Cinestill 800T – we’ve all heard of this popular film stock due to the way it recreates colors in a cooler hue with its tungsten balancing, and the way it emits a magical glow around highlights (aka halation) due to the removal of its Remjet layer. You can see the elusive look in tons of Cinestill 800T sample photos – from daylight to nighttime, and from cities to portraits.
Photographers will sometimes pop this roll of film into their cameras while setting the meter for 1600 or 3200 ISO, which is referred to “pushing film”. There’s an array of use cases for this across all types of photography – so check out these tips and sample photos of Cinestill 800T pushed one to two stops!
If you’re looking to learn more about Cinestill and it’s capabilities, check out these posts that we’ve published around the film stock:
- Shooting Cinestill 800T at Night
- Shooting Cinestill 800T During the Daylight
- The Best Cinestill Alternatives
- Cinestill vs. Portra
- Best Cinestill Presets & Filters
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Why Push Cinestill 800T?
The notion of pushing or pulling film is often tricky for beginners to wrap their head around – but in essence, pushing your film in this case is “tricking” your camera into thinking you’re shooting a roll of 1600 or higher speed film, instead of 800T’s box speed of 800 ISO. This allows you to shoot at higher shutter speeds or smaller apertures, and overall results in lower exposure.
Pushing Cinestill 800T will bring extra contrast to your images, and also allows you to not fret as much over motion blur thanks to higher shutter speed suggestions (meaning you can work in lesser-lit settings if need be, too).
Pushing 800T one stop up to 1600 is done by inserting the film into your camera and setting the metering to treat it as if its a higher ISO film – in this case, 1600 ISO. Turn it up one extra stop if you plan to push to 3200 ISO. If you’re on a point-and-shoot, you can also do this by adjusting your exposure compensation +1 or +2.
If you do decide to push your film, just be sure to mention this to your film lab – as pushed film does involve a different developing process.
Get Cinestill 800T:
Pushing Cinestill 800T for Daytime Photos
Daytime is where pushing is normally used for Cinestill 800T. Think of it like this: your camera thinks your film’s ISO is higher than 800 (which is very sensitive to light), so it will adjust light absorption accordingly (as your camera’s suggestions will act to accommodate the 1 stop push).
Again, this will effectively expose the film a little less than it’s intended to be – coming in the form of either tighter aperture or a higher shutter speed. The result of this will be a much more contrast-y image with deep shadows. Check out these renditions!
Photos by u/cheerymy, u/ChillonDang, u/joko2105 on Reddit
Pushing Cinestill 800T for Low-Light & Night Photos
Pushing Cinestill 800T at night comes with several characteristics. Firstly, you’re able to shoot a lot faster than the 800 ISO suggested shutter speeds, so you wont miss a moment. Secondly, and this is due to preference, but your grain becomes a bit more pronounced with either deep blacks or more faded blacks.
Photos by u/gosserd, u/grainisgurt, u/_ShakenNotStirred, u/YungLeo925, u/hpecclee, u/matthyshaddouche on Reddit
Pushing Cinestill 800T for Street & City Photos
Street photos come to life with the added sharpness from higher shutter speeds and higher contrast to highlight the shadows and details. We also can’t forget that the higher shutter speed suggestions help in capturing the action that you’d find in the streets. Check out these examples of street shots taken on Cinestill 800T pushed to 1600 ISO!
Photos by u/asonjones on Reddit
Pushing Cinestill 800T for Portrait Photos
Portraits also see some added benefits with Cinestill 800T pushed. Once again, shadows become enhanced, and if you’re trying to stylize your shoot, darker shadows will accentuate facial features, outfits, and overall textures.
Pushing Cinestill 800T to 3200
Most of the photos you’ve seen above are pushed to 1600, but some photographers take it upon themselves to push Cinestill 800T to 3200 – which is a whole 2 stops up!
It takes the benefits of pushing film, and ups the ante with slightly more pronounced shadows, more contrast, and higher shutter speed / tighter aperture suggestions from your camera’s metering. Photographers often deal with less exposure by slowing down the shutter (often accompanied by a tripod), lowering the aperture as much as possible, or increasing the overall ambient lighting to make up for the lack of exposure when pushing to 3200. Check out these photos of Cinestill 800T pushed to 3200!
Photos by u/Animalhesus, u/seaweedOK1099, u/solidifiededgez on Reddit
Do you push your Cinestill 800T film? If so, let us know in the comments below and tag us in your Cinestill posts on Instagram @gridfiti!
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