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…

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 comparable with standard still photography processing and darkroom printing, with literally futuristic features (from a still photography perspective)....