The Top 4 Types of Film For Your 35mm Camera
Hey photographer, wondering which film to buy for your 35mm camera?
You’ve made it to the right blog post. This guide is for anyone who is just getting started in this film photography journey and who doesn’t know what kind of film to start exploring with.
I’ll walk you through a comparison of the top four types of film I recommend to beginners, all while pointing out their strengths, weaknesses, and differing price points.
We’ll be going over the:
Each number refers to the ISO that that particular film is set to. Basically— the higher the ISO, the more light you have in your photograph.
If you’re just starting out in film photography, I encourage you to try as many different film varieties as you can. If you are out and about and you see something new or interesting and you have the ability to pick it up, by all means go and try it out!
With that being said, let’s get into our first type of film.
1. Kodak Portra 400
Of the four types of film I’ll be talking about, this is probably the most popular one (aka the one you’ll see on Instagram), but it’s also the most expensive of the list.
The Kodak Porta 400 is the first film that I ever used and shot with, and I absolutely love it for portraits because it emulates skin tones beautifully.
In my opinion, this film gives off pretty soft, neutral tones where you're not going to get any crazy saturation. It isn’t going to lean too green or too magenta. However, you’ll find that if anything, it tends to lean a little bit more on the magenta side.
With the ISO being 400, this means that the film is best for overcast, outdoor and natural lighting. You're probably not going to get the best result if it comes to shooting inside, especially if you don't have a lot of window light.
I always recommend this film for your kit. It's one that I bring with me on a lot of my travels because of how well it handles portraits. Another big reason why my friends and I really do love Kodak Portra 400 is because of the grain. You can shop Kodak Portra 400 for around $55 here.
2. Kodak Portra 800
My next suggestion is the Kodak Portra 800.
This is actually my favorite film I’ve ever shot with. I tried it for the first time in Copenhagen back in 2019. It has all the same elements of the Kodak Portra 400, but the ISO is higher at 800. This makes it even better in overcast lighting and shooting during golden hour.
Kodak Portra film is, in general, a great start for you. It is a little bit more on the pricey side, but when I was living in NYC, I could find Kodak Portra 800 for around $12 a roll. You can find it on Amazon for about $32 for two rolls.
3. Fuji Color 200
If you’ve ever wondered what kind of film is in those classic green Fuji point-and-shoot cameras, this is it.
Fuji Color 200 comes in on the opposite side of the scale because of its affordability and cool tones. To me, Fuji Color 200 leans more on the green end of the scale, so it's not going to look as magenta as the Kodak Portra film might.
In my opinion, the color tones are wonderful and the green shows up beautifully vibrant. The skin tones are also nice as well but not as good as Portra. I always suggest this film for vacations due to the fact that it’s only around $10 a roll.
4. Kodak Ektar 100
The fourth and last film I'm going to share comes with a very manageable price point and great color.
The Kodak Ektar 100 has high saturation, similar to that of the Fuji Pro 200. However, in my opinion, it pulls more saturation from colors like red and purple. The blues and greens are very beautiful, but it tends to make the skin look a tiny bit more orange. This isn’t a versatile film for portrait photography because of this. In all, from my perspective, the colors are very enriched. Besides the vibrant colors, another great element to this film is the quality of the grain. I love how fine and pretty it is.
Now, the ISO of the Kodak Ektar is 100 so it's going to perform the best when you're outside in natural light with a bit of sun. I did a whole tutorial using Kodak Ektar 100 on my Contax G2 35mm Film Camera. I chose the Kodak Ektar 100 in that setting because we were shooting at a very beautiful villa in Bali. There was a pool that had turquoise water, my model was wearing a blue dress, and the environment was very green and lush. There were a lot of red flowering trees and red details so the Kodak Ektar 100 made sense to shoot with in that particular landscape.
Next time you’re out somewhere with a lot of color, you might want to give this film a try. In New York City, I could find Kodak Ektar 100 for about $8 a roll. You can get two rolls on Amazon for about $27.
So, there you have it! Those are my four favorite types of film for beginners or those looking to explore their options a little deeper. I hope this blog post was informative, easy to understand, and that you feel inspired to go out and shoot!
To help make film less intimidating for beginners, I created an entire YouTube playlist made up of all my film photography tutorials. I always break down film content in the easiest way possible so that you can be educated and empowered to try out this fun new medium!
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