One film can have many different looks depending on how it’s shot, developed, scanned or printed. This new Portra 400 film simulation recipe, called Kodak Portra 400 v2, is an alternative aesthetic, created by studying examples of actual Portra 400 film (thanks to Julien Jarry). The “other” Fujifilm X100V Kodak Portra 400 recipe was also created by studying examples of actual film (thanks to Thomas Schwab). They’re both good options for achieving a Portra look, and neither is more “right” than the other.
This isn’t exactly a brand-new recipe. It was published as a Patron early-access recipe on the Fuji X Weekly App back on December 1st, and now another early-access recipe has replaced it, so this one is now available to everyone! You might remember that this Kodak Porta 400 v2 recipe was mentioned in the Kyle McDougall preset comparison article.
If you like my other Portra recipes, you’re sure to like this one, too. Because it uses Clarity, it slows down the camera considerably. I hope that Fujifilm speeds this up with a firmware update at some point, but in the meantime, if you can, my recommendation is to embrace the slowdown. This recipe is only compatible with the latest Fujifilm X cameras: the X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4 and X-S10.
Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: 0
Shadow: -2
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Clarity: -2
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: 5200K, +1 Red & -6 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this new Kodak Portra 400 v2 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:
See also: Film Simulation Recipes
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Fujifilm X100V Black Amazon B&H
Fujifilm X100V Silver Amazon B&H
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It looks great. I look forward to try it. No I use Kk 64 and Bright Summer a lot and this one is an alternative. I should like more b&w 😬 I wish you and your family a very happy new year
Best regards Roger
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Thanks so much! I think a lot of people are going to really appreciate this one. Report back what you think once you’ve had a chance to use it. You have a happy New Year, too!
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Love the colours.
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Thank you!
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Just got the X100F.. Any chances you’d make a Portra 400 V2 on that one? Thanks!
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That’s something I should definitely work on. Have you tried this recipe? Just disregard Color Chrome Effect. https://fujixweekly.com/2020/05/10/my-fujifilm-x-t30-kodak-portra-400-film-simulation-recipe/
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Just a quick word about the Clarity slowing down the camera. If you save your preset as normal you can simply switch the drive mode to one of the burst settings and Clarity will be deactivated automatically on all presets. I’ve added a 1/8 Tiffen Black Pro-Mist filter to my X100V which kind of adds a bit of a film look/clarity anyway. It works really well! I imagine a 1/4 filter would be really nice but possibly too strong for some tastes.
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Going negative on Clarity is a lot like using a Pro Mist filter, I’m thinking 1/8 or 1/4 is probably the best choices. I appreciate the tips!
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Love this recipe, been interesting to see how it differs from the original look. I’ve also tried to replicate another Portra 400 look recently – the trendy one you see from plenty of analog photographers these days with pastel blues and cotton candy pink. I’ve tried using https://www.reddit.com/r/analog/comments/krx9vf/leica_m2_portra_400/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/analog/comments/ktj21m/winter_wonderland_yashica_t5_35mm_portra_400/ as a reference. I’m pretty sure that there’s editing involved with these, but I have tried to replicate it with little success. I’ve tried pinkish white balance shifts on classic chrome but it doesn’t look right, do you have any tips/ideas?
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That first picture of the blue buildings in the snow, is either pushed or (more likely) edited with software. The second picture, that one seems possible to replicate. I’ll work on it and see if I can come up with something. I appreciate the suggestion, thanks!
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Hi! “Because it uses Clarity, it slows down the camera considerably. ” I can’t understand what slows down which function of the camera? Thanks!
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When you use Clarity the camera takes an extra second or two to save the image to the memory card.
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I acutally took that first picture in the snow. It’s not editied, but it’s scanned on my Fuji Frontier sp-3000
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Hey! So I am curious. Since I have a 1/4 promist on my x100V, do turn off the clarity functions or…?
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I would say, for negative Clarity, the Pro Mist filter pretty much accomplishes the same thing. So you can set Clarity to 0 for those recipes that call for a negative Clarity.
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so in order to use the recopies correctly, would you say is best to leave shutter speed in auto and the iso in auto ?
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That’s how I shoot most of the time (aperture priority), but not always. There’s no right or wrong way. In manual mode, use the “typical” exposure compensation as a guide of how much to decrease or increase from what the meter suggests, but know that this is just a general guide and not a rule; each exposure should be judged individually. I hope this helps!
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Love this recipe, but having trouble at night shooting indoor in my own place (way too “yellow”). Is there any recommendation on how to adjust perhaps WB or sth else to get better result?
Also, are there specific recipes that’s best suited for indoor shooting in your opinion?
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Back in the film days I carried warming and cooling filters to change the “white balance” of the film when shooting in various lighting situations. You could do that, but much more practically speaking, you could adjust the WB to Auto or one of the Fluorescent or Incandescent options instead, to get better results in that situation.
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Thank you very much, Ritchie. Just a follow up question on WB, so the reason some of the recipes (like this one) choose a specific WB setting instead of auto is to more closely mimic the film property?
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That’s exactly right! Although truly faithfully mimicking any film in all situations is impossible, but I try to get as close as I can.
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This is amazing! I would love to know if this simulation will work on an XT-200?
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No, it sure won’t. The X-T200 doesn’t have Grain Effect, Clarity, Color Chrome Effect, or Color Chrome Effect Blue, which this recipe calls for. Sorry.
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