Kodak has quietly launched a new color 35mm film, Kodacolor 100. It joins existing Kodak film, including Kodak Ektar 100, Gold 200, ColorPlus 200, Portra 400, UltraMax 400, and Portra 800.
The new film is already in stock at Unique Photo, which has locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. While the film is not yet available to purchase online, which Unique Photo expects to change as soon as tomorrow, October 1, the film is already in stock at the company’s Fairfield, New Jersey location.
Unique Photo is selling one roll of 36 exposures for $9.50, which is a competitive price and only a dollar more than Kodak ColorPlus 200.
The photo retailer states that the daylight-balanced ISO 100 film offers fine grain and high detail, along with a “natural color palette with pleasing skin tones and medium contrast.” The retailer notes that the new film is an ideal choice for analog landscape, portrait, and travel photography, particularly in bright daytime conditions, which is logical given its ISO 100 speed.
As Analog Cafe reports, some photographers are speculating that Kodacolor 100 “may be the same or similar film to Kodak Pro Image 100,” which remains available despite rumors of its demise a few years ago.
If Kodacolor 100 performs similarly to Kodak Pro Image 100, Analog Cafe‘s founder, Dmitri, says he’d be “very happy,” as that film is his “current favorite choice for both casual and product photography.”
Unique Photo’s product listing notes that the film utilizes the standard C-41 color negative process and has exposure latitude typical of C-41 emulsions, allowing photographers to slightly overexpose to achieve cleaner shadows and smoother tones.
Compared to Kodak’s very popular Ektar 100 film, Kodacolor 100 promises a more natural appearance, which may make it better suited for certain applications where subdued tones are desired. Kodacolor 100’s saturation is described as “restrained.”
There are a couple of exciting things to consider here as well, not the least of which is that Kodak has announced its first new film in a very long time, excluding the company’s new Vision3 film structure launched in August. For new photographic film, Kodacolor 100 is novel. Although the resurgence of analog photography has led to some new film stocks hitting the market, major players like Kodak and Fujifilm have been relatively quiet when it comes to releasing new stocks. It’s not yet clear if Kodacolor 100 is an entirely new emulsion or potentially a rebranded version of an existing film.
Secondly, the packaging for Kodacolor 100 is fascinating. Unlike Kodak’s other films, which predominantly feature Kodak Professional branding and falls under the umbrella of Kodak Alaris, the Kodacolor 100 packaging features the classic Eastman Kodak logo and aesthetics. It’s much more retro, and, frankly, looks more appealing than Kodak’s other film packaging.
PetaPixel has reached out to Kodak for more information on Kodacolor 100, but has not received concrete info to share at the time of publication. As more details become available, this story will be updated.
Although Kodak has not done any press rollout for its new Kodacolor 100 film, nor released extensive details about exactly what this new film is, and whether it’s a rebranded version of an existing film stock, any new film release is exciting news for analog photographers.
Kodacolor 100 is available now for $9.49 from Unique Photo in stores and the retailer says online availability will start as soon as October 1. Other retailers are expected to have the film soon.