25th Street – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Eterna is beautiful. Fujifilm’s most recent film simulation, Eterna, has a lot of potential for creating lovely color negative film aesthetics. Even though it has the lowest contrast and lowest color saturation of all the different film simulation options, I suspect that it has significant potential for mimicking many analog looks. It has a film-like feel to it.
Real Eterna was a motion picture film. You’ve likely seen movies and television shows captured on Eterna and didn’t even know it. While Fujifilm invented and intended the Eterna film simulation for video use, which it is quite good for, they made it available for still photographs on X-Trans IV cameras, such as the Fujifilm X-T30, as well as GFX cameras and the X-H1. Unfortunately, if you don’t have one of those cameras you can’t use this recipe. [Update: if your camera doesn’t have Eterna, you can use this alternative (click here)]
I wasn’t trying to mimic the look of any particular film when I invented this recipe. I was just playing around with the settings and really liked what I found. It has an analog feel to it. Initially the look reminded me of something from Nik Anolog Efex. As I used these settings, I found myself getting interesting results. Depending on the lighting and exposure, I was achieving different looks, despite using the exact same settings. Sometimes the results remind me of overexposed Fujifilm 400H, sometimes pushed-process Fujifilm Superia 400, sometimes underexposed expired Superia 800, and sometimes Superia 1600. Occasionally it doesn’t resemble any of those films. It’s not supposed to look like any specific film, yet it often does, but results vary.
Gathering Raindrops – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
I have always included a typical exposure compensation in my different film simulation recipes, but I didn’t do that this time because you get different results with different exposures. You can select -1 exposure compensation and you can select +1 exposure compensation, or anything in-between, and achieve various looks. You have to play around with it and decide what you like. Also, while I have Auto-ISO set to ISO 6400, I really feel that the best results are found at ISO 3200 or lower. You’ll have to decide how high you want to go with the ISO. For those using this on the X-H1, which doesn’t have Color Chrome Effect, you’ll get very similar results but it will be slightly different.
Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR100
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +4
Color: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +2
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
White Balance: Auto, +5 Red & -6 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Below are all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Eterna Film Simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30 camera:
Fake Plants For Sale – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Light Lens – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Trapped Inside – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Franklin – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Wildcat Radial – Layton, Utah – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Evening Orange – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Cleanup Tools – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Red Tile – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Kitchenscape – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Tops – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Kodak 35mm Film – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Longing – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Ball In The Grass – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Blooming Red Tulip – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Wee Wet White Flowers – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Daffodil Drops – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Spring or Autumn? – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Love – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Siblings Playing On A Tablet – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Joyful – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Don, Walt & Mickey – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Brick & Beer – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Taste On Sale – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Jarred Pig – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Neon Dragon – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
Neon Reflection – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
25th Street & Lincoln Avenue – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Eterna
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It does look good!
Thanks!
I looks great 🙂 Do you think we could get similar results using X-Trans III and Pro-Neg S? Cheers,
Thanks! You probably could get in the ballpark. Use DR400.
Great shots man! Do you have a specific w/b setting you use for shooting at night (for all film simulations)?
Thank you! For night shots I use the same as I do for day, which is almost always auto white balance and whatever shift the recipe calls for.
Great shots and lovely rendering! Do you use a specific w/b setting (for all film simulations) for shooting at night?
Thanks! I use the same white balance settings at night that I use during the day, which is auto white balance.
Hi Ritchie, I really enjoy your presets. Thanks for sharing them. I still have a question though: How do you save the Auto White Balance correction with a preset? I don‘t see a way to do that on my X-T30.
Thank you! Unfortunately, there’s no way to do that. I wish that Fujifilm would allow people to save custom white balance shifts with the presets.
I bough an XT-3 recently and I love your recipes. I went insane trying to figure out how to store a to save custom white balance shift. In the end I figured on my own it just can’t be done. What I have done is for each recipe I store, I store the name of the film and the custom white balance as part of the name. So in this case it would be “Eterna +5R -6B”. Then as I switch film recipes I know what to set the custom white balance. Just a simple thing.
Great work on the Recipes Ritchie. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your kind words! I went insane, too, trying to figure it out, you are definitely not alone. That’s a great suggestion!
I sonder why you choose AWB in mist of your recipes. Wouldn’t a fixed preset like “daylight” lead to more consistent “filmish” results as real film is also optimzed/preset for a certain color temperature like daylight or tungsten? Or do I mix something up here? Just asking and trying to understand things better.
That’s a great question. My CineStill recipe, for example, does call for a specific kelvin temperature, but most do not. The reason that I like to stick with AWB on the majority of my recipes is because, in the days of film, I carried and used different warming and cooling filters to adjust the white balance to the light. I could still do that, or I can use AWB and leave the filters at home. It simplifies things a whole bunch while simultaneously providing better results. But is it the most film-like solution? No, and you are absolutely correct about that. You can use daylight white balance or a specific kelvin temperature instead of AWB and it would create a more film-like result and experience. All of the recipes can be modified to taste, and I appreciate seeing the pictures created from modified recipes. Thank you for commenting!
Hello Ritchie,
first of all thanks for this awesome page and the recipes. It’s a great work you are doing here for all of us Fuji lovers.
Do you know any way how to bring these recipes or presets into a RAW converter? What I want to achieve is the following: e.g. I shot a picture raw+jpg for example with your Kodachrome recipe on the jpg. After importing the picture into Lightroom I want to try another recipe like Portra on the picture. I think there is no such possibility and also no raw converter that supports kind of importing custom fuji presets or reading and interpreting them out of the raw file, right?
The only converter which does this seems to be the Fuji X Raw Studio. It even uses the jpeg preset for the raw when initally opening the raw – great. But let’s be honest – X Raw Studio is realy only a simple raw converter – nothing for the workflow where you want to organize hundreds or thousends of images, manage keywords and exif data or apply local adjustments etc.
I don’t know of any, although Alien Skin Exposure has all of the Fujifilm film simulations, so that might be your best bet. X RAW Studio is essentially the same as in-camera RAW conversion, just on your computer.
Wow. Those colors look stunning. Dammit now I want to upgrade from x-t2 to x-t3 just for the Eterna 😀
I really like Eterna, but you can get pretty close with PRO Neg. Std, so I would hesitate to upgrade just for Eterna. Thanks for the kind words!
Ritchie, could I please request for a Fuji C200 recipe?
Yes, you may. I’ve had several requests for this film simulation recipe, and I have attempted it before, but I think it’s time to try again. Thanks!
Thank you so much! This is such a cool look and for my XE-3 a fantastic addition.
I only wish the Fuji menu was capable of saving a custom settiing of auto white balance for each set (C1-C7) and not as it is now the possibility to change the auto white balance within the general settings menu which will overrule all custom white balance settings… :-/
I wish this, too. I would love to know someone “on the inside” that I could communicate this to. Seems like it would be a fairly easy fix on Fuji’s part.
Thank you very much. This setting led me to a new photographic life. It is worthwhile to change from e3 to t30 to try this setting. Thank you for sharing these settings! From Korea.
You are very welcome! I’m glad that you like these settings.
Hello, first of all thank you very much for this! I have an XF10 and thanks to your recipes I have save a lot of time processing the photos. Are you planning to do a recipe of the Eterna film simulation for the XF10 /Bayer sensors cameras?
Thank you very much!
Thank you for your kind words! I don’t have to do that, but you never know. You can get fairly close with Pro Neg Std.
I don’t understand one thing…is this Eterna receipe the same as the already in-camera Film simulation I can select in the X-t30? Or it is based on the Film simulation “Eterna”, meaning I have to create a new profile with all the tweaks? Thanks!!! 🙂
This is a custom profile using the Eterna film simulation plus all the other tweaks mentioned to achieve a particular look. If you used out-of-the-box Eterna (without the other adjustments), you’d get different results. I hope this helps!
Hellooo Ritchie , how can i adjust White Balance: Auto, +5 Red & -6 Blue on my XT30 . When try to adjust ist i can’t make +5 Red and -6 Blue ?
In the White Balance menu, arrow over to the right and the WB Shift menu will open.
https://fujixweekly.com/2020/08/19/fujifilm-white-balance-shift-what-it-is-how-to-use-it/
Hi! what’s the meaning of “pushed-process” in following sentence?
“sometimes pushed-process Fujifilm Superia 400”
I can not find its meaning through Internet.
Thank you very much!
Push Processing is a technique with film where you underexpose the film and increase the development time to compensate. Some films do better with pushing than others. Some you can push one stop, others two, and others more, four or even five stops. The more you push the more contrast the picture will have and the more grain. Push processing is pretty common in the film world.
Hey Richie
What recipes do you think would work well this time of year coming into fall/autumn?
Would this one work?
This time of year recipes with a warmer colour shift might be nicer do you think?
Thanks
Justin
Yeah, absolutely, this one would work nicely! Vintage Kodachrome is another fun one to try, and Velvia or Velvia v2 if you want colors to pop.
Hi Ritchie, using a K&F black mist filter 1/8, do you suggest to turn the Grain effect to OFF or WEAK? Or should I just keep it on STRONG?
The diffusion filter doesn’t affect Grain, so keep it Strong. Obviously, if you prefer something else, you can always “season to taste” the recipe however you prefer.