CineStill in all its converted cinematic film glory has risen to the ranks as a top film stock for photographers. With their current offerings of CineStill 800T, 50D, and upcoming 400D, these film stocks have become famous for their unmistakable color reproduction, signature halation, and overall adaptability to various conditions.

However, being one of the top film stocks comes with its own cons, mostly being rising costs and decreased supply. So, what do you do if you can’t stomach the cost of 800T? Or if your local store can’t keep up with demand? Fear not — we’ve gathered some of the best CineStill alternatives to accommodate your cinematic film needs!

Looking for more CineStill content? Check out all of our CineStill guides here!

Table of Contents

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CineStill 800T Alternatives

One quick look at CineStill 800T sample photos and you’ll see why this film stock is so alluring. Created from converted Kodak Vision3 500T Cinematic film, its tungsten balancing reproduces unmistakable blues and hues when capturing warm tones. The removal of the Remjet layer results in a magical glowing halation around light sources. It’s a hard film stock to replace, but here are a few alternatives for those times you don’t have a roll of 800T.

Decided you want to go with 800T at the end of the day? Check out the current prices and availability:

All-in-One CineStill Lightroom Preset Pack

Not a film alternative, but a perfect digital emulation – get the cinematic beauty of CineStill films with the Ultimate CineStill Lightroom Preset Pack for desktop and mobile! Designed around the 800T, 400D, 50D and BwXX film stocks, these presets bring CineStill film conversions to your photos. The pack also comes with a halation Photoshop action to mimic CineStill’s red halation glow. More affordable than a roll of film – these presets will let you edit your photos with no limits!

Get the Preset Pack

All-in-One CineStill Lightroom Preset Pack

Reflx Lab 800T

The fullest alternative to CineStill 800T comes from up-and-coming film producer Reflx Lab! Also made from converted Kodak Vision3 500T 5219 motion picture film with a removal of its cinematic Remjet layer, you’ll see lots of similarities to the CineStill tungsten and halation look! Reflx Lab 800T uses the same C-41 chemistry as most color negative films, and is meant to be a cost-effective, accessible cinematic film solution to CineStill. You’ll notice similar cooler tungsten-balanced tones of CineStill, with slightly softer contrast. This film stock has great potential to be a frontrunner CineStill 800T alternative!

If you’re looking for more examples, check out these sample photos from Relfx Lab film!

Check out Reflx Lab 800T

Cinestill 800T AlternativesImages via @yung35mm and @tahusa

Reflx Lab 500T

The second contender from Reflx Lab is its 500T film stock. It’s made from the same converted 5219 motion picture film, but with a twist: the Remjet layer is still intact! What does this mean? You’ll get similar tungsten-balanced colors but without the signature halation glow and with desaturated cooler tones.

Keep in mind that Reflx Lab 500T requires a different ECN-2 developing process, which isn’t widely available at many developing labs. Check with your go-to lab to see if they accommodate this film stock’s development process!

Check out Reflx Lab 500T

Cinestill Alternative – Reflx Lab 500TImages via Reflx Lab

Lomography 800

Lomography 800 has gained popularity as a notable competitor to Kodak Portra 800. Known for its beautiful color reproduction and punchy contrast, Lomo 800 packs more vibrancy than CineStill’s more muted tungsten-balanced tones.

That 800 speed gets you both day and night versatility, with a tried and tested wide exposure latitude. Feel free to overexpose or underexpose this film one to two stops to achieve darker or brighter colors with accentuated contrast!

Check out Lomography 800:

Cinestill Alternative – Lomography 800Images via @nikita_sursin and @tofetakes

CineStill 50D Alternatives

CineStill 50D is the daytime counterpart to CineStill 800T. While 800T is balanced for tungsten light, 50D is balanced for daylight – and CineStill claims that it’s the sharpest and finest color film in the world.

This is partly due to its very low ISO of 50, resulting in extremely fine grain and no loss of detail and information. Colors are more pronounced than its 800T counterpart, while still being on the cooler side with less harsh tones and contrast.

Check out CineStill 50D’s current price and stock:

Reflx Lab 250D

Reflx Lab not only produces tungsten-balanced cinematic film conversions, but also daylight-balanced ones too! Enter Reflx Lab 250D – a color negative film with the Remjet layer still intact, meaning no halation. 250D produces a balanced color palette with cool blues and warm gold tones. The contrast is calmer, with rich details in highlights that are still preserved in low light and shadows. It’s also a much finer grain solution compared to the 400 speed CineStill 50D alternatives.

Check out Reflx Lab 250D

Cinestill 50D AlternativesImages via Reflx Lab

Fujifilm Pro 400H

Fujifilm’s famous Pro 400H film stock is designed and emulsified with portraits and landscapes in mind. The colors are beautiful, leaning towards blue-green tones. The tones are slightly muted and provide a bright, airy feel, while recreating skin tones superbly. Unlike most portrait film stocks that lean towards warmer skin tones, Fujifilm’s blue-green tint complements a wider spectrum of skin tones with more flattering color reproduction. Pro 400H is also preferred for its flexible exposure latitude, maintaining clear colors in highlights, while preserving details in shadows.

Check out Fujifilm Pro 400H:

Fuji Pro 400H Cinestill AlternativeImages via @dorianloganmeyer and @itsjobruh

Kodak Ektar 100

Kodak’s Ektar 100 is a flat-out professional grade film, known for its fine grain thanks to its 100 ISO rating. It captures and retains tons of detail, making it a favorite for landscape photographers. As lovely as the high quality capture is, 100 ISO is limiting in low light scenarios – so metering needs to be perfect. It’s a great alternative to CineStill 50D due to its finer grain and detail qualities.

Curious about how it compares other Kodak films like Portra? Check out our guide comparing the differences between Ektar 100 vs. Portra 400 & 160!

Check out Kodak Ektar 100:

Kodak Ektar 100 Cinestill AlternativeImages via @benjcorcoran and u/Tokyotrav

CineStill BwXX Alternatives

CineStill BwXX is a very interesting panchromatic black and white negative film. Converted from Eastman Double-X cinematic film, BwXX is a high quality film with versatile exposure latitude – so much that it doesn’t even come with a box speed! CineStill gives it a suggestive ISO rating between 200-1600.

BwXX comes with rich blacks and exceptional sharpness – you can see some of its results in films like The Lighthouse, Raging Bull, and Schindler’s List! Just an FYI, that this requires CineStill’s D96 chemistry to develop.

Check out CineStill BwXX’s current price and stock:

Kodak Tri-X 400 Black and White Film

Tri-X 400 is Kodak’s premium black and white film stock, and also a great alternative to CineStill BwXX. It’s widely referred to as Portra 400’s black and white cousin due to its 400 speed and wide exposure latitude. Its 400 ISO gets you fine and balanced grain, while creating deep blacks with retained details in highlights. The contrast is on the higher end with Tri-X, but that’s the essence of this film — dramatic shadows and low light shots!

Check out Kodak Tri-X 400:

Cinestill BwXX AlternativesImages via @raulazzaretto and @haus.danst.haus

Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Film

Lastly, we come to Ilford HP5 Plus 400 – a modern go-to for black and white film photography and a worthy competitor to CineStill BwXX. While Tri-X 400 sports deeper contrast, Ilford retains great detail in both low light settings and shadows. The mid-range ISO of 400 allows you to shoot in a variety of lighting conditions while keeping grain levels low. Its forgiving exposure latitude makes it a well-balanced film for your black and white shooting needs!

Check out Ilford HP5 Plus 400:

Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White Film – Cinestill AlternativeImages via @raulazzaretto and @byfer39

Which one of these CineStill alternatives are you most keen to try? Are there any you’re shooting with already? Let us know in the comments below!

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Cinestill 800T Film Photography