Kodak announces PRICE CUT on Tri-X 400 film – is the world turning black & white?

Kodak Tri-X 400
(Image credit: Kodak)

If you're an avid film shooter you will know that Kodak is one of the major players accountable for the massive price rise in fan-favorite color films such as Porta 400 and Porta 800. It has then tried to 'fix' the problem by announcing Kodak Gold in 120 format at a very competitive price point.

Well, in a surprise announcement via the Kodak Professional Instagram account  Kodak will reduce its famous black and white film stock, Kodak Tri-X 400  by up to 30% depending on your region. That begs the question could your workflow change to black and white?

(Image credit: Kodak)

In the announcement that was made via the stories feature via the company's Instagram account it states:

'We have implemented a catalog price reduction on 135 format Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 Black & White Negative film. Our two 135-format offerings will see up to a 30% reduction in Price, depending on the region.

Our expectation is that this lower price will be passed on by the retailers to photographers worldwide as inventories turn'

The two films in question are the 36 and 24-exposure variants of Kodak Tri-X 400 35mm rolls, and it's great to hear that Kodak is taking measures to keep their community engaged. 

This 30% reduction could then potentially see a 36-exposure Kodak Tri-X 400 roll of the film could drop to as little as $6.99 (from $9.99) or around £9.80 from £14.00. That might not sound a lot but it will certainly mean that it becomes a more valuable option to any black and white shooters, and I would defiantly consider adding Tri-X to my most used black and white films if that price was reduced by 30%

(Image credit: Kodak)

When this price reduction will take place is a complete mystery at the moment, and while researching I couldn't see anything else being said about it at this point - was this a mistake by Kodak Professional? Who knows, but I for one would be very excited to see any film start to fall in price.

Also read
Lomography makes heroic bid to save analog photography by slashing roll film prices

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Sebastian Oakley
Ecommerce Editor

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and holds a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since his film days using a Nikon F5. He saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still, to this day, the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, the British Equestrian Writers' Association.

He is familiar with and shows great interest in 35mm, medium, and large-format photography, using products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2, shooting Street/Documentary photography as he sees it, usually in Black and White.