Want the Look of CineStill 800T in Digital? We’ve Got Some Bad News

We know some of you are looking for the same look of CineStill 800T in digital, but it’s not possible.

I could end this post with the statement above. But it’s true, the look of CineStill 800T isn’t possible without lots of post-production. You can’t get it right out of the camera. You can come close to it, though, just by shooting at 3200K Tungsten white balance. But if anything, it delivers more of the look of a pure Tungsten Film. CineStill has a special, magical process that makes gives it its unique image quality. But if you want it in post-production, you’d need to really work at it. We’ll explain it to you here, but we also believe that you should just give in a shoot some film.

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Onur Kurt Chronicles Berlin in Gorgeous CineStill 800T Snaps

CineStill 800T brought out the nostalgic side of Berlin in these travel snaps by Onur Kurt.

Looking for new ways to capture your favorite cities? Sometimes, a simple change in your shooting experience — like shooting with a film camera — can help you get into a different mood. If you’re yet to try shooting with film, we think these CineStill 800T street photos by Istanbul-based art director Onur Kurt will inspire you to finally give it a go.

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We’ve Updated Our CineStill 800T Review; Now Includes 120 Emulsion Tests

Hey folks,

This is an update to tell you we’ve finished reviewing CineStill 800T in both 35mm and 120. Our CineStill 800T Review has been updated accordingly. Besides obviously being a larger format of the film, we find CineStill 800T to be more forgiving with actual daylight. CineStill 800T is a tungsten based film and for that reason I believe it to be best for indoor usage and nighttime photography. It remains, in my mind, to be one of the best color films out there at the moment.

For the uninitiated, CineStill 800T is a tungsten film. It’s more or less Kodak Movie Film that was reformatted for C41 film processing. And it clearly delivers a look digital can’t give us.

Alex Medvick: On Using CineStill 800T Film in the 120 Format

All images by Alex Medvick. Used with permission.

“I think most portraits capture more than just a nose and pair of eyeballs.” says photographer Alex Medvick in an email response to our questions inquiring about his portraiture and using CineStill 800T in the 120 format. “They show us an emotional/stylized reality, centering around specific people.” Alex is a photographer based in Philly and is one of the few lucky enough to have gotten his hands on the film after the pre-sales that CineStill had.

My envy of him and that beautiful, beautiful, sweet CineStill film aside, Alex is actually a good portrait photographer. With his Pentax 67 in hand, he’s able to create some incredible compositions that not only balance technical skills but artistic skills. His portraits are subtle yet telling studies of his subjects and his ability to make use of spaces on the fly is something that many other photographers don’t have.

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Review: CineStill 800T film

Cinestill photo

If you had asked me years ago if I would be reviewing film in the year 2015, I probably would have laughed in your face. There is no way that a couple of years ago that any editor would have thought that a company would be making new film products. But indeed, there have been. CineStill, founded by the Brothers Wright photography team, have repacked Kodak cinema film by taking off a layer that makes it safe for typical C-41 processing. For CineStill 800T, the company gave us ISO 800 film that is Tungsten balanced–which means that it’s best used with a flash or daylight.

In my personal experience, ISO 800 film has been very grainy except when it’s Kodak Portra and pushed a stop. But in this case, CineStill has given us the finest grain 800 film I’ve ever seen.

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New From CineStill: Lay-Flat Powder Chemistry, Improved Film

Attention, film photographers. Here’s a couple of good news that should delight all you CineStill fans out there.

We have some exciting news from CineStill for those of you planning to make a purchase from them anytime soon. First, their developing chemicals are now available in a new powder chemistry, and hence can be shipped cheaper and more conveniently. Also, they announced that the crowd favorite CineStill 800T film now comes in a new and improved version.

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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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Our CineStill 50D Review Now Includes the 120 Emulsion

CineStill 50D in 120 is a beautiful film if you use it right.

We’ve updated our CineStill 50D review to include the 120 emulsion. 120 CineStill 50D came out after a campaign the company put out. So what do we think? Essentially, CineStill 50D is in some ways an unpredictable film. It’s gorgeous, but it will probably be never as popular as CineStill 800T. The reason for this is because of its very low ISO. Think of it in some ways like Kodak Ektar and Kodak Portra 160 put together. It’s capable of delivering some beautiful images but it’s also sort of unpredictable in that sometimes it leans more towards one emulsion than the other. It’s a gorgeous film and I’m sure to use it again perhaps when out and about hiking or something. But at the same time, I’m not sure why I’d particularly go for it vs Velvia 50 if I’m shooting landscapes.

For even more, be sure to check out our full review.

CineStill bwXX Film in 35mm is Back in Stock After a Really Long Time!

CineStill bwXX has been out of stock and was feared never to return. But it’s back!

Great news for everyone in the film photography world, CineStill bwXX is back in stock. This film is the company’s only black and white film emulsion and unfortunately is not as popular as the company’s 800T or 50D film emulsions partially because it’s fairly rare. You see, CineStill bwXX has been out of stock for a really long time – I want to say over a year. Every time you go to their website and look for the film, you see it isn’t available. But in a recent Instagram story, Cinestill announced the film has returned. And even better, it’s current being sold at $2 off!

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CineStill 50D is Finally Here in the 120 Film Format (Lots of Sample Photos)

The folks over at CineStill have finally got CineStill 50D in the 120 format ready. CineStill 50D, for the uninitiated, the a low ISO, fine grain color negative emulsion. It is Kodak Vision film repackaged for 35mm and now 120 use. The difference is the removal of the remjet layer which lets it be processed C41 typically. We’ve reviewed the film in 35mm format and we’ve also used it in some of our review.

CineStill’s press release, which we have early access to and they’re allowing us to distribute early, is after the jump. Plus there are tech specs and sample images.

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CineStill Launches Campaign to Fund 120 Film

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Very few films really make me get super excited as the stuff that CineStill puts out. Everytime I see the results from the rolls, I squeal with glee at the delicious skin tones and beautiful overall look that’s really tough to get digitally. And now, it’s becoming even better. CineStill launched a new funding campaign to fund the production of 120 film. That means that you’ll be able to use the magical emulsions with Mamiya, Hasselblad, Bronica, Kiev and other medium format cameras.

The campaign is on IndieGoGo, and is specifically looking to fund the development of 800T in 120 format. That will make it one of the highest ISO color renditions available at the moment. CineStill 800T is rated at ISO 800 typically and is designed to be used indoors or with a flash. However, if you’re shooting it outdoors then you need an 85B filter and will rate the film at ISO 500. The film itself is Kodak movie film repackaged and with a special layer removed to make it easy for traditional roll processing. I reviewed CineStill 800T in 35mm and still love it.

It’s super exciting stuff, and it’ll be a shame in the analog world if this isn’t fully funded.

 

 

Film Emulsion Review: CineStill 50D Film (35mm and 120)

Update: This review of CineStill 50D now includes both 35mm and 120

CineStill popped up a couple of years ago as a special company repackaging Kodak movie film into a still film format. They exploded in growth, and are currently flourishing along with many of the other newer film-based companies. One of their newest emulsions is CineStill 50D–an ISO 50 film that is daylight balanced. Obviously at ISO 50 you’ll generally need a flash or lots of natural light to get the best photos. For the past couple of months, we’ve been testing the film along with lights that have come in for review and also along trips.

Trust me when I say that very few films want me to get back into film shooting and ditch digital cameras completely; Kodak Portra is currently my favorite and king of them all. But CineStill 50D is doing a great job and is almost as good.

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CineStill is Looking to Create an ISO 800 Medium Format Film

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All images courtesy of CineStill

What the world needs right about now is more medium format film: and that’s exactly what the Brothers Wright are looking to create. CineStill announced a new Kickstarter initiative for a medium format 800 ISO 120 film. Like their first entry into the market, this one will be Tungsten color balanced. They’re calling it 800T, and again it is rebadged Kodak cinema film. This time, they’re using Kodak Vision 500T film— which is probably the 65mm film version but rescaled for medium format still camera bodies.

CineStill states that each roll of the film has 250 exposures and medium format 120 film has on average around 12 exposures if you shoot in the 645 format. So each roll could be split into around 20 CineStill films.

The film is said to work with regular C-41 processing–which means that it can be developed at many local stores. One of the biggest things about this film though is the fact that there aren’t very many high ISO medium format films left and available in color–so this would open up new possibilities for medium format shooters everywhere (myself included.)

More images and the company’s new promo video are after the jump.

Via Petapixel

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How Fujifilm Natura Can Become the Greatest Film Simulation

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If you’ve looked at Fujifilm’s stable of films, you’re probably wondering what the next Film simulation will be. In our minds, there’s only one big one left: Natura. It’s nowhere as famous as the company’s other film emulsions. The reason for this is it was only available in Japan. But I’d argue that this is the most revolutionary high-speed color film ever made. I adore the look of Portra 800. And CineStill 800T is also pretty dope. But Natura 1600 was even better.

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Review: KONO! Kolorit 400 Tungsten Film (35mm)

Consider the recent rise in Tungsten film and you get a great explanation for why the KONO! Kolorit 400 Tungsten Film could be so popular with portrait photographers. Like CineStill 800T, this film is a Tungsten film and designed to be shot in doors, in cloudy weather, during the night, etc. It’s very much unlike daylight film and my favorite way of using it is to often just use strobe lighting to get the best effect that I can.

Combine this with the fact that Tungsten film often delivers what are in my opinion better skin tones than Kodak Portra and the fact that emulating this look and the tones in digital is pretty tough, and you’ve got yourself a very good option to use this little analogue beauty.

Editor’s Note: This is our experimentation with a full, single page post as part of our evolving website redesign. Let us know your thoughts.

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How Lukasz Spychala Makes Dreamy Analog Photos in “Another World”

“These things have their own unique soul,” suggests Poland-based film photographer Lukasz Spychala about the unique charm the analog medium holds in his heart. He greatly prefers the limited yet satisfactory choice of a few film frames over thousands of digital ones. Using nostalgic elements from his childhood, Lukasz creates photo projects with a great deal of careful planning.

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3 Asian American Photographers Making Amazing Film Photography

Who here loves film photography? We do we do! And we know many of our readers do too. It’s shown through the number of people who read our articles about photographers using film. In line with Asian American Heritage Month 2022, we will share the best Asian American photographers working with analog cameras. Please stick with us; below is plenty of fresh film photography for you to enjoy.

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Our Favorite High ISO Film Emulsions That Create Photos You’ll Love

High ISO film emulsions aren’t all that common. In fact, they’re almost as rare as slide film. But when you need to shoot film in very low light, they’re your best bet. With the film renaissance still underway, we’re happy some emulsions are still around for us to use. There’s not much better than loading it into a camera and shooting a party with some analog goodness. So we’re rounding up a few of our favorite high ISO film emulsions. Dive in with us!

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3 Leica Lenses with Bokeh You’ll Love and Possibly Afford!

Bokeh has to be one of the biggest reasons why folks might buy a lens. Leica has always been known to have special bokeh. Portrait photographers, pay attention. We think that these lenses are ones that you’ll truly love. Better yet, we’re not aiming for the most expensive ones either. Here are some of the Leica lenses with bokeh you’ll love that won’t necessarily break the bank.

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Robert Luxun Thinks The 40mm Focal Length Needs More Love

“if you’re not passionate with what you’re shooting, it’ll always show in your work,” says portrait and film photography aficionado Robert Luxun. What’s most interesting about his recent work is his choice of lens for portraits. While most portrait photographers these days would choose an 85mm or 105mm, Luxun prefers to go at least twice as wide and picks a 40mm Rokkor f2 as his primary choice. He’s also a big fan of Sony and the strides they’ve made in the mirrorless community.

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Dmitrij Pirang Made a Website for Nikon Users who Love Film Emulations

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“Today, photos from many cameras look perfect and almost the same; there is no individuality.”, says web developer Dmitrij Pirang about digital images. “Photographers are creative people, and they are looking for something special, different from others.” He observed that Nikon DSLRs allow for using picture profiles to produce creative effects directly in-camera. However, several users felt that these stock profiles were limited. Currently, Nikon does provide software that can tweak these profiles a bit. But, there was and still is a huge demand to replicate classic film looks in this manner. This is where Dmitrij stepped in and created a website of his own to support this need.

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