PolarPro has introduced the Portra Filter, a glass filter intended to approximate the visual characteristics commonly associated with Kodak Portra 400 film. Rather than relying on digital presets or color grading, the American company proposes an optical solution that alters color and contrast at the moment of capture.

Kodak introduced Portra in 1998 as a professional daylight-balanced color negative film, initially targeted at portrait and wedding photography. Over time, Portra 400 became one of the most widely used color films still in production, known for restrained contrast, soft highlight roll-off, and natural skin tones. Its color rendering has since served as a reference point for numerous digital presets and LUTs.

PolarPro’s filter aims to recreate the Portra aesthetic by combining three optical elements in a single piece of glass: a subtle warming tone, a 1/4-strength white mist diffusion layer, and an integrated chroma polarizer. The warming component shifts the overall color balance toward a softer, neutral warmth, while the white mist diffusion primarily affects highlights, introducing gentle bloom and smoother transitions without significantly reducing sharpness. The built-in polarizer reduces reflections and glare and can enhance perceived color separation, particularly in skies and foliage. Unlike black mist filters, which lower contrast across the entire tonal range, white mist diffusion concentrates on highlights and preserves deeper tones and structural detail. By adopting this lighter, highlight-focused approach, the filter produces a slightly diffused, lower-contrast image with reduced glare and a warmer tonal balance without creating an overtly filtered look.

Here are few sample pictures showing the filter’s effect, courtesy of PolarPro: