Kodak Portra 400 Review

Let me set the stage: I’m in Venice, fumbling with a newly-acquired Pentax 645, the kind of camera that makes you look like you really know what you’re doing (spoiler: I didn’t). Armed with Kodak Portra 400 and zero clue about light metering, I snapped a shot of a weathered Venetian house that practically begged to be photographed.

The result? Slightly underexposed, kind of grainy—but still, it had that Portra magic.

That’s the thing about Kodak Portra 400. It’s like that chill friend who doesn’t care if you’re running late or forgot the snacks—it just rolls with the punches. Over the years, this film stock has gained almost mythical status in the photography world. But is it worth the hype? Let’s dig in.

Originally intended for portraits – its name comes from the English term ‘Portrait’ – the Kodak Portra 400 offers spectacular skin tones. In addition, its color saturation is exceptional in a multitude of lighting conditions.

Over the last decade, Kodak Portra 400 film has become a top choice for professional photographers. It is a daylight high-speed color negative film that offers a smooth, natural color palette balanced with vivid saturation and low contrast for accurate skin tones and consistent results. The second reason of its popularity is it has hardly any tough competitors in the market. 

Let’s see why this film stock is so popular. In this article, I’ll show you my point of view and what I think are the pros and cons of Portra 400.

If you’ve dipped a toe into analog photography, you’ve probably heard people rave about Portra 400. And for good reason—it’s versatile, forgiving, and oh-so-pretty.

1. The Color Palette: Chef’s Kiss
   Portra 400 is known for its warm, peachy skin tones and dreamy pastel vibes. Whether you’re shooting a wedding or chasing golden hour in the countryside, it makes everything look like it belongs in an indie film. Sure, the greens can be finicky (I’ve had them lean a little neon), but when you get it right, it’s chef’s kiss.
   
2. Latitude That Lets You Breathe
   This film has more forgiveness than my mom when I forgot her birthday (true story). You can overexpose it by a couple of stops and still get usable results. Underexposing, on the other hand, can be a little dicey—it gets grainy and muddy fast. But hey, when the sun’s almost gone, and you’ve got no other options, Portra 400 still gives you something to work with.
   
3. Versatility That’s Hard to Beat
   Weddings, portraits, landscapes, fashion shoots—you name it, Portra 400 handles it like a pro. It’s especially handy for those “blink-and-you-miss-it” moments during events where lighting changes faster than Taylor Swift’s setlist.

Weddings and Portraits

The Kodak Portra 400 stands tall during its early launch in 1998. Earlier it was used as a replacement color for the Vericolor range. During its initial launch period, Kodak Portra 400 came in two variants, one is the Vivid color option, and the other was the Natural Color option. 

The technical upgrade in the year 2010 paved the way for the separation, and from there it was World’s Finest Grain in Colour 400 all the way. The Kodak Portra 400 is built especially for professional photography that includes high-quality portrait, and wedding photography. You can create high-quality skin tones along with some beautiful pastel colors with this magical film. 

This film incorporates the technology of Kodak Vision professional cinema films, being the main cause of fine grain, resulting in an ideal negative for digitization in scanners.

Anecdotes: Portra in Action

Once, during a wedding shoot, I found myself chasing the last rays of sunlight as the couple shared a private moment on a dock. The light was barely there, but I pushed Portra 400 a stop and hoped for the best. The result? Grainy, yes, but the emotion in the shot was palpable. Sometimes, it’s less about technical perfection and more about capturing the feeling—and Portra 400 nails that balance.

Another time, I tried it during an extremely hot summer shoot at Villa Valmarana ai Nani in Vicenza. The sun was still quite high (it was around 5PM if i remember correctly), so not yet giving me the beautiful golden light that I love, however Portra’s pastel palette turned the scene into something straight out of a fairytale.

Flexibility 

The Kodak Portra 400 is a completely flexible film and can be used in numerous photographic styles. The technology of this film provides the opportunity to cover stagnant street photography to picturesque landscapes. It comprises a soft palate that offers a certain touch of warmth to your photos. 

The flexibility option also helps you to use the film in various ways along with maintaining its superior detailing and minimal grain. Moreover, the Kodak Portra 400 also covers different lighting scenarios with minimal difficulties. 

Longevity

The greatest benefit of using the Kodak Portra 400 film is its longevity. It can withstand the life of the photos even after 100 and it will still look good. Moreover, it provides a much easier option for maintaining the aesthetic balance of your photos rather than the digital film. 

Saturation

The Kodak Portra 400 is not highly saturated like the Portra 160, or the Portra 800. Though the speed is much less in Portra 400 but comprises more saturation than the 160. The other benefit is that it is a cheaper option as compared to the 800. 

Finally, Portra 800 does not contain sheet film as compared to the 400 or the 160 does. 

The Little Quirks That Keep Things Interesting

Now, I’d be lying if I said Portra 400 was all sunshine and rainbows.

• The Price Tag
  At around €14-18€ per roll (at least at my local shop), Portra 400 isn’t exactly budget-friendly. If you’re just messing around on a lazy Sunday, Kodak Gold or ColorPlus might be a better pick. Save the Portra for when it really counts.
• Scanning Shenanigans
  Let me tell you, trying to scan Portra 400 at home can be as frustrating as assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. The colors are notoriously tricky to balance, so I usually leave it to the pros at Carmencita Film Lab. If you’re self-scanning, patience is your best friend.
• Skin Tone Curveballs
  While Portra 400 excels at rendering most skin tones, lighter Asian tones can sometimes lean too warm or yellow. It’s an easy fix in Lightroom, but worth noting if you’re chasing perfection straight out of the camera.
  
  

TO SUM UP..

PROS:

• COLORS: The most important feature of this film is its incomparable rendering of colors and that too in high quality. I would recommend this film stock for photographers who specialize in photographing people (weddings, portraits, seniors), the rendering of almost all skin tones is true to life and vibrant, with the only exception of lighter Asian skin tones who can sometimes appear too warm or yellow. I would describe the skin tones to be warm, tan, and vibrant. Most Kodak film stocks are yellow-based and that translated in an added layer of tan hue to the picture.
  
• LATITUDE: The other benefit of this magnificent film has superb coverage in the exposure latitude. The quality of the photos is excellent along with offering vivid, gentle, soft tones in the final pictures regardless of the initial exposure. You can, in fact, under\over-expose Portra 400 by 1 or 2 stops without a significant alteration of the negative. I strongly recommend shooting at ISO 320 or 400 for best results and maximum dynamic range. Under-exposing can lead to muddy\grainy pictures while over-exposing too much can lead to a more “dense” negative with more contrast and color-shift.
  
• AVAILABILITY: no scavenger hunts required. Kodak Portra 400 is still produced and sold almost anywhere in the world. I have no problem finding it at my local camera stores for a price of 14-18€.
  
• VERSATILITY: There are different reasons why this film is one of the most versatile out there. The first reason being the 400 ISO. That allows you to shoot in gloomy, overcast, sunny days as well as the possibility to shoot at night with flash or artificial lighting. This makes it the perfect choice for a wedding due to the fast-paced changes in lighting scenarios that you encounter during the wedding day.

With this characteristics, the Portra 400 becomes the ideal film for portrait, fashion, natural, travel, or outdoor photography, as well as action conditions in which it is required to shoot at high shutter speeds.

CONS:

• PRICE: At the time of writing this article (2024) a roll of Kodak Portra 400 35mm costs 18€ at my local camera store, the price is similar online. Sometimes you can find deals and little price variation but it’s still very expensive compared to film stocks like Kodak Colorplus 200 or Kodak Gold 200.
  
• COLORS: Colors of Kodak Portra 400 can be really beautiful and timeless but sometimes they are not the best. The first instance that comes to my mind is when it’s used to photograph lighter Asian skin tones. It can be very yellow and give the person a weird color cast (easy to tweak and correct in lightroom tho!). If you are a fan of Fuji 400h pastel colors, it takes a little bit more care and tweaks to get to the same softness and pastel colors (especially in the greens and the skin tones).
  
• SCANNING: I found that Kodak Portra 400 was a little bit more difficult to scan at home as opposed to Colorplus 200 or Kodak Gold. It takes a little bit longer to get the colors “right”. This problem is easily solvable by using a professional lab to develop and scan your negatives. I love to ask my labs to scan it using the Frontier sp-3000 scanner and I’m very pleased with the results, but I’m not planning on self-scanning my rolls since It’s very frustrating and inconsistent.
  

Is Portra 400 Right for You?

Here’s the deal: Portra 400 isn’t for every occasion. If you’re experimenting, there are cheaper options. But if you’re shooting something special—like a wedding, a once-in-a-lifetime trip, or a personal project—it’s hard to beat.

Portra 400 is the film you reach for when you want your photos to feel like memories, not just snapshots. It’s not perfect (what is?), but it’s reliable, beautiful, and full of character.

So, grab a roll, load up your camera, and let Portra 400 work its magic. Just don’t forget your light meter..or, if you’re like me, embrace the chaos and hope for the best.