There are film stocks we love, there are some film stocks we are lukewarm on, and there are film stocks we absolutely hate. It is true for most of us. One of the first film stocks I was lukewarm on was Kodak 5222 aka XX. I wanted to love it but I just couldn’t get there. However, that changed with time. As I began to have more of an understanding of film photography and more of an understanding of how to shoot and develop film, my feelings slowly started to change on XX. Now? It is a film stock I love. Even better? It is now in 120, thanks to our friends at Cinestill. Many film shooters have been waiting for this day to arrive, including me. When the news came out, I immediately put my order in and it didn't take long for the film to arrive. I felt like a young kid at Christmas, I was that excited.
Now the hard part…where would I shoot the first roll? What camera would I use? What lens would work best? What developer would I roll with? Well… I decided for the first roll I would use my Mamiya C330 with the 105mm 3.5 DS lens. Developer? I decided to go with D96, I mean, that is the best developer for the XX according to many. So yea, I decided to go down that road. That was a first for me. With the camera loaded, I took portraits of my 3 year old twins, I took some photos at an abandoned gas station on my way home from work, and I took some photos of old cars at a local Wednesday Night mini car show. I wanted to see how it would perform with different subjects and different lighting conditions. I did end up shooting two rolls, but ended up shooting the second roll @640 and developed that in Diafine. So stay tuned for that.
The first roll in D96 was a success. The negatives looked beautiful and they were ready to scan. However, with life happening, I had to wait a bit to find the time to sit down and scan them the best I could. After scanning the roll and putting them through NLP/LR two words come to mind: GAME CHANGER. The 120 XX is STUNNING. It seems flawless to my eyes so it easily passed the test. Now the D96 used to develop the roll is a developer I don’t have experience with it but I do have all the chemicals to make it homemade. So I think that is what I will do from now on, use D96. I am very pleased with the results and why fix it if it isn’t broke right? Anyways… If you have a chance, grab some of the Cinestill BWXX 120. You won’t regret it, trust me.
Cinestill BWXX 120@250/Mamiya C330/D96
Cinestill BWXX 120@250/Mamiya C330/D96
Cinestill BWXX 120@250/Mamiya C330/D96
Cinestill BWXX 120@250/Mamiya C330/D96
Cinestill BWXX 120@250/Mamiya C330/D96