FILM REVIEW: CINESTILL BwXX

Written by Alex Green

After running my first roll of Cinestill BwXX through my medium format camera I’d have to say I was surprised with the results. A longtime fan of Cinestill’s 800T, I was curious to see whether or not it’s cinematic look carried over to the newly available BwXX in medium format. However, after seeing the scans from this roll, I have no doubts about its cinematic qualities or legitimacy as a great black and white film stock.

HISTORY

For those who don’t know, the look of Cinestill BwXX is nothing new. In fact, if you’ve ever seen Schindler’s List (1993), Casino Royale (2006), Psycho (1960), or Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), then you’ve actually already seen this film in use. This is because Cinestill BwXX is really just a cut and respooled version of the classic motion picture film, Eastman Double-X.

SPECS

A great aspect of this film is its versatility. Rated at 250 ISO for daylight shooting and 200 ISO under tungsten light while still having the ability to be pushed past 1600 gives Cinestill BwXX the capability to handle in a wide variety of light conditions.

MY THOUGHTS

I will definitely be loading another roll of this film stock soon. Looking back at the results from my walk around Los Angeles, I am very impressed with the sharpness, deep blacks, and latitude of this film. Even while shooting in the high contrast mid-day light, I got great shadow detail without blowing out my highlights. While I had high expectations of this film to produce good images, I wasn’t quite sure how much of a cinematic feel it would hold; however, after viewing these scans I am a believer.

Developed in TMAX (1+4) at 250 iso.

Scanned on Noritsu HS1800