, use 1/60 s or slower so the flicker evens out.
| Light | Filter | Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Fluorescent, type unknown | 10C + 20M | +⅔ stop |
| Daylight fluorescent | 40R | +⅔ stop |
| White fluorescent | 20C + 30M | +1 stop |
| Warm white fluorescent | 40B | +1 stop |
| Warm white deluxe fluorescent | 30B + 30C | +1⅓ stops |
| Cool white fluorescent | 30M | +⅔ stop |
| Cool white deluxe fluorescent | 10C + 10M | +⅔ stop |
| High-pressure sodium (orange street lights) | 70B + 50C | +3 stops |
| Metal halide | 10R + 20M | +⅔ stop |
| Mercury vapor with phosphor | 20R + 20M | +⅔ stop |
| Mercury vapor without phosphor | 80R | +1⅔ stops |
In low light, at ISO 250–400
Kodak’s trial exposures for when a meter struggles with lights and reflections. Use a tripod below 1/30 s, and bracket.
| At home | |
|---|---|
| Home interiors at night, average lighting | 1/30 s f/2 |
| Home interiors at night, bright lighting | 1/30 s f/2.8 |
| Candle-lit close-ups | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Indoor holiday lights and Christmas trees | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Outdoors at night | |
|---|---|
| Outdoor holiday lights and Christmas trees | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Brightly lit street scenes | 1/60 s f/2.8 |
| Neon signs and other lit signs | 1/125 s f/4 |
| Shop windows | 1/60 s f/4 |
| People lit by street lights | 1/15 s f/2 |
| Floodlit buildings, fountains and monuments | 1/15 s f/2 |
| A distant skyline of lit buildings | 1 s f/2.8 |
| A skyline 10 minutes after sunset | 1/60 s f/5.6 |
| A skyline just after sunset | 1/125 s f/5.6 |
| Light trails from traffic | 10 s f/22 |
| Fairs and amusement parks | 1/30 s f/2.8 |
| Fireworks on the ground | 1/60 s f/4 |
| Campfires and bonfires | 1/60 s f/4 |
| People lit by a campfire | 1/30 s f/2 |
| Night football, tennis or a race track | 1/125 s f/2.8 |
| Landscapes under a full moon | 8 s f/2 |
| Snow under a full moon | 4 s f/2 |
| Indoors in public places | |
|---|---|
| Basketball, bowling and ice hockey | 1/125 s f/2 |
| Boxing and wrestling | 1/250 s f/2 |
| Floodlit stage and ice shows | 1/60 s f/2.8 |
| Rooms with bright fluorescent light | 1/60 s f/4 |
| School plays and auditoriums | 1/30 s f/2 |
| Indoor pools under tungsten light | 1/60 s f/2 |
| Hospital rooms | 1/60 s f/2.8 |
| Church interiors under tungsten light | 1/30 s f/2 |
For moonlit scenes, leave the moon out of the frame: it moves during the exposure.
Long exposures
Film gets less sensitive in very long exposures, so a metered 30 seconds can come out underexposed. This is called reciprocity failure.
Kodak Ultramax 400 needs no correction up to 1 second. Past that, Kodak says it may need more exposure and some filtration but gives no figures, so bracket: shoot the metered time, then one and two stops more.
How to develop it
Kodak Ultramax 400 is a C-41 film, so any lab that develops color negative film can process it. Home C-41 kits work too; follow the kit’s own times. For reference, this is Kodak’s standard cycle:
| Step | Time (min:sec) | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| DeveloperForms the silver and dye image | 3:15 | 37.8 ± 0.15 °C (100 ± 0.25 °F) |
| BleachTurns the silver image back into silver halide | 4:20 to 6:30 | 38 ± 3 °C (100 ± 5 °F) |
| First wash | 1:05 to 3:15 | 24 to 41 °C (75 to 105 °F) |
| FixerRemoves the silver salts, leaving the dye image | 4:20 to 6:30 | 38 ± 3 °C (100 ± 5 °F) |
| Second washWashes out the chemicals | 3:15 | 24 to 41 °C (75 to 105 °F) |
| StabilizerStabilizes the dyes and helps the film dry evenly | 1:05 | 24 to 41 °C (75 to 105 °F) |
| Dry | As needed | Not over 60 °C (140 °F) |
The developer step is the strict one: hold it within 0.15 °C. Kodak doesn’t publish push times for this film, but most labs will push it on request.
External links
Sources
- Kodak Ultramax 400 technical data (E-7023, February 2016), Kodak Alaris
- Suggested Trial Exposures for KODAK Film for Existing-Light (Low-Light) Conditions, Kodak
- KODAK FLEXICOLOR Chemicals, Process C-41, Kodak