Review: Kodak Gold 200 for Medium-format Colour Film Photography

Digital medium-format cameras, like the Hasselblad X1D and the Fujifilm GFX series, offer a huge range of features and creative opportunities. But, for some endeavours, film just hits the spot. Ahead of the March 2022 launch of the Kodak Gold 200 medium-format film stock, Kodak asked MPB resident photographer Ian Howorth to test some pre-production rolls—in this article, he explores the Kodak Gold 200 colours, sharpness and cost. Over to you, Ian.

In an age when digital photography has all but taken over, film has seen a resurgence. As the primary manufacturer of film, Kodak is one of the few that might bring film stock to market. Hot on the heels of the re-release of Ektachrome 120 in 2019, Kodak brings us Gold 200 in medium format.

Having been involved in the 2019 launch of Kodak Ektachrome in 120, I was excited to receive the call again asking me to shoot some pre-production rolls of Kodak Gold 200. These days, film options are limited compared to the options we had in the 2000s. Since then, the Kodak Gold 200 has become a favourite for 35mm film photography. So, the medium-format version is as exciting as it gets.

We were blessed with some beautiful sunny days, which allowed the film to really shine.

I usually shoot 6x7 on my Mamiya 7, but I decided to test things out a little on 6x6 and a Hasselblad V-series camera. It's a slightly different shooting experience, but it’s also a lot of fun—a slow pace, a light meter around my neck and plenty of time to set up.

I found the colours to be really punchy, more so than Kodak Portra 400 or even 160, two flat stocks with minimal grain. The Kodak Gold 200 medium-format film has all the characteristics of its 35mm smaller sibling—great at saturating warm tones and almost with a finalised look straight out of the scan.

For a film stock that technically sits outside of their pro stock, it’s remarkably sharp with accurate colours. However, like many of Kodak’s modern film stocks, they are intended to have a little bit of photo editing done to them—mainly to adjust contrast or any minor imperfections in the digitising process.

The dynamic range is impressive, so much so that there were times I thought I could probably rate this as a 400-speed film. I didn’t get a chance to test out this hypothesis, but it’s something I’ll try. I tend to prefer a bit more contrast in my images, so the added flexibility of higher ISO would be a welcome bonus.

The one worry I had was cost. As many film shooters will know, Kodak—and largely every manufacturer out there—has steadily increased the prices of film in recent years. But the film market is complicated. Following the changes that Kodak experienced after the change to digital, this resurgent demand for film has required investment for supply to keep up with demand.

Although pricing will differ around the world, Kodak is pricing its Gold 200 medium-format film around 25% cheaper than its Portra stocks—it’s making an effort to keep prices down.

Though Portra has been my mainstay in medium-format film for a while now, I'm glad to be able to welcome Gold 200 into the mix. For me, it’s all about choice. Having a film stock that combines a lower price point and a different look can only be a good thing. For anyone shooting film side-by-side with digital, this is an exciting time.

Read about our top film-like digital cameras, how to get the Kodak Aerochrome look with digital infrared and more camera gear guides on the MPB content hub.