I love testing out film stocks and brands to see how they compare. The good news is, you can’t really go wrong with any of them, they just all have a different vibe! It’s rare that a film won’t turn out, unless it’s super expired or isn’t used correctly in the camera. For the most part though, standard 35 mm film is pretty foolproof. Some of my favorite brands are Kodak and Lomography, but lately I’ve been getting more into Fujifilm because it really has it’s own look to it. When I was a kid, my family used a lot of disposable cameras (you can find newer versions of these on Amazon and B&H Photo), and if you’re a child of the 80s or 90s, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Fujfilm Color Negative 400 was a common film used in those cameras and I’m sure you can picture exactly how those photos looked. You might remember the film name as Superia X-TRA 400 (you might still be able to find some expired rolls on eBay), but it has since been replaced with the Fujifilm Color Negative 400. What makes this film so special is this unique tint that Fujifilm has. There is a greenish element to the photos that make them feel more vintage and aged. While it’s not always my favorite when I’m photographing weddings because I’m typically outside in green grass and it ends up being too green, it’s a super fun film for capturing fashion, family & friends, architecture, travel, and other lifestyle imagery.
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Fujifilm is one of those incredibly reliable brands like Kodak that has been around for years. The company was started in 1934 in Japan! And while some companies fizzled out when the digital revolution came to be, Fujifilm has been keeping up with cameras like the Fujifilm X-T5 and the X100VI. And I’m sure you’ve seen the Fujifilm Instax Mini cameras that are very popular. They definitely aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and are competing with some major brands like Canon and Nikon. I have plans to test out some digital Fujifilm cameras soon so make sure to check back in!
Obviously, the greenish hue and cool-toned elements are what make Fujifilm Color Negative 400 stand out, but it also has a lovely film grain that contributes to that vintage feel. I have a review on the Color Negative 200 version of the film, and you’ll find that one to be a bit less grainy because of the ISO speed. I find the Color Negative 400 to have the perfect amount of grain if you want your photos to look like film. And because it’s a 400 speed film, it is able to manage indoor and outdoor scenes fairly well. It’s kind of one of those all-around, perfectly versatile films that works for pretty much anything. This film tends to look a bit cooler overall than Kodak film, especially for portraits and especially in the shade, but you can easily warm up your photos in Lightroom if you need to. I just find it to be a super fun film that brings me back to the good old days. It also has such a fresh, yet retro appeal for fashion photography. I’ve included a handful of my favorite photos I’ve taken with this film below! Keep in mind, I didn’t really edit the coloring on these photos so that you can see the natural greenish tint and overall cool tones of the film. I typically would adjust the colors a bit more to fit my personal style, but for these images I left them fairly close to the colors of the original scan. I hope this helps you decide if Fujifilm Color Negative 400 is the film for you! If you’re on the hunt for the perfect 35 mm camera to use Fujifilm Color Negative 400 with, check out my blog post, Top 10 Best 35 mm Film Cameras for Beginner Photographers. :) For the photos in this blog post, I used the Canon Rebel K2 and the Minolta Maxxum STsi, in case you were wondering!
WHERE TO BUY FUJIFILM COLOR NEGATIVE 400 35 MM FILM
Amazon
B&H Photo
FUJIFILM COLOR NEGATIVE 400 DISPOSABLE CAMERAS
AMAZON
B&H Photo
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If you have any questions, I’m always happy to help! You can contact me here, or leave a comment below! Thanks so much for stopping by! You can also check out my B&H Photo storefront & Amazon Storefront for more camera/film recommendations. :) Have a magical day!
<3 Myles Katherine
