The real secret to a workable camera scan is getting a good initial capture in camera so that you don’t have to push or stretch the file more than it's bit depth or the software can handle. This means getting an appropriate exposure and color balance at the moment of capture. 

With the new CS-LITE, there are 3 color modes built in: Warm for slides, White for black and white film, and Cool mode for color negatives. So for this post, we’re putting all 3 color modes to the test to show you the difference. 

Raw CaptureCool | White | Warm

Due to the orange mask which is present when scanning color negatives, using any other scanning light source (or our CS-LITE set to the White light mode), you will need to do more than just invert the negative with added contrast and adjust color temperature further for good color, resulting in the need to use the fringes of what the sensors is capable of recording, similar to underexposing or blowing your highlights by overexposing your capture, but only in one or two color channels. RAW files are fantastic if you miss exposure a little bit, but there are limits. For example, you don’t want to underexpose your capture too much or you will see a lot of noise and contrast and color will be hard to control.

Inverted with LR CurvesCool | White | Warm

It needed hardly any RGB midpoint correction to adjust for the Cool setting and likely only because this was 800T in open shade, otherwise I would have been able to correct color using only white balance if it were shot on 400D or with an 85 warming filter on the lens. It is very apparent that the White and Warm light modes require quite a bit more adjustment, even when adjusting the RGB midpoints in tone curves...

Here at CineStill, we make 4 different emulsions for medium format photographers — 3 color negative and 1 panchromatic black and white film. They are 50D (50Daylight), 400D (400Dynamic), 800T (800Tungsten), and BwXX (Double-X). For a limited time, both 50D and BwXX in 120 are on sale on our website — cinestillfilm.com! Check them out below!

CineStill is excited to announce our first product dedicated to digital camera scanning: the CS-LITE Camera Scanning Light Source. The CS-LITE is a compact camera scanning light source, created to provide film photographers with better color accuracy and sharper images when it comes to scanning their favorite film with a digital camera.

CineStill film is collaborating with the LINE Hotel to bring a film vending machine to Los Angeles. The vending machine is part of darkroom pop-up experience by GOBI that will be available at the LINE hotel from February 24th to April 28th.

CineStill is excited to announce its first product dedicated to digital camera scanning, the CS-LITE. The CS-LITE is a compact camera scanning light source, created to provide film photographers with better color accuracy when it comes to scanning their favorite film with a digital camera. The CS-LITE is available now on cinestillfilm.com

CineStill 400Dynamic is HERE! Since the first announcement of our newest film 400D, we've been getting a lot of questions as to when it will be available to purchase in retail stores. Well, that time has finally come, as CineStill 400Dynamic has landed on cinestillfilm.com as well as at our retail partners across the world. 

400Dynamic was initially available only through our crowdfunding campaign as a pre-order. This was to gauge the interest in a new ISO 400 speed color film, as well as to inform our manufacturing plans so that we can meet the demand of the film community for years to come. The volume of pre-orders that we received during our crowdfunding campaign surpassed all of our expectations.

Analog Academy is returning for a fall session, beginning Saturday, October 1st! This past spring, CineStill and the George Eastman Museum partnered to bring analog enthusiasts a series of four online classes designed to teach the fundamentals of film photography and processing. After a successful first session together, we decided to bring it back again this fall — but this time on Saturdays! This special online workshop is hosted by Andre Domingues, CineStill's Customer Solutions Manager, and Nick Brandreth, who is the Eastman Museum's Historic Process Specialist. Together they will share their unique perspectives and combined expertise to help guide you through your journey with analog photography!

We have exciting news to share with our 400D backers! We’ve BEGUN to fulfill orders containing NON-EARLY BIRD TIERS! Expect to receive a shipping confirmation email from our online store soon. Fulfillment of these tiers will continue for the next few weeks, and we have several thousands of orders to get through. We sincerely appreciate your patience and support.

In the meantime, as we continue to work fulfilling our 400D orders, we wanted to reach out to address some of the common questions that we’ve been getting.