What Films Would You Like To See Kodak Re-Introduce Again? And why?

[FriedLouisStudio]

I miss the "real" Ektapan sheet film, the one that was discontinued, not the rebranded stuff they call Ektapan now. Used to develop it in DK50 or HC-110. It was lovely...

Ektapan in DK-50 was our standard 4x5 combo at my parents' studio for many years. It was a great emulsion.

Yeah, we used PX and TX too, but the Ektapan worked particularly well with the fluorescent lighting (actually WWII army surplus landing strip lights!) that we used for product shots. Dad often said that the Ektapan negs "really popped" compared to the other films. Here's a shot they did sometime in the seventies on Ektapan:

 

[miha]

 

[djdister]

View attachment 424406View attachment 424408

Ektapan in DK-50 was our standard 4x5 combo at my parents' studio for many years. It was a great emulsion.

Yeah, we used PX and TX too, but the Ektapan worked particularly well with the fluorescent lighting (actually WWII army surplus landing strip lights!) that we used for product shots. Dad often said that the Ektapan negs "really popped" compared to the other films. Here's a shot they did sometime in the seventies on Ektapan:

View attachment 424405

Nice!

 

[John Wiegerink]

Around the time that I came into this world - 1956-57.

Thanks Matt

 

[IpseLux]

Never heard of it.

In the low ISO range everything has been discontinued: Agfapan 25, Orwo NP15, Kodak Panatomic X (which was ISO 32). Panatomic X would be great to be availiable again.

Yes. It is a shame. They were lovely films. Sufficient light, and a tripod, and it was like making a sand mandala with the most powdery sand imaginable.

 

[isaac7]

Cinestill sells Double X in 35mm and 120. I wouldn’t mind Kodak selling it directly in those formats, but I don’t think there’s much call to do so when Cinestill — obviously in coordination with Kodak — already does so.

Kodak could do what Cinestill is doing at a lower price. I do think there would be more sold under the Kodak name and marketing than Cinestill could ever imagine. Double X is different enough to their other offerings that I think it would make a nice addition. Plus, it’s just sitting there. It wouldn’t require any R&D, tooling, or anything. I can’t imagine a financially less dangerous gamble for a company to make.

 

[farpointer]

No, it was not. It was adapted for a new coating machine.

And yet my point remains - the film is different (Kodak said so directly), some people say they like it less. Others claim you can't tell the difference.

 

[isaac7]

Yes. It is a shame. They were lovely films. Sufficient light, and a tripod, and it was like making a sand mandala with the most powdery sand imaginable.

Kodak 2237 could possibly fill in the slow speed gap in their lineup. It is another cine film that Kodak already makes that could be repackaged for the still market. I’m not sure how big a market there is for that but it would cost Kodak very little to find out.

 

[AnselMortensen]

The new "Ektapan" is NOT Ektapan film...
It is a rebranding of the TMax films by Kodak.

 

[MattKing]

The new "Ektapan" is NOT Ektapan film...
It is a rebranding of the TMax films by Kodak.

Well....
It looks like Kodak Alaris recently acquired the T-Max brand name - from Eastman Kodak, or perhaps Eastman Kodak allowed the trademark to lapse, and Kodak Alaris snapped it up.
And I expect Eastman Kodak re-registered the Ektapan trademark, because I'd be surprised if they had paid monies to maintain it over the years.
So it is a bit of a philosophical question isn't it about whether either of the two names constitute a re-branding ......

They do appear to be the same film though.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Nobody wants Kodak BW400CN back?

 

[Rayt]

Nobody wants Kodak BW400CN back?

Is XP2 still available? Kodak 400CN printed better in one hour labs I suppose due to the orange mask. XP1 and XP2 always printed better not that much different than say TX in a wet darkroom. 400CN offered no advantage when I scanned with Nikon 4000 scanner so overall Ilford XP2 was more useful.

 

[Chromium VI]

I would love to see Superia 100 4-layer again, my favourite colour film. For kodak stuff; PlusX gets a vote, and Ektachrome IR is also nice.

 

[armadsen]

Is XP2 still available? Kodak 400CN printed better in one hour labs I suppose due to the orange mask. XP1 and XP2 always printed better not that much different than say TX in a wet darkroom. 400CN offered no advantage when I scanned with Nikon 4000 scanner so overall Ilford XP2 was more useful.

XP2 Super is very much still available in both 35mm (including bulk rolls) and 120. I'm picking up a (processed) roll from the lab in a few minutes. I shoot it regularly.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Nobody wants Kodak BW400CN back?

The T400CN film was easy to use and looked great when it was fresh. Some of the rolls I tried in 2024 were OK shot at EI=50, but other rolls had degraded.

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2025/03/kodak-t400cn-film-in-athens-nov-2024.html

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2025/02/kodak-bw400cn-film-in-greece-success.html


I am experimenting with Ilford XP2, and it seems OK. But it is too soon to make a solid conclusion.

 

[Rayt]

XP2 Super is very much still available in both 35mm (including bulk rolls) and 120. I'm picking up a (processed) roll from the lab in a few minutes. I shoot it regularly.

I really like XP2 because of the exposure latitude. It’s perfect for bright sunlight when I want to avoid blowing out the highs. I only used it for occasions like parades and travel when I can’t wait for good light.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Two things I'd like to see come back - Kodak HIE b/w infrared (it was hands-down the best IR film ever made) and Polaroid Type 55 (the real stuff, not the pretenders to it that were floating around recently at $15/sheet with poor QC). The Polaroid Type 55 negatives were just fantastic, and I loved the peripheral artifacts of the Polaroid packet you got. If you wanted to include them to show off it was Polaroid Type 55, you could, and if you didn't, the negative was big enough that you could crop them out without really losing anything.

 

[K-G]

TXP 320 in 220 size and Plus X in all sizes.

Karl-Gustaf

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Well....
It looks like Kodak Alaris recently acquired the T-Max brand name - from Eastman Kodak, or perhaps Eastman Kodak allowed the trademark to lapse, and Kodak Alaris snapped it up.
And I expect Eastman Kodak re-registered the Ektapan trademark, because I'd be surprised if they had paid monies to maintain it over the years.
So it is a bit of a philosophical question isn't it about whether either of the two names constitute a re-branding ......

They do appear to be the same film though.

MAtt What did the original bankruptcy agreement give Alaris as far as Kodak films to sell? Were they only their current ones at the time so that Eastman can sell the same emulsions under a different name like Ektapan (same as Tmax?)?

 

[IpseLux]

Kodak 2237 could possibly fill in the slow speed gap in their lineup. It is another cine film that Kodak already makes that could be repackaged for the still market. I’m not sure how big a market there is for that but it would cost Kodak very little to find out.

I’ll keep that in mind. As of late, I’ve started shooting more film again.
Thanks for the suggestion I.

 

[Augustus Caesar]

And yet my point remains - the film is different (Kodak said so directly), some people say they like it less. Others claim you can't tell the difference.

It's not "different" photographically. It's different in the process used to coat it.

 

[isaac7]

I’ll keep that in mind. As of late, I’ve started shooting more film again.
Thanks for the suggestion I.

I haven’t seen any 2237 from respoolers yet. There are places that sell 2238. I’m not sure what difference there is between them, they sound like the same type of film.

 

[GregY]

I'd love to see 220 film again!

 

[MattKing]

MAtt What did the original bankruptcy agreement give Alaris as far as Kodak films to sell? Were they only their current ones at the time so that Eastman can sell the same emulsions under a different name like Ektapan (same as Tmax?)?

That agreement lapsed and was replaced.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I'd love to see 220 film again!