Lucky Color Film "First Look"

[Minolta93]

I'm sharing this in case anyone is interested. It looks like Chinese manufacturer Lucky is finally releasing some test photos of the new C-41 film they had made an announcement about some time ago. I remember them talking about a price point of $5.60 before, but the new article (https://petapixel.com/2025/06/20/the-first-look-at-china-luckys-new-color-35mm-film/) says it'll be more like $7.

I don't know about everyone else, but I was excited for something in the five dollar range. At seven, it's pretty much level with the 3-packs of rebranded Kodak film sold as Fujifilm 200 or 400, and I don't know if this film would be worth buying over those at essentially the same price. Based on the test photo, it looks okay, but not at the level of Kodak.

Still, I'll probably try some anyway once it comes out.

 

[xiaruan]

I found some samples of size 120 and 4*5 on Chinese social media platforms. Here is a brief update.

 

[Minolta93]

I had no idea they were doing this in additional formats. Do you have any scans showing what the negatives will look like after being inverted?

 

[Disconnekt]

The bump in price may be due to the constant flipfloping tarrifs thats been happening the last couple months. Reflx Labs had mentioned a day or so ago that Lucky was planning to release it in mid-July.

 

[koraks]

At seven, it's pretty much level with the 3-packs of rebranded Kodak film sold as Fujifilm 200 or 400

Uhh, yeah, other than that there's no really affordable 4x5" offering and I understand that Lucky is actually offering that.

The bump in price may be due to the constant flipfloping tarrifs thats been happening the last couple months.

My guess is that the initially suggested price point was just a case of baseless optimism to begin with. It often goes that way; the R&D process for a product starts at 100% and then when all's said and done it ends up being 160%. As product development progresses, total cost always goes up - never down.

 

[halfaman]

I'm sharing this in case anyone is interested. It looks like Chinese manufacturer Lucky is finally releasing some test photos of the new C-41 film they had made an announcement about some time ago. I remember them talking about a price point of $5.60 before, but the new article (https://petapixel.com/2025/06/20/the-first-look-at-china-luckys-new-color-35mm-film/) says it'll be more like $7.

The prices are for China only. In another thread was mentioned that for the rest of the world it will be similar to Kodak Color Plus.

 

[koraks]

I found some samples of size 120 and 4*5 on Chinese social media platforms.

Thanks for sharing those with us! I played a little with the first two examples:

(Blue & green channels were clipped on the highlights in this one)

Of course, inversions from photos of negatives posted on social media are never going to be top-notch...but still, all this looks like a perfectly normal, mature color negative film to me.

 

[Agulliver]

Here in the UK, Nik & Trick have stated that it'll be priced similarly to Kodak Color Plus...that a *lot* of work has gone into producing this film and that's the lowest price possible.

Color Plus is usually my "go to" colour film but I'll consider giving this a try.

 

[pentaxuser]

Thanks for sharing those with us! I played a little with the first two examples:
View attachment 401304
(Blue & green channels were clipped on the highlights in this one)

View attachment 401305

Of course, inversions from photos of negatives posted on social media are never going to be top-notch...but still, all this looks like a perfectly normal, mature color negative film to me.

I agree but it looks as if the cat is looking at the same picture and is shocked and angered at his out of focus appearance

pentaxuser

 

[koraks]

Cats have a way of being shocked and angered pretty much all of the time. So far the pattern I've been able to identify to it goes something like this:
* Have not received food in past 10 minutes --> be shocked & angry at evident case of starvation.
* Have not received cuddles in past 10 seconds --> be shocked & angry at lack of appreciation for continued provision of purring services.
* Have received food in past 10 minutes, but quantity insufficient (i.e. it was physically possible to finish in one sitting) --> be shocked & angry at life-threatening risk of malnourishment.
* Is in process of receiving cuddles, but strict petting protocol not adhered to with inappropriate order of petting spots, petting in pre-determined no-go areas or attempts of human to engage in other activity as petting proceeds --> be shocked and angry at gross lack of observance of protocol and thus undermining underlying relationship between cat and manservant.
* All other instances --> be shocked and angry as a matter of course.

 

[pentaxuser]

So just the average cat

pentaxuser

 

[Disconnekt]

Some news from Reflx Labs over on IG on Lucky Film

Tldr,
- Lucky Film will be releasing their 200 ISO color film at the Shanghai Vision & Image 2025 exhibition during 7/17-7/19
- Retail price for 36exp. rolls will be ~$7 bucks, will be a bit cheaper in China.
- First batch of film will be 10,000 rolls, then gradually increase production

 

[Samu]

Cats have a way of being shocked and angered pretty much all of the time. So far the pattern I've been able to identify to it goes something like this:
* Have not received food in past 10 minutes --> be shocked & angry at evident case of starvation.
* Have not received cuddles in past 10 seconds --> be shocked & angry at lack of appreciation for continued provision of purring services.
* Have received food in past 10 minutes, but quantity insufficient (i.e. it was physically possible to finish in one sitting) --> be shocked & angry at life-threatening risk of malnourishment.
* Is in process of receiving cuddles, but strict petting protocol not adhered to with inappropriate order of petting spots, petting in pre-determined no-go areas or attempts of human to engage in other activity as petting proceeds --> be shocked and angry at gross lack of observance of protocol and thus undermining underlying relationship between cat and manservant.
* All other instances --> be shocked and angry as a matter of course.

A dog thinks:"Because the human gives me food and takes care of me, he must be God"
A cat thinks_ "Because the human gives me food and takes care of me, I must be God".

This must have an impact when taking photos of pets. A sausage in your pocket will make the dog very interested in looking to the camera. Cats do what they want.

By the way, I am a theologian...

 

[unityofsaints]

They claim to want to go all the way up to 8x10", if that ever happens and quality control is acceptable (Foma or better) I'll be very excited. I only have so much 15+ year old Portra NC and VC left in my freezer.

 

[Prest_400]

Ran into an update, which by the way probably related with a Shanghai Imaging event where Lucky should have launched their color film (in China)


Original Rednote post from the thread above: http://xhslink.com/m/9K7kd8CSuhD

 

[dcy]

Impressive.

 

[koraks]

Funny, there's a similar tomato-red in those sample images to Harman Phoenix II.

(and for some reason they seem to have mirrored that photo...?)
This can of course be an editing choice.

A quote from the reddit post, which is a translation of the original rednote post:

its mask is notably green, making color correction more challenging than with most other films during dev and scanning.

The samples we've seen so far do not show a green base at all. Weird?

I'd take that rednote post with a grain of salt btw.

a high Ag level that gives it superior saturation and tonal depth compared to all other color negative films currently available

Oh really now...hurrdurr.

Anyway, looks like a reasonable alternative at least for many people for generic Gold/Superia 200. A true substitute for Kodak CN films? I really doubt it if you're after color fidelity. But many people aren't, so they may like this film and perhaps its price tag (although we'll have to say what it'll retail for in the West).

 

[Minolta93]

This looks far better than the images I saw earlier and better than I expected.

 

[Minolta93]

Does anyone have information on when this film is expected to be available in the United States?

 

[Prest_400]

Out of the multiple Threads including Lucky C200, this seemed the best to share. Reflx Lab has reviewed this film:

NEW LUCKY COLOR FILM REVIEW

Lucky officially launched its new color film on July 17 at the 2025 Shanghai Image & Vision Expo. The debut caused quite a stir in the Chinese analog photography community and was widely seen as a fiscal milestone. Leading up to the release, Lucky generated significant hype through a wave of...

reflxlab.com

Looks quite good! Like a 1990s consumer film, some scans appear a bit muted. In line with the previous generation Lucky Color 200 from which this product is developed.

The film was manually coated, and they plan to switch to a large-scale coating machine only after the emulsion formula has been improved.

It's a bit lost in translation but interesting to note that they are selling production from a Pilot coater (small scale) according to this.

Does anyone have information on when this film is expected to be available in the United States?

Usual disclaimer that I am just a forumer, not affiliated with REFLX but they seem to be a good source for Lucky as well as respools of films including Kodak Vision and Aerocolor 220. They mention as a footer that they will sell it in line with Lucky's overseas availability.
Nick and Trick in UK would be distributing as soon as they have, I don't know who in the US itself may be up to selling it once it is widely available. Perhaps even will be available in the usual large retailers such as Freestyle, BH, Adorama.

 

[DREW WILEY]

With tariffs n' all, why would it have a chance it the US, especially at risk of releasing it too soon and acquiring an ill reputation. It's hard to tell over the web; but it certainly looks amateur or consumer level; and I don't know why anyone shooting sheet film would want to gamble with it. It might gain traction in the 35mm and 120 "retro" niche. Orange complexions like Kodak Gold; pumpkin-like warm tones overall.

 

[blee1996]

For budget color film in 135/120, we have Kodak Gold 200 which is lovely. But people also like a little bit of diversity in palette, which was absent since Fijicolor's retreat. Thus I do see opportunities for Harman Phoenix, Lucky, Orwo and etc. For one, I can accept some loss of quality for a different look.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Now someone needs to revive Kodak Brownie cameras, along with 127 film. For the most authentic results, leave the film box on a hot shelf for a couple years prior to shooting it, then delay the processing another two years.

 

[River Mantis]

Now someone needs to revive Kodak Brownie cameras, along with 127 film. For the most authentic results, leave the film box on a hot shelf for a couple years prior to shooting it, then delay the processing another two years.

Is it meant to be funny?

 

[Agulliver]

For budget color film in 135/120, we have Kodak Gold 200 which is lovely. But people also like a little bit of diversity in palette, which was absent since Fijicolor's retreat. Thus I do see opportunities for Harman Phoenix, Lucky, Orwo and etc. For one, I can accept some loss of quality for a different look.

Gold a budget film? Maybe it's priced differently in the USA....over here it's pretty expensive compared to Color Plus which is definitely the nearest we have to a "budget" colour film. I know it's simply personal choice, and fits in with "diversity in palette" but I've never liked Gold. To my eyes it renders reds as brown, almost mud-like. So I'd certainly welcome more choice...even if I end up defaulting to Color Plus and Ultramax.