Cinestill 800T

 Lancaster PA


The original plan for the Cinestill 800T was either going to be a concert or evening walk in Lancaster, testing my lowlight film photography skills. It turned out to be a study on adjusting for shooting fast film in daylight. Overall, I was pleased with the results, both in content and technical aspects. 

I loaded the roll while standing at Penn Square during the Hands Off protest April 5th. Normally, when loading film in the field, I would typically find a place to set the camera down. This time, with the camera supported around my neck, I swapped the Kodak 3200 for the Cinestill 800T. I could now relax my aperture a bit, getting back some depth of field. My mode of focus would also change with the switch from black and white to color. 

The film switch happened near the end of the protest but made sure to capture a handful of shots. A fire truck passed through the intersection and much to the chagrin of the attendees, never sounded its horn. The camera caught the attention of protestors crossing the street and they smiled for the photo. 

A guitar shop visit and a walk later, the roll was complete and ready for develop. I decided against developing both rolls, saving the color for a later date. That turned out to be 4 days later. As usual, I reviewed my film logbook, checking the notes from the previous cs41 develop. This would be the third roll done with the recently mixed chemistry. The results thus far were pleasing, and the added step of a rinse after the developer looked to be beneficial.

I prepared the chemistry bath for 105 degrees and prepped the dark bag for the film transfer. The most frustrating part of the process, I am never quite sure how it will go. Up to this roll, I had a little streak of smooth transfers, and little it stayed. The cranking took longer than usual and felt like I had to use my fingers too much to feed the reel. I noted in my book that fingerprints could be a-plenty in the scans. 

The rest of the develop went smooth, soaking the film for 4 minutes before developing for 3 and a half minutes with minimal agitations. My phone served as a timekeeper and jukebox; old school hip-hop filling the soundwaves. Processed the film for 8 minutes in the blix solution before its final rinse and 2-minute stabilizer stand. At first look, the film looked great as I hung it over the tub and noted it as such.

My aperture settings with the auto mode worked well on the Minolta. There were some lost highlights but was very happy with the colors. Much to my surprise, there were no fingerprints on the scans, but there were creases, adding a flare to some of the frames. 

Fire truck never sounded horn

Sign at protest

Protest attendees

50 cent payphone

Historic Hamilton Suites

Tone Tailors in Lancaster

Freddie Mercury mural

Orange Street

Walnut Street mural

Construction near home

another Walnut Street mural




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