PORTRA 400 - The Film of a Generation?

[@ivanyu8880]

I like the fact that Portra in such high demand that Kodak is struggling to keep up with the production of other film. It's an expensive film stock and that help fund Kodak's other projects. Hopefully, we get more options in the future.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

More like, kodaks other ventures allows film to stay afloat. Kodak makes very little money from film, compared to medical and pharma chemicals.

[@ivanyu8880]

@@Adrian-wd4rn that’s true but maybe the success of portra will encourage a lil more r&d on the consumer film side of things 🥵

[@Uwe_Ludolf]

@@Adrian-wd4rn Kodak doesn't make medical film, they sold that division and now it's called Carestream.

[@brennen6701]

Porta: A true gift to human-folk. Now if they can fix the price hike and never-ending unavailability!! Solid video as always.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

I think you misspelled provia.

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@@friemo660 velvia is good for landscapes ad thats about it.

[@areallyrealisticguyd4333]

Unlike Fuji who's pulling out of film, companies like adox, silberra, and Orwo are putting in a lot of money and R&D to mass produce color film. Honestly more competition just means more availablity and less stress on Kodak to be the main color producer

[@PainKill3rgamechannel]

Sorry, but Silberra is just Kodak Aerial film( They only produce b&w film

[@BobBob-qc7un]

And ferrania?

[@RealSergiob466]

I hope slide film especially

[@Magneira]

Hopefully they use this R&D to stop using animal gelatin and do less waste in the environment, right?

[@jacopoabbruscato9271]

@@Magneira No they're using it to make color film viable in the first place. Replacing animal gelatin will happen when and if it's cost effective. Gelatin is a byproduct of the meat industry that would otherwise be waste, no animals are killed for that purpose. They used to when Kodak was huge, but not anymore.

[@Humungojerry]

the (dirty secret?) is that the pastel look is mainly achieved in scanning/post, not only by slightly overexposing the film. it can also be achieved with Gold

[@asselplage5119]

Thank you for introducing me to this expensive hobby. I watched your first Video für months ago, now I've got an old Minolta XG-9, my fridge contains several rolls of Film and this monday I bought my second Lens. The whole week I wait for saturday, when I can use more daylight than the other days. The whole week I think about the light an weather on saturday to decide which Film to load... Thank you for this exhausting experience!

[@andylaurel]

I have a roll of Portra400 in my F100 right now. Portra400 for family snaps. Ektar for landscapes. Love it.

[@mcb187]

I just use 250D. About to dev a years worth of it (100ft, 19.5 36exp cans). And at 100ft for $110, it is insanely cheap compared to Portra. The look is a bit more desaturated compared to Portra, but if developed in ECN-2 rather than C-41, supposedly it gets a little bit more colorful. Going to dev in C-41 though, as I personally like the colors it gives. Warm colors pop, cool colors are a bit less pronounced, and it is contrasty, but not too contrasty. I’m also getting a kit that allows bleach bypass, so I will be shooting a roll just for that. Not sure if you have done a video on 250D, but I would be happy to provide some images. My scanner isn’t great though, so there’s that… At some point, I should set up DSLR scanning and not just using my little Slide-N-Scan.

[@stephenperera7382]

Portra deserves its fan base…..my top choice for my pro work is 800 for its versatility (grain is not an issue ever and it’s factored in on the invoice). I still have 400NC and 160NC with exp date 2012 in the freezer that i shoot/process/scan myself with no issues. Well done for this well researched channel of information. 33 years shooting film on my Hasselblads now and counting…..

[@jacopoabbruscato9271]

I think I got exhausted with it. I shot a lot of it myself, and seeing it everywhere only makes me want something different. I tried Fuji Pro400H but I saw very little difference. I wish they made Kodak Gold in medium format, that would be the MVP for me

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

They do! Lomo 400 is essentially gold 400.

[@jetaddict420]

Guess what bro gold is in 120 now

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@@jetaddict420 Yeah I've used lomo before lol.

[@okok72277]

Lol

[@psajgal]

I love my ultramax 400. It's versatile, has the look I want and also HAD the benefit of being cheap. Too bad these days I can't really find much of it, or overpriced if I do find it.

[@skunklungz]

ive always hated the look of ultramax tbh

[@psajgal]

@@skunklungz to each their own, it's definitely nice to have the choice. Tho it is getting slimmer that choice

[@stevenpam]

Ultramax is the bomb

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

This, ultramax is just desaturated portra. Just increase saturation and wham...Portra. In a studio, you'd be hard pressed to tell a difference between the two when using flash.

[@pawog04youtube3]

My first colour film was Ultra Max. I remember buying a box of ten once, sadly now, I have not seen it anywhere.

[@juiceboyxd9310]

It's sad to see in the UK now a box of Portra 400 in 35mm costs 82 GBP which equals 111 USD.

[@josephawatson]

I used portra 160VC for weddings. I spent more time with the lower iso. I need to try the 400.

[@DPImageCapturing]

I really like how entailed you are on this-and all of your reviews! I also like that there is no bias or favoritism’s towards any one kind, like telling people to take whatever they want to use and use different films.

[@TexasCovertCarry]

Thanks for your videos! I have two rolls of Portra 400 in my stash, set aside for shooting something other than everyday stuff.

[@lyfeofajet]

I love portra 800 but since the price jump, I've been with lomo 400 & 800

[@Uwe_Ludolf]

I have been shooting (medium format) film from 2008 and 2011 and then from October 2018 I began again. Shot my last two rolls Portra 400VC from my previous analogue life in the first part of 2019 and haven't shot any since then. I like the look of Pro160NS and Pro400H once I shot my first rolls, also around that time I also got aware of the "Portra 400 holy grail" thing, like any shot taken with P400 would be great. That made stronger in my choice for (mainly) Pro 400H, like "I don't need a particular film to make nice pictures". In the future I am afraid I have no other choice than Kodak C-41 materials, but the future 3 to 4 years I can still enjoy Pro 160NS and Pro400H. Maybe even longer as I want to shoot more Provia and Velvia.

[@RalleDue]

All most all pictures I take is with Kodak Gold 200, mostly because it’s what I can buy at my local lab/camera store. If I want to shot color pictures. Not all of the pictures I have taken with Ultra Max, have been to my liking. IDK if it is the thing I took picture of, that would be better on a different kind of film stock. The only non Kodak color film, I tried and have developed is Fuji C200. Great film. I’m now waiting to it become spring and summer so I can try the funky Lomo and Silberra films I have in my fridge.

[@paulinechatelan]

it’s gotten sooooo expensive 😭😭😭

[@samprstn]

Gold 200 for 35mm and Portra 400 for medium format, that's my preference and most economical for me

[@SinaFarhat]

I have yet to shoot the current porta films, mostly because I prefer slide film when shooting colour film!

[@stephenhurling]

Brilliant overview and helpful examples - thank you!

[@mariofazioli7534]

Hi , Love your videos, started watching about 2 weeks ago.You are very detailed. Question, Love Kodak Portra, but too expensive for me. Which Kodak consumer film, would be your recomendatin thak comes the closest to Portra. Thanks

[@RobertLeeAtYT]

I've been shooting Portra 400 for 20 years now. It is the most technologically advanced color film available. That's the case simply because it was the last film that Kodak actually had money to spend R&D on. It is finer grained and higher resolving than its predecessors. It is also far exceeded in any axis of technical measure by digital. Frankly, 6x7 Portra 400 and the same shot from a old Panasonic G9 MFT printed to 8x10 are - indistinguishable. Having said that, I do understand the attraction to this film. To emphasize that pastel, low-contrast look just incident meter and but expose it as a 100 ISO film. Alternatively, spot meter the darkest shadow of the scene and expose for that.

[@BrianMcKee]

Using kodachrome at the moment, and some old Elitechrome. Slide film is a fun challenge moving on from the ease of Portra.

[@FreezerKing]

I like Portra because it's very reliable and I can do whatever the hell I want with it, pretty much. I love Ektachrome and Cinestill, but those are more limited in what you can do with them (not so much for Ektachrome), so Portra it is for me.

[@EdselAmbience]

Im new to filmphotography my self, and i love the look of portra 400 but the price is a def no no for me. So instead i bought some black and white film that i plan on shootin with my brownie hawkeye to introduce my self into film photography without spending wayyy to much lol

[@NiiminTV]

I just got back a roll of colour plus 200 I really liked the colours can’t get myself to spend almost 20$ on portra yet so I’ll stick to gold and ultra max for a while

[@VariTimo]

Portra 400 and CineStill are related films. Portra 400 is almost identical to Vision3 250D 5207. And 250D is meant to be a similar to Vision3 500T 5219 which‘s the donor film of CineStill 800T. I think Portra 400 is absolutely amazing the only thing is there isn’t a tungsten version of Portra 400. Since CineStill suffers a bit in the C41 processing. A reason why Kodak prices went up is so they can train new people to keep doing film R&D and keep machines working.

[@werdlederdle]

I remember VC and NC. I always chose VC. I always wanted to be showy.

[@b6983832]

I must admit Portra 400 is a great film. I personally like the 160 ASA version more (weather permitting). What I miss, is Fuji 400H. Not because I don´t like Portra, but there are no professional quality color negatives in the market besides Kodak. Fuji has some semi-pro films for Japanese market, but their prices are exorbitant in Europe (unofficially imported stuff, not sold by Fuji outside of Japan). At the time being (July 2022), Fuji makes no negative films for export outside of Japan. Fujicolor 200 is made by Kodak, and is actually Gold 200 in green cartridges. I hope they will resume the production of their films other than Portra and Velvia soon.

[@antheajohnson4234]

Spoke to a local camera place the other day and he said more supply would only come in April, after the ones on the shelf left. When I tell you, my insides died a little...

[@helpfulmole]

"Take pictures of what you want to take pictures of." The homie gets it.

[@Anthony-fz9ye]

I’d be interested on your thoughts on Fujicolor 100 if you ever get a chance to test it! (Not Fuji Industrial 100). It’s a pretty affordable color film in my country, a little more expensive than ColorPlus

[@FookFish]

huh time to stock up on provia

[@SeeMick1]

I spy the abandoned sawmill at the Stockyards!

[@DethronerX]

I noticed here that they actually have a lot of modern look combined with classic. These images look really shart, which lens and have you used modern lens on film? Id love to see the results

[@idontwannamakethishandle]

Lol that’s a very unfortunate typo

[@DethronerX]

@@idontwannamakethishandle LOL oops : D : D

[@jordan.7]

I used Portra 400 up to about 2019 and then switched over to Ultramax 400 just for the price.

[@krissjacobsen9434]

Never shot Portra 400, but I love Portra 160. But really, the only color film I don't like is ColorPlus.

[@CaptainJohnPrice11]

colorplus is so underrated. gotta be one of the best 35mm options

[@NoviSavvy]

Sure me to. For me it's just because it doesn't come in 120

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

@@CaptainJohnPrice11 psssstt, pro image 100.

[@35mmlove_eric]

It’s not all that popular in Japan. People still shoot a lot of Fuji here. We have Superia Premium here which is nice.

[@rockyhorror1297]

A 5 pack of Portra 400 online is 64 bucks. It doesn’t seem too awful compared to Ultramax 400 which is like 28 dollars and it’s a 3 pack with 24 exposures. I just got into film photography 6 months ago so i haven’t been in the game very long, was there a time where portra was significantly cheaper? I always assumed it was 60 something bucks

[@AnalogResurgence]

I don't have exact numbers off the top of my head, but in 2014 one roll of Portra 400 was something like $6-8usd and now is more like $12-13usd, so quite the jump in the past 6 years or so!

[@Uwe_Ludolf]

In 2004 Portra 400VC was €4,80 for a 135/36 roll

[@BrianMcKee]

@@AnalogResurgence To be fair everything is more expensive these days. Pre pandemic I could find a 5 pack of portra for 40-45 usd.

[@brineb58]

I shoot way more B&W than color, but I do love the Kodak consumer stuff for film ... too bad the don't offer any in 120!!!

[@DustinBKerensky97]

A Generation? I know the pandemic has felt like forever but it hasn't been that long. "The film of the last few years" for sure.

[@KingofStreet3]

Me just shooting kodak ultra max 400 and HP5 with two rolls of PORTRA 800 in the fridge

[@davidgottfried5819]

Love Portra 400 and shoot it all the time. Remember, too, FWIW, that it's not Kodak (strictly speaking) but Kodak Alaris manufacturing these films (though it's all former Kodak equipment, facilities and personnel). Those are separate companies. Kodak proper, I believe, only makes motion picture film now.

[@stevenpam]

The only thing I don't like about Portra 400 is if you're shooting with older cameras with a top speed of 1/500 you end up having to shoot fairly stopped down a lot of the time, even if you're after a different effect.

[@BrianMcKee]

While this is true I think most film cameras people will use are 1/1000th of a second so this really isn't a problem with the insane exposure latitude of portra. In your situation you could just use an ND filter on bright days.

[@honkhonkler7732]

Ektar seems more like the old Vivid color Portra stock.

[@cycleinthesun]

Portra 400 and Fuji Pro 400 were my go to in the early 2000's. Still get the portra 120mm when i feel fancy, and wealthy

[@CaptainJohnPrice11]

"120mm" good lord have mercy

[@MiracleWinchester]

I just shot my last roll of Portra 400. 😭😭😭

[@Mc007Queen]

Wil l shoot Kodak portra film , having yet because 24 exposure cost like $ 136 roll 4 for 5 roles, run it thought my Pentax MX , and my YAHICA Electro 35

[@jacobchappell2197]

ive been thinking this way for minute, porta is great but i hate how everyone acts like its the only option

[@cathydixon5852]

Nice video

[@allenpayne9182]

I am wondering if there are any good test charts available. Where people shooting a "test chart" with a Film Stock vs a DSRL which was set to neutral or some Arri-LOgC style, oder cinestyle. I would pay some money for it if someone done it. With the right math, those charts can be used to emulate film in post. I know it will never be a 100% perfect match, and you cannot capture grain or halation and such things. But it would be a start. does anyone know a place where you can buy side-by-side charts with all the documentation.

[@okok72277]

But that's not the point for me yk

[@MKMousanz]

I don't get why bigger names like Sony and Canon, who obviously have the budget, don't take advantage of this and create their own filmstocks/modern film cameras

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

There is zero money in it. Are you willing to spend $2,000+ for a non-leica film camera? Because that's what you'll get. If they include all modern bells and whistles, you'd be asked, why not buy a canon r5? You're spending 6 grand after all. It takes a LOT of money to get film production up and running. And they're not going to put billions into research and development into a camera/film that will have the interest of 300,000 people world wide, TOPS. Not to mention, many film cameras have to be hand assembled, so now you're looking at hiring people, placing them in a giant facility, and training them to assemble cameras. Also, repairs, they have to now train their repair shops on repairing the 5 or so film cameras a year they'd receive. There is exactly $0 in it for them. That's why you don't see it. Nikons last film camera sold poorly. It cost 5k, barely anyone bought it.

[@Xin200O]

im a simple man, I see Portra 400 and I click

[@buyaport]

The more the merrier -- has never been more true when it comes to color film.

[@TheMrSolidS]

Why do all consumer color films seem to be out of stock EVERYWHERE?

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

Covid.

[@b6983832]

@@Adrian-wd4rn To make the record straight - because of strict Covid policies in China. Many raw materials are very hard to source from China, and as Fuji makes their films in Japan, they are affected even more than Kodak because of Chinese zero-covid policies closing entire cities for months. The situation in PR China prevails, even though other countries have abandoned their strict corona policies. Japanese people are very well known for their politeness, and no Fuji director would ever say anything publicly about policies in China, even though this is the main reason for Fuji films not being available in our shelves. Chinese zero-covid policy causes problems in many other segments of chemical industry. For instance, there are severe shortages of medical drugs, because pharmaceutical companies can' t get their raw materials from China.

[@13squier]

I was shocked when I saw the price of 35mm Ektar had jumped to US$16/roll- for 35mm!?! Sorry but I am done with color 35mm, it's not worth it anymore. It's not worth that much rent money just to be like "ooh the film look" of the same pictures I can take with my paid-for D750. 120 is a different story because they remain about $12/roll for now (same amount of film/emulsion as a roll of 35, go figure.) And larger formats with their longer focal lengths have an objectively different look from anything possible in digital so for me that is still worth paying more. But no, I am officially priced out of color 35mm, I'm done. Same way I got priced out of Super 8 a decade ago. (And color slide, I see Velvia 50 is up to $31/roll-wtf???)

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

Easy, shoot black and white. I bulk roll my tri-x and it comes out to $6.50 a roll.

[@user-ti9zc1xv2b]

The real danger sets in when either A, the hype is over, which is a very real threat. Or B, Kodak pricing themselves out of the market. Both are real possibilities, it’s an unpopular opinion, but I think within the next 3-10 years Kodak is going to file for bankruptcy again. I’ve looked at their SEC filings and their financials simply don’t show any kind of investments that they claim to be making to scale all of this up...

[@AnalogResurgence]

Those are things to be cautious about and the future is hard to predict for sure! It's at least worth thinking about how Eastman Kodak and Kodak Alaris are two different entities. Eastman declared bankruptcy in 2012, while Alaris was formed by pension holders in 2013 and they handle the photographic manufacturing and marketing of photography film. Alaris shares the Kodak brand name and manufacturing facilities in Rochester that belong to Eastman Kodak.

[@Zetaphotography]

Just bought 9 rolls on eBay for 120

[@Magneira]

No, I will never be put of by a overexposed photo of a white house and a car in a suburban area. Seriously, when will this end?

No entiendo por que no les gusta que algo bueno sea popular... jajaja gracias por la info.

Perdón, ya escuche tus razones. Entendido.

[@nestorarranz3179]

I never really get the look that i want with portra 400, generally i like 160 better

[@Fortnite87463]

Portra is very good but it’s overrated. In many situations it works and looks great but sometimes it doesn’t work. Which is disappointing because of the price. The latitude is good, I have had shots that have not blown out even though they should have. However, I have had shots get hazy and bright even when only 1 stop overexposed. Consumer film is still underrated. Ultramax is very reliable all the time. Sometimes its overly saturated and blue in the shadows but that can be fixed in post and is not even a bad look in my eyes. Colorplus is really good but is not color accurate especially with red. I shoot heaps of colorplus and I am never disappointed. You have to allow some imperfections because the film is massively cheaper than portra.

[@loremipsum7873]

Maybe if I could afford it :,(

[@StickPeopleAndPuff]

I'm gonna say it: UltraMax 400 is a better film than Portra 400

[@MyHunter9090]

Portra 400 sucks, I never got any good photos out of it except night time shots. I pushed 800 to 6400 and it looked better than any portra 400 shots I've taken 😭

[@valurautakattila]

omg

[@Adrian-wd4rn]

No Love for the poormans portra/ektar? Proimage 100.

[@hooterwah00]

yikes i never shoot this film it is so bland

[@calenbolo]

Definitely overpriced due to scarcity

[@DanielVeazey]

I'm not sure, I still think color photography is kind of a gimmick.

[@SilkySkillsUnited]

Portra 400 is incredibly overrated. So flat and boring.

[@jeremyfielding2333]

It's a portrait film thus the name. It gives smooth skin tones which is why fashion photographers who still shoot film use it.

[@spaqin]

god i hate portra 400 just shoot digital at this point

[@bakeee]

portra is over rated.