Kodak Portra 400 - Film Review

When it comes to color negative film I lean towards using slower ISO’s like 50 & 100 for the resolution. However this 400 ISO film still has fine grain that falls across the image in a satisfying way.

Honestly, I assumed this film was all hype before I shot it. But, when I was stocking up for a weekend trip to Chicago, it was the only thing in stock, so I gave it a try. I’m very glad that I did! I think the best way I can describe it is “transparent.” Not in that it doesn’t color image (it does), but in that it does exactly what I want it to. It reproduces the scene in the way that I imagine it will when I think of the “film” look. I wouldn’t recommend starting with this, as it is really expensive, but definitely a great film for anyone looking for clean, sharp, accurate images.

As the title suggests, this is one of Kodak’s most successful films for consumers. It is fine grained and suitable for all uses from portraiture to landscapes. This film renders colors in a very pastel-like manner. So if soft colors are your thing, you will love Portra. I think this film has been shot to death in California featuring people with skateboards or people at the beach. But outside of those two situations, I would use Portra for photographing while hiking, vintage car shoots, or photographing friends in an outdoor environment. I do not recommend portra for indoor flash photography with a point and shoot camera because I have found that my pictures turn out more yellow than expected because of white balance issues. Overall this is an excellent film but it is getting 4/5 because it is expensive and currently extremely hard to find in stock.