12 Best 35mm Camera Film Stocks: 2024
Over the last 7 years or so I’ve been shooting all different kinds of camera film and over that time I’ve found some incredible stocks.
I’m going to show you some new film stocks and some classics so that you can work out what’s best for you! I also love explaining what camera film stocks are best for shooting so you guys can make the best decisions.
So if you want a quick and easy guide to the 12 best film stocks to try in 2024, read on!
A Quick Intro
If you’re new to film photography, I have a whole bunch of articles that are super helpful so that you can easily understand all aspects of camera film. To take a look at all of my articles about camera film, take a look here!
Obviously, there are so many different types of camera film so I can’t name them all. My aim is to give you the best camera film stocks for all different kinds of photography and this is all based on my experience!
1) Portra 400 – The Best At Everything Stock
Portra 400 Overview – 9.5/10
Pros – High-quality/pastel/fine grain/editable
Cons – Expensive
Best for – Portrait/Documentary/Street/Editorial
Kodak Portra 400 is basically one of the most hyped film stocks out there and for good reason. It’s known for having really great exposure latitude, pastel colours and fine grain.
Portra 400 is great for all kinds of photography, particularly portrait, documentary and street photography. Particularly because Portra 400 is known for great skin tones.
This is a film stock that I’ve shot quite a lot of and it’s generally what I’d shoot most of the time given the choice. One of the main downfalls of Portra 400 is that it’s really expensive to shoot!
I’d say this film stock is for someone who can afford to shoot an expensive film stock and wants to get really high-quality, editable images!
2) Ektar 100 – The Landscape Demon
Ektar 100 Overview – 9.5/10
Pros – Sharp/Saturated/Perfect For Landscape
Cons – Bad skin tones/Expensive
Best for – Landscapes
Ektar 100 is one of the best landscape colour films available! It’s best known for its fine grain, sharpness and saturated colour.
Ektar 100 is pretty much made for landscape photography so while you could use it for other kinds of photography, it’s not necessarily ideal for anything other than landscape.
I’ve used this quite a bit and I love the colour it produces but it renders light skin tones quite red. Obviously, you can get rid of this hue in Lightroom but it just reiterates that Ektar isn’t suited for much other than landscapes!
This film is ideal for a landscape photographer and it’s usually a bit less than Kodak Portra 400, so it’s moderately expensive but not too bad!
To learn more about Kodak Ektar 100, check out this article I wrote!
3) Cinestill 800T – The Creatives Stock
800T Overview
Pros – Halation/Good for low light/Weird results
Cons – Light leaks/Expensive
Best for – Night time, low light, creative photography
Cinestill 800T is the ultimate ‘creatives’ film stock. It’s best known for its signature halation, weird colour and ability to shoot well in low light.
Usually, people shoot 800T at nighttime because it’s balanced for unnatural light and you get to see halation in the highlights. However, you can also shoot this in the daytime and you’ll get really interesting colours.
I’ve used 800t quite a few times and I’ve actually really enjoyed shooting with it. 800t has a really identifiable look and it’s great having more ISO to play with. I’d just note that on point-and-shoots, you can often get light leaks due to the sensitivity of Cinestill.
This film is ideal for nighttime photography and experimentation!
4) Fuji Velvia 50 – The Best Landscape Film
Velvia Overview
Pros – Landscape God/Sharp/Beautiful Colour
Cons – Real expensive/Different type of development process/Only ideal for landscapes
Best for – Landscapes
Fuji Velvia 50 is arguably the best landscape film ever made. It’s a slide film that’s best known for beautiful colour, incredibly fine grain and sharpness.
Usually, Velvia would be for someone who’s specifically trying to take really high-quality landscape shots. The incredibly low ISO makes for ultra-clear shots with incredible detail and the superior emulsion makes for incredible colours.
I haven’t used Fuji Velvia because I’m not really a landscape photographer but it’s renowned for being one of the best colour film stocks available, so I’m very confident in it.
This film stock is ideal for really high-quality landscape photography.
5) Fuji Superia X-Tra 400 – Good All-Rounder
Superia Overview – 7/10
Pros – Good latitude/Cheaper/Versatile
Cons – Hit and miss/Not professional standard
Best for – Day-to-day, street, travel, documentary
Fuji Superia X-Tra 400 is a great all-rounder film stock that’s a bit more affordable than some of the more professional stocks. It’s best known for having OK exposure latitude, magenta/green tones and moderate grain.
People tend to use Superia X-Tra as a slightly more affordable film stock than something like Portra 400. It’s kind of like the in-between film stock from Kodak Ultramax (which isn’t professional) and Portra 400 (which is).
I’ve used Superia X-Tra quite a bit and I like it for when I need a good quality film stock but I don’t want to shell out for Portra 400. Some people say results can be quite hit or miss with it though which is worth taking into account.
This film stock would be great for street photography, documentary photography or travel!
6) Kodak Portra 800 – Low Light King
Portra 800 Overview
Pros – Great in low light, great dynamic range, great skin tones.
Cons – Expensive
Kodak Portra 800 is a brilliant Low Light film stock that’s best known for great colours, fairly fine grain for such high ISO and accurate skin tones.
People tend to use Portra 800 for street photography, documentary photography, editorial photography and any kind of photography that needs more ISO. Portra 800 Is kind of one of the best film stocks around but it’s very expensive and it might not be necessary for your type of photography.
I’ve used Portra 800 quite a bit and it’s really handy to have that extra few stops of ISO. I also really love the way Portra renders skin tones and gives you a lot to work with when it comes to editing.
This film stock is ideal if you’re shooting in low light or you’re shooting street, documentary, editorial work or even wedding photography!
7) Kodak Gold 200 – The Budget Travel Stock
Kodak Gold Overview
Pros – Cheap, golden hue, vintage look
Cons – Not professional, mediocre dynamic range
Best for – Travel, day-to-day
Kodak Gold 200 is a pretty ideal film stock for a traveller and it’s best known for its golden hue, low ISO and moderately fine grain.
People tend to use Gold 200 if they’re on a bit of a budget or the photos they’re taking aren’t incredibly important. Kodak Gold is fine but it’s not a professional film stock, you can still take good pictures with it but if it’s anything important, you’d probably use something a bit better.
I’ve used Kodak Gold quite a lot and I really like it to be fair, it’s a good, reliable film stock and its price made it reasonable for me to shoot more often.
I’d say Gold is ideal for street photography, travel and day-to-day life.
8) Kodak Tri-X 400 – The Black & White Badboy
Tri-X Overview
Pros – Dynamic range/contrast/vintage feel
Cons – More expensive to develop
Best for – Street/Documentary/Portrait
Kodak Tri-X is a high-quality black-and-white film stock that’s best known for its exposure latitude, moderate contrast and vintage look.
Usually, Kodak Tri-X is looked at as one of the best black-and-white film stocks going. So it’s really the black-and-white shooter’s ideal stock for all kinds of photography. Throughout the years, Tri-x has been used for street photography, documentary photography, landscape photography (although it has high ISO) and much more!
I’ve not used any Tri-X personally because I don’t really shoot black & white but if I was going to shoot B&W then I’d use Tri-X!
9) Lomo 400 – The All-Rounder
Lomo 400 Overview
Pros – Rich colour, grainy, contrast
Cons – Mid-price, not professional
Best for – Street/travel/day-to-day/documentary
Lomo 400 is a good quality colour film stock that’s best known for its contrast, rich colour and nice grainy look.
Lomo 400 is a kind of ‘all-rounder’ film stock that can be a good option for people who want something different. It’s not really a professional stock but it’s probably better than Kodak Ultramax 400.
I’ve used Lomo 400 myself and I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. It wasn’t quite as grainy as I thought it might be and it had more exposure latitude than I was expecting. Lomo film stocks can sometimes be a bit too experimental for my liking but Lomo 400 is a pretty neutral film stock!
Lomo 400 would be great for street photography, travel, day-to-day life and you could probably use it for some casual portraits quite nicely!
10) Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 II – Landscape Bad Boy
Neopan 100 Overview
Pros – Sharp, Fine grain, Dynamic range
Cons – Expensive
Best for – Landscapes
Neopan 100 is Fuji’s answer to Kodak Tri-x (Kind of), in that it’s probably Fujifilm’s best black & white film stock too!
Neopan Acros 100 II is ideal for long exposures due to its low ISO and it’s ideal as a black-and-white landscape film stock! This is a real professional film stock for those who want to take super high-quality black-and-white shots!
I haven’t used Fuji Neopan Acros 100 II because I don’t shoot black-and-white but it’s well regarded within the community as one of the best black-and-white film stocks going. With great exposure latitude and contrast, this is a classic!
Neopan 100 is ideal for landscape photography, long exposures and clean cityscapes!
11) Harman Phoenix – The New Kid On The Block
Harman Overview
Pros – Cheap/Interesting
Cons – Not professional
Best for – Travel/Day-to-day
Harman Phoenix 200 is a new colour film stock, released in late 2023, which is known for punchy, vibrant colours and halation!
Harman Phoenix is the ideal film stock for those who want a weird, vintage feel for a pretty affordable price! This isn’t a professional film stock, it’s kind of like a 200 ISO version of Cinestill 400D but it’s actually all made in Harman’s own factory!
I haven’t used Harman Phoenix yet but I’m confident that it’s a good addition to the film world. It’s got a pretty moderate price and it’s similar to Cinestill 400D. I think it’s ideal for travel and day-to-day life, especially because it’ll create a nice vintage feel to it.
12) Kodak Ektachrome 100 – The Other Landscape Demon
Ektachrome 100
Pros – Sharp/Detailed/Great colours
Cons – Expensive
Best for – Landscapes
Kodak Ektachrome 100 is basically Kodak’s very own Velvia 50, it’s a slide film, it’s really sharp and the colours it produces are beautiful.
Ektachrome 100 is the bee’s knees and one of the best colour film stocks available. It’s incredibly sharp and the colours it produces are amazing. It’s a real favourite among professionals and those who want to produce very sharp images.
I bought some a long time ago without knowing that it was slide film! Within the community, this is known as an incredible colour film stock that’s great for all kinds of photography particularly landscape and portrait work due to its low ISO.
Final Word
There are so many different types of film to choose from and it’s so often about your own personal preference. One person’s favourite kind of film is another person’s worst nightmare.
I hope this article has given you some direction about which kind of camera film would be best for you! Getting the right film stock can completely change your image for the better.
