Kodak Portra 160
Characteristics
- Grain: fine
- Contrast: low
- Latitude: wide
- Formats available: 35mm, 120, 4x5
Kodak Portra 160 is the slowest member of Kodak's professional Portra color negative family — at ISO 160, paired conceptually with Portra 400 (mid-speed) and Portra 800 (high-speed) for a complete professional portrait/wedding workflow. Portra 160 produces the finest grain of the three Portra films, with the same warm-leaning skin-tone-optimized palette that defines the Portra signature. Currently in production (35mm, 120, 4×5).
Key features
- ISO 160 rated; very fine grain (RMS 4 — finest of the Portra line)
- Warm-leaning palette with optimized skin tones
- Wide latitude (~±2 stops, with ~5 stops of overexposure latitude)
- C-41 process (standard color negative)
- Available in 35mm, 120, 4×5 sheet — like Portra 400, the only current Portras in sheet
- Reformulated 2010 — the current 160 + 400 + 800 are all 2010-formulation Portras
Workflow
- Like all Portra, overexposure-tolerant — many wedding photographers shoot at EI 100 for richer skin tones
- Push processing to EI 320 is clean; EI 640 with moderate color shifts
- Standard C-41 processing
- For maximum tonal richness, expose at EI 100 and develop normally
Practical notes
- Portra 160 is the slowest Portra — for daylight portrait/wedding work where ISO 400 is too fast
- Available in 4×5 sheet alongside Portra 400 — large-format wedding and portrait photographers favor Portra 160 for outdoor work
- Replaced the discontinued Portra 160NC (Neutral Character) and Portra 160VC (Vivid Character) with a single combined formulation in 2010
- Cold storage extends shelf life
Related films
- Kodak Portra 400 — mid-speed Portra sibling
- Kodak Portra 800 — high-speed Portra sibling
- Kodak Portra 160NC — discontinued predecessor variant (Neutral Character)
- Kodak Ektar 100 — slow saturated Kodak alternative
- Fuji Pro 400H — discontinued Fuji 400-speed alternative