There is something reassuring about seeing a film manufacturer make a product bigger in 2026. Eastman Kodak has expanded its directly distributed still-film lineup with a substantial selection of large-format emulsions, covering 4×5, 5×7 and 8×10 sheet film, alongside 100-foot bulk rolls of selected black-and-white stocks. Kodak is presenting the move under a simple banner: “Time to go big.”
And for once, the marketing line is difficult to argue with. The new lineup puts EKTACOLOR PRO 160 and 400 into 4×5 and 8×10, while EKTAPAN 100 and 400 are available in 4×5. TRI-X 320 arrives in 4×5, 5×7 and 8×10. Kodak is also offering 100-foot rolls of EKTAPAN 100, EKTAPAN 400 and TRI-X 400 for photographers who still load their own 35mm cartridges.
That matters because large format is not simply another frame size.
A 4×5 negative is a different way of working. A tripod becomes part of the camera. Composition happens under a dark cloth rather than on a rear screen. And when the negative comes back, there is an extraordinary amount of information sitting on a piece of film roughly fifteen times the size of a 35mm frame. Kodak's expansion gives that workflow more options without requiring photographers to leave the Kodak ecosystem.
The interesting part is the color
The arrival of EKTACOLOR PRO 160 and 400 in sheet film may be the most consequential part of the announcement. EKTACOLOR PRO 160 is a fine-grain, daylight-balanced color negative film designed for natural color and skin tones, while EKTACOLOR PRO 400 offers greater sensitivity without abandoning Kodak's emphasis on fine grain and color reproduction. Kodak describes the EKTACOLOR PRO family as having broad exposure latitude, a useful characteristic when you're working with a large-format camera where every frame demands considerably more commitment than a 36-exposure roll.
For landscape, portrait, architectural and studio photographers, that makes the new sheet-film options considerably more interesting than simply having another box of Kodak film on the shelf.
And then there is Tri-X.
TRI-X 320 is now listed in 4×5, 5×7 and 8×10, giving large-format photographers access to one of Kodak's defining black-and-white emulsions across three sheet sizes. Kodak describes the film as a high-speed panchromatic negative with classic grain, strong edge sharpness and high resolving power. That's not exactly a radical new emulsion. That's the point. Film photography doesn't necessarily need another film that promises to reinvent the look. Sometimes it needs the film photographers already trust to remain available in the formats they actually shoot.
The name on the box is changing, too
There is a larger story hiding behind the yellow boxes. Kodak's current professional lineup includes EKTAPAN 100, EKTAPAN 400 and EKTAPAN P3200, alongside EKTACOLOR PRO 160, 400 and 800, EKTAR 100, EKTACHROME E100 and the TRI-X films. The branding can be confusing if you've been following Kodak film for decades. That's because the Kodak film business is no longer one simple entity. Eastman Kodak and Kodak Alaris operate separate parts of the photographic-film business, and some familiar names have consequently changed or sit on different sides of the catalog. The new Eastman Kodak lineup is therefore best understood by looking at the actual emulsion and format rather than assuming that a familiar name on an older box maps directly onto the current product range.
For photographers, the practical rule is simple: read the new box. Kodak itself says, “Look for the new box and you'll know you've found us.” That's unusually useful advice in a film market where the history printed on a package can sometimes be almost as complicated as the chemistry inside it.
Film's future is looking strangely large
The bigger story here isn't that Kodak has discovered large format. It hasn't. Large-format Kodak film has existed for generations, and other Kodak-branded sheet films remain available through different channels. What's notable is the direction of the current lineup: Kodak is putting resources behind a broader range of still-film products and formats at a moment when film photography is supposed to be disappearing. Instead, the company is expanding the menu. That doesn't mean film is suddenly healthy in the way it was in 1995. It isn't. Sheet film remains an expensive, specialized way to make photographs, and the number of people willing to carry a 4×5 camera into the field will always be a tiny fraction of the number shooting phones or mirrorless cameras.
But that's also why this announcement is worth paying attention to. The film revival doesn't need to turn everyone into an analog photographer. It needs enough photographers, labs, manufacturers and retailers to keep the ecosystem functioning. Every additional format that makes commercial sense strengthens that ecosystem a little. And Kodak is making the ecosystem larger.
For the photographer standing behind a 4×5 camera, waiting for the wind to settle before pulling the dark slide, that's probably the best news of all.
Big cameras. Big negatives. New boxes.
Film isn't going anywhere quietly.