Sakura · ISO 200 Color negative
Sakura SR-V 200
Konica's SR-V 200 hit the market in 1987 as part of the V-series rollout that coincided with the Sakura brand being retired worldwide. Most boxes carried the Konica nameplate, with late Sakura-branded stock continuing through Pacific export into 1988. ISO 200 was the volume seller in consumer color negative across most markets in that era, between cheap 100-speed daylight film and noisier 400-speed family stock. Konica priced it to compete with Fujicolor HR 200 and Kodacolor VR 200.
The color signature read warmer than Fujicolor Super HG of the same year, with cleaner skin tones than Kodacolor Gold 200 in the same period. Konica color negative had a reputation among Japanese commercial labs for being slightly easier to balance at the printer than the Kodak equivalent, partly because the mask density was lower and partly because the dye couplers produced a flatter contrast curve. That made it forgiving for the point-and-shoot crowd.
Grain at ISO 200 was visible in 8x10 enlargements but not aggressive. The stock scanned reasonably on consumer flatbeds of the 1990s and scans better on a modern Plustek today than its original era ever revealed. Comparable current films include Kodak ColorPlus 200, which runs warmer and more saturated, and Fujicolor 200, which leans cooler. Fresh SR-V 200 landed between them.
The SR-V line was replaced by SR-G in 1989, putting SR-V 200's working lifespan at roughly two years on shelves. Konica films had a deserved reputation for poor archival performance: Centuria-era stocks of the early 2000s went purple within a year past their dates in published reviews. SR-V appears more stable than that, but room-temperature rolls from 1989 routinely show magenta shift.
Freezer-stored rolls scan more cleanly. Rate down a stop or two for storage fade.
Reciprocity exponent is 1.20. Zone Light Meter applies the correction past one second. A 10-second metered exposure becomes about 18 seconds at the negative. For ISO 200 on a tripod indoors at small apertures, the correction comes up regularly.
How the app handles this stock
- Box speed: ISO 200. Picker exposes pull/push chips so you can shoot it at any speed you want and the meter follows.
- Reciprocity: Above one second the app raises metered time to the power of 1.20.
- Expired film: if you load an old roll, set the expiry year and storage in the app and the ISO scales for you. Color negative decay rates are baked in.