Kodak Portra 400 Review
The Honda Accord of Film
Portra makes for a great film to edit with.
Despite the flatter image it’s easy to bring back color and contrast. This makes it great for beginners who are trying to improve their editing
Overview
There is a reason people trust Kodak Portra. It’s good looking, nice grain, muted tones, and easy editing make it an ideal film for many situations. Hence, it’s the Honda Accord of film, it excels at most everything with few repercussions. Due to this, you will pay to have the Kodak Professional logo on it. Quality comes at a cost after all. I’m focusing on the 400 speed variant here, but plan to review the faster 800 speed and slower 160 speed soon.
Grain
Kodak Portra 400 has a medium fine grain. The grain that is present is unobtrusive but isn’t so clean it looks digital. It’s flexible enough to push or pull resulting in more grain the farther you push it, but with Portra coming in 160 and 800 ISO variants there sin’t much of a reason to do so. Of course we are talking about the 400 speed variant, and it has a grain that provides nice smooth gradients.
Sharpness
If you have ever heard anyone say “sometimes good enough is better than too much?” well this is the perfect case of that. The details are there, and sharpness is on the good side, but not to shape were you get more details than you want. Portra is a portrait film and the sharpness is just to the point before skin imperfections become a real issue. Even with grain, the tones are smooth yet edges and fine details are fairly sharp.
Sized to fit your tastes
Portra comes in 35mm, 120, and 4x5 large format. You can custom order larger sizes too, but at a hefty cost.
Film Sizes
If you shoot a variety of cameras, chances are you can get a roll of Portra for it, or sheets if you desire. That’s because it is available in 35mm 36 exposure rolls, 120 medium format, and 4x5 medium format film off the shelf. You can order larger sheets, but you have to order large quantities for Kodak to put in the order. That special order is expensive too, so you may want to save those pennies.
Cost
Speaking of saving those pennies, Kodak Portra is pricier than Kodak Gold or Ultramax. If you are shooting this, then you are probably shooting for something very specific or for a client. If you are an experienced shooter than I’ll recommend it. If you are a beginner, the cost of entry isn’t twice that of consumer films, but more than %50 in many cases. This means if you buy 4 rolls of Portra you may have been able to buy 6 rolls of Kodak UltraMax 400.
Look
Portra is a portrait film first and foremost.
It provides pleasing skin tones, and a flatter image that is easy to work with in post processing.
Portra is a Low contrast film with pleasing colors. They focus on skin tones as opposed to complete color accuracy. Portra is also very flexible retaining great shadow and highlight detail for film. It makes editing in post a breeze. Tones are smooth and pleasing to the eye. The grain is well controlled and predictable, never distracting from the image. All of these reasons make Portra my favorite color film for professional use. It’s so versatile you can use it for anything from portraits, landscapes, and even sports (but you may want to get the 800 speed variant instead of the 400). The cost of entry is higher but it pays to keep a roll or two on hand for any situation.
Conclusion
Portra is a professional film that delivers on professional results. Its versatile nature is understated by its name. It does make one of the best portrait films available, but it does so much more. Portra provides a great image across multiple formats. Sure price is high, but just like a Honda Accord the reliability and quality will always leave you feeling pleased.
Quick Review
Grain - Medium fine grain that is well controlled and never obtrusive.
Tones - muted tones that make skin tones feel natural with pleasing colors
Sharpness - medium fine sharpness that never makes skin look harsh yet retains details in environments
Gradients - Smooth gradients that feel natural to the eye
Cost - It’s pricy, often hovering around 8-9 dollars a roll
Sizes - 35mm, 120, 4x5 in retail and larger sheet film custom ordered
Recommended - everything, it does well in most any situation, and available in 160 speed for finer grain or 800 speed for lower light and high speed shooting
Not Recommended - beginners, there are better choices to start with for the price