Cinestill 800t

Ben johns

Ben johns

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Just bought a roll of cinestill 35mm. I want to use it at night so how does it handle being pushed? I like the look of it at 800 and don’t want that to change too much but will probably need the extra shutter speed
 
Found this on their website if it is of any help

From our tests and user feedback, CineStill 800T best rated at EI (Exposure Index) 800 in tungsten light when processed in standard C-41 chemistry. Though the original stock (Kodak 500T 5219) is recommended to be rated at EI 500 in tungsten light, many cinematographers and filmmakers regularly rate this film at 1000 speed with no push, due to this film's amazing shadow latitude, but the ideal ISO/EI to rate this film at will always be somewhere between 400 and 800 without push processing. CineStill 800T is designed C-41 processing though, which causes a slight push in development, resulting in a more dense negative so we have found 800 to be right in the middle of the ideal Exposure Index range.

Also found this youtube video as well where it is pushed to 1600

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-gKhP-DtIg


Never tried it myself but thank I might pick a roll of the Cinestill 50 up fairly soon :)
 
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Carl Hall said:
@skysh4rk has a lot of experience using Cinestill I think, maybe he could offer some advice? :)
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I have shot a bit of 800T, but I usually shoot it at EI 400 to EI 800 (or slower). With my Rolleiflex or Plaubel Makina, I can handhold to 1/30 and sometimes 1/15, so I don't ordinarily push colour negative films. If I need slower shutter speeds than that, I pull out my gorillapod or find a surface to steady me or the camera.

@Ben johns, what sort of lighting or environment are you planning to shoot in and with what camera/lens combo?
 
skysh4rk said:
I have shot a bit of 800T, but I usually shoot it at EI 400 to EI 800 (or slower). With my Rolleiflex or Plaubel Makina, I can handhold to 1/30 and sometimes 1/15, so I don't ordinarily push colour negative films. If I need slower shutter speeds than that, I pull out my gorillapod or find a surface to steady me or the camera.

@Ben johns, what sort of lighting or environment are you planning to shoot in and with what camera/lens combo?
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I was going to shoot at night or dusk at a seaside sea front, I thought all the arcades and lights might lend itself to it, I like the look of the red halos.
It would be a canon at-1 and 28 2.8/50 1.8
I wouldn’t be using it with intention of using a tripod. If I can get 1/60 at 2.8 I’d be happy
 
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Ben johns said:
I was going to shoot at night or dusk at a seaside sea front, I thought all the arcades and lights might lend itself to it, I like the look of the red halos.
It would be a canon at-1 and 28 2.8/50 1.8
I wouldn’t be using it with intention of using a tripod. If I can get 1/60 at 2.8 I’d be happy
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Right. Well, if you are taking photos of the lights or subjects illuminated by those lights, you might be okay with f/2.8 and 1/60.

I would say my best photographs have been from tripods/gorillapods with this film, but below are a few examples that are handheld at night that just about make the cut for me. I'm not sure if these examples are helpful or not. Actually, I have some portraits that came out quite well handheld, but I'm not too keen to post those here. You just need to make sure that some light is on your subject (e.g., street light).

All examples are from medium format, as I don't shoot 135.

Be aware that the anti-halation effects aren't limited strictly to red halos, as even some of the bright white sources have a hazy look to them, I think. In some instances this adds to the photograph, in others not as much.


Handheld at f/2.8 and 1/60; developed normally:


Handheld with Pentax 6x7 (!) at f/2.4 and 1/60; developed normally:


Handheld at f/2.8 and 1/60; developed normally:


Handheld at f/2.8 and 1/30; developed normally:


Handheld f/4.5 with unknown shutter as Lomo LC-A 120 has auto-exposure; developed normally:
 
skysh4rk said:
Right. Well, if you are taking photos of the lights or subjects illuminated by those lights, you might be okay with f/2.8 and 1/60.

I would say my best photographs have been from tripods/gorillapods with this film, but below are a few examples that are handheld at night that just about make the cut for me. I'm not sure if these examples are helpful or not. Actually, I have some portraits that came out quite well handheld, but I'm not too keen to post those here. You just need to make sure that some light is on your subject (e.g., street light).

All examples are from medium format, as I don't shoot 135.

Be aware that the anti-halation effects aren't limited strictly to red halos, as even some of the bright white sources have a hazy look to them, I think. In some instances this adds to the photograph, in others not as much.


Handheld at f/2.8 and 1/60; developed normally:


Handheld with Pentax 6x7 (!) at f/2.4 and 1/60; developed normally:


Handheld at f/2.8 and 1/60; developed normally:


Handheld at f/2.8 and 1/30; developed normally:


Handheld f/4.5 with unknown shutter as Lomo LC-A 120 has auto-exposure; developed normally:
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just to clarify these at taken at iso 800? just bought a 120 roll too and want to take so urban landscapes with a tripod
 
Ben johns said:
just to clarify these at taken at iso 800? just bought a 120 roll too and want to take so urban landscapes with a tripod
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They were probably taken around EI 400 to 500, save for the Pentax 6x7 shot, which was probably EI 800 to 1000, as I wasn't sure if I could withstand the camera's massive mirror slap at 1/30 to get the exposure that I really wanted.

If you are working from a tripod, I would probably go for EI 400 or so. Although I haven't done any scientific tests, the film's reciprocity characteristics appear to be very good, so I've badly overexposed a few frames, which results in a yellowing of the highlights that I'm not too keen on. It should be easy to avoid the issue though if you just don't throw open the shutter, exposing the film for minutes at a time, while totally disregarding your light meter...

You might want to consider doing a bit of exposure bracketing if you aren't sure of your exposure.


Some of the better tripod exposures around EI 400:




Examples of a few egregiously overexposed frames (probably EI 5 or something stupid).

 
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skysh4rk said:
They were probably taken around EI 400 to 500, save for the Pentax 6x7 shot, which was probably EI 800 to 1000, as I wasn't sure if I could withstand the camera's massive mirror slap at 1/30 to get the exposure that I really wanted.

If you are working from a tripod, I would probably go for EI 400 or so. Although I haven't done any scientific tests, the film's reciprocity characteristics appear to be very good, so I've badly overexposed a few frames, which results in a yellowing of the highlights that I'm not too keen on. It should be easy to avoid the issue though if you just don't throw open the shutter, exposing the film for minutes at a time, while totally disregarding your light meter...

You might want to consider doing a bit of exposure bracketing if you aren't sure of your exposure.


Some of the better tripod exposures around EI 400:




Examples of a few egregiously overexposed frames (probably EI 5 or something stupid).

Click to expand...

RJ you sure do take some nice photos... (y)
 
Nice I really like those :). Yea I’ll try some bracketing then, for the first roll at least.
 
Ben johns said:
Nice I really like those :). Yea I’ll try some bracketing then, for the first roll at least.
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If you're going to bracket, take notes on what exposure you used for the frame other wise when you get the shot back it might not be obvious why they're very similar.
 
skysh4rk said:
They were probably taken around EI 400 to 500, save for the Pentax 6x7 shot, which was probably EI 800 to 1000, as I wasn't sure if I could withstand the camera's massive mirror slap at 1/30 to get the exposure that I really wanted.

If you are working from a tripod, I would probably go for EI 400 or so. Although I haven't done any scientific tests, the film's reciprocity characteristics appear to be very good, so I've badly overexposed a few frames, which results in a yellowing of the highlights that I'm not too keen on. It should be easy to avoid the issue though if you just don't throw open the shutter, exposing the film for minutes at a time, while totally disregarding your light meter...

You might want to consider doing a bit of exposure bracketing if you aren't sure of your exposure.


Some of the better tripod exposures around EI 400:




Examples of a few egregiously overexposed frames (probably EI 5 or something stupid).

Click to expand...
Oh when you mentioned iso 400 did you mean expose as iso 400 but develop as 800 or pull the film 1 stop in development?
Really want to go out an use it now! I have a feeling it’s going to be raining all week though
 
Pavement reflections.
 
Ben johns said:
Oh when you mentioned iso 400 did you mean expose as iso 400 but develop as 800 or pull the film 1 stop in development?
Really want to go out an use it now! I have a feeling it’s going to be raining all week though
Click to expand...

I shoot at exposure indices (EI) of 400 to 500 and develop normally.

As an aside, I'm not sure that Cinestill 800T has an actual official ISO rating, as ISO should refer to a single speed that is determined by a standardised and controlled process for measuring the base fog characteristics of the film (ISO stands for International Standards Organisation), I believe. Although Cinestill themselves confusingly refer to all sorts of different ISOs in their marketing materials, I don't get the impression that Cinestill have actually tested the film using the ISO protocols and are instead referring to EI, but I could be wrong.
 
skysh4rk said:
I shoot at exposure indices (EI) of 400 to 500 and develop normally.

As an aside, I'm not sure that Cinestill 800T has an actual official ISO rating, as ISO should refer to a single speed that is determined by a standardised and controlled process for measuring the base fog characteristics of the film (ISO stands for International Standards Organisation), I believe. Although Cinestill themselves confusingly refer to all sorts of different ISOs in their marketing materials, I don't get the impression that Cinestill have actually tested the film using the ISO protocols and are instead referring to EI, but I could be wrong.
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oh ok, i thought el and iso were the same thing. the bit i dont get is they say its an 800 speed film but if you use it at 1600 push it 2 stops
 
Ben johns said:
oh ok, i thought el and iso were the same thing. the bit i dont get is they say its an 800 speed film but if you use it at 1600 push it 2 stops
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ISO and EI are related concepts that are often confused with each other, but they are distinct.

As for the two-stop push recommendation, this film—which is actually motion-picture film rather than still-photo film—is technically a true ISO 500 if you develop it in ECN2 chemicals (the film is actually Kodak 500T), so their recommendation may stem from this.

So, if you develop in ECN2, the film has a proper ISO of 500. If you cross process in C41 chemicals, which is how most people are using it, I don't think the testing protocols have been run, so it has a recommended box speed of 800, but no official ISO.

Or at least this is my understanding... ultimately, I'm just some guy on the internet, so take all advice with a bunch of salt...
 
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