Lessons learned with Cinestill 800t

[paleblue]

I had a couple of rolls of Cinestill 800t that I bought from here back in Nov 2020 hoping to use in East Asia. The rolls expired in Nov 2020, but I kept them in the freezer (trips to Asia kept getting postponed with lockdowns, plus life stuff etc.). I eventually made it out this year, and was a bit disappointed with the results. I have learned some lessons that I thought I'd share, just in case anyone else plans to shoot with it:

• Best time of day: Don't wait to shoot when the sky is fully dark. After sunset/twilight when the street/shop lights come on and there is some natural ambient light gives nicer results IMO (see the first pic shared below vs. others)
• Set camera/meter ASA settings to 400asa: I began shooting at 500asa, but then read some pages online saying it gives good results at 800asa. Due to what I read, I worried about over exposing, so changed settings to either 640asa or 800asa, and those shots suffered heavily with underexposure. I couldn't bring back the shadows. I should have left at 500asa (or better yet change to 400).
• Meter for the shadows: Along with the above, meter for the shadows (this will probably require bringing a tripod). I didn't bring one so shot everything handheld, and metered for the highlights (worrying that I'd overexpose/clip the highlights). In reality, it seems it's much easier to bring down the highlights than bring up the shadows.
• Avoid long-expired film: After reading online, it seems Cinestill 800t gives best results when it's fresh (obviously), and degrades badly and quickly when expired - more than other films. Also develop it quickly after finishing the rolls.
• Avoid x-rays: another obvious one, but I didn't realise at first that I could ask airport security to not scan the film. The film had been through once. But the next 2 flights, I took it out of hand luggage and explained it will be affected by the X ray machine. They agreed to visually inspect and test for any traces of drugs. I was grateful for this, as who know's how much worse it could have come out after 2 more X-rays.

Below are the results so you can see what I mean, some look okay-ish at low resolutions. There were so many other pictures I had to trash due to underexposure


Fish Market, South Korea


台灣名產


늘찬빌


Taiwan


拉麵


Taiwan Alley


Taipei Nightmarket


Rainy night in Seoul

 

[skysh4rk]

I had a couple of rolls of Cinestill 800t that I bought from here back in Nov 2020 hoping to use in East Asia. The rolls expired in Nov 2020, but I kept them in the freezer (trips to Asia kept getting postponed with lockdowns, plus life stuff etc.). I eventually made it out this year, and was a bit disappointed with the results. I have learned some lessons that I thought I'd share, just in case anyone else plans to shoot with it:

• Best time of day: Don't wait to shoot when the sky is fully dark. After sunset/twilight when the street/shop lights come on and there is some natural ambient light gives nicer results IMO (see the first pic shared below vs. others)
• Set camera/meter ASA settings to 400asa: I began shooting at 500asa, but then read some pages online saying it gives good results at 800asa. Due to what I read, I worried about over exposing, so changed settings to either 640asa or 800asa, and those shots suffered heavily with underexposure. I couldn't bring back the shadows. I should have left at 500asa (or better yet change to 400).
• Meter for the shadows: Along with the above, meter for the shadows (this will probably require bringing a tripod). I didn't bring one so shot everything handheld, and metered for the highlights (worrying that I'd overexpose/clip the highlights). In reality, it seems it's much easier to bring down the highlights than bring up the shadows.
• Avoid long-expired film: After reading online, it seems Cinestill 800t gives best results when it's fresh (obviously), and degrades badly and quickly when expired - more than other films. Also develop it quickly after finishing the rolls.
• Avoid x-rays: another obvious one, but I didn't realise at first that I could ask airport security to not scan the film. The film had been through once. But the next 2 flights, I took it out of hand luggage and explained it will be affected by the X ray machine. They agreed to visually inspect and test for any traces of drugs. I was grateful for this, as who know's how much worse it could have come out after 2 more X-rays.

For me, there are a few primary takeaways from your experiences, although most of these are not exclusive to Cinestill.

First, for any important photographs, and I ordinarily class travel photography in this category because it is hard to reshoot such photographs, use film that (a) you are familiar with and/or (b) will practise with beforehand, unless you are okay with risking the results or are intentionally wanting to experiment/have fun.

Second, again for photographs that are important, avoid using film where the condition may be in question. If I am unable to buy fresh film (e.g., due to costs or film being unavailable), then I would usually be shooting a roll or two from the relevant batch of film to check its condition and my exposures with it (as well as any things to look out for in terms of development, scanning, etc.).

Last, as you indicate, it is best to avoid x-ray scanning where possible, although a few scans through traditional hand-baggage scanners are not problematic (see examples below with fresh Cinestill 800T). Where there is a bigger issue, however, concerns the new CT scanners that are increasingly being installed in airports, as these will cause damage with just a single scan. This latter issue has regrettably moved me toward digital medium format for travel.

Examples below:

Fresh Cinestill with several scans through traditional x-ray scanners






Fresh Cinestill 800t that went through newer CT scanner (but was otherwise similarly treated and exposed as photos above)

 

[soupdragon]

For me, there are a few primary takeaways from your experiences, although most of these are not exclusive to Cinestill.

First, for any important photographs, and I ordinarily class travel photography in this category because it is hard to reshoot such photographs, use film that (a) you are familiar with and/or (b) will practise with beforehand, unless you are okay with risking the results or are intentionally wanting to experiment/have fun.

Second, again for photographs that are important, avoid using film where the condition may be in question. If I am unable to buy fresh film (e.g., due to costs or film being unavailable), then I would usually be shooting a roll or two from the relevant batch of film to check its condition and my exposures with it (as well as any things to look out for in terms of development, scanning, etc.).

Last, as you indicate, it is best to avoid x-ray scanning where possible, although a few scans through traditional hand-baggage scanners are not problematic (see examples below with fresh Cinestill 800T). Where there is a bigger issue, however, concerns the new CT scanners that are increasingly being installed in airports, as these will cause damage with just a single scan. This latter issue has regrettably moved me toward digital medium format for travel.

Examples below:

Fresh Cinestill with several scans through traditional x-ray scanners






Fresh Cinestill 800t that went through newer CT scanner (but was otherwise similarly treated and exposed as photos above)

That third image is something else.
Thanks for letting me see it.

 

[paleblue]

For me, there are a few primary takeaways from your experiences, although most of these are not exclusive to Cinestill.

First, for any important photographs, and I ordinarily class travel photography in this category because it is hard to reshoot such photographs, use film that (a) you are familiar with and/or (b) will practise with beforehand, unless you are okay with risking the results or are intentionally wanting to experiment/have fun.

Second, again for photographs that are important, avoid using film where the condition may be in question. If I am unable to buy fresh film (e.g., due to costs or film being unavailable), then I would usually be shooting a roll or two from the relevant batch of film to check its condition and my exposures with it (as well as any things to look out for in terms of development, scanning, etc.).

Last, as you indicate, it is best to avoid x-ray scanning where possible, although a few scans through traditional hand-baggage scanners are not problematic (see examples below with fresh Cinestill 800T). Where there is a bigger issue, however, concerns the new CT scanners that are increasingly being installed in airports, as these will cause damage with just a single scan. This latter issue has regrettably moved me toward digital medium format for travel.

Examples below:

Fresh Cinestill with several scans through traditional x-ray scanners






Fresh Cinestill 800t that went through newer CT scanner (but was otherwise similarly treated and exposed as photos above)

Great points there skysh4rk, and lovely photos from of Tokyo/KL (where was your vantage point from for the Tokyo Tower?)

Yes I'd forgotten a lot about how challenging/risky it is to use film for travel photography, especially at night, so this isn't necessarily just a Cinestill problem. Over a decade ago I shot a lot of film in China, but most of it was quite forgiving like Ektar and Portra, and film/processing was super cheap back in comparison so I could go through rolls of the stuff without breaking the bank.

Fortunately I took a DSLR with me this time, so although it was a hassle lugging around a lot of gear, at least I did get a lot of the shots I wanted to get

 

[skysh4rk]

That third image is something else.
Thanks for letting me see it.

Thanks for that. I always really liked that photo, but was never sure what anyone else ever made of it.

Great points there skysh4rk, and lovely photos from of Tokyo/KL (where was your vantage point from for the Tokyo Tower?)

Yes I'd forgotten a lot about how challenging/risky it is to use film for travel photography, especially at night, so this isn't necessarily just a Cinestill problem. Over a decade ago I shot a lot of film in China, but most of it was quite forgiving like Ektar and Portra, and film/processing was super cheap back in comparison so I could go through rolls of the stuff without breaking the bank.

Fortunately I took a DSLR with me this time, so although it was a hassle lugging around a lot of gear, at least I did get a lot of the shots I wanted to get

The photo with the view of Tokyo Tower was taken from Roppongi Hills Mori Tower.

Traditionally, I really liked Fujifilm 160NS for travel/nighttime photography. It required a tripod for low-light work but it handled mixed lighting quite well, was less problematic for x-ray scans (due to low ISO), and held up under long exposure times. I used it in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc. over a few year period. Unfortunately, it's not made anymore and I have since used or sold my supplies of the film.

Cinestill 800T is decent for nighttime stuff, especially where tripods are trickier, but it's not as versatile as other daylight-balanced films and has some quirks (e.g., due to lacking the anti-halation layer and effectively cross processing in C41). If you need to handhold in darker or artificial-lighting conditions though, it's about the only thing going in colour, so I'm glad that it remains available.

Hope the travels were good and that you get a chance to experiment a bit more with Cinestill 800T.

 

[Valkyrie88]

If it helps at all, I've added below some shots of Cinestill 800T that have been through both traditional and CT x-rays/scanners (trip: UK-Malaysia-Indonesia)

Mind there was extreme humidity throughout this trip - would anyone be able to comment on how that could visibly impair results