The Phoblographer’s Guide to CineStill Film Emulsions

We’ve reviewed and tested every CineStill film emulsion in both 35mm and 120.

I like to think that CineStill had a fairly big part in the revival of analog film culture. Indeed they did something no one else was doing and even today no one else really does. Yet in many ways, what CineStill does is something that has been around for years. The company takes movie film stock, modifies it to be developed with standard film development processes, and cuts it for photographers. It has resulted in some film emulsions that are incredibly unique if not the most unique on the market. By and large, they’re one of my personal favorite film manufacturers. Over the years, I’ve reviewed all their film emulsions and am now providing a comprehensive guide to their film.

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Film Emulsion Review: Fujifilm Velvia 100 (35mm and 120)

Fujifilm Velvia 100 isn’t as appreciated as Fujifilm Velvia 50, but it should be!

Here’s one of those stories and moments that I’ve said all too many times when it comes to film and film photography; over and over again I was told that Fujifilm Velvia 100 isn’t worth the money or the hassle. But instead, Velvia 50 was where it was at and there was no exception to that rule. In my re-education of film photography, I found many of the things that photographers said over the years to be simply untrue. Kodak Tri-X isn’t the end all and be all of film photography. Velvia 50 isn’t the end all and be all of landscape photography either. But instead, Fujifilm Velvia 100 is a really, really solid film. It’s gorgeous in so many ways but like all film emulsions, it shines the larger you go.

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Film Emulsion Review: Ilford FP4 Plus 125 (35mm and 120)

Ilford FP4 Plus 125 is one of the more unique films on the market.

Since learning about what it could do years ago, I’ve had an affinity for Ilford FP4 Plus 125, but also understood that it isn’t a jack of all trades type of film. Instead, Ilford FP4 125 is what I’d like to call a film that you’d try to shoot high contrast with, but with the knowledge that the shadows are going to be opened up no matter what. In fact, that’s really what this film is all about. You’re often encouraged to underexpose it to get more from the highlights and have the shadows be taken care of in the processing. Available in both 35mm and 120 film stocks, Ilford FP4 125 can be really beautiful in the right hands. While I may instead reach for CineStill bwXX for portraits, I’ve found Ilford FP4 Plus 125 to be best for things like street and abstract, architecture photos.

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“The Developist” Is a DIY Semi Automated Assistant for Home Developing

Developing your own films at home could be easier if you have an “assistant” like “The Developist.”

Home developing is a relatively easy task that gets easier once you get the hang of it. But of course, if there’s something that can make it easier right off the bat, we’d all take it. We always tip our hat for anyone brave enough to put together their own tools, processes, and even machines to make home developing easier and more sophisticated. Today, we’re sharing an interesting prototype for a home developing assistant called “The Developist” with our film photographer readers.

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Review: MiNT InstantKon RF70 (Fujifilm Instax Wide and Manual Controls)

The MiNT InstantKon RF70 is a truly revolutionary instant film camera that has been long overdue.

I’ve been playing with the MiNT InstantKon RF70 for a while now, purposely taking my time with it in order to ensure that I didn’t miss anything. This camera is, in my opinion, the most important instant film camera to have been released in the past few years. It makes use of the less popular Instax Wide format, and it also allows the photographer to have full manual control over the image. The MiNT InstantKon RF70 has a lens with aperture controls and manual focusing utilizing a rangefinder. There is a light meter built in, and the camera is overall pretty lightweight and compact. There isn’t a whole lot to complain about thus far, except for a few things that really concern me.

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The Guide to 100 Speed Black and White Films

In the past couple of years, film emulsions have been experiencing a bit of a revamp. Some have disappeared while others have been either resurrected or created. With that in mind, it’s time for a brand new guide to these emulsions.

In this guide I will be comparing every 100 (ish) speed, black and white film which is actively being produced and readily available to the U.S. market in mid 2018, with the goal to help those of you who are new to film photography figure out a film which might be right fit for you.

While this guide is probably going to be most helpful for beginning film photographers, I’m hopeful that more experienced film shooters will also find this guide valuable and interesting. Due to the nature and scope of what we’re tackling here, this isn’t going to be a super short video. So here are some timestamps to help you navigate the portions you may find most interesting.

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Film Scanner Review: Kodak Scanza

The Kodak Scanza is a simple to use scanner with a few quirks.

I’ve reviewed options like the Kodak Scanza before that I wish were higher in quality, but what you’re getting for the most part isn’t really all that awful. It takes your 35mm film and can deliver up to 22MP JPEG files. If you want TIFFs or DNG files, then you’ll need something significantly higher end that is bound to take up more real estate on your desk. But if you just want to scan your photos, it’s seriously tough to beat the Kodak Scanza. It works via a simple interface that takes your film, gives you an immediate preview with color corrections, and allows you to scan by simply pressing a button. These images are then put onto an SD card or onto your computer directly. This all sounds fantastic, except that the Kodak Scanza suffers from a few design issues that are holding back my highest recommendations.

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A Quick Look at Ilford Delta 3200 vs Kodak TMax P3200

Ilford Delta 3200 vs Kodak TMax P3200 is the film comparison we need right now

In the analog film world, there are two big high ISO black and white films in existence: Ilford Delta 3200 and Kodak TMax P3200. They’re both much different films, but they’re also both black and white. It recently came to our attention that folks would love to see some sort of comparison of both. And so we decided to go through our archives of testing to bring you some of our thoughts.

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