Now THIS is something I didn’t have on my bingo card for film photography in 2022. Kodak Gold, the king of consumer grade film stocks is returning to medium format, starting today! Let’s start off with the press release:

Kodak Moments Announces New 120 Format GOLD 200 Film

ROCHESTER, N.Y. March 21, 2022 – Kodak Moments, a division of Kodak Alaris, continues the expansion of its color film portfolio with the launch of Kodak Gold 200 film in a new 120 format 5-roll pro-pack for medium format cameras, satisfying consumer demand.

“The 120 film format was introduced back in 1901 for the Brownie No. 2 camera,” said Thomas Mooney, Manager Film Capture Products, Kodak Moments Division.  “Although it’s been around for 120 years, it’s still one of the most popular film formats in use today.  One main reason for its popularity is that the larger film negative can be enlarged significantly without losing image quality. This is a great opportunity for aspiring photographers looking to make the jump from 35mm to medium format photography.”

The new 120 format KODAK PROFESSIONAL GOLD 200 is an affordable, entry-level color film featuring an ideal combination of warm saturated color, fine grain, and high sharpness.  It is designed for any level photographer for daylight and flash capture.

Starting today, the 120 format GOLD 200 Film is available for dealers, retailers, and distributors around the world and is intended to be priced 25 percent lower than the comparable PORTRA and EKTAR offerings.   

To learn more, please visit www.kodakalaris.com/go/profilms

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Kodak Moments is a leading global provider of photo products and services to retailers, consumers, and entertainment properties. We inspire consumers to bring their memories to life—delivering innovative, high-quality photo products and experiences they find truly meaningful. Powered by over 100,000 consumer touchpoints across 30 countries globally, it’s our mission to be the brand consumers choose to celebrate and preserve life’s memories, from the big events to the everyday moments that matter.

©2022 Kodak Moments Division, Kodak Alaris Inc. The Kodak trademark and trade dress are used under license from Eastman Kodak Company

Okay, now for my takeaways from today’s announcement. For the last several years now we’ve been seeing consistent growth in the film photography space. The market for used cameras and even expired films has ballooned in a way retailers and resellers have been struggling to keep pace with. This popularity has allowed for the growth of other niche film brands to come in partnering with or modifying Kodak film stocks as their business model. Bringing back a film stock with as much brand recognition as Gold 200 is a great move at the right time.

While I don’t have any of this lovely film in hand yet, I hope to have some to test out soon. Pricing isn’t concrete as of the time of posting, and I’ll be sure to update the post once those are announced at retailers. At a time when professional medium format film stocks are nearing the $60 USD range, a 25% decrease is a sigh of relief for the newcomers to film photography. Let’s just hope Kodak can keep up with the insane demand that this is going to have.

Is this a Medium Format Monday, or what?!