The 7 Best Kodak 35mm and 120 Film Stocks: Hands On Review

The team pulled together their hungriest film photographers to shoot for a weekend with Kodak’s best film stocks. Here are our findings, and our top favorites.

The 7 Best Kodak 35mm and 120 Film Stocks 2022: A Hands On Review

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Kodak is the poster child of the analog community, and for good reason. The team assembled their hungriest film photographers to shoot for a weekend with Kodak’s most renowned film stocks. Below is a collection of our sample images to show you our favorites.

    Disposable? No problem.

    Medium Format is a beast.

    1. Kodak Professional Portra 160

    Best For: Photographers needing an even tone and colorful alternative to brighter lighting conditions.

    When loading Kodak Professional Portra 160, you know it’s a color-negative film, meaning it should have a decent amount of versatility within various lighting conditions. You’ll have lots of detail shine through highlights and even a fair amount from the shadows since it’s not quite in contrast as others on this list. It does spectacular with skin undertones. Those with green undertones are bound to look neutral, while folks with a more red undertone will look more natural.

    Colorful Shadows

    There’s something special about Kodak Portra 160’s shadow colorization; red hues and gorgeous undertones.

    Great In Harsh Light

    The lower ISO count makes it perfect for harsh, versatile light.

    Clean Skin Tones

    “Portra” is short for portraits; making clean, proper skin tones always take priority with Kodak.

    Shot on Portra 160 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on Portra 160 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on Portra 160 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on Portra 160 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on Portra 160 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on Portra 160 by Janelle Hougland.

    Moment kodak 6031959 Professional Portra 160 Film 135 36 Propack 5 Rolls thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Portra 160 Color Negative 35mm Film - 5 Rolls

    Treat your film camera! The Kodak Portra 160 35mm film features a significantly finer grain structure, exceptionally smooth, and natural skin tone reproduction

    Buy for $69.95
    Moment kodak 1808674 Professional Portra 160 Film 120 Propack 5 Rolls thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Portra 160 Color Negative 120 Film - 5 Rolls

    Treat your film camera! The Kodak Portra 160 120 film features a significantly finer grain structure, exceptionally smooth, and natural skin tone reproduction

    Buy for $49.99

    2. Kodak Professional Portra 400

    Best For: Photographers looking for a natural, warm film stock to capture any scene without a plan.

    Many photographers rely on Kodak Professional Portra 400 as their main go-to stock for its highly reliable, always-excellent image quality in various conditions. It provides a general warmness alongside more muted colors, bringing many fans. With its sunny feel and colors and contrast that enhance a scene without making it unrealistic, Portra delivers precisely what you envision. Truly impeccable skin tone results, very true-to-life and smoothly rich.

    True To Color Tones

    Skin tones are real-to-life and blend lovely within the picture.

    Most Popular

    It’s everyone’s favorite go-to for a reason. It’s easy to handle just about any scene.

    Dynamic Range

    Crisp detail can be seen among every image.

    Shot on Portra 400 by April Mariveles.

    Shot on Portra 400 by April Mariveles.

    Shot on Portra 400 by April Mariveles.

    Shot on Portra 400 by April Mariveles.

    Moment kodak 6031678 Professional Portra 400 Film 135 36 Propack 5 Rolls thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Portra 400 Color Negative Film 35mm

    Eyeing the go-to choice of pro film shooters? Kodak Portra Film at true ISO 400 delivers spectacular skin tones and color saturation in 35mm format

    Buy for $79.99
    Moment kodak 8331506 Professional Portra 400 Film 120 Propack 5 Rolls thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Portra 400 Color Negative 120 Film - 5 Rolls

    Looking for a film with great skin tones, exceptional color saturation? At true ISO 400 speed, Kodak Portra 120 delivers in a wide range of lighting conditions

    Buy for $64.99

    3. Kodak Professional Portra 800

    Best For: Photographers looking to create with Portra 400’s color profile but with a higher ISO for low light compatibility.

    Kodak’s Professional Portra 800 film stock is reminiscent of Portra 400, only more grainy with added contrast. It has extraordinarily warm tones and a very good exposure balance, and while its grain is more noticeable, it’s still very pleasant looking and adds an extra taste of texture. The high ISO makes photography ideal for lower light shooting, perfect for reception dinners, moody portraits, and blue hour landscapes.

    Beautiful Grain

    The added grain is aesthetically pleasing and gives a natural texture.

    Low Light Compatible

    This is one of the fewer film stocks on the market that can actually handle low light conditions.

    True To Color Tones

    Skin tones are real-to-life and blend lovely within the picture.

    Shot on Portra 800 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Portra 800 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Portra 800 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Portra 800 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Portra 800 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Portra 800 by Erica Coble.

    Moment kodak 1451855 Professional 800 Film 135 36 thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Portra Color Negative 800 35mm Film

    You want all the advantages of a high-speed film along with finer grain, higher sharpness, natural skin tones? Kodak Professional Portra 800 35mm film delivers!

    Buy for $18.99
    Moment kodak 8127946 Professional Portra 800 Film 120 Propack 5 Rolls thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Portra 800 Color Negative 120 Film - 5 Rolls

    In need of a high-speed film with finer grain, higher sharpness, and more natural skin tones? Kodak Professional Portra 800 120 film delivers in a 5 pack!

    Buy for $75.99

    4. Kodak Professional Tri-X 400

    Best For: Photographers wanting a detailed yet textured film stock to boast moody imagery for any fine art project.

    An uber sharp and super contrasty black-and-white film stock proudly boasted by Kodak. Great for high-speed panchromatic films that are a good choice for photographing dimly lighted subjects or fast action. Tri-X does the heavy lifting with its punched blacks and detailed depth. Perfect to use against solitary backdrops, portraits, or abandoned scenes.

    Black and White

    Simply put, we love an excellent high-concentrated black-and-white film.

    Slight Grain

    A textured picture makes a moody image even more intense and real.

    High Contrast

    Contrasted monochrome images serve their purpose; this film stock captivates every detail well and alive.

    Shot on TriX 400 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on TriX 400 by Janelle Hougland.

    Shot on TriX 400 by Janelle Hougland.

    Moment Kodak 8667073 Professional Tri X 400 Film TX135 36 thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Tri-X 400 Black and White Negative 35mm Film

    Feed your film camera with the world's best selling B&W 35mm film! This classic B&W film allows for maximum pushability when needed with wide exposure latitude

    Buy for $12.99

    5. Kodak Professional Ektar 100

    Best For: Photographers looking for a way to set their images apart with a more unique, vibrant colorway.

    Kodak Professional Ektar 100 is a fantastically vibrant film stock that overdramatized colors and hues to seem larger than life yet still keeps the photo's integrity. With colorful blues in the skies and crisp detail due to the stocks’ low ISO — Ektar provides a colorway and contrast line that distinguishes itself from the other stocks.

    Made For Landscapes

    Hones in on significant detail and colorizes natural tones in an exciting and memorable way.

    Love Harsh Light and Shadows

    This film catches my attention with bright highlights and contrasty shadows.

    Easy To Shoot

    It’s almost too easy to achieve near-perfect tones images without crazy manual metering.

    Shot on Ektar 100 by April Mariveles.

    Shot on Ektar 100 by April Mariveles.

    Shot on Ektar 100 by April Mariveles.

    6. Kodak Gold 200

    Best For: Photographers wanting an affordable option to capture warmer-toned images of any scene or subject.

    Kodak Gold 200 is one of the most accessible film stocks on the market, as you can find this bad boy in almost any nearby gas station or Walgreens equivalent. Gold 200 is the Bladerunner of all film stocks, curating a warm contrast and haze around subjects of any valor. The long exposure latitude can make it hard to catastrophically under or overexpose a shot, and the signature warm Kodak tones are ideal for nostalgic holiday snaps or family snags.

    Affordable

    Affordable and accessible to anyone looking to start their film career.

    Really Warm

    It’s like a Bladerunner or another Mad Max movie equivalent, in a good way.

    Great In Harsh Light

    The lower ISO count makes it perfect for harsh, versatile light.

    Shot on Gold 200 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Gold 200 by Erica Coble.

    Shot on Gold 200 by Erica Coble.

    35mm film w/ Gold 200 by Erica Coble.

    35mm film w/ Gold 200 by Erica Coble.

    35mm film w/ Gold 200 by Erica Coble.

    Moment Kodak 1075597 Professional Gold 200 120 Film 5 Rolls thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Gold 200 Color Negative 120 Film

    Shoot with the Legendary Kodak GOLD 200 120 Film! A low-speed color negative film, offering outstanding color saturation, fine grain, and high sharpness

    Buy for $44.99

    7. Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100

    Best For: Photographers needing a stock to cater to their experimental colors, and wanting a more vivid expression.

    Kodak Professional Ektachrome also features a signature color saturation and contrast often not reflected in other film stocks. Colors are rich, deep, and vivid with true-to-life skin tones. It holds a lower contrast formula to provide balance and a wide dynamic range, and it has a neutral tonal scale for greater color accuracy.

    Unique History

    Truly a remarkable and underdeveloped film stock, your images will stand out against the rest.

    Saturation

    Vivid colors make an even more fun, vibrant picture.

    Lower Contrast

    Holds a lower contrast formula to provide balance and a wide dynamic range.

    Shot on Kodak Ektachrome E100 by Erika Carabeo.

    Shot on Kodak Ektachrome E100 by Erika Carabeo.

    Moment kodak 1884576 Professional Ektachrome Film E100 135 36 thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Ektachrome E100 Color Reversal 35mm Film

    Your film camera told us that it needs some love! Treat it with Professional Ektachrome E100 35mm Film which delivers outstanding image quality and performance

    Buy for $21.99
    Moment Kodak 8731200 Professional Ektachrome Film E100 5 Rolls Thumbnail

    Kodak

    Professional Ektachrome E100 Color Reversal 120 Film - 5 Rolls

    Feed your Medium Format film camera some tasty E100! The extremely fine grain Kodak Ektachrome E100 will give you a wide dynamic range, great color accuracy.

    Buy for $81.99

    How We Tested:

    The Moment team is full of film photography buffs; we geek over which cameras to use, the difference in film stocks for specific environments, and which vintage strap from Grandpa’s closet will look best with our medium formats. When we heard that our team received a personal brand contact for Kodak, Fujifilm, etc. — we grew evermore stoked to be a part of the Moment team to launch our Film Store. Our supply coordinator sent the film photographers some stocks to test out throughout the weekend for launch assets. I gathered some thoughts and opinions from the team for this article and my personal testament to each film roll (I’ve used all of these myself and can’t choose which is my favorite!). My words may reign true, but our teams’ example pictures are a testament to what each of these stocks is capable of.

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