My Favorite 35mm Film Stocks

I’ve been shooting 35mm film for a little over two years now, and in those two years, I have tried about 25 different film stocks. Some of them I’ve only shot once, and others I continue coming back to. In this blog, I want to talk about some of the stocks I would consider to be my favorite and most used.

Cinestill 800T

Cinestill 800T is one of the more expensive 35mm films out there, but it also is one of the most popular. Before going to Japan and shooting 8 rolls of 800T there, I didn’t really shoot it much because of price. I wouldn’t say this is my most used stock, but it might be my favorite. Because of the 800 ISO, this is a great film for night photography and if you want to use it during the day, it kind of forces you to shoot with fast shutter speed which is good since that helps freeze motion. The “T” stands for tungsten, which means if you shoot it during the day, you’re going to get a blue-ish cast on your images. Some people avoid that by using a warming filter on their lens when they shoot this film during the day in order to balance that out, but I personally like it. I feel the tungsten balance gives this film character, and it also more closely represents how I might edit some of my digital photos. I typically shoot this film at box speed, but of course it never hurts to overexpose.

One very well-known characteristic of this film is the red halation, which people either love or hate. I don’t necessarily love when the halation is overbearing on some images containing a lot of artificial light, but for the most part I think it’s pretty cool. This will likely be the film stock I use the most this upcoming winter due to the shorter days.

Kodak Gold 200

Kodak Gold is one of the best budget, 200 speed films out there today. Most Kodak films have great dynamic range which is one of the reasons why they’re so popular. A single roll of Kodak Gold costs between $9-10, but you can buy a three-pack for around $25, which is a great deal. Since this is a slower speed film at 200, it’s more suited for shooting during the day where you have more light. I don’t use this one as much for street photography, but I love it more for nature and for things that are a bit slower paced.

As it says in the name, this stock gives off a slightly warmer, golden look. I typically like to overexpose this film by a stop and meter at 100, and it’s one of the main stocks that I’ll use with point-and-shoot film cameras since it is on the cheaper side.

Fuji 400

I went a few months of only shooting Fuji 400 to see if it could potentially serve as my main 400 speed film. At about $10, it doesn’t have the same kind of latitude as Portra 400, but for the price I think it’s a good alternative. Some people say that Fuji 400 is just repackaged Ultramax 400, which I’m not sure if I believe, but it’s very possible. This stock also comes in a 3-pack for about $26 on B&H which I think is a solid deal for what you’re getting. I’ve taken some of my favorite film shots on this stock and haven’t really found any issues with it. Like with every stock, I overexpose a bit and with this one specifically, you should definitely do so.

Portra 800

I hesitated to include this one, but it probably is the most versatile 800 speed film out there. Out of these four stocks, I’ve definitely shot Portra 800 the least, and that’s entirely due to the price (it was recently raised to $20 per roll). With that said though, if I want an 800 speed film that doesn’t have halation or a tungsten cast (and I feel like spending the money), this is what I’m going for. This film is one that I’ll shoot if it’s a special occasion like a trip or if I know I’ll be shooting in darker scenarios. Aside from that though, it’s kind of hard to justify the price…but I still like it.