Kodak Film Line-Up Changes: What’s Changing, What’s Staying the Same, and What It Means for You
We wanted to take a minute to share some exciting changes to the Kodak film line-up, and explain what they mean for you — whether you buy your film from us or elsewhere.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Eastman Kodak would begin selling its own photographic films directly. Previously, Kodak films were sold through a separate company, Kodak Alaris.
We won’t get too deep into the corporate history. The important bit is simple: Eastman Kodak, the manufacturer, has started selling the films it makes directly.
Why We Didn’t Import Eastman Kodak Film
When this was first announced, we looked into importing the new Eastman Kodak-branded films from the USA.
Ultimately, we decided against it for two reasons.
The main one was price. Once we had imported the films into the UK, they would have cost more than the Kodak films we were already selling, which were sourced through Kodak Alaris.
Secondly, it felt slightly duplicitous.
We’ve seen some shops advertising these as if they are completely new Kodak films, or somehow different from the Kodak Alaris line-up. For the most part, they aren’t.
These are the same films you know and love, just in different packaging and, in some cases, with a different name.
Selling you the same film for more money while making out that it is somehow different just isn’t our style.
So, What’s Changed?
We received some good news last week: a UK-based supplier will soon be stocking the Eastman Kodak films.
Thanks to the economies of scale — and perhaps the removal of Kodak Alaris from the supply chain — these films will be available to us at a lower price.
That means cheaper Kodak film for you.
These Eastman Kodak films are going to start appearing in film labs and camera shops around the country. Some stores may choose to stock both the Kodak Alaris and Eastman Kodak versions.
For us, however, we’ll gradually switch from Kodak Alaris films to Eastman Kodak films as we restock, wherever the equivalent film is available.
For the most part, this will simply mean a change of packaging and a lower price. For some films, there will also be a name change.
Kodak Film Name Changes
Here are some of the changes you can expect:
Portra → Ektacolor
ColorPlus → Kodacolor
T-Max → Ektapan
We’re still undecided on exactly how we’ll handle films where the name changes.
We could stock both versions for a while, or make a complete switch. Our main priority is to reduce confusion as much as possible.
At the same time, we don’t want to be accused of passing one film off as something it isn’t.
We’ll keep you updated as we work out the best way to handle the transition.
The Good News: Kodak Film Prices Are Coming Down
The most exciting part of all this is that the lower wholesale cost means lower retail prices.
For some films, we’re talking about a reduction of around 50–60p per roll. For others, the saving will be a couple of pounds.
Obviously, prices can change, so we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. But based on current pricing, these are some of the changes you can expect on some of your favourite Kodak films:
Kodak UltraMax 36 exp is £11.85 will go down to £10.65
Kodak Gold 36 exp is £10.40 will go down to £9.85
Kodak Portra 160 120 is £16.30 will go down to £13.99
So, yes: Kodak film is getting cheaper.
And we’re pretty happy about that.
There’s Also a ‘New’ Kodak Film: Kodacolor 100
There is one particularly interesting addition to the Eastman Kodak line-up: Kodacolor 100.
We’re putting “new” in quotation marks because there’s still plenty of debate about exactly what this film is.
There’s no clear consensus, but most of the discussion online seems to suggest that Kodacolor 100 may use the same emulsion to Lomography Color 100 (Lomo 100).
That film is itself thought to be a modernised version of the previously discontinued Kodak ColorPlus 100, which is related to the ProImage emulsion.
So, is Kodacolor 100 a genuinely new Kodak film?
It’s certainly new to the Kodak line-up we’ve previously been able to buy through Kodak Alaris, but the photographic community is already having plenty of fun trying to work out exactly what is hiding inside the cartridge.
What Happens Next?
Our first restock with the new film will be Kodak UltraMax 36 exposure and the UltraMax 36 exposure three-pack.
We’ve already lowered the prices on these products to reflect the new costs.
There is a small chance that if you order UltraMax 36 exposure during the transition, you may still receive a couple of rolls in the old Kodak Alaris packaging, if you really really really want the new packaging put a note in your order and we’ll try our best to do this.
We also have Kodacolor 100 arriving today.
So, if you fancy running a few test shots and joining the online arguments about whether it’s ProImage, Lomo 100, or a modernised emulsion of something Kodak hasn’t made since the 1990s…. You can buy a roll of that too.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the Kodak film range develops over the coming months and will update you as more information becomes available.
Team Dodo