LuckyC200

Lucky C200 is an ISO 200 color negative film for C-41 processing, made by the Chinese manufacturer China Lucky Film and sold in 135 and 120 [1]. It is a new film, announced in 2025 as a comeback for the brand after more than a decade [6]. Early announcements and some reviews call it Lucky Color 200; it appears to be the same film [4] [6]. No manufacturer datasheet has surfaced, so everything below rests on reviews.

Look and color

• Saturated reds and greens, restrained blues. Analog.cafe describes “saturated reds and greens with somewhat subdued blue tones,” and finds blues dull in cool light or when the film is underexposed [2]. A retailer quoted by PetaPixel says the film is “red-based, which makes reds pop in particular” but neutral overall, with average saturation, contrast and grain, like Kodak Gold or “Fuji 200” [1].
• The color cast: the reviews disagree.
  • Magenta or pink: 35mmc finds the film “leaning to the coolish side” with “pronounced magenta,” skin included [3]. Analog.cafe reports occasional pink casts [2]. Shellzine cites “saturated magentas and warm colour cast” [4].
  • Cyan: Reflx Lab, quoted before the film’s release, called it “somewhat cyanish” [5]. Analog.cafe’s comparison with Kodak Gold also points to a cyan tint depending on the scan [9].
  • Warm: Matt Murray sees a red-brown cast in the highlights, which makes portraits harder but can be partly corrected with white balance [7]. The Analogue Shop’s description mentions warm tones and rich greens [8].
  • We read this as a film whose cast depends on the scanner, the light and the batch. It is not settled.
• Skin tones are realistic when well exposed, according to Analog.cafe [2], but “a bit off” toward magenta for 35mmc [3].
• Light matters. The film does best with warm subjects in bright sun and in daylight or overcast, and looks dull in cool light [2] [4].

Tonality

• Latitude: another disagreement. Analog.cafe finds it narrower than Kodak Gold and Portra 800, struggling when deep shadows and bright highlights share a scene [2]. Shellzine reports skies turning “a detail-less grey” in long exposures and advises against night work [4]. 35mmc, by contrast, saw no “distinctive difference” from Kodak ColorPlus 200 in latitude or resolution [3].
• Contrast is described as average by a retailer [1] and as lively by another [8]. We found no measured curve.
• Base. The film has an orange mask and dries flat, which helps scanning [2].

Grain and sharpness

No Print Grain Index, RMS granularity or resolving power is published, so there is no grain table to compare.

• Analog.cafe places it between Kodak’s ISO 200 films (finer) and the newer ORWO 200 and Harman Phoenix (coarser), and notes that the blue channel is finer than the green and red [2].
• 35mmc calls the grain fine, comparable to Kodak ColorPlus 200, and found Harman Phoenix II “a lot grainier” [3]. Shellzine reports fine grain with good sharpness [4]. Matt Murray calls the grain structure “very nice” [7].
• Early-batch defects. 35mmc’s first batch had blue and gray dots and banding, blamed on hand coating and expected to be corrected in later runs [3]. We did not check whether later batches are clean.

Names, status and history

• A comeback. Shellzine says Lucky made C-41 films from the 1980s, stopped by 2012 and resumed production as film demand recovered [4]. Kosmo Foto reported on February 7, 2025 that a new website announced Lucky Color 200 for the first half of 2025, and added that the site might not officially represent China Lucky Film; Kosmo Foto asked for clarification [6].
• 2025 launch. PetaPixel’s June 2025 first look gave an ISO 200, 35 mm C-41 film with no final name, at about 50 yuan in China, with early supply expected to be limited [5].
• In the US. On June 2, 2026, PetaPixel reported the film on sale from several US retailers in 35 mm and 120, at $9.99 to $14.99 a roll, with Midwest Photo’s wholesale arm distributing it [1]. We did not find a manufacturer product page.
• Names. “Lucky Color 200,” “Lucky C200” and “Luckycolor C200” all appear in sources [1] [4] [6]. No official statement settles the naming.

Also sold as

• Lucky Color 200 (reported) [6]
• Luckycolor C200 (reported) [1]