KodakPortra 400

Kodak Portra 400 is an ISO 400 color negative film for C-41 processing. Kodak recommends it for portrait, fashion, travel and outdoor photography, and it is known for its skin tones and its tolerance of overexposure [1] [7]. Since March 2026, Eastman Kodak also sells a film called Ektacolor Pro 400, which the photo press describes as the same Portra 400 under a new name; Kodak Alaris still sells the Portra-branded boxes [2] [4] [6].

Look and color

• Saturation: the manufacturer and the reviews disagree. Kodak’s datasheet promises “exceptional color saturation” [1]. Reviews describe something more reserved: “fairly subdued in both contrast and saturation” next to Ektar 100 or slide film [15], colors “bold, yet reserved” [8], and less saturated than UltraMax 400 in a lab’s side-by-side test [10].
• Warm overall. Reviews speak of a “warm, natural color palette” [7] and a rendering “on the warmer side” [8]. Next to UltraMax 400, Portra showed a slightly warmer white balance [10].
• Skin tones are the film’s reputation: Kodak markets “spectacular skin tones” [1], and reviews agree [7] [8]. One reviewer notes a slight bias toward magenta in skin [15].
• Shadows lean blue or blue-green. Analog.cafe warns that shadows “may appear slightly blue” [9]. In a lab comparison, Portra’s shadows were “very blue/green” next to UltraMax 400 [10].
• The scanner changes the look. A Fuji Frontier scan tends toward more vivid color and golden skin, a Noritsu scan toward softer, lighter color and peach or pink skin [14]. On Noritsu scans, one reviewer found Portra 400 cooler and less saturated than CineStill 400D [13]. “Warm” is therefore partly a lab choice.

Tonality

• Curve. On the datasheet’s characteristic curves, the three layers run almost parallel, with a short toe and no visible shoulder up to about 6 stops above middle gray. The slope reads at roughly 0.55 to 0.7 (our reading of the graph) [1].
• Contrast is described as “medium” [7] or “subdued” [15].
• Latitude is lopsided. Overexposure is well tolerated, underexposure much less:
  • Dehancer’s test found acceptable color from −1 to +3 EV, with lost shadow detail and reddish highlights below −1 EV [11].
  • Kyle McDougall was comfortable with anything from 1 to 3 stops over, and judged −1 stop the worst he could accept [12].
  • Casual Photophile got usable images at four stops over, and finds some of the film’s “prettiest shots” overexposed [8]. Analog.cafe suggests metering at ISO 100 with normal development [9].
• Long exposures: Kodak requires no filter or exposure correction from 1/10,000 s to 1 s [1].

Grain and sharpness

Kodak rates grain with the Print Grain Index (PGI), a perceptual scale for prints viewed at 14 inches. 25 is the approximate visibility threshold, and 4 units make one just-noticeable difference. It cannot be compared with RMS granularity [1].

• Enlargement drives it: 59 at 8×10 and 89 at 16×20 from 35 mm, but 25 for a 4×6 from a 120 negative [1].
• Reviews: finer than Kodak Gold 200 but “still noticeable, particularly in 35mm film scans” [9]; hard to spot in 4×6 prints for Casual Photophile [8], although the datasheet places that print above the threshold.
• Sharpness: Kodak publishes modulation transfer curves but no resolving power figure [1].

Spectral sensitivity

The blue-sensitive layer stays on a plateau from about 400 to 475 nm, the green-sensitive layer peaks at 550 nm and the red-sensitive layer near 650 nm. The blue and green curves cross near 488 nm, green and red near 586 nm [1]. The Grain Archive color style is tuned from the datasheet and the reviews above; it is not computed from these curves.

Names, status and history

• 1998 and 2010. The Portra family dates from 1998. The current Portra 400 replaced the 400NC and 400VC versions in late 2010, using technology from Kodak’s Vision motion picture films [16]. The datasheet still lists “Kodak Vision film technology” and T-Grain emulsions [1].
• Two Kodaks. Eastman Kodak had handed the distribution of its still films to Kodak Alaris since 2012, and Kodak Alaris owns the Portra name [5].
• Ektacolor Pro 400 (March 2026). On March 24, 2026, Eastman Kodak launched Ektacolor Pro 160, 400 and 800 [4].
  • Kodak’s product page describes Ektacolor Pro 400 as “the world’s sharpest and finest grain 400 speed color negative film” but does not mention Portra [3].
  • PetaPixel writes that the films “appear to be” the Portra line, with the same speeds, formats and claims [4]. Digital Camera World, citing a Los Angeles lab, says the emulsions stay the same [6].
  • We found no official Kodak statement that the two are identical: treat it as reported, not confirmed.
• Both names on sale. On September 29, 2026, Kodak Alaris still listed Portra 400 in 135, 120 and sheet sizes up to 20×24 [2], and Kosmo Foto reported that Alaris keeps distributing its films [5]. Ektacolor Pro 400 is listed in 135, 120, 4×5 and 8×10 [3].