Kodak Portra 160 NC

The Kodak Portra 160 NC is a color negative film. It is part of Kodak’s Portra family. The NC in its stands for “natural color”.

The color film is primarily intended for portrait photography, but of course it doesn’t necessarily have to be used for that. The Portra 160 NC delivers natural colors and skin tones. Kodak also promises a wide exposure range and good results in mixed light.

In addition to the Portra 160 NC, there was also the Portra 160 VC. Kodak Portra 160 NC was available as 35mm film, medium format film and as sheet film for large format cameras. In 2011, production of the Portra 160 NC and 160 VC was discontinued in favor of the new Portra family. One can in good conscience reach for the “new” Portra 160 as an alternative.

The medium format version (120) of the Portra 160 NC

Development of the Kodak Portra 160 NC

From time to time, remaining stocks of the color film are still offered. The printed best-before date has usually already passed. Unlike perishable food, however, this does not mean that you have to throw the film away.

Even if the film has already expired, you can still use it. The expiration date should therefore be seen as a guarantee of image quality. With increasing age, color shifts, decreasing sensitivity or even stronger film grain can occur.

How is the color film developed? The Portra 160 NC is developed using the C-41 process. This process is offered by most photo labs. The process follows a standard, so it doesn’t make much difference to the subsequent image quality where the film is developed. What is more important is what services the lab offers, such as scanning the negatives or whether prints of the photos are made directly. And, of course, what the lab charges and thus how high the costs are for developing Kodak film also plays a role.

Sample photos

The pictures were taken with the Pentax 645 and an expired Portra 160 NC. Developed the color film in the C-41 process and digitized with a Canoscan 9000F (eBay / Amazon*) flatbed scanner.