The Ultimate Guide to the Best Cheap Color Film: Kodak 35mm Film Comparison
- calebknueven
- Jul 29
- 4 min read
Years ago, I conceived this wild idea to test out all the consumer budget-friendly best cheap color film options on the market... specifically the ones from Kodak. Sorry Fuji, you didn't make the cut considering you don't make 35mm filmanymore.
But this idea sat on the shelf until I could find a way to shoot each film roll as close to the same frame as possible. That meant multiple cameras of similar size... THUS the invention of my 3 Camera Nikon Rig!
The Challenge of Testing the Best Cheap Color Film
Another thing I kept fighting was the price hikes over the years. 35mm film keeps getting more expensive, so it was really hard to pin down specific pricing. I know 30 years down the road, I'll get some comment saying "You're dumb, Kodak Gold is now $87.99, dumb dumb poop face!"
But by golly, none of that is stopping us from doing this 35mm film comparison now! In this guide, we're not going to talk about specific prices but rather discuss how these film rolls compare to each other.
The 35mm Film Comparison Setup
For this best cheap color film test, I used four Kodak stocks:
Kodak Gold 200
Kodak ColorPlus 200
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak UltraMax 400
Scanning Method for Fair Film Roll Testing
One thing I did for this 35mm film comparison was get all images scanned on a Noritsu scanner. I thought it would be good to show what most people get back when they send their film rolls to a lab for scans. Most people probably get lab scans, so I wanted to keep that constant.
Now I ain't going to lie... keeping all this straight and not messing things up is a giant pain in my ass. I don't know why I constantly juggle 5 cameras...
Best Cheap Color Film Results: The Good, Bad, and Surprising
Initial 35mm Film Comparison Findings
The first three sets of images were... well, really hard to tell a major difference in each film roll. This kinda exploded my mind - I almost didn't expect such uniformity in this best cheap color film test.
But with the next set, I could start to really see differences in colors and tones:
ColorPlus vs Gold: The Twins of Cheap 35mm Film
When looking at ColorPlus vs Gold, there isn't much difference. These two represent the entry-level best cheap color film options.
Pro Image: The Vivid Contender
The greens are much more vivid in the Pro Image shots. Even compared to UltraMax, Pro Image delivers greener tones that really pop.
UltraMax: The Warm Champion
UltraMax seems to have more brown/warm tones in the foliage compared to the rest. For many shots, UltraMax wins my heart as the best cheap color film for warm, saturated looks.
35mm Film Latitude Testing: Which Film Roll Handles Mistakes Best?
At the drive-in movie theater location, I wanted to test the latitude of these film rolls - how well they handle under and overexposure.
Base Exposure Results
Gold and ColorPlus: Basically identical
Pro Image: Pops those greens
UltraMax: Rich red-brown saturation
Underexposure Performance (The Real Test)
Going two stops under, both ColorPlus and UltraMax don't perform well at all. UltraMax was the worst of the bunch, while Pro Image was the best performer - this 35mm film is playing for keeps!
At four stops under, there were no survivors, but surprisingly Pro Image still kept some shadow detail.
Overexposure Handling
Generally, giving your 35mm film an extra stop of light is good practice to retain shadows. These film rolls handle overexposure better than underexposure, but 4-6 stops over still cooks your highlights.
Color Chart Testing: Scientific 35mm Film Comparison
I know color charts are kinda lame (they're like the cabbage of the veggie world), but this gives us a controlled way of seeing what each film roll can handle.
Base ISO results: All looked good! 2 stops under: Not bad in this scenario 4 stops under: Film starts falling apart, but Pro Image performs best 6 stops under: Murky mess - nothing usable
The Verdict: Which is the Best Cheap Color Film?
This was a weird episode for me. I thought these film rolls would show major differences right out the gate, but that wasn't the case. It kinda got me depressed...
However, I was surprised by one 35mm film the most: Pro Image.
I reviewed Pro Image way back when I was a shit YouTuber (to be fair, I'm still a shit YouTuber), but I didn't like it much back then. Now, I see it holds up really well in all my tests and has the biggest difference in color tones compared to other best cheap color film options.
My 35mm Film Rankings:
UltraMax (Personal Favorite): 400 ISO gives flexibility, plus I love the saturation
Pro Image (Technical Winner): Great colors, handles underexposure better, fine grain
ColorPlus: Solid budget option
Gold: Similar to ColorPlus but slightly worse performance
Ultramax
Best Cheap Color Film: Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, these four film rolls are within a dollar of each other price-wise. The best cheap color film for you depends on your shooting style:
Need versatility? Go with UltraMax 400
Want reliable performance? Pro Image delivers
Pure budget shooting? ColorPlus or Gold work fine
Remember, the best exposure always wins. If you nail your exposure with any of these 35mm film stocks, your images will come out looking dead sexy.
The main difference between pro film and consumer film rolls is latitude. You can get all these films looking similar with color correction anyway - how you scan has a big impact too.
Ready to Test the Best Cheap Color Film Yourself?
What 35mm film would you choose out of these four stocks? Let me know in the comments, and I hope this 35mm film comparison helps clear things up.
Now go out and shoot some film rolls, why don't you!