News
FREEDOM EQUALITY JUSTICE: A Photographic Print Fundraiser
Posted by CineStill on
We’re honored to introduce our first ever print sale fundraiser; "FREEDOM EQUALITY JUSTICE" benefitting Equal Justice Initiative, NAACP, and Save The Children. $100 for a print = $100 to charity. Active now from July 1st - July 15th!
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No Compromises - Cs6 3-Bath Process vs. E6 6-Bath Processing
Posted by CineStill on
With the Cs6 "Creative Slide" process the number of processing baths for E-6 film is reduced from 6 to 3. The reversal step occurs during color development in a Color&Reversal bath, and the pre-bleach, bleach steps are combined with the fixing step in a Bleaches&Fixer bath. People often wonder, "What are the compromises with combined processing baths?", such as the Cr6 "Color&Reversal" 2-In-1 Slide Solution or the Bf6 "Bleaches&Fixer" 3-In-1 Slide Solution. The reality is that there are no compromises between fresh Cs6 and carefully replenished E-6 chemistry.
Just see for yourself! We bracketed exposures of an extreme lighting situation just before sunset, with cool skylight and warm backlight. Snip tests were made and processed in each of our 1st developers at 104ºf and the remaining 2 Cs6 baths at ~85-100ºf in a Patterson tank. The remaining film was sent to The Darkroom photo lab and processed with the 6-bath E-6 process. The Darkroom specializes in professional film developing and scanning. Their Sitte Tischer TruTrak dip & dunk processor maintains high professional standards with constant process control standards. All frames were scanned on the Skier Sunray Box with a Canon 5D mk2 with all the same settings and corrections.
Kodak Ektachrome E100 with an Olympus Zuiko 50mm at f/2 bracketed 1 stop over and under.
There is a lot of conjecture and skepticism out there regarding the archival stability and efficacy of "hobby" type chemistry kits, especially when it comes to slide processing. Some rationalize that, "Professional labs must prefer the 6-bath E-6 process because it is superior." or posit, "Why then don't pro labs use combined processing baths like blix?" Well, that is not the whole story...
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Latitude for Days - D9 DynamicChrome vs. E6 Dynamic-Range
Posted by CineStill on
D9 “DynamicChrome” Warm-Tone Dynamic 1st Developer renders approximately 9+ stops of usable dynamic-range while maintaining rich warm-tones and vibrant color-contrast with preserved highlight and shadow detail (optimized for scanning) for a more cinematic look. Mixed stock solution can be measured out at 1/2 the tank capacity and diluted 1+1 with water to make a working solution for normal warm-tone development. Dilute 1+2 or 1+3 with water for further preserved highlight detail and a more neutral-tone daylight color balance.
But is extending the dynamic range of slides really possible? Of course! That's why we are so excited. When a piece of emulsion is struck by light, trace amounts of silver harden. It would take an insane amount of overexposure to reach the maximum density of the emulsion. But in order to make the hardened silver visible it needs to be amplified with a developer. If you develop it past the Dmax of the film you will lose detail. The key is to slow down development in the highlights while developing the shadows enough to be visible. While it is difficult to increase the shadow detail that is exposed below the base fog of the film, without eliminating it's beautiful inky blacks, we have harnessed the highlight latitude of slide film beyond imagination.
We bracketed exposures by 2 stops under to show how many stops of additional dynamic-range are retained in the highlights. Snip tests were made and processed in each D9 dilution at 104ºf and the remaining 2 Cs6 baths at ~85-100ºf in a Patterson tank. The remaining film was sent to The Darkroom photo lab and processed with the 6-bath E-6 process. The Darkroom specializes in professional film developing and scanning. Their Sitte Tischer TruTrak dip & dunk processor maintains high professional standards with constant process control standards. All frames were scanned on the Skier Sunray Box with a Canon 5D mk2 with all the same settings and corrections.
E-6 Dynamic-Range vs. D9 DynamicChrome
Kodak Ektachrome E100 with an Olympus Zuiko 50mm at f/8 bracketed 2 stops.
D9 DynamicChrome Dilutions Comparison
Kodak Ektachrome E100 with an Olympus Zuiko 50mm at f/8 bracketed 2 stops.
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#CineStillDevDays Part 6 - CS6: Ask us anything! Friday 4PM PST on Instagram Live
Posted by CineStill on
It's time for another #CineStillDevDays! We're so excited to have our new Cinestill Cs6 "Creative Slide"E6 kit out in the wild, we can't wait to see what you all make with it! We're going live on Friday May 22nd, 4pm PST on Instagram Live for a CineStill Cs6 specific AMA!
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Introducing: Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath process for color-timing E-6 reversal film at home!
Posted by CineStill on
Slide film is ageless. For years, photographers have loaded it into their cameras and have created memories that they can view, positive images on strips of film, that could be mounted and projected in all its glory. Then, it all but vanished. Until Kodak brought back the enchanting E100 yet again, reigniting the passion for positive.
We are proud to introduce our new Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath Process for color-timing E-6 reversal film, creating three new distinct slide film results - the true wonder of slide film unlocked. This process illuminates unique color profiles never before seen on slide film, effectively turning the tried and true standard into 3 totally different films.
You already have E100. But what about E100T? With TungstenChrome, you have the ability to tap into the cinematic rich tones of tungsten-balanced photography, now brought to life in Positive. Processing with DaylightChrome yields the conventional standard you’d expect to see from the legendary positive film. And finally, processing with DynamicChrome, unlocks peerless detail, warmth, and dynamic range.
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#CineStillDevDays - Recap Videos now on IGTV!
Posted by CineStill on
Hey there everyone! Hope you're staying safe and well!
We’ve had a lot of fun with our #CineStillDevDays Live streams. So much fun, that we want to make sure those of you who missed out on catching them live, still get to enjoy them!
We’ll be posting our previous #CineStillDevDays as 15 minute re-cap episodes on Instagram TV. So head on over to our Instagram, follow us if you haven't already (@CineStillFilm), and start watching!
Stay safe, stay home, and shoot film!
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CineStill Dev Days #5 - 5pm PST, Saturday May 2nd on Instagram Live!
Posted by CineStill on
We'll be going live once again this week on Instagram Live at 5pm PST on Saturday May 2nd for #CineStillDevDays Part 5! On this installment, we're going back to basics and processing some film! Don't Miss out!
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Introducing: Negative Supply - Camera Scanning System for Digitizing Film at Home
Posted by CineStill on
It's no secret we love the do-it-yourself approach to analog photography. In a way, it's how CineStill was born in the first place! That core mindset motivated our exploration into the simplification of the at-home processing experience, through products such as our Cs41 Color simplified kits, our TCS-1000 Immersion circulator, and our Df96 Black and White Monobath solution.
In recent years other analog companies have surfaced with the similar goals, Ars-Imago with their LAB-BOX film processing tank for instance, proving that even after more than a hundred years, there is always still room to grow in the analog industry.
As film shooting and home-development continue to establish themselves in the mainstream of creative expression, there still yet remains a few hurdles to overcome for the intrepid "do-it-yourselfer" - primarily, what to do with the negatives once you've processed them at home.
Enter Negative Supply. With their precise approach to design and engineering, they seek to transform the camera-scanning method (from one that feels less like a jury-rigged amalgamation of items home-scanners were forced to assemble in the past) into a clean and concise experience for the end user. After having a chance to test the system ourselves, we knew it would be a great fit alongside our other analog offerings. Order the full range of Negative Supply products today!