CineStill 800T In Your Toolbox

With many film choices currently available, it is necessary to have some understanding of how a particular film excels, so you can get the most out of every roll. When choosing CineStill 800T, it helps to understand where this film originated and what it was designed to achieve, in addition to considering its increased speed and quality over other options. 

CineStill 800T was originally based on a motion picture emulsion designed for shooting in limited artificial, continuous, incandescent light. It can also be shot in daylight with the appropriate “85” filter, or with a warmer “85b” filter in blue cast shade. It is also popular to shoot 800T with no filter for a cool look, or to be color corrected warm for a Wes Anderson aesthetic. This film is optimized for a hybrid workflow, ideal for scanning, but compatible with standard still photography processing and darkroom printing, with literally futuristic features (from a still photography perspective).

It is important to note that CineStill is NOT just a "repackaged" motion picture film. We utilize the same advanced emulsion technology found in motion picture film to create a still photography film for standard C-41 processing and RA-4 printing. We also do NOT simply “soup” motion picture film scraps to remove the remjet layer, leaving a contaminated base fog with reduced speed. Rather, we produce the highest quality, tungsten-balanced, true-800-speed film with is own unique characteristics.  

Now on to the point...when is the best time to use CineStill 800T for capturing beautiful photographs? There are many creative applications for a high-speed tungsten balanced film, even in daylight. 800Tungsten is designed for and excels in difficult, low light and tungsten lighting situations. It may be used in many different lighting situations to achieve a variety of desirable looks but due to its cool color balance and halation, some situations will have a more desirable stylistic look.

CineStill 800T is a perfect emulsion in your toolbox for when you want to capture natural looking images in limited available light. Daylight balanced negative films usually require 2 or more stops additional exposure than your camera meter will tell you in order to produce natural color in low light. This is because tungsten-balanced lighting emits very little blue light, resulting in orange colored images with daylight film. 800T has added blue sensitivity to capture full color images in incandescent light. In mixed light or daylight it can also be rated around ISO 400 and color corrected to produce stunning color. This makes CineStill 800T the most versatile color film currently available and by far the fastest (most sensitive) color film in incandescent light.

In short, situations when you will ideally want to reach for your CineStill 800T will be in incandescent tungsten light, candle light, fluorescent light, mixed tungsten with fluorescent and mixed tungsten with limited daylight.

One of the greatest aspects of film is its incredible latitude. This is especially true for 800T. Based on our extensive testing and confirmed through years of user feedback, CineStill 800T is best rated at EI (Exposure Index) 800 in tungsten light when processed in standard C-41 chemistry. Though the original stock it was based on was recommended to be rated at EI 500 in tungsten light, many cinematographers and filmmakers regularly rated it at 1000 speed with no push processing, due to this film's amazing shadow latitude. Regardless, the ideal ISO/EI to rate this film at will always be somewhere between 400 and 800 with normal processing. But remember, CineStill 800T is designed for C-41 processing, which causes a slight gamma increase in development and results in a denser negative, optimal for still photography printing and scanning, and doesn’t suffer from any chemical/age/base fogging or reduced film speed. Thus, we have found 800 to be right in the middle of the ideal Exposure Index range.

Expect a unique look from CineStill 800Tungsten when photographing:

• heavily backlit images
• strong window light
• content including overexposed points of light (ie. Christmas lights or bright windows)   

When shooting in these situations, the resulting effect is referred to as halation. Points of light surrounded by darker tones will produce a signature "red glow" or "halo" around strong highlights. The effect is significantly reduced with medium format film due to the larger negative and shallower depth of field. Longer focal length lenses also reduce this effect. While it is worth stating that all film can halate, CineStill is particularly sensitive to this effect, so it is worth noting when choosing this stock. That being said, many photographers have leaned into this unique quality to achieve some awesome results!

Happy Shooting! 
-The CineStill Team