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I’ve only shot one roll of CineStill XX, and I don’t develop my own film … but I’d be happy to share my images if you’d like to see them. I can’t say that CSXX is even in my top 3 favorite black-and-white film stocks. I found it a little unforgiving, crispy/punchy, and contrasty for my work, but there were some images that I really liked. I think I’m too much of a film beginner to be consistently successful with it. Also, it took my lab twice as long to develop it. Now I want to try again 😂

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vor 23 Stunden schrieb fotografr:

Brent, is it the same film like Hitchcock Double X?

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@benqui, @fotografr

It’s Kodak 5222 Double-X movie film. For movie labs, Kodak created a specific developer (D96) to meet their demands like an appropiate gamma for printing on high-contrast positive movie film and replenishing abilities. The stock can be developed in any other B&W developer.

I shoot it a lot and develop it in Xtol. It’s a favorite stock of mine, relatively close to Tri-X in terms of skin tones but more contrasty and less forgiving in the highlights. It shines particularly well on portraits with tons of backlight. 

Edited by hansvons
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13 hours ago, Stacey Pearson said:

I’ve only shot one roll of CineStill XX, and I don’t develop my own film … but I’d be happy to share my images if you’d like to see them. I can’t say that CSXX is even in my top 3 favorite black-and-white film stocks. I found it a little unforgiving, crispy/punchy, and contrasty for my work, but there were some images that I really liked. I think I’m too much of a film beginner to be consistently successful with it. Also, it took my lab twice as long to develop it. Now I want to try again 😂

The samples I've seen were posted along with a review of a Light Lens Lab 50mm f2 "SPII"  lens. They were all quite contrasty-- deep blacks, clean whites, but very little in between. The thing that most appeals to me is the Df96 developer which is just a simple one step process using chemistry that is non-toxic. 

I'd love to see a sample or two of your CSXX images.

Here's a link to the lens review. The photos of the jazz musicians were taken with the CSXX film. 

https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2025/02/the_light_lens_lab_50mm/?syclid=cuov61i81qps73dpku5g

 

Edited by fotografr
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Hi Brent,

since I used this kind of film some weeks ago, I am really a fan of it. But I send it always to a lab to develop, but tomorrow I will ask at the lab. I love the style, the grain and the look of the film, no matter under daylight conditions, harsh contrasts or daylight. I show you three examples:

direct flash:

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daylight (cloudy):

 

 

strong contrasts:

 

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Eastman XX is a lovely film, and can be more or less contrasty depending on how it’s exposed and developed. I’ve been shooting it at 500 and developing in Diafine lately - nice tones and fine grain. It’s my Tri-X substitute.
It is also nice in Xtol at about 200. 

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10 hours ago, benqui said:

Hi Brent,

since I used this kind of film some weeks ago, I am really a fan of it. But I send it always to a lab to develop, but tomorrow I will ask at the lab. I love the style, the grain and the look of the film, no matter under daylight conditions, harsh contrasts or daylight. I show you three examples:

direct flash:

 

daylight (cloudy):

 

 

strong contrasts:

 

Beautiful results, Marc. I like the grain structure a lot. Each image from first to last seem to have decreasing grain, maybe from the film being pushed more in the top photo. The contrast is very nice.

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On 2/16/2025 at 8:10 AM, fotografr said:

The samples I've seen were posted along with a review of a Light Lens Lab 50mm f2 "SPII"  lens. They were all quite contrasty-- deep blacks, clean whites, but very little in between. The thing that most appeals to me is the Df96 developer which is just a simple one step process using chemistry that is non-toxic. 

I'd love to see a sample or two of your CSXX images.

Here's a link to the lens review. The photos of the jazz musicians were taken with the CSXX film. 

https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2025/02/the_light_lens_lab_50mm/?syclid=cuov61i81qps73dpku5g

 

Thanks for sharing the link!

Here’s a few from my roll. I’m not saying I hate CSXX. It’s just a little too punchy for my tastes. I’m going to shoot it again, though.

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2 hours ago, Stacey Pearson said:

Thanks for sharing the link!

Here’s a few from my roll. I’m not saying I hate CSXX. It’s just a little too punchy for my tastes. I’m going to shoot it again, though.

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These look great to me, but I like punchy.

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8 hours ago, mark_s90 said:

that cinestill monobath is crap. 

 

alot of movies were shot on it, alot of tv shows as well. you have to take time to learn how to develop and exposeit. Its well known for being a picky bitch with everything. I think it has what, a half stop exposure latitude

Are you taking about the film or the developer?

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And then there is the price of the damned stuff for 'up to 16' rolls, which is optimistic. Monobath developers are a compromise whether you buy Df96 or make your own. And they save so little time it's inconsequential when you've often spent a vast amount of time shooting your film.

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The only people that seem to have luck with the cinestill monobath stuff, are the people selling it, and a few people on photrio. 

 

The rest of the world is not that happy with it. Its too unpredictable and it degrades fast.

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/23/2025 at 9:47 PM, PetPhoto said:

The only people that seem to have luck with the cinestill monobath stuff, are the people selling it, and a few people on photrio. 

 

The rest of the world is not that happy with it. Its too unpredictable and it degrades fast.

It does degrade quickly, 4  months from opening.  But I'm very happy with it for a general developer.  I've used it especially when traveling abroad.

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Back to the topic, XX (Kodak 5222), doesn't have to be contrasty.  Here it is developed in 510 Pyro from a 6x45 negative.

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This is the combo you asked about, Brent.  Cinestill XX (Kodak 5222) developed in D96.  645 negative

 

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XX shot at 500 in Diafine. Nikon F4 and Nikkor-P 105/2.5. Scanned with the PrimeFilm XA.

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