Shooting CineStill 800T | My Thoughts & First Impressions
The film stock with style….built in.
9MomentScore
CineStill 800T was designed for tough low-light situations and is balanced for tungsten light. Since there is some slight halation built in, sources of light in your images will glow with a lovely warmth. Although this film was intended for nighttime/low light, it’s actually quite versatile and can be used in a variety of situations to achieve a variety of final looks.
To Know:
CineStill 800T was designed for tough low-light situations and is balanced for tungsten light. Since there is some slight halation built in, sources of light in your images will glow with a lovely warmth. Although this film was intended for nighttime/low light, it’s actually quite versatile and can be used in a variety of situations to achieve a variety of final looks.
What We Love:
Light Halation
The light sources in your images will transform with this stock. A normal looking lightbulb will come out with a little extra OOMPH! Halation is essentially the spreading of light beyond its proper boundaries, causing a fog to form around the edge
A Refreshing Coolness
Unlike many film stocks available, this stock is on the cooler end of the temperature scale, resulting in some of the most beautiful blues I’ve ever seen in my own work. It’s a breath of fresh air and totally unique from any other film stock on the market.
Versatility
While this stock is incredibly niche and intended for very specific situations, it can do a lot more. Of course, there are guidelines to metering (pushing/pulling) if you want to shoot this stock in an environment it’s not technically intended for. Check out CineStill’s tips to do so!
800 Tungsten Color Negative 35mm Film - 1 Roll
CineStill
Rated ISO 200-2000! Can be pushed to 3000! CineStill 800Tungsten is a unique film for still photographers. This 800-speed tungsten-balanced color negative film is prepared from the same motion picture...
Add for $17.99800 Tungsten Color Negative 120 Film
CineStill
120 format color negative film, factory spooled, and boxed. Rated ISO 200-2000! Can be pushed over 3000! CineStill 800Tungsten (2nd. Generation) is a unique film for still photographers. This 800-spee...
Add for $16.99Unique Results, Every Time
I won’t lie, I was pretty intimidated when I first picked up the CineStill 800T. I’ve seen so many stunning images of it over the years and didn’t know if I could get such powerful results. Turns out…the stock does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. I realized that when I got the first roll of scans back. I honestly almost shed a tear, I was so relieved I saw proper exposures and that fabulous halation. Even I could shoot CineStill!? As a Kodak-almost-always kinda girl, I couldn’t believe how my world just opened up with this new look. I’m still ecstatic over it.
It’s very clear that this stock does its job well. My favorite shots with this stock are in conditions it was meant for—plenty of tungsten and fluorescent light sources. I decided to put my first roll to work on a rainy night in Portland, as the neon signs turned on around the city. The wet ground made for lovely reflections and texture, giving the images that much more punch. I shot at box speed and am still amazed at the results.
Although this stock begs for that unnatural light, it certainly doesn’t require it. I’ve used it now in so many situations and it always does a fantastic job. It’s so much more forgiving than I expected it to be. Of course, if you plan on shooting this stock in the daytime or in bright/harsh conditions, it’s highly recommended to meter differently. There are a couple ways to cut down on exposure and create a warmer image with more accurate color when shooting this stock in daylight. One way CineStill recommends is using a 85 or 81 filter for daylight images with this stock. Another is to shoot the film at 400-500 ISO.
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In Detail
This 800-speed tungsten-balanced color negative film is prepared from the same motion picture film stock used by top cinematographers around the world. This film is designed for difficult low light tungsten and may be used in many different lighting situations to achieve a variety of visionary scenes. CineStill 800T has quite the signature vibe, which categorizes as a probable better purchase than the Kodak Vision3 500T. Although the two products are intended for different purposes — Kodak Vision3 500T is made for motion picture, whereas CineStill 800T is made for stills cameras; a comparison between the two should be squarely focused on a description of the different look each provides. Without the presence of an anti- halation layer, a red glow may appear around overexposed point light sources. It is not lens specific, but can be decreased with diffusion such as with the CineBloom filters.
What We Rate
- Color Tones
- Poor
- Fair
- Good
- Near Perfect
- Grain Level
- None
- Slight Texture
- Just Enough
- Pretty Hairy
- Temperature
- Pretty Cool
- Fairly Cool
- Fairly Warm
- Pretty Warm
- Budget
- Around $5
- Around $10
- Around $15
- Around $20
- Dynamic Range
- Poor
- Fair
- Good
- Near Perfect
What It Has:
- Tungsten balanced
- C-41 processing
What It Does:
- Color negative motion picture emulsion
- 800 ISO
- 3200K
- Designed for low light situations
- Can be push-processed up to 3200 ISO
Recommended Exposure For Push Processing:
- No push - EI 200-1000
- 1 stop push - EI 800-2000
- 2 stop push - EI 1250-3200
- 3 stop push - EI 1600-3200 (added contrast)
When shot in daylight, an 85 filter is recommended and/or shooting the film at 400-500 ISO.
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