What process does your film need?
The name on the box tells you which lab can develop it. Three of the most shot films in the world are the exceptions, and they are the ones people post to the wrong place.
CineStill 800T
needs C-41
It is motion-picture film with the remjet already removed, so it needs ordinary C-41, NOT an ECN-2 lab. Sending it to a cine lab is a common and slow mistake.
CineStill 400D
needs C-41
Remjet is already removed, so this is a C-41 film despite its cine origins.
Ilford XP2 Super
needs C-41
It looks like a B&W film and is not processed like one: XP2 runs in C-41, so any colour lab can do it and a traditional black-and-white lab may not want it.
C-41
1288 labsThe standard colour process. Almost every lab runs it, so these films are the easiest to get developed anywhere.
- Kodak Portra 400Kodak's professional colour negative film, the default for portraits and weddings.
- Kodak Portra 160The slower, finer-grained Portra, made for bright light and big enlargements.
- Kodak Portra 800The fast Portra, for dim light and indoors.
- Kodak Gold 200Kodak's warm consumer colour film, and one of the most shot stocks in the world.
- Kodak UltraMax 400Kodak's everyday 400-speed colour film.
- Kodak ColorPlus 200Kodak's cheapest colour negative film, and a favourite for that reason.
- Kodak Ektar 100The finest-grained colour negative film Kodak makes, built for saturation.
- Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400Fuji's everyday colour negative film, greener and cooler than Kodak's.
- Fujifilm Fujicolor 200Fuji's budget colour negative film.
- Harman Phoenix 200Harman's first colour film, made in Britain, wild and high-contrast on purpose.
- Lomography Color Negative 400Lomography's 400-speed colour film.
- CineStill 800TTungsten-balanced cine emulsion for night and mixed light, famous for red halation.
- CineStill 400DDaylight-balanced CineStill, the everyday counterpart to 800T.
- Ilford XP2 SuperBlack and white film that develops in colour chemistry.
Traditional black and white, often hand-processed. Most labs offer it, and many push or pull it on request.
- Ilford HP5 PlusBritain's everyday 400-speed black and white film, and the one most often pushed.
- Kodak Tri-X 400The classic American 400-speed black and white film.
- Ilford FP4 PlusIlford's slower, finer 125-speed black and white film.
- Kodak T-Max 400Kodak's modern tabular-grain black and white film.
- Kodak T-Max 100The slow, very fine-grained T-Max.
- Ilford Delta 3200Ilford's very fast black and white film, for near-dark.
- Kentmere Kentmere 400Ilford's budget black and white line.
- Foma Fomapan 400Czech-made black and white film, cheap and characterful.
Colour slide, and the scarce one. Far fewer labs run E-6, so it often means posting your film.
- Kodak Ektachrome E100Kodak's colour slide film, brought back in 2018.
- Fujifilm Velvia 50The saturated landscape slide film.
- Fujifilm Velvia 100The faster Velvia.
- Fujifilm Provia 100FFuji's neutral slide film, the calmer sibling to Velvia.
Motion-picture chemistry. The film still carries its remjet backing, which most minilabs will not touch, so very few labs offer it.
- Kodak Vision3 500TKodak's tungsten-balanced motion-picture stock, hand-rolled into 35mm cassettes.
- Kodak Vision3 250DThe daylight-balanced Vision3 stock.
- Kodak Vision3 50DThe slowest, finest Vision3 stock.
Common questions
- Does CineStill need an ECN-2 lab?
- No. CineStill is motion-picture emulsion with the remjet backing already removed, so it develops in ordinary C-41 and any colour lab can do it. Sending it to a cine lab is a common and slow mistake.
- Is Ilford XP2 Super developed like other black and white film?
- No. XP2 Super is black and white film that develops in C-41 colour chemistry, so a normal colour lab can process it and a traditional black-and-white lab may not want it.
- Can I develop Kodak Vision3 in C-41?
- Vision3 still carries its remjet backing, so it needs a real ECN-2 lab. Running it through C-41 puts remjet into a machine not built for it, which is why many labs refuse it. 289 labs in this directory run ECN-2.