Kodak’s Ektacolor Pro Film Is the New Name of the Beloved Portra

Alongside the new Kodak Ektapan 100, 400, and P3200 black and white films, Eastman Kodak also released Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160, 400, and 800 daylight-balanced color negative film. The new Ektacolor Pro films appear to be rebranded versions of Kodak’s extremely popular Portra films, which have long been distributed by Kodak Alaris rather than Eastman Kodak itself.

Unlike the new Ektapan film, which revives a classic name from Kodak’s film history, the Ektacolor brand has been used for Kodak inkjet and photo paper products, rather than photographic film. The “Ektacolor” name is admittedly very similar to existing Kodak film names, like Ektachrome, Ektapan, and Ektar.

Although it has a new name, the Ektacolor 160, 400, and 800 color negative films appear to be the existing and beloved Portra line; the speeds, formats, and image quality promises are the same across both products. Eastman Kodak touts Ektacolor’s “exceptionally natural skin tones and soft, accurate color reproduction.”

In the case of the 160-speed film, Kodak says it has ultra-fine grain, wide exposure latitude, and produces clean images with smooth highlights.

“The Ektacolor Pro family offers outstanding exposure latitude, effectively accommodating variations in exposure and providing reliable performance for both amateur and professional photographers,” Kodak says.

In the case of Ektacolor 400, Kodak says it is “the world’s sharpest and finest grain 400 speed color negative film” and notes that it works well across a wide range of situations, “from bright daylight to low light.” Kodak Alaris boasts the same thing about Portra 400’s grain structure.

Rounding out the trio, Kodak Ektacolor Pro 800 promises “excellent low-light performance while maintaining natural skin tones and balanced color.”

Kodak Ektacolor Pro and Ektapan are the latest in a long series of new films manufactured and distributed by Eastman Kodak. After years of Kodak Alaris handling Kodak’s photographic film distribution, the Rochester-based Eastman Kodak began bringing film sales back under its roof, starting with Kodacolor 100 and 200 in September. Since then, Eastman Kodak has released rebranded versions of Kodak Gold, Ultramax, Ektar, Tri-X, and Ektachrome. Today’s relaunch of T-Max and Portra completes the move of Kodak Alaris’ existing Kodak Professional films back under Eastman Kodak’s umbrella.

Sample Images

Pricing and Availability

All three Kodak Ektacolor films are available in both 135 and 120 formats, starting at $16.99 per roll for 35mm film and $64.95 for a five-pack of Ektacolor Pro 160 medium-format film. It is worth noting that the 800-speed film is more expensive: $19.95 for 36 shots in 35mm format and $89.95 for a five-roll pack of 120. All that said, Portra’s pricing has gotten high over the last few years and this rebrand is, gratefully, seeing a reverse of that trend.

Image credits: Eastman Kodak