Kodak Portra 800 Film Review, Sample Photos, 35mm and 120 | All About Film

I started using Portra 800 in December 2015 and wrapped up the photos for this video in January 2023. Portra 800 has given me photos from a lot of different subjects in different lighting and different conditions. And, generally, I’ve been pleased with it most of the time. But I definitely have a strong preference with this film for some subjects and some lighting. People and animals in daylight work very well to my eye. Similar subjects in warm lighting can be recorded decently well. Landscapes and similar works doesn’t benefit from the Portra 800 look.
Porta is a specialist film and what it does well it does very well. It’s not great as a generalist and many subjects don’t benefit from what it offers. That said, portraits, weddings, events, animals, and other photos where the subject has a face will generally be rendered well on Portra 800. That said, if you take Portra 800 out of its environment it can perform fine, but not to its best. It’s sort of like a heart surgeon could probably perform a kidney operation, but it’s not truly their wheelhouse. Portra 800 is a specialist and it likes being where it’s strongest.
Kodak Portra 800 film is a versatile and much loved photographic film stock known for its outstanding performance in a wide range of shooting conditions. This comprehensive KZbin video provides a detailed analysis of the technical aspects and captivating results offered by Kodak Portra 800 in both 35mm and 120 formats. As part of the All About Film series, this video aims to provide students and film enthusiasts with valuable insights, facts, and educational content.
The review delves into the remarkable characteristics that make Kodak Portra 800 a favored choice among photographers. Throughout the video, the analysis focuses on various essential aspects of Kodak Portra 800. Topics covered include contrast, grain, dynamic range, scanability, spectral sensitivity, and reciprocity failure. Each of these features is explored, highlighting how they contribute to the overall performance and image quality of the film stock. The review incorporates sample photos captured using Kodak Portra 800, allowing viewers to witness firsthand the film's remarkable capabilities and stunning visual results.
In addition to technical details, practical tips and insights are shared to aid viewers in optimizing their experience when working with Kodak Portra 800. The content is meticulously designed to engage the primary audience of students and film enthusiasts, providing them with valuable information, facts, and educational content about this popular film stock.
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Video Index:
0:00 - Intro
0:13 - Skip the Intro
0:45 - Best Tips, Tricks, and Practices
5:00 - Image Characteristics
7:11 - Spectral Sensitivity
8:10 - Reciprocity Failure
9:16 - Development Latitude
10:32 - Closing Narrative
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"Rock this Joint" by Edward Joe Myers used under active license from Epidemic Sound at the time of this video's upload.

[@davecarrera]

Wonderful & honest breakdown of the pros and cons of Portra 800.

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you!

[@craigfouche]

Thank you so much for this episode David!

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you, Craig!

[@TubaSolotheHiker]

Great video. Thank you for providing so many sample images. That was all very helpful in just seeing what Portra does in certain environments.

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you!

[@Restroomsoap]

The goat back at it again

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you! Trying for an every-two-months peace on these. 😃

[@smallbatchsessions6892]

Hey great review. The details were very helpful and seemed spot on with your photo examples. Thanks

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you!

[@lighturpl3]

I'm glad you mentioned the grain, because it something I really noticed when using it. I had a number of sunset photos which were really unusably grainy.

[@DavidHancock]

Yeah, this is really too grainy for landscapes, especially in 35mm.

[@dallassrexrode6604]

literally just shot portra 800 last week great video!

[@DavidHancock]

Very nice and thank you!

[@livonian]

Some excellent images, Sir Hancock 👌

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you!

[@jmguitarnavy]

I love your detailed analyses of film stocks! I'd love to see you talk about some sadly discontinued stocks (like Fuji Reala 100, Fuji Sensia 100, the whole superia line in general, etc)

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you! I have thought about discontinued film and, ultimately, decided against it because many of those are expired and won't perform as they once did. Also, the few times that I've made videos and had the film be discontinued right around the time of publication (Across II, Natura 1600, Superia 400, and Rollei VarioChrome), the videos have had their viewership drop to almost zero within a few weeks of the product being discontinued. These videos don't really pay themselves back, but the amount of loss from a video in this series that underperforms is significant and has tangible ramifications for me to use what revenue this channel generates on other content.

[@jmguitarnavy]

@@DavidHancock Yes, it's more than understandable. Still, looking forward to seeing your new videos!

[@arturors30]

👏👏👏

[@nothingaroundus_]

Portra 800 is my favorite film, I agree with the things you said. Regarding its colour spectrum, I would say it is noticably cooler in the shadows (cyan and green), the rest parts of the photos are always on point. It is the only film that can pull together a blue hour shot in my opinion, which I am madly chasing.

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you and yes, I agree this would be awesome at blue hour.

[@alexanderpopov4691]

I totally agree with your thesis. Also use this film exclusively for portraits and in 120 format, besides that personally prefer color tonality and skin tones of 800th to other Potras. Portra 800 has that nice yellowish hue to the image.

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you!

[@jeremymudd8507]

Spot-on! Excellent review. Totally agree with everything you said. I like the grain on Portra 800 better than Cinestill 800T, but sadly 800T wins in terms of color and sharpness. I just can't stand that darn halation/blooming.

[@DavidHancock]

Thank you and I concur on 800T. The look is distinct and a bit acquired, and definitely not for every situation. Sometimes it's great, like concerts or nighttime city scenes, even, but for a lot of work, the look dominates the images too much.

[@GTXTi-db5xu]

I love Portra 800, I just wish it would come in packs of 5.

[@DavidHancock]

Yeah, the bulk packs are a bit cheaper. I wish they'd come in 100-foot spools for 35mm use.

[@androoy.p]

In your scans some of the ladscape photos have a redish tinge that weirly remind me of Ektar. Do you color balance your photos?

[@av.punk.801]

Honestly to my eye having shot a good 15 rolls of this myself, it looks like he just kinda bumped the EV a bit on a few. It does have a slightly weird backing on the negatives, and is designed for skin, so I've noticed it does actually like to just skew red a bit. Even looking at the colour sensitivity chart it's red spectrum is a bit more broad compared to something like Cinestill or Fuji

[@DavidHancock]

If they're 120 shots, it's likely a color shift due to overexposure. 120 cameras are pretty limited in their fast shutter speed selections so I would pick this for days when I knew it would be overcast, but even then it's distinctly possible that I would give it a stop too much light on accident.

[@androoy.p]

@@DavidHancock thank you for your response! Some 120 cameras also have swappable backs, so that evens out the lack of faster speeds :) I probably missed it and should rewatch the video, but how does it compare to portra 400 pushed one stop, or just underexposed? Because on that grain chart you showed 400 has much smaller grain, and I bet more dynamic range.

[@DavidHancock]

@@androoy.p You definitely didn't miss it. I'm not, generally, pushing and pulling color films on these (at least not on purpose.) IIRC, Kodak designed these to have similar color times across each speed when shot at box. So pushing and pulling these would -- best guess -- have deleterious ramifications for the color tone long before it affected grain. I'd be hesitant to try pushing 400 as an alternative here as I think that could cause some unpredictable performance problems.

[@av.punk.801]

As much as I love portra 160 for my portrature contracts, having shot a few concerts on 800, I'm gonna have to stick to Cinestill 800T for concerts. Just gives me more punchy colours every time

[@DavidHancock]

I would use 800T for a concert over this, too, because I think the look of that film would better match the concert aesthetic.

[@ArthurJS123]

I don’t get it. Why would people want to shoot ISO 800 film in broad daylight? Are you shooting at different speeds? If so, you’re awfully vague in the video.

[@DavidHancock]

800 in daylight is very good for freezing motion. It's also good in daylight with telephoto lenses when a 1/1,000th shutter speed at f/11 is desired for photographing sports or wildlife. With my Alpha 9, I was able to shoot this at box speed in daylight with a 1/12,000th shutter speed at around f/4, IIRC, because it needs about an extra third-stop of light with a shutter speed that fast. Even with something like a 1V or F6, a 1/8,000th shutter speed at f/4 with a fast tele is great for action in daylight. I only shot this film at box speed. With C-41 and E-6, I don't stray from the maker's recommendations on purpose.