Kodak Portra 400 35mm film review

The most popular film today for a very good reason, this versatile color negative film produces beautiful results

5 Star Rating
Kodak Porta 400 35mm film
(Image: © Gareth Bevan / Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

Kodak Portra 400 is the film of Instagram, which is not always a sign of quality, but in this case, the hype is real. Portra 400 is a hugely versatile film, paired with the right camera it can produce lovely images in a variety of conditions, with that stunning signature color, contrast, and sharpness. The film is also quite forgiving, so is ideal for those photographers who make a few exposure miscalculations.

Pros

  • +

    Beautiful color rendition

  • +

    Forgiving for overexposure/underexposure

  • +

    Very popular so not going anywhere

Cons

  • -

    Far too expensive

  • -

    Increasingly harder to find

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When you think of the best 35mm film, you might well immediately think of Kodak Portra. This is the film of the moment, hugely popular on social media and photo-sharing sites such as Instagram. This popularity has become a double-edged sword, one one hand, it is helping revitalize the film photography industry, but on the other, it is pushing film to higher and higher prices as demand grows and supplies dwindle.

Kodak Portra 400 is a daylight-balanced color film available in 35mm, 120, 220, 4x5 in, and 10x8 in formats. Introduced in 1998 mainly for portrait and wedding use, with its emphasis on great skin tones. Portra is also available in 160 and 800 ISOs.

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Gareth Bevan
Reviews Editor

Gareth is a photographer based in London, working as a freelance photographer and videographer for the past several years, having the privilege to shoot for some household names. With work focusing on fashion, portrait and lifestyle content creation, he has developed a range of skills covering everything from editorial shoots to social media videos. Outside of work, he has a personal passion for travel and nature photography, with a devotion to sustainability and environmental causes.