Here are the results of exposure test of two budget 35 mm films - Kodak Color Plus 200 and Fujicolor C200, shot within the range from -4 EV to +10 EV. In both cases Canon EOS 3 camera and 24-70 II f/2.8L lens were used.

Normal exposure was determined by spot metering with a Minolta F external spotmeter on the model's right cheek, so that its tone corresponded to Adams zone VI. Aperture on all frames is f/2.8, shutter speed varied from 1/8000 to 4 sec. Shooting was carried out from a tripod.

Both films were scanned on a Nikon Coolscan 5000 scanner with automatic exposure and white balance. All additional processing during scanning is disabled.

The purpose of the test is to observe the behavior of each film depending on exposure, to determine the range of acceptable exposure mistakes when shooting and to compare the films, as they are marketed in the same price segment – as the most budget color negative films.

1. The two films have different color reproduction. At normal exposure, Kodak Color Plus 200 tends toward red, including skintones, while Fujicolor C200 shows yellow-greenish hues with yellowish skintones.

2. Both films withstand underexposures up to -2 EV without any problems. Severely underexposed frames (-3-4 EV) dramatically lose information: contrast rises strongly, shadow details are lost, colors are out of balance.

3. Underexposed Kodak Color Plus 200 tends toward blue-violet hues, while Fujicolor C200 shows green-yellow hues.

4. Both films hold overexposure well, but with different results. Technically, Kodak Color Plus 200 ‘breaks down’ at +10 EV, while Fujicolor C200 at +9 EV. At these values, the films fade to purple and almost completely lose detail in the highlights.

5. When overexposed, Fujicolor C200 loses contrast a bit more quickly than

Kodak Color Plus 200.

To determine the aesthetic exposure range, we processed several scans, trying to get the most out of them. In Adobe Photoshop, we applied corrections similar to those that can be replicated with optical printing from negatives in a darkroom (black and white point technical levels, exposure and white balance adjustment).

We took -4 EV, Normal Exposure, +5 EV and +9 EV scans from both films and edited them in Adobe Photoshop to bring the best appearance without using any special color correction tools.

The color reproduction of both films can be considered normal at the exposure range of -1 EV to +2 EV. With significant exposure corrections (or mistakes), colors become significantly misbalanced.

In terms of underexposure, both films can be exposed down to -4 EV when strictly necessary (or for creative purposes). In this case, colors will deviate, contrast will increase and details in shadows will be lost. Thus, we do not recommend going lower than -3 EV, even for ‘lomographic’ purposes.

Although technically the Kodak Color Plus 200 is relatively successful in overexposing up to +9 EV and the Fujicolor C200 up to +8 EV, in terms of aesthetically acceptable photography it hardly makes sense to overexpose these films by more than +5 EV.

Keep in mind, however, that the Kodak Color Plus 200 holds natural colors slightly better when overexposed.

The choice of the color solution provided by each of these films is left to the reader. In our opinion, both films have interesting color reproduction and the character of each can be used for different tasks or according to the personal taste of the photographer.