Kodak Pro Image 100

 During the summer of 2024 I decided to use up three rolls of Kodak Pro Image 100 colour film that has been sat in my fridge for a few years. I don't use a lot of colour film, it isn't the price of processing that's stopping me, it's my love for black and white that sees me reaching for that rather than colour film when I go out for a wander with my camera. I fancied a change and it gave me the impetus I needed to start using film I had been hoarding. It's not going to use itself...

My first roll was shot with my Minolta X700 and MD 50mm f/1.7 lens. The metering on this camera is excellent and is very easy to use it in full program mode. All I have to do is point it at something, focus and release the shutter. I just needed a nice day to go for a wander. Summer 2024 wasn't as hot and sunny as previous years, but we got a few dry days and I managed to get the first one done.

Finding things to photograph is never a problem for a self confessed happy snapper. Photographing the same things can be tedious for just about every other photographer out there who's not called Jim, but I got used to it as a part of my therapy. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a big help when you have poor mental health.

The first half of my first roll of Pro Image 100 was shot when the wheat was still green in early summer. I love to walk the public footpaths across the farmland and be amongst the cycle of nature. It was good to be able to see further than the next stalk of corn, as had been the case in 2022 and 2023 when the corn was growing really tall. The second half was shot when the wheat had changed colour and was almost ready for harvesting. I was also trying a Minolta MD 2x teleconverter on my MD 50mm lens that I purchased a few days beforehand and I had fun with it.

I had a change for my second roll of Pro Image 100 and shot it with my Olympus OM-10 and Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens. My Minolta X-700 has a great aperture priority setting and I just fancied seeing how the Olympus OM-10's aperture priority fared against the formidable Minolta. I needn't have worried as they compare well to each other. To be fair to the OM-10 the program mode on the Minolta X-700 is the biggest difference between them.

I did waste a few shots with my OM-10 as I occasionally forgot to check my settings properly when using the manual mode. D'oh! I walked my usual route in the opposite direction as I wanted to visit the horses, just to be sociable, you understand. I also wanted to see if the wheat had been harvested in the big field and it was still there when I got there on this walk.

My third roll of Pro Image 100 was shot with my Minolta X-700 and MD 50mm f/1.7 in the woodland near my home. I was capturing the colours and textures of late summer. The Farmer had harvested his wheat and yet again I bloody missed it. One day I will see him out and about and we can have a chat so I can plan this better than just leaving it to chance.

I photographed late summer flowers, berries and the leaves on a few trees as they started to change colour in readiness for shedding them and settling down for their winter slumber. It was good to be out and about, getting some much needed fresh air and documenting the annual changes in the local countryside with my camera. I had fun and it helped me get out of the doldrums I had been experiencing.

With three rolls finished I sent them to Analogue Wonderland for developing and scanning. I could do it at home, but I don't have a C-41 developing kit. I did have a fair few Wonder Points saved up and that helped keep the price down. I filled in the online form, packed my film in a box with my order number and my postcode written on the handy card Analogue Wonderland sends out with every order. I printed off the address label, stuck it to the box and popped it in the post.

A couple of days went by and I received an email from Analogue Wonderland telling me they had received my film and would get back to me when they had developed and scanned them. Several days later I received an email telling me my scans were ready and I downloaded them from the Analogue Wonderland website.

It's an easy process to navigate and the lab team do a great job of getting through the large number of films they are sent each day. Some folk complain it takes up to 10 days to get colour film developed and scanned, but I say that's pretty decent when you consider back in the golden age of film it took two weeks and that was for an express service.

My film was well exposed, apart from the few I missed with my OM-10, but even with those there was only two or three I couldn't do anything with. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, no doubt I will do it again in the future. C'est la vie. The photos are nothing special, just snap shots of a particular moment in time which, to be honest, is what happy snapping is all about.

Here's a selection of my favourites from my three rolls of Kodak Pro Image 100 shot with my Minolta X-700 and Olympus OM-10. Analogue Wonderland did a great job of developing and scanning my film and I will be using their excellent mail in developing services again in the not too distant future, probably Kodak ColorPlus 200. All I need is to choose what camera to use and subject to photograph. Decisions, decisions...

I had a lot of fun using the last of my Kodak Pro Image 100 colour film and got some decent photos from it. The first three and last three are from my X-700 and the middle three from my OM10, all with 50mm lenses. As always I have placed these photos and more in albums on my Flickr account you can visit using the links below. I hope you enjoy them.

Kodak Pro Image 100 - Minolta X-700 pt 1
Kodak Pro Image 100 - Olympus OM-10
Kodak Pro Image 100 - Minolta X-700 pt 2