Film simulation recipes are the number one most popular type of article on Fuji X Weekly. These posts are what most people come to this blog to read. In fact, so far this year, the top twenty most read articles are all film simulation recipes. I thought it would be fun to share which are the most popular recipes, based on how many times they’ve been viewed so far this year. The newest ones haven’t been around long enough to make this list, so maybe I’ll periodically revisit this topic.
Top 10 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes:
#10. X100F Acros
Walking Man – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F
I was surprised to learn that this recipe, which is my original Acros recipe and the second film simulation recipe that I created, is the only black-and-white settings to make this list. I guess B&W isn’t as popular as color.
#9. X100F Astia
Zions Bank Building – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F
This was one of the early film simulation recipes that I created. Honestly, it’s not my favorite, even though I liked it when I created it. I think it requires the right light to be effective, and it certainly can be effective, but it’s a little flat (lacking contrast) for many situations. Still, as I stated in the article, it’s a better option than keeping the camera on Provia with everything set to 0.
#8. X100F Ektar
Summer Boy – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100F
This recipe uses Astia, as well, yet produces much different results. While the regular Astia recipe is rather flat and bland, this one is vibrant and bold–sometimes too vibrant and bold. It’s not for everyday photography, but it’s an especially good recipe for the right subject.
#7. X100F Velvia
Trees, Rocks & Cliffs – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F
This is another early film simulation recipe. It was one that I always had programmed into the Q menu, until I made a new Velvia recipe that I liked more. Still, these are good settings that I used regularly for many months.
#6. X100F Eterna
Expedition Lodge – Moab, UT – Fujifilm X100F
This was my attempt to create something that resembles the Eterna film simulation for those who have a Fujifilm camera without Eterna. More recently I created an alternative Eterna recipe that I much prefer.
#5. X100F Fujicolor Superia 800
Caramel Macchiato – Sandy, UT – Fujifilm X100F
What I appreciate about this recipe is that it produces a nice negative film aesthetic with a slightly green-ish color cast. Many of my recipes tend to lean warm, so this one is a reprieve from that. I think it delivers lovely results, and I can definitely understand why it’s a popular recipe.
#4. X100F Portra 400
Jump – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F
What I don’t appreciate about this recipe is that it requires a tricky white balance setting that’s difficult to get right. If you can get the custom measurement correct, the results are great. I should revisit this recipe and attempt to create this look without requiring a vague custom white balance measurement.
Closed Drive Thru Window – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F
This was the very first film simulation recipe that I created. It produces a look in the Ektachrome neighborhood. It looks nice and I’m not surprised that it’s so popular, but I have created other recipes that use Classic Chrome that I prefer more.
Old Log In Kolob Canyon – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F
Vintage Kodachrome is intended to mimic the look of the first generation of Kodachrome, which was used by photographers like Ansel Adams, Chuck Abbott, Barry Goldwater, and others. It’s a fun recipe, producing a vintage slide aesthetic.
Pueblo de Taos – Taos, NM – Fujifilm X-Pro2
Classic Chrome is a popular film simulation, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that the top four recipes are all based on it. Kodachrome II is the only recipe in this list not developed on the X100F, although it can (like all of these recipes) be used on any X-Trans III or IV camera. This recipe is intended to mimic the look of the second generation of Kodachrome, which was used by photographers like Ernst Haas, Luigi Ghirri, William Eggleston and others. It’s one of my absolute favorite recipes that I’ve created.
Now it’s your turn. Which of these 10 recipes do you like most? Which recipe not on this list is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
Hello Ritchie, thank you again for your articles. Theybare very helpfull. I wonder can you program auto white balnace and a corretion? Like: White Balance: Auto, +2 Red, -4 Blue in the white balance settings? Thank you.
You are welcome! Unfortunately, Fujifilm doesn’t allow you to save white balance shifts with your presets. It’s one thing that I would love Fujifilm to fix.
Amazing body of work, Ritchie! My favorite is still the original Kodachrome, even though they’re all brilliant.
I appreciate it!
This is a fab resource, going to give some of them a try.
You’ll have to let me know what you think.
Thank you for your wonderful work, Ritchie!
My favorite of course Kodachrome II 🙂
Are you still planning to develop Kodachrome 64 or something aesthetically close?
Kodachrome 64 has been on my to-do list for awhile. I need to get busy on it. I shot a lot of it (and Kodachrome 25) back in the day.
Oh, I forgot to say that I really like your new experiments with recipes, it’s so creative and great to use double exposure and the rest inside the camera settings! Just fantastic !
Thanks so much!
A lot of thanks you for your work, Ritchie,
My favorite is also the Kodachrome II …
I appreciate your feedback! Kodachrome II is one of my favorites, too.
Hey Ritchie!
These are awesome! I was wondering if there is a way to upload RAW files with the recipes applied before editing them in Lightroom or Capture one?
Thank you! I’ve been asked this question a few times, and I have no idea the answer since I don’t use either of those programs (or any photo editor). It’s my understanding that Alien Skin Exposure has a good proximity of all of the Fujifilm film simulations, and perhaps that’s a good place to start. Sorry that I don’t have a better answer for you.
Hey Ritchie!
These are awesome! I was wondering if you knew of way to apply these to RAW files in camera/desktop and then moving the RAW+recipes to Lightroom or Capture one to continue the editing process?