Kodak Portra 400 - Film Review

Portra 400
film index
Rating
Rated 5 out of 5
User Ratings
Rated 4.5 out of 5
TypeC-41 Negative
Brand Kodak
ISO400
Format35mm, 120, 4x5, 8x10
Price
$ $ $
Saturation
+ + + + +
Latitude
+ + + + +
GrainFine - Coarse
+ + + + +

Portra 400 is one of the most popular color negative films there is—and for good reason. It’s easily one of the most versatile and forgiving films and on top of that, it produces beautiful results.  400 iso is a great in-between – it’s great for our outdoor shooting as well as shooting in lower light and for being a 400 iso film it has a very fine grain that’s barely noticeable when exposed properly.  Portra has incredible exposure latitude meaning it does well with overexposure and it also pushes well.  It has medium contrast and is known for its warn tones which make it ideal for portraiture.

Buy this film online – 35mm | 120 

User Reviews

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4.5
Rated 4.5 out of 5
4.5 out of 5 stars (based on 11 reviews)
Excellent64%
Very good27%
Average9%
Poor0%
Terrible0%

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Versatile & Pleasing Grain

Rated 5 out of 5
September 25, 2023

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.

Andrew Karmun

Popular for a good reason

Rated 5 out of 5
June 2, 2022

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.

Kyle Wright

Kodak's bread and butter

Rated 4 out of 5
November 30, 2021

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.

tenmuter