I feel like Cinestill 800t is a film stock that you get into once you’ve dabbled with the 'vanilla' film variants like ColorPlus 200 or Fujifilm C200.
This film stock is famous for its signature halations which appear around lights, making images very striking and noticeably aesthetic.
I ordered this roll off of Coupang for about 18,000 Korean won (around $16 USD) which certainly isn’t cheap, but considering supply issues with film these days, I don’t think it was too bad.
Being tungsten balanced, this stock runs pretty much blue compared to anything else I’ve shot. As in, very blue.
It’s a look which I think is an acquired taste, and which takes quite a bit of practice to get right. You’re not just instantly going to get aesthetic Cinestill shots by pointing your camera at neon lights. It takes an understanding of how color balance works in order to get the most out of this film. It’s also very high contrast, in there’s almost nothing left in the shadows, which again, means that it’s best used in experienced hands.
I had some very strange light leaks on my roll; weird red casts which I assume were light leaks, and which work in some shots, but completely ruin others.
Let’s talk speed for a second. You might think that being 800 ASA you could shoot this in low light without any flash, but my low light shots were pretty hit-and-miss, and I had a much better success rate with the flash on.
Overall definitely a fun stock to shoot but I think one of those where you need to temper your expectations because not every shot is going to be the work of Cinestill art that you think it’s going to be.
