After falling by the wayside in the digital camera era, film photography has surged in recent trends as part of an increasing craving for analog. But while the popularity of film photography is clear, the type of film that photographers are drawn to most is less clear.
Now, US retailer B&H has offered a bit of a hint amid the resurgence of film by sharing the top trending 35mm film list for July – and the list hints at what photographers are loading into the backs of their cameras the most.
According to B&H, these are the most popular 35mm film stocks right now:
- Kodak Professional Tri-X 400 Black and White Negative (36 exposures)
- Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Negative Film (36 exposures)
- Professional Portra 400 Color Negative Film (36 exposures, 5-Pack)
- Kodak Eastman Gold 200 Color Negative Film (36 exposures, 3-Pack)
- Kodak Professional Porta 800 Color Negative Film (36 exposures)
- Kodak Eastman UltraMax 400 Color Negative Film (36 exposures, 3-Pack)
- Kodak Ektacolor Pro 800 Color Negative Film (36 exposures)
- Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Negative Film (24 exposures)
- Kodak Professional Ektar 100 Color Negative Film (36 exposures)
- Kodak Ektacolor Pro 400 Color Negative Film (36 exposures)
The list offers a few key insights as to what film stocks photographers are drawn to most right now.
First, the top two films right now are both black-and-white stocks, with the Kodak Tri-X and Ilford HP5 Plus leading the list. Tri-X is known for high contrast and gritty grain that makes it popular for documentary, street and portrait work, while HP5 is a forgiving film with more of a balance between contrast and grain.
However, there’s only one other black-and-white stock on the list (another HP5 Plus, but this one 24 exposures instead of 36). That means, while black-and-white leads the list, two-thirds of the trendiest films right now are all color negatives.
Black-and-white film feels very classic, yet the way that different color film stocks render different hues offers a retro look that modern digital cameras (and photo editors) try to imitate.
One factor that could be helping to push black-and-white to the top of the trending list is cost. The top black-and-white rolls sell for about $10 each (£7.39 / AU$14.15 / CA$13.39), while the cheapest single-roll color film sits at about $17 (£12.57 / AU$24 / CA$23.70).
The second key trend from the list that stood out is how much Kodak is dominating the film industry. The Kodak name has seen a recent surge in popularity with options like the Kodak Charmera selling out, but "Kodak" cameras are actually made by other brands under a license agreement.
That’s not true for Kodak film, which is still made by Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York. B&H is a US retailer, so the popularity of Kodak on the list could hint that American photographers favor the made-in-the-USA film.
Looking at Kodak’s most popular stocks, it’s interesting that the second top Kodak is a five-roll pack and the third a three-roll pack. I wonder if Porta 400 would have moved up the trends list if it was available in single packs.
Kodak Porta 400’s popularity isn’t new. Porta is favored for more balanced colors and fine grain that make it suitable for a wide range of subjects from portraits to landscapes. Meanwhile, Kodak Gold’s warmer tones and more affordable price point have continued to push the film into the limelight.
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