Kodak Ektachrome E200

Ektachrome E200 launched in 1997 as the push-friendly member of the Ektachrome line. Where E100G chased the cleanest possible grain at box speed, E200 was engineered to take abuse. Kodak's datasheet rated push performance to EI 1000 with only minimal shifts in contrast, and EI 800 was treated as routine. The trick worked because the T-Grain emulsion held its dye couplers together when the first developer ran longer than spec.

National Geographic photographers leaned on it for years. The magazine had moved off Kodachrome for most assignment work by the early 2000s, and E200's flexibility under variable light made it the working slide for editorial shooters who could not always work at f/8 on a tripod. Meter at ISO 200 in shadow, push two stops in the lab, get back chromes that printed acceptably on a magazine page. Provia 400X ran cleaner at box speed but did not respond to push processing with the same color stability.

The look at base ISO is what you expect from a Kodak E-6 emulsion of that era: warm bias, restrained saturation next to Velvia, accurate neutrals, good skin under daylight or electronic flash. Push to 400 or 800 and the grain becomes obvious but the color holds. Past 1000 the shadows start blocking.

Kodak announced the discontinuation on February 4, 2011, leaving photographers without a high-speed daylight slide until the E100 reintroduction in 2018 (a different emulsion: base ISO 100, no real push capability). Produced in 35mm and 120. Sheet film never happened. Expired stock floats through eBay fifteen-plus years past date and has lost roughly a stop. Most shooters meter at ISO 100 and treat any push as a gamble.

Reciprocity exponent is 1.10. Kodak rated the film for 1/10,000 second to 10 seconds without correction, which is generous. Zone Light Meter applies the 1.10 curve past one second: a metered 30-second exposure becomes about 35 seconds at the negative. For nocturne work the correction is small enough you can almost ignore it, though for any push processing you should bracket anyway.