Kodak Gold 200 | 35mm vs. 120

Likely the most well known consumer film made by Kodak and also the one with best availability these days. With Kodak's re-introduction of Gold 200 in 120 medium format, we now also have (at least one) more reason to grab our medium format camera and get it out!

Kodak Gold 200

Gold 200 features a reasonably fine grain (even in 35mm) and renders colours with medium contrast and warmth. The film has a good exposure latitude in any format, is ideal for daylight photography BUT doesn't handle underexposure as well as the professional Kodak series.

All photos from this blog can be downloaded in full resolution at the bottom of the page.

35mm and 120 medium format

Let's compare this film in both formats and see how they hold up against each other. Obviously not a very fair comparison when it comes to judging grain, sharpness and visible details. Medium Format easily wins here, just by the size of the negative alone. But it's not all lost for 35mm.

Scanned on a Noritsu HS-1800 – as seen in this blog – 35mm tends to be more neutral than 120. In 120 medium format Kodak Gold 200 is quite close to Portra 400. The grain is ever so slightly more noticeable though you'll hardly notice the difference if not looked at side-by-side.

We're no portrait photographers at Optik Oldschool but judging from our customers' scans, Gold 200 in 120 seems to be a great choice for this area of photography, if you don't need the extra stop of light and flexibility of Porta 400, Gold 200 will serve you well!

While greens and reds render very similar in both formats, blues are more saturated in 120 compared to 35mm. This is likely something that can be edited in post.

The amount of detail this film delivers is great! If you want to pixel peep into the photos to compare both formats, we have the files available for download at the bottom. However, your experience may vary depending on the cameras/lenses used to make photos!

Photos made by @jnoz35
Shot on a Canon A1 (35mm) / Bronica RF645 (120)
Developed and scanned by @optikoldschool
Scanned on a Noritsu HS-1800

Full resolution download of Kodak Gold 200 comparison photos

Kodak Gold 200 is available in the online store in both 120 and 35mm.