Hail Storm – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Fuji X Weekly reader Luis Costa shared on his website, Lifeunintended.com, a brilliant black-and-white film simulation recipe for Fujifilm X-Trans III cameras. I’ll get into why it’s genius in a moment, but I wanted to give Luis a big “thank you” for coming up with these settings and sharing them. I strongly encourage you to visit his site and check out his photography and articles, as it’s worth your time to do so.
For most of the 20 years that I’ve been making pictures, one rule of thumb has been to keep the ISO as low as you can get away with. A big reason for this is that high-ISO film typically wasn’t very good. In fact, my favorite choice for high-ISO photography was Ilford Delta 400, and if I needed something higher than ISO 400 I might push that film a stop or two. So, if I really needed to, I’d go as high as ISO 1600. I did shoot Delta 3200 once and found it barely usable. Usually ISO 800 was my limit. Most often I was shooting between ISO 50 and ISO 100.
I was a little late to the digital photography game. Even so, my first digital camera, a Pentax DSLR, didn’t look great at ISO 1600 except for “grainy” black-and-white pictures. At one time I used a Sigma Merrill camera that even ISO 400 was pushing it. The crazy high ISOs that are common today are a recent development. Now ISO 3200 doesn’t seem all that high, and many people use it freely without thinking twice about it. It’s really quite amazing!
I have found on X-Trans III cameras, such as the Fujifilm X-Pro2, that ISO 12800 is the upper limit, and it’s better for black-and-white than color. Even so, I stopped using ISO 12800 and made ISO 6400 my upper Auto-ISO limit some months ago just because I felt that ISO 6400 was a better top ISO for color photographs and I didn’t want to bother changing the ISO depending on if I was shooting color or black-and-white. Besides, ISO 6400 is plenty high for almost any situation. As it turns out, that wasn’t the greatest idea I’ve ever had, and I’ll explain why.
Shutter Speed – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Luis made a film simulation recipe that requires the ISO to be high. In fact, he uses ISO 12800, and only moves the ISO down when he has to because there is too much light. In case you didn’t catch that, he purposely chooses ISO 12800 because of how it looks. This is a radical move! It works because of the genius of the Acros film simulation. You see, Fujifilm designed Acros to have a built-in grain effect that automatically increases the graininess of the photograph as the ISO increases. At and near ISO 12800 the grain looks absolutely beautiful, and his recipe takes full advantage of that.
The film simulation recipe that Luis invented produces results that resemble Kodak Tri-X 400 film that’s been pushed one or perhaps one-and-a-half stops, and I would add using Agfa Rodinal. The grain pattern and structure isn’t a 100% match, but for straight-out-of-camera results, it’s pretty darn convincing. I’ve only been using it for a week, but it has already become one of my favorites! It’s better than my Acros Push-Process recipe that I use frequently, and I like that one a lot, too.
The one thing that I do different than Luis is I set Auto-ISO to be between ISO 3200 and 12800, with the minimum shutter speed 1/500. I find that ISO 3200 is the lowest ISO that still gives an acceptably grainy result (but the results are better when the ISO is higher). Using 1/500 as the minimum shutter speed forces the camera to use a higher ISO except for when there is a lot of light. Initially I tried a lower shutter speed, but it wasn’t pushing the ISO up enough, so I found 1/500 to be better. Now the camera will often choose an ISO of 6400 or higher, which is where this recipe shines.
Acros (Acros+Y, Acros+R, Acros+G)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +3
Shadow: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -1
Grain Effect: Off
ISO: Auto between 3200 & 12800
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all straight-out-of-camera JPEGs made using [Not] My Fujifilm X-Pro2 Tri-X Push-Process Film Simulation recipe:
Camera Shutter Dial – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Aperture – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
35mm Film Rolls – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Strange Plant – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Chair Stripes – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Canadian – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 & 60mm “Tri-X Push-Process”
Storm Building Over Wasatch Ridge – South Weber, UT – Fuji X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Writing Lessons – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push-Process”
Learning The Letter S – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Joshua Bowling – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Watching The Rainfall – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Boy On A Rocking Chair – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push-Process”
Cracker Barrel Checkers – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Deer On The Wall – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
Reverends – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Tri-X Push Process”
See also:
My Fujifilm X-Pro2 Kodachrome II Film Simulation Recipe
My Fujifilm X-Pro2 Vintage Agfacolor Film Simulation Recipe
My Fujifilm X100F Film Simulation Settings
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Man, I think you actually made me blush! 😊 Thank you so much for the incredibly kind words, you’ve changed the way I shoot thanks to your brilliant film simulations, so I’m thrilled that I could return part of the favour! There’s only one thing that annoys me though… you’re photos with “my” recipe are so much better than mine! Ahahah
Well, I don’t know about that. I’m glad this came full circle. Actually, that’s a big reason why I do this blog. Nobody pays me. The ads are because I’m too cheap to use the non-free version of wordpress (sorry). I just want to help others since so many have helped me along the way, many unknowingly. I want to be a positive part of the photography continuum. I’m thrilled to know that I have helped you in some way. Thanks for letting me know and being a part of this thing!
That’s what art is all about, a permanent and continuous cycle of people influencing each other, sometimes unknowingly, to create something new in the process. 🙂
I love that definition of art.
Really great black and white photos that have a nice film look. Compliments!
Thank you! I’ve been using this recipe a lot since I first tried it.
Thank you Ritchie and Luis, this is the one recipe I was waiting for, I was looking for to get me close to the old days of pushed Tri-X film. One of my favorites. Thanks a lot, and as well for the other recipes!
Jack
You are welcome! This one is definitely special.
Hello ! Thanks for the share !! Do you know if i can have something similar on my X-T10 ??
You are welcome! You can try these, they should work: https://fujixweekly.wordpress.com/2018/09/30/my-fujifilm-xf10-film-simulation-recipes/
My favorite black-and-white film simulation recipe, love it!
I’m so glad that you do!
With this (and other B and W) recipes, do you use a specific white balance or do you just leave it to the same auto WB setting you were previously using? I notice that if I go into auto white balance (while using Acros) and move the cursor around the grid it does change the imagine some. For example, when switching from Kodachrome II to Tri-X do you adjust WB or just leave it alone?
Thanks
That’s a good question. I use AWB with whatever shift is already on there. White balance and white balance shift do effect the picture, but not by much, so I don’t personally worry much about it.
https://fujixweekly.com/2018/11/12/using-white-balance-shift-for-black-white/
Absolutely amazing recipe. I fell in love with him right away. It occurred to me that an ND filter could be used to maintain a high ISO, didn’t you try?
An ND filter would be helpful for this recipe. X100F and X100V users have a built-in ND filter, which makes it easier.
A bit too rich for my blood! I like the Acros grain at around 2,000 ISO, and a bit sharper than this, too. This recipe yielded such soft edges to my subjects that I felt it went too far.
On the other hand, being free to shoot 1/500 of a second in low light and indoor settings was incredible. It felt like a super power!
I wonder if there’s some middle ground where you can still shoot High ISO to benefit from the fast shutter but maybe not as high as this recipe, maybe between 1600 and 3200?
I’ve just tried this at ISO 10,000 on the X-Pro3, and it’s just incredible. A little clarity adds grit. And it really does look quite a lot like tri-x in Rodinal. That’s my usual combo, so I have quite a lot of scans for comparison. Very cool!
Awesome! I’m so glad that you like it! I appreciate the report!
Wow, just got an X-T2 after exclusively shooting film for 3 years and this recipe is amazing. Tri-X was a go to, although in HC-110. Still having trouble with some of the color recipes looking to warm in regards to white balance, but still impressed with them also. Thanks for all the work you put into these and for sharing them with everyone.
Thanks for your kind words! I appreciate the input!
I know you said the high ISO is ideal for the grain structure, but how would I go about shooting this so I don’t have to have a RAW file shot at 3200+ ISO when the scene doesn’t necessarily call for it if I were not shooting in B/W or with this formula in mind?
Well, I would say for “best results” use high-ISO, but it is certainly alright to not use high-ISO if that doesn’t work for your photography. Definitely do what works for you, and if that means dialing back the ISO to (for example) ISO 400, then do that.
I’ve just discovered this Tri-X Push-Process recipe (and film sim recipes in general) and have REALLY been enjoying shooting with it these last couple of weeks, which is saying something as I don’t enjoy digital photography very much at all, truth be told… so, thank you for the sim, it has in a small way helped rekindle a simple enjoyment of photography for me! But, I’ve suddenly come across this issue as Matt describes. I’d been shooting the film sim jpeg plus Raw all along since discovering it the last couple of weeks without thinking much about colour, I was just enjoying the film sim results & thinking in B&W, I felt this simplified things for me… until I came across a scene while driving yesterday that had to be very quickly photographed before it disappeared, and especially for its colour attributes – it was a colour photo pure & simple. I stopped the car and raced out to quickly take a photo, thinking for a split second that yes I know it’s going to be a B&W jpeg, but it’s ok because I’ll have the colour Raw to work with later on (there’s the benefit of digital!). I got the shot before it disappeared, then I smugly drove off knowing that I had it and I looked forward to working on the Raw later at home. Later when I got the Raw up on the computer screen the realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks – the ISO of the Raw was, of course, 12800, because the Jpeg was! It just never occurred to me that the Raw would have the same ISO as the Jpeg… well, of course it would… feeling a bit dumb… my bad, lesson learnt.
Can I confirm: there’s no way to have different settings for the Raw while shooting Jpeg at these extreme settings (particularly high ISO)?? I don’t think there is. Could you not get similar Jpeg B&W results like above with a more moderate auto ISO setting that would at least leave the Raw still useable if you needed it, as I did in this case?
Would be very interested to read what anyone thinks about this. Many thanks!
You can use any ISO that you’d like. Of course, the “graininess” comes in part by the high ISO setting, and you will lose some of that if you use a lower ISO. I don’t have a good solution, but you can always leave one C1-C7 slot as your “RAW” settings, and it’s pretty quick to switch to that when you know that you will be RAW editing.
I appreciate your kind words and encouragement! I’m sorry that the picture didn’t work out.
I have “only” a fujifilm x-a2 and i use it Like the digital version of my pentax mx. Since I use hp5 and trix pushed to 1600 with the analog camera, how do I adapt this recipe on my x-a2 with Bayer sensor? And the white balance? Thank you very much
It would be difficult on the X-A2 because it doesn’t have the JPEG options that you’d need. If you were able to get an X-E3 or X-E4 you’d have a much easier time replicating those aesthetics. The X-A2 just doesn’t have the necessary tools, unfortunately.
You can try the monochrome recipe in this article:
https://fujixweekly.com/2018/09/30/my-fujifilm-xf10-film-simulation-recipes/
Hi Ritchie, do you plan to do an X-Trans IV version for this recipe?
You can use this on X-Trans IV. For the X-T3/X-T30, simply set Color Chrome Effect to Off and Monochromatic Color to 0. For newer X-Trans IV, additionally set Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, Clarity to 0, and pick a Grain size… I recommend Large. But, perhaps, this would indeed be a good recipe to revisit. Thanks for asking!
Hi Ritchie. I recently got an X-T30 II and I’ve been trying out this recipe along with a few others from your site (great work by the way!). The camera uses X-Trans IV so it has those extra options but I’ve found the results look brilliant even with the Grain effect off. The natural graininess of such a high ISO along with the Acros simulation looks very film-like and gives a wonderful gritty feeling to the photos. Thanks for all the work you’ve done – it’s an inspiration and really helped rekindle my love of photography.
Thanks! High-ISO and Acros is magical, in my opinion. The most film-like results SOOC from digital, in my opinion. I appreciate your comment!
Thanks your post encouraged me to try higher iso with your beautiful film sim!
Old fart, I was used to using Kodachrome 25, tech pan and other slow films!
I still have 90 feet or so of Orthogaphic film in my film loader that I shoot at ISO of 4.
Ortho makes for beautiful male portraits and high contrast landscapes!
Never thought higher ISO could produce such stunning images! New to digital just trying to learn my Xe-3. Thanks Bruce Baker
You are welcome! Interestingly, this exact recipe was used by a photographer recently, and his picture was displayed on a large billboard in Nashville (advertising a musician).
Great idea! Would this recipe also work on my X-T5? I think, there will be more grain…
Yes, it will, but you’ll have to set Color Chrome Effect and Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, Monochromatic Color to Off (0 & 0), Clarity to 0, and choose a Grain size (I recommend Large).