“Why BWXX?” we recently asked one of our staff, Peter Carlson (who has used a lot of this film), while we were gathering our thoughts for this week’s Film Friday. He paused, thought about it a second, kind of shrugged and said simply, “Because…. it just looks good.” And with as simple a reason as that we roll into our Film Friday review of Cinestill BWXX.

“Because it looks good” is the summary Peter gives for BWXX. Sometimes you can get buried in a film’s technical qualities, but oftentimes it really can be summed up that simply. Cinestill BWXX just looks good.

We should start by explaining that Cinestill BWXX is professionally repackaged Eastman Kodak Double-X 5222 motion picture film. Double-X was introduced in 1959 in the run of films that included Plus-X and Tri-X. As part of Eastman Kodak’s popular lineup of motion picture films, odds are great you have seen a movie filmed on Double-X. If you have ever seen Clerks, Schindler’s List, Psycho or Raging Bull you have seen Double-X at work. Even parts of Kill Bill, Vol. 1, Casino Royale and Memento were filmed on Double-X. When you have been around for over 60 years there has been ample opportunity to be put to good use. Double-X has not been commonly available for still photography though. The only way to enjoy this film in your Nikon, Pentax or Canon 35mm SLR has been to buy large rolls of the motion picture stock and bulk load the film yourself (or buy it from someone who has done this for you). Along comes Cinestill, who was already packaging other Eastman Kodak motion picture films for use by still photographers. They quickly included BWXX in their lineup of films for sale. Initially BWXX was only available in 35mm but as of spring 2021 Cinestill finally rolled the film out in 120 format to the great joy of medium format film photographers worldwide.

Okay, now that we have that down, let’s take a quick breather to look at a couple more example photos and then let’s talk a bit more about why we like this film.

Image made with a Leica M3 and yellow filter.

As of May 2021 Cinestill BWXX became available in the 120 format for the first time. Image made with a Hasselblad 500C.

So what makes BWXX so good? First off, it has a beautiful classic look and feel to it. The grain is a cubic style akin to that of Tri-X. It looks like the grain of so many other b&w film images we have grown up with that BWXX feels instantly familiar and comfortable. It also has wonderful tonality. The blacks tend to be crisp and even a bit crunchy at times, so if you like strong shadows this is a great film for you. Meanwhile the midtones are really beautiful and rich. It is this combination of deep shadows and smooth midtones that probably most gives BWXX the look that photographers love.

At ISO 250 in daylight conditions, this film’s speed makes it quite versatile as well. It is finer grained than your typical ISO 400 film but not hindered as much by lower light as an ISO 100 film is. We have heard varying reports on this film’s latitude and forgiveness with some stating it is not a very forgiving film of under or overexposure. Our experience though suggests otherwise. Peter used this film in his Leica M3 for several months without a meter, eyeballing his exposure via Sunny 16. He found on average he tended to overexpose his shots but also said that in large part he never ended up with a negative he couldn’t use. Of course, latitude, as with many other characteristics of a b&w film, can vary depending on how it is developed. Speaking of that, there is a treasure trove of developing info out there on this film, especially if you look it up as Double-X in addition to BWXX. This will give you a lot of options for tailoring the film to your preferences. All these images here were developed in XTOL 1:1 or D-76 1:1.

This image really helps show off the depth of BWXX’s tonality, especially across its midtones. Image made with a Hasselblad 500C.

All of this is to say that if you haven’t tried a roll of BWXX it is well worth the effort. The film doesn’t necessarily have obvious qualities that jump out at you and make you realize you are shooting with something different. Rather, BWXX’s appeal comes on a subtler, perhaps more simpler, level. You may not be able to quite put your finger on why you like the film but like Peter, be left saying “because it looks good”.

We typically have this film in stock and it can be easily found on our site right here.

Make sure to follow us on social media while you are at it. Every Friday we feature a different film stock and discount it 15% all day. If you are asking what the deal is with Film Friday, you can read up on that with this post on our Codex.

All that is left to do now is wrap this up with a few more sample images and leave you to go snag a roll for yourself!

It is rare that we complete a Film Friday without at least one photo of this bridge. Today is not going to be an exception. Image made with a Pentax KX.

Image made with a Hasselblad 500C and a 15 stop ND filter.

The aforementioned staff member Peter Carlson with his aforementioned Leica M3.

Film Friday - November 1st, 2024. Cinestill BWXX