There are new Kodak boxes in the shop and they look nothing like the ones you know. Red K logo, retro type, and a couple of names you might not recognise at all. EKTACOLOR PRO. EKTAPAN.

It’s the same film from the same factory in Rochester (same emulsions). What has changed is the box design and whose name is on the box. 

Here is which film is which, and where you can save money. 

Kodak who?

A little bit of history first. Kodak split in two back in 2013, coming out of bankruptcy. Eastman Kodak kept the factory in Rochester (USA) and carried on coating film. Kodak Alaris, a separate company based in Hertfordshire (UK), got the rights to sell and market it.

So for the last decade, every roll of Portra sold to you was made by one Kodak and sold to us (or another distributor) by a different Kodak. 

That started to change in October 2025 when Eastman began selling directly again and posted about it on Instagram. Kodacolor came first, then Gold 200 and Ultramax 400 in November, Ektar and Tri-X in January, Ektachrome in February and Portra and T-Max last of all in March 2026. 

Alaris owns the Portra and T-Max trademarks, so Eastman could not use those names. They went digging in the archive and pulled out two old ones instead. Ektacolor and EKTAPAN are both Kodak names going back decades. 

Which film is which?

One thing worth knowing: Kodak has not officially said that Ektacolor is Portra. Go and read their own product pages and the word Portra does not appear anywhere. 

What they do say is that EKTACOLOR PRO 400 is “the world’s sharpest and finest grain 400 speed color negative film”. Which is almost exactly the claim they have been making about Portra 400 for years. The ISO speeds match, the formats match, the description matches. We are as confident as you can be without Kodak coming out and saying it. 

Is it cheaper?

Yes, generally between 10-20% based on film stock. 

In regards to the professional colour films; EKTACOLOR PRO 400 35mm lands at £18.99 against £22 a roll for Portra 400 35mm. EKTACOLOR PRO 160 35mm is £15.45 against £20. If you shoot Portra with any regularity that adds up over a year. 

The everyday films; Gold 200, Ultramax 400 and Tri-X 400 all come in around £1-£2 cheaper per roll in the Eastman boxes. 

If you want the wider picture on Kodak pricing this year, we wrote about the February changes here. 

But what about Kodacolor???

Glad you asked, because this is the one nobody can pin down. 

Kodak has never said what kodacolor 100 and 200 actually are. Their wording is that they are sub-brands of existing Kodak films, which tells you very little. 

Most people reckon Kodacolor 100 is Pro Image 100 and Kodacolor 200 is ColorPlus 200. That is based on grain structure and colour rendering from people who have shot both, and it is a fair guess. There is no datasheet confirming it. 

We are not going to tell you it is definitely ColorPlus in a fancy new box. Shoot a roll and make your own mind up. 

So which one should I buy?

Both will be sitting on the shelf and it is the same film, so go with whichever works out cheaper on the day. For most people that is the whole answer. 

Two things might change your mind. The Eastman boxes are a completely different design, so they will not match the stash in your fridge. The edge markings on the negatives are different between the two, so if you are partway through a long project you might want to finish it on whatever you started with. 

Any cons?

Well, the packaging could definitely be better. At the moment, all the boxes look very similar, which means we’ll probably spend a fair bit of time double-checking that we’ve picked the right film when packing your orders!

Hopefully Eastman Kodak will give the range a bit of a packaging redesign at some point in the future. Fingers crossed. 🤞

What about the lab?

Nothing changes for us. C-41 is C-41, so EKTACOLOR PRO 400 goes through the same chemistry at the same times as Portra 400 always has, and comes off the Noritsu looking exactly as you would expect. EKTAPAN goes through our normal Black & White process too. 

You can browse the full Eastman Kodak range in our online store. 

Shooting a roll of the new stuff? We develop and scan in-house at our lab in South Croydon. Our turnaround times are kept up to date here. Remember, postage to the lab is on us and it is tracked via Royal Mail.