There are lots of daylight white-balanced films on the market today. But, with no price controls in place, they’re all becoming increasingly expensive. So Studio C41’s Bill Manning has stepped up to help film photographers by obtaining cinema film and respooling it for 35mm at affordable prices. And while it doesn’t have CineStill’s look (the remjet layer is still there), he’s providing film photographers more affordable options.
The Big Picture
The real big picture is the fact that most Daylight film is super expensive. Prices keep going up, but Bill Manning, who heads up AFC, is doing Robin Hood’s work. He’s taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Want your Kodak Portra? Well, it’s going to cost you. Looking for Ektar? That’s going to cost you too. But somehow or another, Cinema film is still affordable. And Atlanta Film Company 250D is respooled cinema film that’s gorgeous to behold.
It will help you make the cinematic memories of your dreams. That’s why we’re giving it five out of five stars. As I told Bill when I got my scans back, I nearly shed a tear.
Pros
- It’s an affordable film.
- Beautiful colors
- Sharp and rich details
- I mean, look at the photos. How can you complain?
Cons
- There’s no way in heck you’re developing this at home.
Gear Used
We tested Atlanta Film Company 250D with the following products:
- Leica M6
- Fujifilm Natura S (yes, it’s DX coded)
- Processing and scans were taken care of free of charge for this review by Atlanta Film Company.
Ease of Use
There truly isn’t a whole lot to this film. Load it into your camera, set the ISO, and then shoot to your heart’s content. It’s daylight film, and lots of how the image looks can be rendered in the final scans you get. Of course, with it being 250D, it’s great for during the day. If you’re using it at night, have a flash.
Better yet, the film is DX coded and so the camera will know what’s going in!
Image Quality
I’m speechless. Atlanta Film Company 250D was processed and developed by strategic partners of the company, and they did a terrific job. I haven’t been this in love with my scans in years, albeit partially because of the content that I’ve shot. Typically, I use Blue Moon Camera and am smitten with the scans they give me. However, this is a cinema film and needs to be processed differently than C41 standards.
I love it, and I think you will too. I’ll let the images speak for themselves. Some of them are out of focus. I don’t care; the memories are what matters to us as film photographers.
Above is 250D from Atlanta Film Company. Below is CineStill 50D. CineStill removes the remjet layer, which causes halation that also brings a nice effect.
Here’s the thing, even though CineStill 50D will have halation, it needs so much light that you’re most likely going to be outside anyway. So honestly, there’s no comparison here.
Extra Image Samples
From day one, The Phoblographer has been huge on transparency with our audience. Nothing from this review is sponsored. Further, lots of folks will post reviews and show lots of editing in the photos. The problem then becomes that anyone and everyone can do the same thing. They’re not showing what the product can do. So we have a section in our Extra Image Samples area to show edited and unedited photos. From this, you can make a decision for yourself.
These scans were not edited.
Who Should Buy Atlanta Film Company 250D?
This is pretty simple to answer. Do you want affordable film? Can you trust another company to develop your film? Would you like to help keep a fledgling business alive? If your answer to all of these questions is “yes” and you like the look of film, then go for it.
Oh yeah, it’s $9.99/roll.
Tech Specs
These specs are taken from the website’s listing and it’s available for $9.99/roll:
We’re excited to release the new Atlanta Film Co. 250D. This film is the result of a collaboration between Dunwoody Photo and Kodak Film Lab Atlanta. Traditional C-41 processed films have seen massive shortages we have found a way to safely process ECN-2 film through traditional motion picture linear processors. In collaboration with these two labs, this motion picture film has been cut down to fit traditional 36-exposure film cartridges.
- 250 ISO (Daylight Balanced)
- Motion Picture Film with the rem-jet
- ECN-2 Process Only
- Recommend Dunwoody Photo for return processing and Scanning: Order Form
Recommendations: If your camera does not have a 250 ISO setting, you may set your camera to ISO 200.
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