When searching for CineStill films have you come across any “brand new” color films “made by” random brands lately? Are their claims strikingly similar somehow? Have they cracked the CineStill code? No, they have not… Through thorough quality assurance, we have concluded that true 800T — utilizing our meticulous and unique production process — is the only color film that can stand behind the claim of being both 800-speed and Tungsten balanced. This article will further explain how we came to this conclusion and go into detail showing the results of our extensive testing. We are not here to be nit-picky or point fingers and name names — which might get a little confusing — but some names may sound familiar to you by now. Those “800T” imitations and “400D” generics (repurposed from existing 500-speed or 250-speed motion picture film, respectively) are not representative of the original motion picture film’s quality nor the performance of CineStill films’ sensitivity and color fidelity. Although they may replicate the signature CineStill red halation glow, they are only somewhat comparable to expired film, in that they appear age fogged with shifted color-balance and exhibit a slower effective film-speed (200-400 ISO at best) resulting in a film not suitable for proposed use, let alone low-light photography; that is unless you like underexposed/expired film. For those looking for fresh film, we are fortunate to still have several other excellent high-speed color films available today (even with the recent unavailability of 400H and C200) — from UltraMax and Portra 400 to Lomo 800 and Portra 800 — but 800T is still the only tungsten-balanced, true 800-speed film made for still photography. Anything else, isn’t…

AVAILABLE NOW AT CINESTILLFILM.COM

The legacy of Italian cinema is set to explode once again with Film Ferrania's revolutionary new film...P33.

P33 is a revolution in black-and-white photography that fuses innovation with tradition for unparalleled results! Built from the ground up, this panchromatic film will have a sensitivity of ISO 160, giving photographers a smoother, more versatile photographic experience than ever before. Building upon the innovation and recent improvements made to the latest version of its predecessor P30, such as extended spectral sensitivity and dynamic range, P33 upholds unique features such as fine grain and crisp well-defined contrast. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a budding enthusiast, P33 opens up the world of black-and-white analog photography, making it more accessible for all!

The real secret to a workable camera scan is getting a good initial capture in camera so that you don’t have to push or stretch the file more than it's bit depth or the software can handle. This means getting an appropriate exposure and color balance at the moment of capture. 

With the new CS-LITE, there are 3 color modes built in: Warm for slides, White for black and white film, and Cool mode for color negatives. So for this post, we’re putting all 3 color modes to the test to show you the difference. 

Raw CaptureCool | White | Warm

Due to the orange mask which is present when scanning color negatives, using any other scanning light source (or our CS-LITE set to the White light mode), you will need to do more than just invert the negative with added contrast and adjust color temperature further for good color, resulting in the need to use the fringes of what the sensors is capable of recording, similar to underexposing or blowing your highlights by overexposing your capture, but only in one or two color channels. RAW files are fantastic if you miss exposure a little bit, but there are limits. For example, you don’t want to underexpose your capture too much or you will see a lot of noise and contrast and color will be hard to control.

Inverted with LR CurvesCool | White | Warm

It needed hardly any RGB midpoint correction to adjust for the Cool setting and likely only because this was 800T in open shade, otherwise I would have been able to correct color using only white balance if it were shot on 400D or with an 85 warming filter on the lens. It is very apparent that the White and Warm light modes require quite a bit more adjustment, even when adjusting the RGB midpoints in tone curves...

Here at CineStill, we make 4 different emulsions for medium format photographers — 3 color negative and 1 panchromatic black and white film. They are 50D (50Daylight), 400D (400Dynamic), 800T (800Tungsten), and BwXX (Double-X). For a limited time, both 50D and BwXX in 120 are on sale on our website — cinestillfilm.com! Check them out below!

CineStill is excited to announce our first product dedicated to digital camera scanning: the CS-LITE Camera Scanning Light Source. The CS-LITE is a compact camera scanning light source, created to provide film photographers with better color accuracy and sharper images when it comes to scanning their favorite film with a digital camera.

CineStill film is collaborating with the LINE Hotel to bring a film vending machine to Los Angeles. The vending machine is part of darkroom pop-up experience by GOBI that will be available at the LINE hotel from February 24th to April 28th.

CineStill is excited to announce its first product dedicated to digital camera scanning, the CS-LITE. The CS-LITE is a compact camera scanning light source, created to provide film photographers with better color accuracy when it comes to scanning their favorite film with a digital camera. The CS-LITE is available now on cinestillfilm.com

CineStill 400Dynamic is HERE! Since the first announcement of our newest film 400D, we've been getting a lot of questions as to when it will be available to purchase in retail stores. Well, that time has finally come, as CineStill 400Dynamic has landed on cinestillfilm.com as well as at our retail partners across the world. 

400Dynamic was initially available only through our crowdfunding campaign as a pre-order. This was to gauge the interest in a new ISO 400 speed color film, as well as to inform our manufacturing plans so that we can meet the demand of the film community for years to come. The volume of pre-orders that we received during our crowdfunding campaign surpassed all of our expectations.