Musings on Kodak Vision3 500T Cinema Film

After using up nearly 300 feet of Kodak Vision3 500T film, only now I am starting to get a good handle on when to use it and more importantly when not to use it.

The common sense part of using it indoors in artificial lighting didn't really sink in until now.

Leica M6, Leica Summicron 28mm ASPH lens + 85A filter, Kodak Vision3 500T film @ ISO 500, C41v1.1 developed

Leica M6, Leica Summicron 28mm ASPH lens + 85A filter, Kodak Vision3 500T film @ ISO 500, C41v1.1 developed

I've tried using it in full daylight with 85A yellow filters and without to see what kind of photos would turn out. Invariably the colors would be strange or too blue or something else wrong. I know, I know... I'm cross processing a film meant for ECN-2 development with standard C-41 development, so color shifts should be expected.

Leica M6 TTL, Summilux 35mm ASPH, Kodak Vision3 500T film @ ISO 500, C41v1.1 developed

Leica M6 TTL, Summilux 35mm ASPH, Kodak Vision3 500T film @ ISO 500, C41v1.1 developed

It's ironic that now when my C-41 chemicals have gone bad, I am getting nicely developed negatives.

Leica M6 TTL, Summilux 35mm ASPH, Kodak Vision3 500T film @ ISO 500, C41v1.1 developed

Leica M6 TTL, Summilux 35mm ASPH, Kodak Vision3 500T film @ ISO 500, C41v1.1 developed

After all of my trial and error, I can safely say that this film excels at indoor situations. Even in a dimly lit cafe, the colors turn out very well. There is a fair amount of grain, but I suppose that is to be expected from a high speed film. I wonder if it's possible to modify the development process to reduce grain.

I'll continue to experiment with the remaining 100 feet of film, but at the very least I now know at least one lighting condition in which this cinema film excels at.