Comparing All (8) ISO 800 Colour-Negative Films

Just one factory in the entire world makes ISO 800 colour-negative film: Kodak. Yet you can find it in many types of packaging, sold at various price points. This article compares eight of the most popular brands, including rolls in disposable cameras, to see if there’s a difference.

Some companies, like CineStill, physically alter Kodak film to create a unique look and increase sensitivity; other films on this list are identical.

To find out if and how much of a difference there is between the fresh ISO 800 colour-negative films made today, I’ve got a sample large enough to cover all the varieties the world’s single remaining fast colour film producer is reasonably expected to offer. I’m sure there are brands this article isn’t covering, which is why I am also including a list of negatives with edge markings, so that you can find that unknown brand and match it to one of the names in this list.

This article will show you what you can expect to gain by paying more for Kodak Portra/Ektacolour Pro 800 over film in a disposable camera and other options. I’ve certainly come across several surprises while reviewing the samples!

In this article: Method. Normal exposures. Overexposure by +2 stops. Underexposure by -2 stops. Comparing the colour chart swatches. Kodak Portra 800 vs. FunSaver. Lomography CN 800 vs. Optik Oldschool SantaColor 800. Kodak Portra 800 vs. Candido 800. Kodak Portra 800 vs. CineStill 800T (no filter) vs. Candido 800 in daylight (5500K). Film strips and edge markings. My favourite and least-favourite ISO 800 colour-negative films. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

This article is a follow-up to the 2024 comparison, which covered several stocks and various scanning methods. This 2026 update covers more film stocks and adds controls for exposure, staging, scanning, and sampling.

Method.

Films compared: Amber T800, Candido 800, CineStill 800T, Kodak FunSaver camera film, Lomography Colour Negative 800, Kodak Portra/Ektacolor Pro 800, Fujifilm QuickSnap Underwater camera, and Optik Oldschool SantaColor.

This comparison involved staging 58 frames across 8 film stocks under three exposure settings: underexposed by 2 stops, normal exposure, and overexposed by 2 stops. The exposure (18% middle grey) was read against the Datacolor Spyder Checkr colour chart and not the entire scene. Tungsten-balanced ISO 800 films were shot under 5500K (daylight) and 3200K (tungsten) light, cast by a single Amaran F21x light; under the daylight setting, I’ve added a frame with an 85C warming filter to get the best understanding of the differences between CineStill 800T and a new brand¹. I did not compensate/change exposure for shots with the 85C filter on.

Exposure settings: f8 1/500s for -2 underexposure, f5.6 1/250s for normal exposure, and f4 1/125s for +2 overexposure.

✪ Note: Candido 800 was not advertised as a tungsten-balanced film on the packaging; thus, I’ve assumed it is a daylight-balanced film for this experiment (I did not use a warming filter or test it under tungsten-balanced light).

All film was developed at home using a single freshly-mixed Flic Film C-41 Pro kit. I used short strips of film (~12 frames) in the tests to reduce developer depletion (the kit is rated for 16 rolls of 135/36 film cartridges; I developed 8 rolls of 135/12, which is about 1/6 of the kit capacity).

The film was scanned on my Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 5000 ED with VueScan as positives using neutral settings (autofocus and autoexposure were left on). The 16-bit TIFF scans were then inverted with film Q and colour-corrected using greyscale masking over the colour chart.

To ensure we’re looking at differences between film stocks rather than changes in exposure or scanning artifacts, I’ve matched the grey bars on the colour charts, including their apparent brightness. Amber T800 is an exception², as it appears to be significantly less sensitive than the other films.

When comparing the stocks, I’m looking at the colour charts, my face, and the objects in the scene. To demonstrate the nuance, I’m trying some new things in this article, including a giant chart of 240 swatches. I’m also considering the physical qualities of the films — from ease of handling to edge markings.

Though consistent, my props and lights don’t cover all the possibilities of using those films in the real world, but I have shot them all outside this “lab,” and I am taking those experiences into consideration.

Factors beyond my control can still affect the colours of those films, such as storage conditions, manufacturing date, etc. I will try to ignore the noise in this comparison and focus on clear, consistent differences I can demonstrate.

Kodak Portra vs. Ektacolor Pro. These films are accepted by the photography community as the exact same thing, but if you must know, I’ve used the earlier Portra variety in this comparison.

Caveats. This is not a blind or double-blind study. I’ve used fresh films with expiry dates at least a year away, yet I can not know the transportation or storage conditions. I don’t have any insights into changes between the production batches.

Above: the experiment setup included the Datacolor Spyder Check colour chart, a bunch of Instax Square and Polaroid photos, a mountain of camera and film boxes, and a mirror for a self-portrait element. Lit by the Amaran F21x light with a single diffuser sheet.

¹ — I did not use my filtered and daylight-balanced exposures for the tungsten colour films in this article, but I can add them later if you are interested — just leave a comment to let me know.

² — Underexposed by -2 stops, CineStill appeared very dark; matching its exposure to the rest of the stocks was not feasible, as that would cause distortions, so I left it as-is in that set.

Normal exposures.

Eight is a lot of films to compare. Looking at the set all at once can give a good overview to start, but the differences can appear very nuanced (aside from the massive lack of exposure on Amber T800, which I will discuss later).

I will reveal those individual nuances further down this article, which may help you see them in the images and perhaps even guess the film stocks.