I’ve always been a Canon guy, a digital one, and like many of us I’ve collected more than 10 EF lenses for almost every purpose. Since the pandemic breakout in 2020 I’ve started to re-explore the 35mm film world (thanks to a lucky find of a Nikon Coolscan 5000 buried in my basement), my first thought was: “since I own many EF lenses why not use them on a film EOS camera?” The first film camera was an EOS 650, perfectly compatible with all my lenses but with some caveats: 1 AF point, just 2 metering modes, no lcd backlight… you know, coming from a DSLR the drawbacks were a little disappointing.

Canon Eos 1V

So here I am, coming from a digital world where the camera has got so many features that I’m missing on this 80’s tank shaped camera, is there a convergence point where the best of the two worlds meets? Yes, there is, and it’s a round shaped tank born in the 21st century. 45 AF points, 21 Metering zone and the list goes on and on; oh, that’s my camera. Just one problem, finding one in good shape (at least in Italy) is troublesome, moreover most of them are the HS (High Speed) variant with 10 fps capabilities, too bulky and heavy for me. Nevertheless, just near my birthday I’ve found one, and it was just 10km away from me, guess what? Now it’s mine.

Cinestill 800T

So, what’s the point of owning one of the best film cameras with a quite decent amount of fast lenses if not using them together at night, preferably handheld?
Here comes one of my most beloved film stocks available today: CInestill 800T. The idea is simple, bring my Eos 1V equipped with my beloved EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and a couple of 800T rolls almost every night I go out.

This film stock is not so easy to use, I’ve tried many setups on my first 2 rolls and then found a quite reasonable fixed setup:

  • Metering Mode: Centre Weighted Average,
  • Iso: 1600-2000
  • Push: +2
  • Shutter speed and f number set trough Av (Aperture priority) mode depending on the scene.

So here below the 5 frames:

Gas station

Canon EOS 1V, EF 50 f/1.4 @ f1.4, CInestill 800T rated @ 3200 ISO, Push +3

Night Roses

Canon EOS 1V, EF 50 f/1.4 @ f1.4, CInestill 800T rated @ 3200 ISO, Push +3

Cesenatico’s Ferris wheel

Canon EOS 1V, EF 50 f/1.4 @ f2.0, CInestill 800T rated @ 1600 ISO, Push +2

Cesenatico’s Skyscraper and shore

Canon EOS 1V, EF 50 f/1.4 @ f16, CInestill 800T rated @ 1600 ISO, Push +2

Mercurya frontman

Canon EOS 1V, EF 80 f/1.8 @ f2.0, CInestill 800T rated @ 2000 ISO, Push +2

Thank you very much for all those who have read these silly notes, you can follow me on Instagram and on my website

Ciao Ciao

Contribute to 35mmc for an Ad-Free Experience

There are two ways to experience 35mmc without the adverts:

Paid Subscription – £2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial)
Subscribe here

Content contributor – become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.
Sign up here.



Read the full article here