Kodak 200 Color Plus Film

This post will be examining camera film. Not as riveting, that I know, but this is still an interesting object in terms of its history, name sake and how it works. This is the unboxed Kodak 200 Color Plus Film that was also a sponsor of the Olympics!

The Kodak company’s history goes back to 1880, when George Eastman found a way to successfully commercialise dry plates in the US. A year later he teamed up with Henry Strong to form the Eastman Dry Plate Company. (Kodak)

George Eastman then went on to work on a way to cover paper in the photographic emulsion to expose photographic positives. With William Walker, Eastman, developed the Eastman’s photo plates. (Clay 2020)

These plates where known as dry photo plates, which were an improvement on the wet photo plates (a lot of imagination went into naming these plates). The easiest explanation between the difference comes from the ACS:

“Back in 1878, the 24-year-old Eastman was planning to use the “wet collodion” process to take photos on his Caribbean trip.”

(Where according to Kodakery (2012): “chemicals spilled and ruined his packed clothes during a trip to Mackinac Island in Lake Huron…”)

“Eastman would later recall that this technique entailed “taking a very clean glass plate and coating it with a thin solution of egg white. This was to make the subsequent emulsion stick. Then we coated the plate with a solution of guncotton and alcohol mixed with bromide salts. When the emulsion was set, but still moist, the plate was dipped into a solution of nitrate of silver, the sensitizing agent. That had to be done in the dark. The plate, wet and shielded from the light, was put in the camera. Now you took your picture.” It was a messy, time-consuming process.

"As a better alternative, Eastman soon switched to the dry plate emulsion process. In this technique, glass plates were coated with a gelatin emulsion of silver bromide and then dried. This formed stable plates that could be produced in advance and stored, instead of having to be prepared right before exposure. They also had another advantage over wet collodion plates: They didn’t have to be developed right after a picture was taken. Eastman adopted the improvements of British photographer Charles Bennett, increasing the sensitivity of the photographic plates, which shortened exposure times.”

This gelatine emulsion was perfected, which lead to Eastman adding film to the product lines. These films were a gelatine-chemical mixture on paper rolls. These rolls had special holders (also invented by Eastman) to still be used on existing plate cameras. These rolls also won Eastman an international prise because of its lightweight in cameras and speed in taking pictures. (Acronis 2024)

The name Kodak was trademarked in 1888, when Eastman released a camera, that had paper film in it and could take up to a hundred photos. (Clay 2020)

Photo film. Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Undeveloped_35_mm_film.jpg

Then in 1935, Kodak released Kodachrome. This was the first commercially successful colour film and came in the 35mm slides. Then in 1942 came Kodacolor, “the world's first true color negative film for still photography…” (Kodak)

This was then proceeded by Kodacolor II in 1972, then came Kodacolor VR100 in 1983, which was based off of Kodak Disc films, that had higher speeds of agitation and meant that the emulsion doubled in speed. This lead to the ISO going from 100 to 200. (Visual Korner 2024)

This is a simplified version of the history of the Kodak colour film. So, here is a table giving a timeline in more detail:

"Kodacolor films from 1972 to 1989 in the UK." Source:https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Colour_Darkroom/Early_Kodak_CameraFilm.html#anchorKChronology

All this leads to the Kodak Color Plus film that came out in the early 2000s and used the trade mark colours of red and yellow, which: “immediately brings to mind punchy contrast and vivid tones.” (Saade 2021).

Kodak 200 Color Plus Film has a lot of good reviews. One of these being from McAdam (2021), who praises the film’s vintage look that comes from its warm tones and the noticeable grain. He points out that it performs its best in sunny warm conditions, where both saturations and contrast increases. In clouded, overcast or in spaces with cool colours, the film, can lose this vintage look and gives it a more “real” look. Which isn’t a bad thing, because there is still depth to the pictures and gives the pictures a calmer and life like feel.

Others, like Panorama Circle (2018), points out that this film, although not really advertised by Kodak as much, has become the inside knowledge for photographers. This is because it is an all-purpose budget friendly film, that can be used outside or in a studio, for portraits or landscapes. It has basically become the tool that every photographer should have when taking pictures with a film camera.

Shu (2021), shares these same sentiments, by pointing out that it is as good as the Kodak Porta 400, but cheaper. Can handle both overexposure and under exposure and has a great colour rendition, which makes it ideal for any situation.

But Shu (2021) also explores the cons of this film. These are:

“It’s a 200-speed film so it’s not as flexible to use as a 400-speed film like Kodak Ultramax 400. The slower speed of the film isn’t as easy to use in low light or on cloudy days. The warm color tones of the film stock might not fit with everyone’s style.”

Now for the specs of this film. This particular Kodak 200 Color Plus film has an ISO of 200 (hey this number is also in the name, I wonder if it is connected?), an exposure of 24 and this means (according to McKay 2024 and Lomography 2024) that it can take up to 24 pictures. Is ideal for outside shots, both sunny and cloudy conditions. Is a 35mm film, a dB of 135 and uses the developing process known as C-41.

  

To learn more about the C-41 development process follow the link Film Shooters Collective:

https://www.filmshooterscollective.com/analog-film-photography-blog/c-41-negative-processing-the-simple-guide-3-22

The exact date of this film is between two options. Option one is a broad estimation, this option is that it is somewhere between 2003 and 2008. The evidence for this is that the copyright date is 2003 and that there is an Olympics sponsorship on the box, which according to Museums Victoria Collections (2024), Kodak has been involved with the Olympics since 1896 and became “the first of 'The Olympic Program' sponsors in 1986.” But this all ended in 2008, when Kodak ended its partnership after the Beijing Games. (SBJ 2007).

The second option is more precise, but could be wrong and that is that this film came out in 2007(/02). This comes from the fact that the expiring date for the film is 2009/02 and according to Bryan-Smith (2024), film’s expiry date is usually two years after it was manufactured.

But this doesn’t mean the film can’t be used. Because even though as Bryan-Smith (2024) writes: “Over time the chemicals on the film lose their potency and start to deteriorate. The silver halides in the films’ emulsion degrade and lose their sensitivity. As a result, colors will lose their vibrancy, and contrasts will fade and grain increases. Eventually, expired film becomes foggy and unusable...”

It all comes down to how it was stored and that if you plan on using the expired film the general rule is that you overexpose the film by 1 stop for every ten years after the expiry date. (Lomography 2024)

Now for an explanation on how film captures those memorable moments. The first thing is that when you press the shutter, light, from the camera’s field of view enters the camera and activates a chemical change on the film. (Woodworth 2024)

This film has a transparent base that is made of cellulose triacetate, acetate, or polyester. This is also where the emulsion is and protected. This emulsion is made out of many layers that has dyed silver halides. This is what reacts with the light to form the image that the camera captures and each layer captures the wavelength of each colour spectrum in front of the camera. (Lomography 2024)

Photographic Film Colour layers. Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photographic_Film_135.svg 

It should also be noted that these silver halides are in crystal from and suspended in a gelatine solution. (OPS 2020)

This chemical reaction between the light and emulsion is due to light’s energy being distributed through photons. It is these photons that reacts to the film. As Woodworth (2024) writes:

“It is the energy in each photon of light that causes a chemical change to the photographic detectors that are coated on the film. The process whereby electromagnetic energy causes chemical changes to matter is known as photochemistry.”

This takes place at the back of the film where the layers are held as well as spectral sensitisers, that help with colour. There are also other chemicals that “are added internally to the grain during its growth process, or on the surface of the grain. These chemicals affect the light sensitivity of the grain, also known as its photographic speed (ISO)” (Woodworth 2024).

Please read Woodworth’s whole article if you want to know the process in full detail:

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/film.htm

This was a long one, but still interesting. I did not expect so much for a small box of expired film. I hope this was fun and thank you for making it to the end.

List of sources:

ACS. 2022. George Eastman, Kodak, and the Birth of Consumer Photography. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/eastman-kodak.html#:~:text=The%20plate%2C%20wet%20and%20shielded,silver%20bromide%20and%20then%20dried.

Acronis. 2024. Eastman Kodak Company. https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/businesses/A-F/Eastman-Kodak-Company.html

Bryan-Smith, C. 2024. How to Shoot with Expired Film (For Creative Results). https://expertphotography.com/expired-film-photography/#:~:text=A%20roll%20of%20film%20usually,coated%20with%20a%20chemical%20emulsion.

Clay, E. 2020. A Brief History of Kodak. https://independent-photo.com/news/historic-brands-kodak/

Kodak. History. https://www.kodak.com/en/company/page/history/

Kodakery. 2012. “As Convenient as a Pencil.” https://kodakery.com/category/dry-plate-photography/

Lomography. 2024. How many photos can you take on a 35mm film? https://www.lomography.com/school/how-many-photos-can-you-take-on-a-35-mm-film-fa-jnen5ml3#:~:text=A%20standard%20roll%20of%2035,of%20the%20box%20of%20film.

Lomography. 2024. For how long is expired film still ok to use? https://www.lomography.com/school/for-how-long-is-expired-film-still-ok-to-use-fa-5rljnklb#:~:text=Can%20expired%20film%20still%20be,use%20beyond%20its%20expiration%20date.

McAdam, H. 2021. Kodak ColorPlus 200. https://www.exaframe.com/blog/colorplus200

McKay, P. 2024. Is 35mm film Still Made? And other common questions. https://analoguewonderland.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-blog/is-35mm-still-made-and-other-common-questions#:~:text=35mm%20is%20available%20in%2024,the%20most%20photographs%20from%20it.

Museum Victoria Collections. 2024. Kodak and the Olympic Games 1896-2008. https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/16566#:~:text=Their%20continued%20association%20with%20the,%2C%20'The%20Olympic%20Partners').

Panorama Circle. 2018. Kodak ColorPlus 200 review – the budget performance film. https://panoramacircle.com/2018/09/26/kodak-colorplus-200-review-the-budget-performance-film/

Saade, T. 2021. All you need to know about Kodak ColorPlus 200. https://casualphotophile.com/2021/06/23/kodak-colorplus-200/

SBJ. 2007. Kodak To End Role As TOP Olympic Sponsor After '08 Games. https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2007/10/12/Olympics/Kodak-To-End-Role-As-TOP-Olympic-Sponsor-After-08-Games

Shu, T. 2021. Kodak ColorPlus 200 Review: Why It’s a Must Try! https://witandfolly.co/kodak-colorplus-200-review/

Visual Korner. 2024. Kodak ColorPlus 135-35. https://vklaboratori.com/en/product/colorplus-200-135-36/

Woodworth, C. 2024. How Photographic Film Works. https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/film.htm