Summary: A very finicky film to work with
Comment: Kodak's line of (soon to be gone) Ultra Color film should be renamed Ultra Contrast. This color print film is like Velvia on steroids. Having worked with it a bit, here are my observations:
(1) It is great film for photographing low contrast objects. Things like dark bronze statues have their details very well defined. It's also great for photographing stone architecture buildings that would normally have their stonework detail washed out by most other films.
(2) 400UC literally vacuums color onto the negative. It is very punchy and the film will "see" far more color than the human eye does. This characteristic makes it a spectacular film --for the right circumstances.
(3) At the same time, contrast is the most extreme of any print film available today. Minor shadows will show up as very dark, so your picture must have full or near-full lighting. Forget about night or low-light photography with this film; the prints will saturate black. Fireworks at night are better served by Kodachrome or Fuji Reala.
(4) I could not imagine anybody doing portraiture with this film.
If one is to use this film, go hunting for color on a bright, sunny day. Flowers, vegetables, grafitti art, architecture, stained glass, and statues are great candidates to photograph with 400UC. Just avoid any shadows while you're at it.
Lastly, at the time of writing this review, Kodak has announced that the Ultra Color line is being discontinued in favor of a new Ektar 100 product. 400UC users are advised by Kodak to use the Portra 400VC instead, which is a much easier film to work with.


