Features
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EI 50 daylight balanced 35mm color negative film
Safe for C-41 processing at photo labs or at home with the Cs41 "Color Simplified" kit
Acetate base
Factory spooled, 36 exposure DX-coded steel cassettes
Unrivaled highlight and shadow latitude
High resolution and fine grain for maximum sharpness
Product Details
The world’s sharpest and finest grain color negative film!
CINESTILL 50Daylight is an EI 50/18° speed daylight balanced (5500K) color negative motion picture film stock for still photography. Based on the original motion picture emulsion, this film is prepped and rolled for clean and safe standard photo lab processing or Cs41 "Color Simplified" development at home, but it may also be processed in Cs2 "Cine Simplified" chemistry for low-contrast motion picture negatives. Ideal for shooting in bright light at wide apertures and for producing high resolution, low grain images.
This emulsion is optimized for a hybrid workflow, ideal for scanning, and produces a complimentary contrast curve for optical printing on RA-4 paper when processed in C-41 chemistry. The exposure latitude of this film is beyond anything digital and even most other films can hope to achieve. With 50D you can achieve beautiful results by rating it anywhere between EI 12-100 without the need for push processing. No matter how you meter, you will see almost no grain, but color, contrast, shadow detail and highlight rendering will be affected by the chosen EI you meter at. If you expose at a lower EI you will get warmer images with greater halation in the highlights.
Educational Resources:
SHORT: CineStill 50D - The Most Underrated Film of All Time?
VIDEO: The World's Sharpest and Finest Grain Color Negative Film
BLOG: Go Slow: CineStill 50Daylight, the most underrated film on Earth
BLOG: The CineStill Film Family: A Photographer’s Guide to Our 4 Film Emulsions
BLOG: Portraits and Snapshots on CineStill 800T & 50D by Marina Koslow
BLOG: A DP's Point of View - CineStill 50D & 800T by Rob Hauer
FAQ’s:
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Q: Does CineStill 50Daylight exhibit halation? A: Yes, as the film has undergone our proprietary “Premoval” process, halation is possible. Halation occurs most strongly around in-focus, over-exposed point light sources. It’s most visible when those light sources are surrounded by a darker background.
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Q: Can you push- or pull-process CineStill 50Daylight? A: Yes, CineStill 50Daylight can certainly be push- or pull-processed, either at your lab or using our Cs41 “Color Simplified” Kit. Note that push-processing will generally increase contrast and grain. Colors may also shift slightly. Full instructions on how to push-/pull-process can be found in the “Push/Pull Processing & Variable Temperature Development Chart” of the Cs41 Kit’s instruction manual.
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Q: Is processing CineStill 50Daylight in C-41 technically cross-processing? A: This emulsion was designed originally requiring ECN-2 motion picture processing and may still be processed using ALL of those steps or with the CineStill Cs2 "Cine Simplified" kit, resulting in a pulled contrast negative with lower gamma not suitable for RA-4 color darkroom printing. Although there is no remjet adhesive layer to contaminate and exhaust the chemicals, C-41 processing produces greater density and gamma which is more favorable for still photography workflows, including RA-4 color darkroom printing. Tests show favorable results in standard C-41 processing compared to ECN-2 motion picture lab processing performed by professional labs. For more details see the “Notes” section below.
Storage and handling: Load and unload film in subdued light. Store unexposed film in a refrigerator at 13°C (55°F) or lower in the original sealed package. To avoid moisture condensation on film that has been refrigerated, allow the film to warm up to room temperature before opening the package. Process film as soon as possible after exposure. Protect processed film from strong light, and store it in a cool, dry place.
Expiration: The new boxed CineStill film has an extended shelf life with less noticeable artifacts after expiration, but should be stored in the fridge and shot within 6 months of purchase to achieve optimal results. Exposed film should be processed promptly in C-41 chemistry to preserve latent image latitude and color fidelity. All current productions of CineStill have expiration dates for two years from manufacture date on the box. If you have earlier productions of 50D (no retail box) or your film does not have an expiration date, it is likely age fogged.
Notes: Long term archival stability has not been tested past 9 years. Expectations for archival longevity should be somewhere between Kodachrome and most C-41 films. We will replace any roll that shows manufacturing defects. We do not accept any liability beyond replacement of original film purchased. CineStill 50Daylight does indeed have motion picture DNA. Like any other color negative film (originally intended for motion picture or stills purposes), it can be processed in either C-41 or ECN-2 chemistry and yield a usable color negative. The difference between C-41 and ECN-2 processed films lies in the color contrast curves produced in development. Processing CineStill 50Daylight in C-41 chemistry (like our Cs41 “Color Simplified” Kits) yields standard C-41 color negatives that scan great using a variety of scanning workflows and have the color contrast curves intended for RA-4 color darkroom printing. Processing CineStill 50Daylight in ECN-2 chemistry (like our Cs2 “Cine Simplified” Kits) yields ECN-2 negatives that have lower contrast and whose unique ECN-2 color contrast curves are better suited for the motion picture film scanning/printing workflows; as such, they don’t print particularly well with the RA-4 color darkroom printing workflow that is designed in conjunction with C-41 negatives’ color contrast curves. Users are welcome to experiment to see which type of color negative (C-41 or ECN-2) they prefer the look of, but we recommend starting with C-41, which will give more options should you want to RA-4 print your 50Daylight pictures someday.
