GA — 069 Color negative

KodakMax 800

Sources disagree: described as bland or odd, with strong greens; expired rolls lean purple or warm

Manufacturer
Eastman Kodak
ISO
800
Type
Color negative
Process
C-41
Formats
135
Datasheet
None published

Status checked [2]

After: beech forest, with the preset inspired by Kodak Max 800 (GA — 069 / P) applied (simulation). Before: the same beech forest, base development without a preset.
fig. 1 · GA — 069 / P · simulation on a digital RAW, not a film scan Drag, tap or use the arrow keys

Character

Contrast
Not documented for this film
Grain
Described as grainy; Print Grain Index 48 on the successor's datasheet
Latitude
Large, especially toward overexposure (reviews)
Best for
Snapshots with point-and-shoot zoom cameras and single-use cameras (reviews)

Kodak Max 800 was a consumer ISO 800 color negative film for C-41 processing. Kodak sold it for point-and-shoot cameras with zoom lenses and it was also loaded in single-use cameras [2] [3]. It is discontinued and thinly documented: we found no datasheet for Max 800 itself, only one for its successor, Ultra Max 800 [1].

Look and color

The sources do not agree, and several describe expired film, which reflects aging as much as the emulsion.

  • Bland or odd. Fuji X Weekly says the color was “a little different” from other Kodak films, which some people call “bland” or “weird”, and that it was made for novices [2].
  • Greens stand out. On a roll about 15 years past its date, Best of the Web found greens stood out and other colors leaned purple [3].
  • Mud. Island in the Net, shooting expired GT 800-4, got muddy color and little fine detail, and the author blamed the film’s age [4].
  • Kodak’s claim for the successor. The Ultra Max 800 sheet promises vivid color and faithful skin. That is marketing copy and it is for a different product [1].
  • The print paper matters. Fuji X Weekly notes Kodak meant Max 800 for Ektacolor Edge paper, while its own samples were printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive, which changed the result [2].

Tonality

There is no characteristic curve for Max 800. On the Ultra Max 800 sheet, the curves run almost straight from the toe to the end of the plot with no visible shoulder, and the blue layer is slightly steeper than the red (our reading of the graph) [1].

Latitude is the one point reviews agree on: large, for underexposure and especially overexposure [2]. Best of the Web found the opposite risk on its expired roll: it suspects underexposure at box speed and suggests shooting at ISO 200 [3].

Grain and sharpness

  • Successor’s figure. Kodak rates Ultra Max 800 at a Print Grain Index of 48 for a 4×6 print from 35 mm [1]. For comparison, UltraMax 400 is 46 and Portra 800 is 48 on their own datasheets. We have not measured Max 800 and cannot say it matches.
  • Reviews. Best of the Web calls its roll “soft” and “extremely grainy” [3]. Fuji X Weekly’s recipe uses a strong, small grain effect to imitate it [2].

Specs

We found no datasheet of its own for this film. The figures below come from the sources listed.

Key figures for Kodak Max 800
ItemValueSource
DatasheetNone found for Max 800; the figures below are from the Ultra Max 800 sheet (E-7024, Dec 2007), a successor product[1]
ISO speed (Ultra Max 800)800 / 30°[1]
Print Grain Index, 35 mm, 4×6 print (Ultra Max 800)48[1]
Characteristic curve (Ultra Max 800)Nearly straight from toe to the end of the plot, no visible shoulder (our reading of the graph)[1]
ProcessC-41[1]

Names, status and history

  • Names. Reviewers link Max 800 with Max Zoom 800 [2] [3] and with GT 800-4 [4]. We found no Kodak document confirming the mapping, so treat it as reported.
  • Timeline. Fuji X Weekly says the emulsion was in its third iteration from 2000 and was replaced by Max Versatility Plus 800 [2]. Kodak’s later Ultra Max 800 sheet is dated December 2007 [1]. We have not confirmed the order of the names against a Kodak source.
  • Contradiction. Best of the Web says Max Zoom 800 was in fact consumer Kodak Gold 800 under a marketing name [3]. No other source says so.
  • Today. Camera-wiki’s Kodak list, updated in January 2025, shows only Gold Ultramax 800 in 27 and 39 exposure single-use cameras [5]. Max 800 rolls are expired stock.

Also sold as

  • Kodak Max Zoom 800 (reported) [2]
  • Kodak GT 800 (reported) [4]

Alternatives

  • GA — 009 Kodak UltraMax 400

    Kodak's consumer C-41 negative in the same family, one stop slower, with a Print Grain Index of 46 against 48 for Ultra Max 800

  • GA — 006 Kodak Portra 800

    Same ISO 800 and the same Print Grain Index of 48 on Kodak's datasheets, but a professional film with a different color balance

  • GA — 008 Kodak Gold 200

    Also a consumer Kodak film; one source calls Max Zoom 800 'actually' Kodak Gold 800, which is unconfirmed

  • GA — 028 Fujifilm 400

    Current consumer 35 mm color negative, easier to buy than expired Max 800 rolls

Get the look in darktable

The GA — 069 / P preset, inspired by Kodak Max 800, is a darktable 5.6 style of 5 native modules, with no LUT. It sits on top of your own exposure and tone mapping.

Measured on test RAW files, CIELab
ZoneMetricBefore → after
skyC (chroma)27.5 → 30.3
seaC (chroma)22.2 → 23.8
skinC (chroma)16.4 → 20.9

Settings, all measurements and limits of the Kodak Max 800 preset

GA — 069 / P · darktable preset

Max 800
for darktable

Full pack · 87 presets · yours to keep
.dtstyle file, darktable 5.6 or later

$20 Get the full pack

Try the free pack first · What the full pack contains

See real photos

Scans of real Kodak Max 800 film, published by others:

Questions about Kodak Max 800

Is Kodak Max 800 discontinued?

Yes. Fuji X Weekly reports it was replaced by Max Versatility Plus 800, and Camera-wiki's current Kodak list shows only Gold Ultramax 800 in single-use cameras. We found no dated Kodak announcement, so the year of discontinuation is not confirmed. Rolls that turn up today are expired. [2] [5]

Is Kodak Max 800 the same as Max Zoom 800 or GT 800?

Reportedly, yes. Fuji X Weekly and Best of the Web use Max Zoom 800, and a page about the GT 800-4 roll describes it as Kodak Max Zoom. These are reviewers' identifications, not a Kodak statement, and we found no Kodak document that maps the names. [2] [3] [4]

How should you expose expired Kodak Max 800?

Reviewers suggest shooting it well under box speed. Best of the Web, testing a roll about 15 years expired, suspected underexposure at ISO 800 and recommends ISO 200. Fuji X Weekly describes large latitude, especially for overexposure. Treat these as anecdotes: results depend on how the roll was stored. [2] [3]

Is Kodak Max 800 grainy?

Reviews say yes: Best of the Web calls its roll soft and extremely grainy. Kodak rated the successor, Ultra Max 800, at a Print Grain Index of 48 for a 4×6 print from 35 mm, above the visibility threshold of 25 used in other Kodak datasheets. No grain figure was found for Max 800 itself. [1] [3]

Sources

  1. 1DS Kodak Ultra Max 800, technical data E-7024 (December 2007), successor product, copy hosted by 125px
  2. 2C Fuji X Weekly: Fujifilm X-E4 film simulation recipe, Kodak Max 800 (August 23, 2022) Accessed September 30, 2026.
  3. 3C Best of the Web: Kodak Max Zoom 800 Accessed September 30, 2026.
  4. 4C Island in the Net: Kodak GT 800-4 35 mm colour film Accessed September 30, 2026.
  5. 5C Camera-wiki.org: Kodak film (current 800-speed entries, updated January 25, 2025) Accessed September 30, 2026.

DS: datasheet · C: review or community