What Film Should I Use? Film Stocks by Situation

Find the row that matches what you'll shoot most on the roll. If the light will change during the day, choose for the darkest part of it. Prices are for 35mm rolls.

If two rows apply, the ISO 400 color film in the first row is the safe compromise: it covers the widest range of light and works in nearly every camera that takes 35mm film.

Match the film speed to the darkest light you expect. Berlin Photo Studio's advice is to think about the darkest part of the day, not only the brightest. A higher ISO is more sensitive, so ISO 800 keeps working indoors after ISO 200 has run out of light.

ISO 400 covers the widest range. Kubus Photo says it handles bright sun (the camera just uses a faster shutter speed), overcast days, open shade and reasonably lit interiors, and gives 30 to 60 more minutes of shooting as the sun goes down than ISO 200. Cultured Kiwi calls it the safest all-round starting point for beginners and point-and-shoot cameras.

Check your camera before going much faster or slower. Analogue Wonderland notes that some of the simple point-and-shoots that have become popular lately recommend ISO 100 to 400, so a 3200-speed film would not suit them. Set the camera to the ISO on the box unless you plan to push or pull the film, which means asking the lab to change development. The basics are in film ISO explained and the exposure triangle.

Color negative film, developed in the C-41 process, is the easiest film to get processed. Digital Camera World calls color negative the easiest and most practical place to begin. C-41 also covers two films people don't expect: Ilford XP2 Super, a black and white film made for C-41, and CineStill 800T, which has no remjet backing, so it's safe for C-41 labs.

Slide film is the least forgiving. Alex Burke puts slide film at about 5 stops of dynamic range with detail and color and says negatives handle roughly twice that, and Kubus Photo says slide film needs exposure within about a third of a stop. Unique Photo adds that it can cost more or be less convenient to process, depending on your local labs.

True black and white and slide film go to fewer labs. CVS lists black and white and slide film at about 3 weeks, and Mpix does not accept E-6 slide film or true black and white such as T-Max or Ilford. For those films, a mail-in lab is usually simpler; the drugstore options are in developing film at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart.

Kodak Gold 200 cost $8.49 for 36 shots at CineStill on October 28, 2026, about $0.24 a shot, and Analog.Cafe's price tracking puts the 2026 average for a 36-exposure roll at $10.34. Portra 400 cost $18.49 for 36 shots at District Camera, about $0.51 a shot.

Developing can cost as much as the film. Dwayne's Photo develops 35mm color from $7.50, and The Darkroom charges from $14 a roll with scans. Gold 200 with The Darkroom's starting price is $8.49 + $14 = $22.49 for 36 shots, about $0.62 each; Portra 400 with the same service is $18.49 + $14 = $32.49, about $0.90 each.

Compare price per shot, not per roll, because most 35mm rolls have 24 or 36 exposures. HP5 Plus was $8.49 for 24 exposures and $9.49 for 36 at CineStill, about $0.35 versus $0.26 a shot. Drugstores can charge more: Walgreens listed a roll of Kodak UltraMax at $12.99 (the listing doesn't say how many exposures) against $9.99 for 36 exposures at CineStill. Run your own numbers with the film cost per photo calculator, or see how much developing costs and why film is so expensive.

Fujifilm 400

Eastman Kodak now sells its own professional color line, Ektacolor Pro 160, 400 and 800, daylight films it aims at wedding, portrait and commercial photographers. Kosmo Foto reports that Ektacolor Pro 400 replaces the Portra 400 name in Eastman Kodak's lineup, while Kodak Alaris still sells Portra, and The Darkroom's film index lists Portra 400 and Ektacolor Pro 400 together.

Whether they are the same film is unconfirmed: 35mmc says it certainly looks like it, but neither company will officially confirm. On price, Ektacolor Pro 400 was $16.95 at District Camera on October 28, 2026, against $18.49 for Portra 400 at the same store.

Fuji has its own name change. Fujifilm's US consumer film page lists two color negative films, Fujifilm 200 and Fujifilm 400. Fujifilm 400 replaced Superia X-tra 400 in North America in spring 2023 and is made by Eastman Kodak, and Fstoppers says it is widely reported to share its emulsion with Kodak's consumer color films. So the old shorthand that Kodak looks warmer and Fuji cooler, which Analogue Wonderland still uses, may not describe the Fuji-branded roll on a US shelf today. Guides that still tell US readers to buy Superia are out of date; see the Fujifilm 400 guide.

Most sources steer new shooters toward inexpensive color negative film. Beyond that, they split on four questions.

• Gold 200 or UltraMax 400 first. Brooklyn Film Camera calls Gold 200 the best beginner film, at about $10 a roll and forgiving of three stops of overexposure. Cultured Kiwi says ISO 400 is the safest start for beginners and point-and-shoots because it handles changing light better. Both fit different days: Gold for daylight, UltraMax when the light will change or the camera has fixed settings. The full comparison is in Gold 200 vs UltraMax 400.
• Cheap film or Portra first. Kubus Photo says to save Portra until you've shot at least 10 to 20 rolls. Unique Photo makes the same case: a cheaper roll you can shoot three times as often may teach you more.
• Ektar for portraits. Fstoppers says Ektar can render skin slightly warm or red, and Cultured Kiwi says it can highlight imperfections. Analogue Wonderland notes that portrait films have mostly been balanced for white skin and cites a photographer who prefers Ektar for darker skin tones.
• Black and white first. Digital Camera World says color negative is the easiest place to begin, and lab black and white usually costs more: LensLurker found developing and scanning a black and white roll averages 19% more than C-41 color, and a TalkPhotography member says the same. Dwayne's Photo is an exception, listing 35mm black and white from the same $7.50 as color. XP2 Super sidesteps the lab problem because it runs in C-41.