Portraits, macro work, flowers & vegetables, gardens, new cars, family and wedding shots, kids sports team photos. People look simply beautiful if your optics are world class. Low light work and even flash results are excellent.

Noticed some purpling of a close up of a rose that I definitely didn't see when shooting. If something is already totally saturated with a rich colour in the sunlight there may be a little over-saturation. A bit pricey if you're getting a set of prints and a disc.

I like this film.....my portraits are always beautiful, picking up blond highlites in hair and nice blue eyes.... all the colours are slightly pronounced and just gorgeous.... Colours are bright, rich and clear, if a tiny bit exagerrated, but it's better than hitting the saturation button, and that's why you bought the VC instead of the NC anyways, right? A basket of tomatoes with the macro-eyes on a dual-range Summicron and a Leica M3 looked absolutely fantastic, you could eat them right off the print.

Customer Service

Excellent.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak Gold 400, Fuji Superia 400. Both good, but a notch below.

See above

None noted. Could be a little cheaper, but worth it for special occasions.

This is a fantastic film. Used both outdoors in bright sunlight and indoor flash (luv that extra speed indoors). Saturated, accurate colors, especially skin tones, but not oversaturated. Slightly increased contrast, also not overdone. Great scans w/ Nikon film scanner - extremely fine grain. Developed at small shop w/ Fuji Frontier machine-incredible results. Leaves Kodak HD-400 in the dust.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Kodak Portra 160VC, Fuji Superia (100-400), Fuji NPS

I have recently tested this film extensively. I have pushed it up to 2 stops in the developing, overexposed it up to 2 stops, pulled it 2 stops in the developing and underexposed about 1 stop. This film is amazing. No Greenish cast of any sort. Colors are beautiful. As w/ any color print film- it should be processed at a pro-lab to get consistant results. The deveolping of the film is more crucial than where it gets printed or scanned. The previous poster reported a greenish cast. I would strongly recommend processing the film at a pro-lab. If processing was done at a pro-lab and you get greenish cast, then take it back to the lab right away and complain about their processing. They did something wrong and need to adjust/correct their process and replace/reimburse you for your film. This film will not alter color much due to changes in exposure. I have shot several rolls overexposed up to 2 stops and pushed it 2 stops in the developing. I have also overexposed it 2 stops and pulled it 2 stops in the developing. In all cases, the colors did not alter much. Highly recommend this film.

Similar Products Used:

160NC, 160VC, 400NC, 400UC, 100SW, 100G, 100GX, EPY, EPP, EPL, EPN, FP4, HP4 Delta 100 & 400, Plus X, Tri-X, Tmax 400, Tmax 100, Neopan 400 & 1600, Delta 3200, E200, 400X, Sensia, Provia 100 & 400

Excellent color... when it works.

If a picture is overexposed or taken directly into the sun, the shot will have a terrible greenish cast. Sadly many shots that would have been acceptable with 'consumer' film, turned out deplorable with the 400VC.

Great color on the shots that were exposed correctly. Horrible color (greenish cast) on any shots that were overexposed. The green cast was present directly from the negative which was scanned into the computer. (So it was not an issue with specific lab's print).

Similar Products Used:

Fuji Slide

Excellent quality for the right application.

It's pricy, but the results nullify that argument quite well.

I do like this film. I was introduced to it by a fellow photo buff and I bought a bunch to use shooting fireworks scenes. I used BULB and held shutter open for five seconds. The color popped right off the print at you, and has received a lot of positive comments. I ended up going thru all of the VC film I had and shot the last three minutes of the show with Kodak Hi Def 400. Big difference. Feedback I have received from my favorite camera shop is to use other Portra films for portraits; this one doesn't work as well for those uses. I am shooting a bunch of outdoor portraits for a couple in the fall, and will use another Porta film for this work, but not the VC, for the reasons already covered in other reviews and the above notes

Very tight grain for a 400 speed film. Produces "whites" and "blacks" better than any negative film that I have used.

Very difficult to find. Only large photo dealers carry. This reflects in my overall rating of the film.

This film gets a lot of mixed reviews but it is my favorite negative film by far. For a 400 speed film the grain is very tight in 5 x 7 photos. Excellent color with superb "whites' and very rich, deep "blacks". Reminds me a lot of Kodachrome 200 which also produces pure "whites" and deep "blacks".

Similar Products Used:

Kodak Royal Gold 200 and 400. Agafa Optima 100 and 400

I picked up a new lense at a pawnshop and decided to shoot a quick roll to make sure it worked. I used the 400VC as I would use my 5-year-old as a subject. The day was overcast, and the ground was covered with fall maple leaves of yellow and red, many of the shots used a collage of scarecrows dressed in blue and green plaids, surrounded by orange pumpkins, fall leaves, straw bails and a brightly coloured 5 year old. When I got the roll back it was as I expected, the composition was off, and my technique was lacking as I was mainly taking the lense through its paces. However since my 5 year old was involved the shots were passed around at dinner when the in-laws were over. To a person, the comments were "look at how sharp they are, the colours are amazing", indeed when I looked at the shots again I realized that while the photography was marginal the film had not let me down. In fact my best shot was an accidental firing as I lowered the camera [luckily I missed my feet] and got a great shot of autumn leaves blanketing the ground. My wife even stole the shot and sent it overseas as a postcard of Canadian Fall colours. The store I purchase from stores the film in a cooler, I in turn store it in the butter cubicle in the fridge. The film was shot in a day and sent off the next day to be processed. The colours were vivid but not exaggerated and the sharpness was excellent.

Customer Service

Royal gold 400

Extemely vivid colors, fine grain. Great for use in daylight shots, where good full sun is present. Excellent for enlargments and scanning.

Seems not to be able to deal with high contrast situations, or under overcast skies (which are still bright), and where the subject is in dense shade.Photos seem to loose color and detail in darker areas. However does well where the entire photo subject area may be in shade.

Excellent color film, with vivid coloring. Magnificent film for flowers and fall foliage. Blues, Greens, Reds, Yellows really seem to leap off the photo. Excellent grain.

Similar Products Used:

Portra 160VC, Supra 400 and 800

Speed when needed.

Highly erratic quality even with consistently "correct" handling and usage.

My own experiences and those of other reviewers seem to point to one conclusion - erratic quality control at Kodak. I have got some great shots on 400VC (good contrast, minimal grain, fine detail), and I have got some real stinkers (prominent grain, low resolution, poor flesh tones, shadows without detail). I have used the film handheld; on a tripod; in open daylight; indoors by a window; and under studio flash. In all cases I used professional 35mm SLRs and lenses (EOS and Nikon), and the films were always processed by reputable labs. As I have achieved mixed results in all of the above shooting situations, it is difficult to predict when this film will impress and when it will embarass. Consequently I have stopped using it professionally and will probably stock up on Fuji NPH next time I place an order for fast film. (To those reviewers who have had unqualified success with the film and feel the need to mock the rest of us, may I suggest that comments implying incompetence on the part of dissatisfied 400VC users are unfounded, unhelpful, impolite and wholly at odds with the spirit of an impartial information resource like this site.)

Customer Service

Not used

Similar Products Used:

Fuji NPH, Fuji Superia 400 (oh dear)

Excellent color reproduction. Very good saturation and contrast. No grain on enlargements. All color contrasts are crisp and clear and not over-baked.

Absolutely None

It always amuses me that people of same or at least similar skill levels can come up with such diverse opinions about a given film and the associated results. I shoot a ton of Portra VC 400 and Portra 800 along with the Fuji equivalents. Most recently we did a horse show (outdoors) and were taking action shots in good sunlight. 25 to 30 rolls later (that''s over 1,000 prints for those mathematically challenged like myself) and two labs (one Wolf/Ritz and the other our Pro Lab back home) we had nothing but most excellent results. This has consistently been the case with this film. And if the results weren''t there I''d change because my results keep my doors open. I''d suggest those who had trouble try another batch or buy the film and let a friend shoot it for them :>)

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Portra 800, Fuji Press 400, 800, NPZ, NPH NPS, etc.