CatLABS X Film Color (and we say this with about 95% certainty) is the latest iteration of Kodak Aerocolor IV color negative film to be repackaged and resold under another brand name, in the same vein as Santacolor 100, et al.  This is not a bad thing as Aerocolor IV is not normally available to the consumer, or even professional, photographic markets.  It is a film reserved for scientific and aerial surveillance use and produced only in master rolls that cost upwards of $150,000 each.  There are some great in-depth reviews of Aerocolor IV online that are well worth looking up.  But for the here and now we will treat CatLABS X Film Color as its own thing.

CatLABS Color film is an ISO 100 color negative with a few interesting things going on.  It features fairly fine grain that gets a tad finer if you overexpose it just a bit.  Color rendition is relatively normal across most colors but notably reds have a lot of pop to them.  Greens also come out pretty vibrant but not quite as much as reds.  Weirdly enough, our testing shows yellows to be a bit more muted.  Blues look great though.  Skin tones can be a bit tricky, enough so that this would not be our first choice for a portrait film.  In terms of color, CatLABS Color is closer to Kodak Ektar than it is to Kodak Portra.  It is worth noting that when developed CatLABS Color (like Aerocolor IV) has a mostly clear film base that has a touch of yellow, instead of the deep orange base of most color negative films.  This clearer base offers some advantages but in terms of color reproduction it can throw off the automatic corrections of film scanners that are used to compensating for the deeper orange base.  Like Santacolor and the Silberra color films, when CatLABS Color film is scanned it tends to have a yellowish-orange tint to it.  Once this is corrected for the film's true colors come out.  This is worth noting though as if your lab's scanners don't correct for this you may get scans that initially have a strong to medium orangish color cast to them.  It also means mileage will vary a lot when perusing online image samples of this film depending on how the user has color corrected their results.  Just something to keep in mind.

Following up on the film's clear base, it does mean that CatLABS color can be E-6 processed, and it works fairly well as a slide film. It will not be as perfect as Ektachrome E100, but it will look far more normal than your typical color negative cross-processed in E-6.  In fact, it was seeing how good this film looked in E-6 that initially convinced us to order some and it was only through subsequent testing that we found out how much we enjoyed it as a color negative (and pinned it down as likely being Aerocolor IV). The film dries very flat and has a pretty thin base, both of which help with scanning.  The film's latitude seems pretty good while exhibiting medium contrast.  

One last note, CatLABS Color is prone to light piping - the "leaking" of light up the film itself.  This is especially a concern while developing.  Here at Blue Moon Camera we take extra precautions to handle this film in complete darkness during the development process otherwise the bleeding of light can extend into the first frame or two of the roll.  This is something to keep an eye on and if you notice this on your rolls, it may be worth pointing out to your lab.

Overall CatLABS Color is a different flavor of color film compared to the standard options available from Kodak.  Taken along with the Lomochrome films and Harman's new Phoenix color film, it offers a nice bit of variety for color film photographers.  We definitely recommend it for landscapes, but it also has a nice look with cityscapes, especially nighttime cityscapes where neon or other colorful lighting is present.