Kodak Reviews

Coming from the perspective of someone who worked for one of Canada's largest photo retail chains, I strongly advise anyone agains buying Kodak Cameras, or at least be aware of thier reputations.

Our company stopped carrying Kodak cameras because of thier poor construction, common problems were with the battery doors, film doors, zoom, and the flip flash. The most common being the batter door latches breaking off. In one year we returned twice as many from our store as we sold. It was that bad.

Kodak makes awesome high end cameras, thier film and paper can be second to none as well, but thier cameras, leave that to the big three.

I'm definitely in the minority here.

I had a C400 which suddenly stopped working (shutter stopped working). Unfortunately, I didn't find out about it until I had wasted several rolls of film. Luckily, the snapshots I took were replaceable. Still I expected more from Kodak.

If the reviews here are any indication, you will have better luck than I did.

I have owned this camera for over a year and considering it is my first camera, it's pretty good. However, there are a few things that customers should be aware of. For instance, the C400 does not have a zoom feature, which makes it really hard to take far away pictures, because you have to get closer to the subject, which is not practical when you're taking pictures from an elevated surface. Even though this camera comes with a night flash the majority of my night and indoor pictures have come out underexposed. However, I do recommend this camera if you don't have to take pictures from elevated surfaces(no zoom to bring the picture closer to you), and/or in low light situations, the extra flash is not enough. This camera is also good for first time owners of a camera. Once you start taking pictures you can determine your needs a lot better and buy something else.

I was quite taken by the look of the Camera. Very Compact, Professional looking (almost real) to previous "Cardboard Box" Disposable Camera's Kodak have brought out in the late 80's early 90's.
When I got the Photos developed they just looked Average, not much Depth in each shot, almost like they were overexposed. Not "true" B&W Pics. I've taken many B&W Photos before with a proper Camera using Ilford B & W Film. The Photo's were just so-so. I don't know about this whole Ektanar Lens stuff either, the Photos produced were no clearer than any other One time use Camera. I probably shouldn't expect so much from a Single Use Camera.

Kodak's Black & White + is what is known as a chromogenic black and white film. What this means, when compared to traditional (panchromatic) B&W films is that it can be developed in C-41 (color processing). Given that traditional black and white processing has grown quite expensive and that many photo labs no longer possess the capability to process regular B&W, this film provides exceptional convenience.

I think the other reviewers of this film here have probably lacked experience with this film and its competitors from ILFORD of the UK and Konica of Japan. Yes, there are color shift issues with this film. Much of that depends on the quality of the C-41 processing and the willingness of the technician to spend time with some exposure compensation.

Most color shifts with this film result from the use of color paper. If photos taken with this film are developed using regular B&W paper, then the user will receive true black and white prints. Using color paper often times will result in a slight color shift toward sepia or blue/gray. However, I find the shift toward sepia pleasing to the eye because it lends the picture the air of an old time B&W print that has faded with age. Sepia provides a classical look to monochromatic prints.

Because this film and its competitors use dyes rather than silver halide crystals, it is capable of being developed by normal 1-hour labs using C-41 processing. This is incredibly convenient and much less expensive than using traditional black and white film and then having to wait for its return if your lab lacks the facilities to do traditional black and white printing.

This is a very fine grained film for its speed. It is also a medium to medium-high contrast film. It delivers very sharp imagery and has served as a very nice platform to re-introduce casual photographers to the elegance and drama of black and white photography.

Yes, traditional black and white is still alive and well. But for less cost and a lot more timeliness, this film offers very sharp imagery to folks who would not normally consider black and white film.

Kodak markets Black and White+ as a consumer grade film. The Professional emulsion of this film is called T400CN and offers the same convenience and cost benefits. Kodak also offers a chromogenic B&W in professional grade among its PORTRA family of films. That film is known as PORTRA 400 and is often used for wedding and portrait work when people choose black and white prints.

Don't underestimate this film. It offers a lot of advantages and the flexibility to shift tonal variations based on the use of color OR black and white paper.

For those considering this film, be aware that all chromogenic films, such as the ones discussed here, as well as the ILFORD and KONICA offerings are ONLY SOLD AS ISO 400 speed films. Despite that medium/fast speed, all are very fine grained films and will provide incredibly sharp images.

I recommend this film and its professional family members.

I find this film gives excellent results though, when printed on colour paper, it often gets a slight magenta or cyan tint. For REALLY good results, ask your lab to print on matte black and white paper. ;o)
C

This film seems a lot better than Kodak Max 400 even though it is basically the same thing (except for the fact that it's black and white). I wouldn't recommend this for proffesionals, but it's great for the average person.

I bought this film because I ran out of Tri-X in the middle of a trip and it was all I could find in B&W. On the plus side, it can be processed by your neighborhood 1-hour shop and it has pretty fine grain for 400 speed film. It also seems fairly forgiving of incorrect exposure. I have two problems with it: -firstly, it's just as expensive as Kodak's T-MAX 400CN film, a higher quality chromogenic (i.e. color-process) B&W film. -secondly, if you do any of your own processing and/or printing, this stuff is just as tricky and temperature-sensitive as color film, and the slightly reddish base color of the film wreaks havoc with contrast, especially if you use multi-contrast paper.

I think the best use of this film is to get aquainted with the wonderful world of black and white. It's biggest feature, from the perspective of an beginner, is that you can drop it off at any old lab and they will do a good job processing it. Very few labs do an acceptable job with traditional (non-C-41 process) black and white film, but they are all set up for C-41.

For the person who does there own processing, this film has a few limitations. Being C-41, it is more difficult to process for the home darkroom, and you don't have the same level of contrast control as you have with "regular" Black and White films. Still, it is really fine grained.

Overall, this film is pretty low contrast, and thus records a good tonal range. It scratches very easily though, so be careful with your negatives.

I use this film often for ease of processing and for convenience when purchasing B/W film. B/W film can be hard to find in a pinch. At least these are the two reasons that led me to try out this film. I love this film! I find it to have great contrast in most lighting situations without burning out the highlights or producing inpenetrable shadows. My photo lab developes the film C41 process (the same as color film), but I ask them to print it on B/W paper. The results are great! Printed on the regular color paper the lab uses does produce a "cast". Greenish, brownish, reddish, seems to depend on the lab (and the day!). You might not mind this. Try a roll and if you can get it printed on B/W paper, I bet you will be very pleased with the results. If your lab can't print on B/W paper, use the 4x6 prints as proofs. If you have a picture you really like, they can probably send it out for you to a lab that can make you a print on B/W paper.

1450 mA makes these AAs one of the best choices for my digital cameras. I use the Coolpix 950 Nikon camera and it does use a lot of power. But with these batteries, I am satisfied.

Like the previous reviewer, I also purchased the Kodak NiMh batteries and charger and have found it to be a much-needed improvement to the standard package. Too bad Nikon doesn't include this as standard equipment with its digital cameras. My wish list: an automotible cigarette-lighter adapter so I can recharge batteries "on the fly". Overall, a quality product that functions as advertised and provides good value for the money.

Sorry to type a question in the reviews. Unable to determine what is included.