7 Reasons To Shoot Kodak Colorplus
When I started shooting film photography, all I shot was Kodak Colorplus, I love this film and you should too.
Way back in 2015 when I first started to shoot on film, I wasn’t really concerned about the type of film I was using, it really didn’t matter to me. I would pick up a whole bunch of Colorplus for £3 a pop and shoot street photography all day.
Some of my best pictures were shot on Kodak Colorplus so I want to tell you about this great, affordable film so you can continue shooting great shots at a reasonable price.
It’s Cheap(ish)
Kodak Colorplus is still really affordable compared to most other colour film stocks. Analogue Wonderland still only charge £7 a roll when they have it in stock and these days, that’s a pretty good price.
| Stock (Analogue Wonderland) | Price Per Roll |
| Colorplus | £7.00 |
| Portra 800 | £18.50 |
| Portra 160 | £18.00 |
| Kodak Gold | £9.00 |
| Cinestill 400D | £20.00 |
Of course, it’s great that Colorplus isn’t too expensive, other types of film have gotten out of hand. But this holds more importance because it’ll mean you can shoot more and learn faster. Anything that makes your process easier and removes ‘roadblocks’ is always a good thing.
If you want to find out when film is in stock at Analogue Wonderland then you should get the app, it’s really handy so you can easily grab film for more reasonable prices. (This isn’t sponsored sadly).
It Actually Captures Good Shots
Despite being Kodak’s most budget film stock, this film can capture some brilliant shots. One of its key letdowns is that it doesn’t have amazing exposure latitude because it’s an older-generation emulsion than some of the more expensive film stocks.
But that being said, I took these shots above with Kodak Colorplus. In my opinion, Colorplus does the job and you do the rest, it doesn’t matter how good your film is if you take bad pictures.
Colorplus might not be perfect, but if I took these pictures with Portra 400, I don’t think anyone would look at them any differently.
If you want to find out how to get way better film photos, take a look here.
It’s Great For Travel
Colorplus is ideal 35mm film for travel. It’s affordable, it’s 200 ISO, it should survive airport scanners and it provides a moderately warm, vintage look.
All three of the pictures above were taken on Kodak Colorplus, they each have their own warmth and slight yellow hue which is present in Colorplus.
200 ISO is also ideal for travel most of the time, since we usually travel to sunny countries and it’s usually during the summertime.
For tips to get better travel shots, take a look at this article I wrote just for you!
Colorplus Allows You To Shut Off From The Unimportant
Okay, this is getting a bit deep but hear me out. Colorplus is just simple colour film, there’s nothing special about it, nothing different or weird about it. Shooting on Colorplus doesn’t make you think about the effect of your film or how the colour will present itself.
Whenever I shoot with expensive film or film that has an effect like black and white or Cinestill, I’m really aware of how the effect will look rather than how my composition is.
Colorplus just is, it’s just film and that’s it, no frills, and I think this was a really important factor for me when I first started shooting film. I don’t need to be focussed on how the film is going to look, I need to be focussed on what I’m shooting and why, those are the important bits.
Warm Tones
There’s a certain warmth to Kodak Colorplus that gives it a bit of a vintage look. It’s quite subtle but it’s enough to see and feel.
As you can see from the pictures above, there’s just a slight added bit of warmth that comes through with Colorplus.
I don’t think this warmth is enough to feel gimmicky, it’s more like a bit of a feeling. It’s something I loved about shooting colorplus, understated but it’s doing the lords work.
Versatile ISO
Hear me out, 200 ISO is a fairly versatile ISO if you have an alright lens. I know that Colorplus doesn’t have amazing exposure latitude when compared to Portra 400 but let me show you some shots I took with it as the sun was setting in a ‘low-light’ street in Manchester.
These are all straight out of the camera, no editing. I had to shoot at F 1.8 but I think this added to the whole feeling of these shots.
Yeah this won’t do too well when it’s really dark but for most types of shooting, Colorplus will do just fine!
Good For Street Photography
Again, most people would suggest Kodak Portra 400 for street photography but I’m suggesting Kodak Colorplus. This is because I shot Colorplus for years in the dark and dingy streets of Manchester and I was never let down.
The 200 ISO of Colorplus is generally enough for most light conditions that you’ll come across while shooting street and the slight warm tones show through.
For more tips on street photography, take a look at this article I made just for you!
Final Word
I shot this film stock for about 5 years and I never felt let down by it, it always delivered. The affordable nature of Colorplus, even today, means that you’ll be able to learn from your mistakes more quickly, you’ll be able to shoot much more and you’ll be able to get the lovely warm tones that we all want.
Colorplus feels like what film photography is supposed to be, it’s supposed to be simple, it’s supposed to feel vintage and it’s supposed to be fun. I hope to god that this film doesn’t become even more overpriced like some of the Portra range.
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