CineStill’s New Cs6 ‘Creative Slide’ 3-Bath Process Makes Slide Film More Accessible than Ever
LA-based analog photography company CineStill has just revealed the Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath Process, a family of slide film development kits that ‘demystifies’ slide processing and gives you unprecedented creative control over your results.
It’s not often we talk about “groundbreaking” products in film photography, but the Cs6 kits from CineStill might actually qualify.
The 3-bath kits are made up of a 1st developer (three choices), a 2-in-1 “Color & Reversal” solution, and a 3-in-1 “Bleaches & Fixer” solution. Together, they don’t just make it easier to process your own E-6 film at home, they also allow you to change the color profile of your slide using the 1st developer solutions, effectively “tripling the choices available for slide film.”
“The reversal process is the purest of analog processes and it’s now more creative and accessible than ever!” writes CineStill. “The colors of slide film are unrivaled and now you can color-time and control dynamic range with alternative 1st developers.”
Much of the magic of the Cs6 ‘Creative Slide’ kits comes in the 1st Developer stage, where you now have the option to develop using one of three solutions: TungstenChrome, DaylightChrome, or DynamicChrome.
TungstenChrome renders about 6-stops of usable dynamic range (approximately 12-stops total) at a cool 3200K tone, allowing you to shoot artificial light without sacrificing 2 to 4 stops to color filtering. DaylightChrome renders the same 6-stops or usable DR, but at a neutral 5500K, meant for use in daylight or with flash. DynamicChrome renders more dynamic range—approximately 9-stops of usable DR—while maintaining “vibrant color-contrast and rich warm tones with preserved highlight and shadow detail for a more cinematic look.”
Once you’ve chosen your 1st Developer, the next step of the “Creative Slide” 3-Bath Process is the Cr6 2-in-1 solution that combines the reversal and color development steps, followed by the Bf6 3-in-1 solution that combines the bleach and conditioner steps with the fixing step. The result, at least according to CineStill, will be “superior to color-corrected negative scans, without sacrificing creative control.”
Here’s a look at a few sample images, shot on Kodak E100 and developed using the new Cs6 Creative Slide 3-Bath Process kits.
CineStill thinks this product is a big deal, and we tend to agree. “Demystifying” slide processing into just 3 baths will encourage more people to give reversal film a shot for the first time, “reigniting a passion for positive.”
“There’s no longer a need for a darkroom, professional lab or high-tech equipment to create analog photographs,” writes CineStill on their blog. “You can now create beautiful color transparencies at home through one simple process.”
Each Cs6 3-Bath Kit includes one of the 1st Developers, the Cr6 Color & Reversal solution and the Bf6 Beaches & Fixer solution, and they’re available to pick up today starting at $40 for the 1000ml/Quart Kit that can process 16+ rolls, or approximately 100ft, of slide film each.
To learn more about the new Cs6 Creative Slide Kits, head over to the CineStill website.
