Last update August 18, 2023
Color slide films
- Agfa Precisa 100: A highly-reputable transparency film which was developed using AP44 chemistry (a clone of E6 chemistry).
- Fuji Astia 100F: Displays the most neutral colors from among Fuji transparency films.
- Fuji FP 100 C: An instant film by Fuji with ISO 100 sensitivity. Compatible with many cameras, including Polaroid cameras.
- Fuji Provia 100F: Touted by Fuji as having “dazzling primary colors” and “respect for the most delicate pastels,” Provia has effectively become a natural choice for many professional photographers. Less saturated than Velvia, it is very suited to studio and portrait photography.
- Fuji Provia 400F: A remarkably fine-grained film for this level of sensitivity.
- Fuji Provia 400X: The successor to Provia 400F, with enhanced saturation.
- Fuji Sensia 100: The consumer version of Fuji Astia.
- Fuji Velvia 50: The Velvia range of transparency films was introduced in 1990. Its extreme resolving power and fine grain made it a direct competitor to the Kodachrome series, and its easier-to-use chemistry (E6 baths) gave it an advantage. Many discussions took place about whether Velvia’s saturated colors were more or less “true” than those of Kodachrome. The fact remains that Velvia has enjoyed considerable commercial success and is considered by many as the transparency film of reference.
- Impossible PX 600 Silver Shade: Lends a black & white aspect that tends slightly towards sepia.
- Kodak EIR: Designed for infrared photography, this film gives images a surrealistic look.
- Kodak ELITE ExtraColor 100: A highly-saturated transparency film, well-suited to the contemporary preference for vivid colors.
- Kodak ELITE Chrome 200: The consumer version of Ektachrome films that could also be developed using E6 chemistry.
- Kodak ELITE Chrome 400: Kodak describes this film as producing “rich and vibrant colors even in dim daylight conditions.”
- Kodak Kodachrome 25: The successor to Kodachrome II is a direct-line descendant of the original Kodachrome launched way back in 1936. This legendary product is the first color film ever intended for mass marketing. To reconstruct colors, it used a subtractive method designed by Mannes and Godowsky. Its sharpness, extremely realistic colors, and archival stability amply made up for its drawbacks (i.e., very low sensitivity and a complex development process).
- Kodak Kodachrome 64: From 1974 onwards, the successor to Kodachrome-X. Both films had the notable advantage of being more sensitive by 1.5 stops) than the original Kodachrome 25.
- Kodak Kodachrome 200: Introduced in 1986, this is the only high-sensitivity member of the Kodachrome family.
- Kodak Ektachrome 100 VS: While Kodachrome was the absolute film of reference for outdoor photography for both professionals and advanced amateurs, Ektachrome remained the reference for studio photography for half a century. Easy to expose, available in a wide range of sensitivities and formats (including the largest formats of sheet film), and much easier to process (skilled amateurs could manage the E series process chemistry), Ektachrome became the catchword for films destined for print work. 100VS is one of the last versions, so named for its “vivid and saturated colors” (per Kodak).
- Kodak Ektachrome 100GX: A less-saturated version of Ektachrome than 100VS, with warm skin tones and extremely fine grain.
- Lomography X-Pro Slide 200: This film is none other than a revival of the famous Agfa RSX II transparency film with its saturated colors, extra-wide contrast, and distinctive tint when cross-processed.
- Polaroid 669: A peel-apart Polaroid ISO 80 medium-format film for instant prints.
- Polaroid 690: A higher-sensitivity version (ISO 100) of the above film, both of which belonged to the large “Type 100” series.
- Polaroid Polachrome: A transparency film for instant development.
- Generic Fuji Astia 100: This emulation corresponds to an earlier version of DxO FilmPack when film calibration was performed differently from the way it is today. (For a description of the film itself, see “Fuji Astia 100” above.)
- Generic Fuji Provia 100: See above (and then further above for information about the Provia film line).
- Generic Fuji Velvia 100: See above (and then further above for information about the Velvia film line).
- Generic Kodak Ektachrome 100VS: See above (and then further above for information about the Ektachrome film line).
- Generic Kodak Ektachrome 64: See above (and then further above for information about the Ektachrome film line).
- Kodak ELITE 100 (cross-processed): A color-positive film developed using negative film processing (green-yellow dominant).
Negative color films
- Adox Color Implosion: Color negative with a 70s look and pronounced grain.
- Agfa Ultra 100: First appearing in 2003, this film has very high saturation.
- Agfa Vista 200: An all-purpose film with an eye-pleasing color preset and wide exposure latitude.
- Cinestill Redrum 200: a unique color negative 120 film that has been reverse-rolled for exposing through the base of the film, rather than directly to the emulsion. It produces dramatic red, yellow, and orange toned images.
- Fuji Nostalgic: Intended for the Fuji GFX100S medium format camera, this film reproduces the colors as seen in the 1970’s American New Color trend.
- Fuji Superia 200 (cross-processed): A color-negative film developed using positive film processing (blue dominant).
- Fuji Superia 200: A direct competitor to Kodak Gold, this is the member of the Superia family with the finest grain.
- Fuji Superia HG 1600: This very-high-sensitivity film in the Superia range was used in very particular circumstances (e.g., for concert photography). Highly appreciated by numerous advanced amateurs.
- Fuji Superia Reala 100: The Superia brand was aimed at mainstream amateurs, even though the Reala line used pioneering technology — a fourth sensitive layer that greatly improved white balance. This dual heritage has apparently attracted a following of highly-discerning amateurs.
- Fuji Superia X-Tra 800: The fastest multi-purpose film in the Superia line.
- Fujicolor Pro 400h: Fine-grained, high-sensitivity color negative with precise and natural flesh tones.
- Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400: Color negative that perfectly retranscribes all of the textures and nuances of the original subject.
- Kodak ELITE Color 200: This line of consumer films was intended to give a relatively strong level of saturation “without sacrificing skin tones.
- Kodak ELITE Color 400: The higher-sensitivity version of the ELITE Color 200 film described above.
- Kodak Portra 160 NC: Aimed at professionals shooting portraits or marriages, this film has been constantly praised for the quality of its skin tones, and the fidelity with which it reproduces clothing. A classic among classics. (“NC” stands for “neutral colors.”)
- Kodak Portra 160VC: Among the Portra family (see above), this is the film that provides vivid, non-neutral colors (“VC” stands for “vivid colors”).
- Kodak Portra 400: Color negative with fine grain, natural skin tones, and luminous colors.
- LomoChrome Metropolis 100-400 (2021): intended for street photography and strong portraiture, desaturates the colors, reduces tones and emphasize the contrasts.
- Lomography Redscale 100: A very creative film whose strong orange effect is produced by exposing the negative on the reverse side (in other words, the support faces the lens).
- Lomography Redscale XR ISO 50–200: Renders glowing shades of red, orange, yellow and even cool blue. The extended ISO range render different results.
Black & White films
- Adox CHS 100 II: Classic-grain black & white negative.
- Adox CMS 20: Very fine grain, ultra-high-resolution black & white negative.
- Adox Silvermax 21: Contrasty, ultra-fine-grain black & white negative.
- Agfa APX 100: Mainly intended for non-moving subjects (architecture, landscape, still-life), this very high quality film is mostly used by professional photographers.
- Agfa APX 25: Agfapan 25, now discontinued, is one of the most famous Agfa films. Its grain, one of the finest ever, was rarely equaled. Its very low sensitivity of ISO 25, meant that it was used for decades for long-exposure shots, such as in landscape or microphotography. It appears here in its APX version, which was Agfa’s answer to Kodak’s T (for tabular)-grain series.
- Agfa Scala 200x: This black & white inversible film, which is no longer produced, offers a highly-nuanced palette that includes the most brilliant whites and the darkest blacks, resulting in a faithful reproduction of contrasts, and exceptional patterns and profound details, thanks to its very fine grain.
- Bergger BRF 400 PLUS: High-sensitivity black & white negative for both interior and exterior shots.
- Foma Fomapan 100 Classic: Black & white negative characterized by its high resolution, its wide exposure amplitude, and the fineness of its grain.
- Foma Fomapan 100r: The last of the black & white slide films.
- Foma Fomapan 200 Creative: Black & white negative offering excellent resolution and low granularity.
- Foma Fomapan 400 Action: High-resolution black & white negative for use in low light.
- Fuji Neopan 1600: A high-sensitivity ISO 1600 film that has been prized for the “classic beauty” of its grain.
- Fuji Neopan Acros 100: This film prided itself on delivering what it called “the world’s highest standard in grain quality among ISO 100 films.”
- Fujifilm Neopan 400: Elevated sensitivity black & white negative, with the finest grain in its category.
- Ilford Delta 100: A tabular-grain film, with exceptionally fine grain, sharpness, and wide exposure latitude.
- Ilford Delta 3200: The ultra-high-sensitivity product in the Ilford range, also based on “core-shell technology,“ and also a direct competitor to Kodak’s T-MAX 3200.
- Ilford Delta 400: Introduced in 1990, this is the first film based on Ilford’s “core-shell crystal technology,” thanks to which the company was able to replicate Kodak’s T-grain films – i.e., an increase in sensitivity without a proportional increase in graininess.
- Ilford FP4 Plus 125: A workhorse of classical photography, this film was available in many formats. Ilford described it as “unrivalled for its very fine grain, exceptional resolving power, high acutance, and its great exposure range above and below its nominal sensitivity.”
- Ilford HP5 Plus 400: A classic in its own right and constant arch-rival of Kodak T-MAX. Ilford characterized this film as a “medium contrast film (…) especially suitable for action and press photography (… ) which has been formulated to be pushed to speeds up to (ISO) 3200 without difficulty.”
- Ilford HPS 800: A lesser-known ultra-high-speed film, the ISO 800 HPS was removed from the line in the late 1960s. It was replaced years later by the Delta 3200.
- Ilford Pan 100: Fine-grained black & white with little contrast but with a nice range of grays.
- Ilford Pan 400: Black & white negative that is more sensitive and contrasty than Pan 100.
- Ilford Pan F Plus 50: In 2004, the Ilford company described this as “an extremely fine-grain black and white film with outstanding resolution, sharpness and edge contrast.” Well-suited to mural-size enlargements, it provides a moderate contrast that has largely contributed to its success.
- Ilford XP2 400: Just like its rival Kodak BW 400CN, this ISO 400 film, which comes in both 135 and 120 formats, has the advantage of being developed in a C41 bath (found in any processing lab world-wide).
- Kodak BW 400 CN: Praised by its maker Kodak as “the finest-grained chromogenic film in the world,” this film is actually not comparable to ordinary B&W films, since once it is developed, it no longer contains silver crystals, but dyes instead. The major advantage of Kodak BW400CN is that it can be developed in a C-41 bath, found in processing labs world-wide.
- Kodak HIE (High-Speed Infrared): Infrared light, not visible to our eyes, can be captured by specially-designed films. This famous film, now discontinued, was difficult to expose, focus, and develop, but it captured surprisingly beautiful images.
- Kodak HIE filtered: Simulates a combination of film and filter, with many infrared images recorded using a dark red or even a black filter, which blocked the visible radiation, and let only infrared wavelengths reach the film. The resulting images showed dark skies, black water, with haloing around highlights.
- Kodak T-Max 100: The least sensitive film in Kodak’s T-Max range, with ISO 100 (pushable to 200) sensitivity and very fine grain. A classic.
- Kodak T-Max 3200: With ample reserves of sensitivity (it can be pushed by 2 stops, or to 12,500 ISO), this film has been used both for low-light press photography and for surveillance purposes.
- Kodak T-Max 400: The standard for fast black & white films, this film achieved a nearly perfect combination of speed and grain. A favorite among reporters.
- Kodak Tri-X 400: Arguably most famous film in the world, with legions of award-winning photos to its credit.
- Lomography Berlin Kino B&W 400: A panchromatic emulsion with moderate grain, with a high dynamic range and sophisticated tonal spectrum.
- Lomography Earl Grey B&W 100: This film has a fine grain, with a high density and high dynamic range. Suitable for punchy portraits and bright outdoor photography.
- Polaroid 664: This medium-speed (ISO 100) Polaroid film is a classic, traditionally used for proofing of studio shots.
- Polaroid 667: A very high speed (ISO 3000) black-and-white panchromatic film, often used for scientific purposes.
- Polaroid 672: The ISO 400 film of reference in the Polaroid line.
- Rollei IR 400: A recent infrared film rated at ISO 400.
- Rollei Ortho 25: Mainly intended for scientific and copy work. This film has extremely fine grain with a 2-stop sensitivity reserve.
- Rollei Retro 100 tonal: Available in 120 and sheet format, a high-quality film for experienced photographers and professionals.
- Rollei Retro 80s: Like the Retro 100, this extremely fine-grain film is made by Rollei in partnership with the Maco company. This particular film is derived from a film intended for aerial photography.
Instant films
- Fujifilm Instax 120: Color snapshot film that ensures ideal reproduction of light colors and natural tones.