I get asked frequently what film simulation recipes are good for which situations. It can be hard to know when to use each one. When faced with a scene, which recipe should you choose? I hope that this Film Simulation Review series helps to bring clarity to this.

On grey-sky days there’s one film simulation recipe that I love to use: Fujicolor Superia 800. When I invented this recipe, I had no idea how good it was for dreary days. Fuji X Weekly reader Luis Costa shared his use of this recipe on a grey day, and it blew me away! Ever since, when there’s overcast sky and a little rain, for color pictures, my Fujicolor Superia 800 film simulation recipe is what I use.

This series of pictures were captured on a recent dreary day using the Superia 800 recipe. I used a Fujifilm X-T30 with a Fujinon 90mm f/2 lens attached to it. This 90mm lens can be difficult to use just because of its focal length, which is full-frame equivalent to 135mm, but it delivers excellent results. It’s super sharp and nearly flawless. It’s such a great lens!

My Superia 800 recipe is based on Fujicolor Superia X-tra 800 film. Fujifilm introduced this consumer grade high ISO color negative film in 1998 and discontinued it in 2016. It was a common film to find at the local store. It was an excellent choice for low-light situations, and it was commonly used by photojournalists. All of the pictures in this article are camera-made JPEGs using my Superia 800 film simulation recipe.