Kodak Ultra F9 35mm Film Camera May 2026

But is it a fun camera? Absolutely.

Here is my honest, unfiltered take. Let’s get the elephant out of the room immediately. The Kodak Ultra F9 is made of ABS plastic. It is light. It is hollow. When you shake it, it rattles. If you are used to the cold, dense weight of a vintage Canon AE-1 or a Nikon FM2, you will initially be offended.

The magic happens with the flash. In daylight, the F9 aperture works fine. You get decently sharp (for plastic) snapshots. But at night? And this is where the "Ultra F9 look" is born. kodak ultra f9 35mm film camera

In a world obsessed with pixel-peeping and sharpness, the Ultra F9 reminds us that photography is supposed to be joyful. It lowers the barrier to entry so low that you have to step over it.

My friends preferred the film photos. "They look like they are from a movie," one said. "They feel real," said another. But is it a fun camera

I shot a friend’s birthday dinner. My digital photos were technically perfect—white balanced to death, sharp eyes, clean shadows. The Ultra F9 photos? They were blown out, grainy, and had lens flares cutting across faces.

However, the moment you slide the little plastic switch to open the battery compartment (for the flash) and pop in two AA batteries, something changes. You realize the weight is a feature, not a bug. Let’s get the elephant out of the room immediately

For $40, you aren't buying optics. You are buying a permission slip to stop taking photos so seriously. You are buying the anticipation of waiting for a lab to email you scans. You are buying the happy accident of a double exposure or a weird light leak.