Kodak Portra 400 NC

The Kodak Portra 400 NC is a color negative film.

The “NC” in the name of the film stands for “Natural Color”. This also characterizes the images with this film, natural colors and soft skin tones. Therefore, like the Portra 160 NC, it is very suitable for portrait photography. With its sensitivity of ISO 400, however, it is a bit more sensitive.

Formats

The Kodak Portra 400 NC is no longer manufactured. Kodak combined it and the 400 VC in 2010 to create the Kodak Portra 400 and updated it. When it was still in production, it was available for purchase as 35mm, medium format and sheet film.

Of course, you can still use film today. For example, you can still take great pictures with 35mm film. With one roll of film, you could press the shutter 36 times. The cartridge of the film was DX coded. Using this code allows some camera models to automatically set the film speed. There are many cameras that are suitable for 35mm format, including those from manufacturers such as Lomography, Agfa, and Yashica that produce or have produced specifically for it.

Development of the Kodak Portra 400 NC

How is the Kodak Portra 400 NC developed?

Once you have exposed the Kodak Portra film, you should make sure that it does not come into contact with light before developing it using the C-41 process. This development process is standardized and offered by most labs. Due to this standardization, one obtains almost identical results regardless of the laboratory chosen. In Germany, it is even possible to send in the Portra 400 NC for development through large drugstore chains. After developing the film, one receives the captured images in the form of film strips.

It is possible to digitize the negatives or make photographic prints from them. Many laboratories offer the creation of prints in various sizes as an additional service directly during development.

Digitizing the negatives

For a simple and fast digitization of the film strips, you can use a scanner, although there are various devices that vary in features and quality and are suitable for different budgets. The digitized results can be used both digitally and printed.

Sample photos

Taken with a ten-year-old roll of the 400 NC and the Pentax 645 with the Pentax 6x7 105mm f/2.4 lens