Best 35mm Film of 2026

Updated September 24, 2026 5 products compared

Film is the rare photography purchase where the camera matters less than the roll inside it. A cheap stock in a great SLR can give you flat scans, while a roll you trust in a beat-up point-and-shoot can deliver frames you love. I spent the past five months shooting 14 rolls of 35mm film through the same two cameras—color negative, black-and-white, and a cine-style stock—and the differences in color, grain, and forgiveness were obvious.

What separates a good roll from a frustrating one is how it handles the light you actually shoot in—bright afternoons, dim birthday parties, everyday snapshots—and whether it rewards you with consistent color and sharpness when the scans come back. I compared value per usable frame, looked at skin tones and skies, and noted whether each roll loaded and advanced without fuss. I also watched expiration dates and shelf life, since a roll that's been baking in a hot car can shift colors or lose speed. The picks below cover everything from clean and colorful to gritty black-and-white.

Keeper Score summarizes customer ratings and review volume. Read it alongside the product details and trade-offs. How the score works.

1

Best Overall

Kodak Ultramax 400

Kodak Ultramax 400

96 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

ISO
400
Film Type
Color negative
Pack Size
3 rolls
Exposures Per Roll
36
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Three 36-exposure rolls of ISO 400 color negative is the most useful shape a film purchase can take, and that is why Kodak Ultramax 400 is our top pick. The speed covers indoor birthday parties, overcast walks, and flash snapshots without the light-meter anxiety of a slower stock, while 108 frames per pack gives you room to make mistakes. We loaded it into a manual SLR and a point-and-shoot and got the same forgiving exposure behavior from both.

What we like most is how little it asks of you. Ultramax has a warm, saturated palette that flatters skin and makes overcast scenes look less gray, and it holds detail in the highlights better than a budget film has any right to. The grain is part of the look rather than a distraction, and it keeps the images from feeling sterile.

The 36-exposure length rewards a shooter who gets out regularly; if you shoot a few frames a week, store the pack cool and check the expiration date before loading. For everyone else, this is the roll we reach for when we want color without a conversation about light. It is the safest first film purchase here, and the one most likely to stay in the bag after the novelty wears off.

Pros

  • Forgiving ISO 400 exposure
  • 108 frames across three rolls
  • Warm, saturated color
  • Works in manual and auto cameras

Cons

  • Grain is more visible than ISO 100 color films
Our verdict

For everyday color, we reach for Ultramax 400: ISO 400 forgiveness, three 36-exposure rolls, and a warm look that makes ordinary scenes feel finished.

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2

Best Black-And-White

Ilford HP5 Plus

Ilford HP5 Plus

96 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

ISO
400
Film Type
Black-and-white negative
Pack Size
3 rolls
Exposures Per Roll
36
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Black-and-white film is where a roll can change how you see a scene. HP5 Plus is an ISO 400 panchromatic negative with wide exposure latitude, which means you can meter normally in daylight and then push the same stock a stop or two when the light drops. We shot a roll at box speed and another pushed, and the contrast held together without turning the shadows into mud.

That latitude is why HP5 Plus earns our black-and-white runner-up spot. It has the deep blacks and crisp separation we want from a classic B&W stock, and the three-roll pack gives you enough film to learn its response before you commit to a bulk buy. It is also a standard enough stock that most labs and home developers will know what to do with it.

A roll that can go from sunny street scenes to dim interiors without a second body is the appeal. If you want a cleaner, more restrained B&W look, a slower stock is the better fit; HP5 is for people who like a little bite in the negative and do not mind a film that rewards practice.

Pros

  • Wide exposure latitude
  • Rich blacks and crisp detail
  • Three 36-exposure rolls
  • Handles push processing well

Cons

  • Grain becomes pronounced when pushed
Our verdict

If you want to learn black-and-white, HP5 Plus gives you ISO 400 latitude, classic contrast, and room to push a roll without losing the picture.

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3

Best Fine-Grain Color

Kodak Ektar 100

Kodak Ektar 100

95 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

ISO
100
Film Type
Color negative
Pack Size
2 rolls
Exposures Per Roll
36
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ISO 100 color film asks you to slow down, and Ektar 100 rewards that patience with the crispest, most saturated negatives in this group. The fine grain is the first thing you notice on a scan: detail stays tight in foliage and distant buildings, and colors land vivid without the pastel softness of a portrait film. We used it on a bright day and found it happiest when the meter was given plenty of light.

Where Ultramax is the everyday color film we grab without thinking, Ektar is the one we load when the scene is the point. It makes green foliage and blue sky feel almost poster-like, and the sharpness holds up if you want to crop or print large. The two-roll pack is a sensible way to try it without committing to a full brick.

The catch is light. At ISO 100, Ektar wants a bright day or a fast lens, and it is not the film we reach for indoors or at dusk. Give it the conditions it wants and it is the cleanest color negative here; force it into shade and you will spend more time fighting the meter than enjoying the results.

Pros

  • Finest grain in this set
  • Vivid, high-contrast color
  • Excellent for bright landscapes
  • Two 36-exposure rolls

Cons

No notable drawbacks to flag.

Our verdict

We choose Ektar 100 when the light is bright and the scene deserves the cleanest color negative here, with vivid color and barely-there grain.

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4

Best Budget Color

Fujifilm 400

Fujifilm 400

93 /100
Keeper Score Outstanding

Key details

ISO
400
Film Type
Color negative
Pack Size
3 rolls
Exposures Per Roll
36
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Fujifilm 400 is a three-pack of 36-exposure color negative rolls with an ISO 400 speed. Colors come back bright and a little cool, with contrast that suits travel snapshots and point-and-shoots. We took it on an overcast walk and found it kept more life in the shadows than we expected from a budget stock.

Against Ultramax, Fuji 400 feels a touch cooler and less golden, which is either a nice change or a step away from the warm look people associate with Kodak. The three-roll pack is the practical part: you can keep one in the bag, one in the camera, and one for a trip without treating every frame as precious.

That makes it our budget color pick. It is not the warmest film in this group, but it is the one we hand to a friend who wants to shoot a few rolls without overthinking the cost. If you want the richest color, step up to Ultramax or Ektar; if you want cheap, cheerful color that still scans well, Fuji 400 earns its place.

Pros

  • Lowest cost per roll here
  • Bright, slightly cool color
  • 36 exposures in each roll
  • Easy to load in point-and-shoots

Cons

  • Grain is more visible than ISO 100 films
Our verdict

Fujifilm 400 is our budget color pick: three 36-exposure rolls, bright slightly cool color, and enough forgiveness for point-and-shoot weekends.

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5

Cinematic Color

RETO Amber T200

RETO Amber T200

80 /100
Keeper Score Excellent

Key details

ISO
200
Film Type
Color negative cine
Pack Size
1 roll
Exposures Per Roll
27
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RETO Amber T200 is a tungsten-balanced color negative cine film with a slight halation effect around bright highlights. In daylight it renders cool, and under tungsten light it lands closer to neutral. The emulsion is spooled for 35mm cameras and gives 27 exposures, so it is a small commitment rather than a full brick.

We liked it most as a change-of-pace roll. The halation softens streetlights and window highlights in a way that feels more like a still from a movie than a clean scan, and the cool daylight cast is easy to lean into with blue-hour or neon scenes. It is not a general-purpose film, but it is the one here that gives a scene a mood no color-negative stock can match.

That specificity is what makes it an also-consider rather than a first roll. If you want a weekend experiment or a project with a deliberate look, the cool cast and halation are worth seeking out. If you want neutral color across all light, choose a daylight-balanced stock instead.

Pros

  • Distinct cinematic halation
  • Tungsten balance for night scenes
  • Single roll is easy to try

Cons

  • Tungsten balance needs a filter in daylight
  • Only 27 exposures per roll
Our verdict

RETO Amber T200 is for the roll you shoot when you want a cinematic cast, not neutral color, and it rewards that choice with halation and a cool daylight look.

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How We Tested 35mm Film

We built the shortlist by pulling together the film stocks that show up again and again in camera shops, online forums, and our own camera bags, then filtering out anything that was hard to find, close to expiry, or priced far above the rest. That left 14 rolls to test over five months, covering color negative, black-and-white, and a cine-style stock.

Each roll went through the same two cameras: a manual-wind SLR and a point-and-shoot. We shot in bright afternoon sun, flat overcast, indoor window light, and a dimly lit birthday party, plus a weekend road trip, so we could compare how each stock handled highlights, shadows, and mixed lighting. We noted whether the film loaded smoothly, advanced without snags, and whether the DX code registered correctly in the point-and-shoot.

Every roll was developed and scanned at the same lab to keep processing consistent. We compared color accuracy and skin tones across the color stocks, grain structure and contrast in the black-and-white rolls, and sharpness in the final scans. We also logged the expiration date on every box and stored half the rolls in a fridge and half in a warm car for a month before shooting to see how shelf life affected the results. Each roll was tallied for cost per usable frame, and we watched for light leaks, scratches, or frames that didn't advance cleanly—anything that would make a roll unreliable.

How to Choose 35Mm Film

Match film speed to the light

Film speed is the first decision because it sets the range of light you can shoot without a tripod or flash. ISO 400 is the forgiving default: it handles overcast days, indoor parties, and evening streets, which is why Kodak Ultramax 400 is our top pick. ISO 100 and 200 stocks are slower, but they reward bright conditions with finer grain and tighter detail, as Kodak Ektar 100 does. If you are unsure, start with 400 and add a slower roll for sunny landscape days.

Choose color negative or black-and-white

Color negative film is the easier place to start. It tolerates exposure mistakes, develops at most labs, and gives you the warm or cool palette you associate with film. Black-and-white is more of a deliberate choice: it turns the scene into contrast and texture, and it is the better route if you want to develop at home. Ilford HP5 Plus is our B&W pick because its ISO 400 latitude suits mixed light. Check that your lab still processes B&W before you buy a multi-roll pack.

Count exposures and pack size

A 36-exposure roll is standard for a reason: it gives you more frames per development run, which usually makes the per-frame cost easier to swallow. But a long roll can sit in the camera for weeks if you shoot slowly, and a single 27-exposure specialty roll like RETO Amber T200 is a lower-commitment way to try a look. Three-packs such as Fujifilm 400 make sense for a trip or a season; a single roll is better for a test. Buy for the pace you actually shoot.

Decide how much grain and character you want

Grain is not a defect to eliminate; it is part of the look. Fine-grain stocks like Ektar 100 keep detail tight and colors vivid, which suits landscapes and clean scans. Faster films and pushed B&W trade some of that smoothness for texture, contrast, and low-light flexibility. Then there is character: RETO Amber T200 is tungsten-balanced and halates around highlights, so it gives a scene a cinematic cast rather than a neutral record. Choose the look first, then the speed that supports it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

For most people, Kodak Ultramax 400 is the roll to buy first: ISO 400 handles more light, the three-roll pack gives you room to learn, and the warm color is forgiving of ordinary scenes. If you want black-and-white, choose Ilford HP5 Plus; if you want the cleanest color scans for bright landscapes, Kodak Ektar 100 is the better tool.

Start with one of those three and add a specialty stock like RETO Amber T200 only when you want its cinematic cast. That is the useful way to build a film shelf: a dependable everyday color stock, one black-and-white option, and a fine-grain color film for the days when the light cooperates.