Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219 Film Review

Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219 is a colour-negative film made for motion picture cameras. Though it has been designed for movies, this film sees strong popularity amongst still photographers for its tungsten-balanced colour palette, fine grain, high ISO, wide dynamic range, great response to cross-processing, and for being the major component of the CineStill 800T film.

In this review, I’ll cover all the technical properties and creative possibilities of using the Kodak Vision 3 500T, compare it to CineStill 800T, and explain Kodak’s recent crackdown on the sales of this film to individual photographers.

The samples of 500T shown in this article are cross-processed in C-41 (with a remjet removal stage using Flic Film borax mix) and inverted with film Q.

In this review: About tungsten colour balance. What is Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219? Cinema Shorts 500T. Dynamic range and colours. Cross-processing in C-41. Grain and resolution. Kodak 500T vs. CineStill 800T. Studio lighting. The Kodak Alaris crackdown on motion picture film sales. Where to buy Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219. Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships!

About tungsten colour balance.

Indoor lighting, particularly emitted from the yellow and orange tungsten light bulbs, produces an orange glow that our eyes can adjust to. However, this presents a challenge for colour film as the lack of blue throws its sensitivity out of balance. The result is often a heavy green tint and a lack of saturation.

Correcting film scans shot with a typical daylight film under artificial lighting can be difficult or impossible. For example, if you were to try to counter the green cast by rebalancing the colour to be more red, some parts of your images will still remain green while others will turn orange or purple with no easy way to avoid the unnatural look other than to turn the entire image black-and-white.

Since fixing colour balance in a darkroom can be even more difficult than with a scanned image, several solutions were developed to help photographers and filmmakers create images under artificial light, like an additional magenta layer implemented in Fuji Pro 400H and blue lens filters. However, the most convenient method is to use a tungsten-balanced colour film.

Tungsten-balanced colour films, such as Kodak Vision 3 500T, feature boosted sensitivity in their blue layer, which yields correct saturation around 3200°K. This adjustment counters the orange hues in artificial lighting at the source without having to cut film’s sensitivity with a filter.

The reverse is true when using tungsten-balanced colour film in daylight — the scenes will often look blue or teal as a result of its boosted blue colour sensitivity. However, the blue colour shift is less distracting and generally easier to fix than the green cast of a daylight film shot indoors.

 ☝︎ Further reading: “How to Shoot CineStill 800T in Daylight” — in this article, I explain how to shoot tungsten-balanced colour films in daylight for best results.

What is Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219?

Kodak Vision 3 500T is one of the only two tungsten-balanced colour-negative emulsions manufactured today (that is, if we are to exclude CineStill 800T and similar products made from the original Kodak stock).

The 500T represents one of the world’s most advanced colour chemistries still in production.

However, this film may be challenging to source and develop as Kodak can no longer sell it to anyone but movie production studios and not all labs are equipped to remove the remjet layer.

Cinema Shorts 500T.

Because Vision 3 films are made for motion picture applications, they are distributed in large 200-1,000-foot rolls. This will not work with a typical film camera that shoots still pictures — even bulk-loading lengths longer than 100’ can be tricky.

Cinema Shorts is a hand-rolled 35mm Kodak Vision 3 500T (also available in 50D) with designer labels on upcycled film canisters. I will talk more about this film in my next article.

Cinema Shorts isn’t the only brand that offers pre-rolled Kodak Vision 3 film; some other options may be available through the links in this review. Unfortunately, Kodak has recently stopped selling this film to anyone but motion picture studios (see below for more info about the Kodak crackdown).

Dynamic range and colours.

Kodak Vision 3 500T has one of the widest dynamic ranges on colour-negative film. It boasts ~10.8 stops, which is approaching Kodak Portra 800’s 12.5 stops — the most of any colour negative film.

Dynamic range is particularly important for film designed for artificial and mixed lighting. The difference in brightness of something under a spotlight compared to the shadows in a poorly-lit room is immense, much more than you’d see outside between the sunlit and an open shadow area. 500T’s ability to handle such differences without losing detail in the shadow or highlights is one of the main reasons this film is so technically advanced.

In the datasheet, Kodak explains how this film’s ability to handle overexposure can be used on a movie set:

Like other Vision 3 films, the 500T renders colours so accurately that the results may confuse some viewers into thinking they were shot on a digital camera. But of course, as you work more with the film, you’ll find that it looks nothing like any digital sensors or other films.

You can shoot this tungsten-balanced film in daylight, provided that you use the correct lens filter. This will give you the best results and save time editing. (See samples and comparison between filter and digital edits.)

It’s also possible to colour-correct the 500T shot in daylight and get results that look as good as Vision 3 250D’s — a comparable daylight film from Kodak (all images in this review were shot without a lens filter). The issue with this approach is that there will be some situations when it would be hard or impossible to fix the colour. The trouble usually arises in cool light, specifically in the shadows. Thus, if you choose to shoot this film in daylight without a filter, I recommend overexposing it slightly during the golden hour (early morning sun or just before sunset).

Cross-processing in C-41.

Kodak Vision 3 films are designed for the ECN-2 process, which is a little different from the typical C-41 chemistry you’ll find at the lab or in people’s homes.

The ECN-2 process is designed to produce less contrast, giving the editor more freedom to alter the image’s look. Some photographers compare this to Log and RAW digital formats, which also require editing but provide greater flexibility.

However, Vision 3 films can also be cross-processed in C-41 chemistry for similar results. The examples on the Beyond the Aperture blog show a slight difference in saturation and contrast under certain light.

Vision 3 film processed in C-41 renders colours and contrast somewhere in between Portra and Ektar. Compared to other colour films, it does not feel unnatural or distorted. In fact, cross-processed Vision 3 films look ready to publish, whereas the ECN-2 demands editing unless you are looking for very low contrast in your photos.

✪ Note: There are easier ways to get low contrast in your images, like pulling, than finding a lab that processes film ECN-2. Please also note that many labs will process Vision 3 film in C-41 (with an additional pre-bath step). If you want to develop your Vision 3 film in ECN-2, confirm with your lab that they will be using that specific developer formula.

Grain and resolution.

Vision 3 and Portra films use different systems to measure the grain size. Granularity changes depending on exposure and several other factors, which is why Kodak has introduced the print grain index (PGI), which is a measurement based on participant surveys. Whereas Vision 3 films still rely on physical measurements of grain sizes across various exposures (RMS).

Judging by the results I’ve got from both films, they seem to be comparable in their graininess. That is, both Portra 800 and Vision 3 500T are noticeably grainy if you’re viewing a 35mm film scan on a large screen or print.

However, this isn’t the grainiest colour film you can get; slower films such as ORWO Wolfen NC 500 and Lomochrome Color ’92 appear to have significantly larger grain. One of my all-time favourite ISO 100 colour films, Kodak Pro Image 100, has about the same PGI as Portra 800, which may suggest it’s about the same as the 500T — a film that’s 2⅓ times more sensitive.

Kodak 500T vs. CineStill 800T.

I drew a few comparisons between Kodak Vision 3 500T and Kodak Portra 800 — both high-speed colour-negative films, yet the 500T’s closest cousin would be CineStill 800T, which is a pre-processed version of the 500T.

CineStill made its name on this film, which some claim is little more than Kodak Vision 3 500T with the remjet layer washed off. CineStill says there is more to their process:

Although some early comparisons suggest that the 800T does not show a significant gain in speed/sensitivity. I may explore this topic in the near future via a practical experiment (sign up here so you don’t miss it).

However, the difference in halation and CineStill 800T’s greater compatibility with modern film labs (plus, an easier development time at home) is undeniable. The 800T is also easier to find than the Vision 3 film and, as Paul of Analogue Wonderland has pointed out, not all pre-rolled Kodak Vision 3 films (with or without remjet) are prepared properly.

CineStill’s products aren’t perfect. Some photographers report light leaks on the first or last frames of their roll (this happened to me also). Still, removing the remjet before shooting film — in case you like the halation effect or just want to have your film compatible with most labs — is laborious and prone to issues.

Studio lighting.

As I’ve already described above, this tungsten-balanced colour film either needs editing or an appropriate colour filter to be used in daylight free of blue or teal colour casts. However, the trouble with artificial lighting is that it often varies in colour, and, thus, your photos shot under certain bulbs may still need corrections. If you have control over your lighting, I suggest setting it to 3000-3200°K to match the optimal colour temperature this film was designed for.

The Kodak Alaris crackdown on motion picture film sales.

During the past few years, many small businesses realized that it’s cheaper to buy Kodak film in bulk, as it’s sold to movie production studios. A small investment on a 400’ reel can yield 76 rolls of 36exp., which can be repackaged and sold at a premium. Individuals have also made their investments to save on high-quality Kodak film.

Unfortunately for both groups, Kodak Alaris, a part of the business that’s responsible for marketing and distribution of familiar brands like Ektar, Gold, and Portra, may have pressured Kodak to introduce new purchase requirements. You now have to prove to them that you are buying the film to shoot a movie.

Cinema Shorts (mentioned above) is a very small batch of hand-rolled Kodak Vision 3 film bought from motion picture studios as “short ends” or parts of unused production reels.

Where to buy Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219.

Aside from Kodak direct, several shops and movie studios may sell short ends, bulk rolls, and individual canisters loaded with pre-cut Vision 3 film ready to shoot. The link below should give you a few options:

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Kodak Vision 3 500T 5219/7219 film purchase using this link  so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!

(Please note that if you buy bulk rolls that are longer than 100’, you will need a special tool.)