Red Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Eterna v3”
This film simulation recipe began as an attempt to recreate a certain look. It wasn’t successful, and I didn’t like the look of it, but it sat as a C3 preset on my Fujifilm X-T30 for many months. Recently I decided to revisit this preset, and, after a couple of quick adjustments, I had something that I liked. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mimic the aesthetic that I was asked to recreate. Fortunately, it looks pretty good nonetheless, so I’m making it an official recipe.
What does this film simulation recipe resemble? There are some similarities to Eterna 250D developed using the ECN-2 process, but it’s not an exact match. Maybe push-processed Eterna 250D? I’m still not sure, as I didn’t find very many examples to compare it to. Since I wasn’t sure what to call this recipe, I named it Eterna v3. The original Eterna recipe can be found here and the Eterna v2 recipe can be found here.
Yellow Path – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Eterna v3”
While I think this recipe does well enough in many circumstances, it seems to be best suited for sunny days, including “golden hour” photography. This recipe isn’t directly compatible with the Fujifilm X-H1 because it uses Color Chrome Effect; however, if you want to use it on the X-H1, simply ignore CCE and try it anyway—it will look slightly different, but you might like it anyway. For “newer” X-Trans IV cameras, like the X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II, you’ll have to decide what Grain Size to select—either Small or Large—but otherwise this recipe is compatible with your camera.
Eterna Dynamic Range: DR400 Highlight: +2 Shadow: +3 Color: +4 Noise Reduction: -4 Sharpening: -2 Grain Effect: Strong Color Chrome Effect: Strong White Balance: Auto, -1 Red & -1 Blue ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3
Below are all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Eterna v3 Film Simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30 camera:
Girl on Playground Swing – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30
Red Playground Structure – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30
Caution for Falling Bicycles – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30
Yellow Leaves at a Park – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30
Yellow Leaves on the Ground – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X-T30
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
Digital photography is convenient. You can review your pictures immediately after they’re captured—no waiting for rolls of film to come back from the lab. You can manipulate the images as much as you’d like in software to achieve any aesthetic that you can dream of. You can get extremely clean, sharp, bright, and vibrant pictures with extraordinary dynamic range that just wasn’t possible in the film era. Perfect pictures are prevalent today—a wonder of contemporary photography, no doubt.
Sometimes I think that digital photography is too good, too flawless, too sterile. Perfect pictures can be perfectly boring. Pulitzer-Prize winning author John Updike stated, “Perfectionism is the enemy of creation.” I think that statement is true in multiple aspects. For example, if you are working hard to create perfect pictures, you will not create very many images. I think, also, that creativity is rarely born out of perfectionism. Creativity is serendipitous. It’s not calculated. Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) wrote, “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
With film photography, mistakes happen fairly frequently. You don’t know what you have until you have it sometime later. There are a lot of variables that can affect the outcome, which are sometimes out of your control. Occasionally you accidentally and unknowingly discovery something extraordinary. There’s a lot of uncertainty, and when you fortuitously stumble upon something interesting, there’s a lot of joy in that. Film photography is imperfect—it has flaws—and, because of that, it is rewarding. This is one reason why there’s a resurgence of interest in analog pictures.
Film photography is inconvenient. The serendipity of it is fascinating, but I prefer the instant reward of digital. I’m not patient enough anymore for analog. Don’t get me wrong, I shot film for many years. I prefer how film looks, but digital is more consistent, convenient, cheaper (after the initial investment is made), and quicker, so I choose digital. But what if it is possible to get the best of both worlds? What if you could get the “film look” from your digital camera? What if you could do it without editing. Straight-out-of-camera. No Lightroom or Photoshop needed. Would you try it?
What exactly is the so-called film look? That’s actually a difficult question to answer, because one film can have many different aesthetics, depending on how it was shot, developed, scanned and/or printed, and viewed. There have been hundreds of different films available over the years, each with unique characteristics. Film can have so many different looks that it could take a lifetime to try and describe them all.
Most simplistically, the film look can be defined as a picture that looks like it was shot on film, but really the answer is more elusive than that. The best way to understand it would be to look at pictures captured with film. Find prints from the 1990’s or 1980’s. Photographic paper (and film, too) fades over time, so the further back you go, the more likely it will appear degraded. Maybe that’s something you prefer? There are as many different film looks as there are tastes, and there’s certainly not a one-size-fits-all answer to what exactly film looks like.
Captured on Elite Chrome 200 color reversal film that has faded.
The biggest difference between film and digital is how highlights are handled. With film, there’s a gradation to white that’s often graceful, but with digital it is much more abrupt. Shadows can also sometimes be more gradual and graceful with film than digital, but definitely not to the same extent as highlights, and definitely not always. Another difference is that film grain is usually considered more beautiful and artful than digital noise. With film photography, there are sometimes surprises that stem from gear (or film) imperfections that don’t typically happen naturally with digital capture. Beyond that, digital images can be effectively manipulated in post-editing to resemble film photographs, especially in the era of Lightroom presets and software filters.
There are two responses that I expect to receive. First, someone will say, “Shoot film if you want the film look.” Nobody is going to argue against that, but this article is not about merely getting the film look—it’s about getting the film look from your digital camera, because digital is more convenient. Second, a person will argue, “I can easily get this look with software, so why bother doing it in-camera?” Getting the look straight-out-of-camera saves time, simplifies the photographic process, and makes capturing pictures even more enjoyable. There’s no right or wrong way to do things—I’m just discussing one method, which you may or may not appreciate. If you enjoy post-processing, that’s great! I personally don’t enjoy it, so I go about things differently, which works for me.
1. Shoot A Fujifilm Camera
Fujifilm X-E4.
Fujifilm X-T30.
Fujifilm X100V.
Step One to achieve the film look from your digital photos without the need to edit is to buy a Fujifilm camera. Which one? It doesn’t matter. If you already own one, you can skip ahead to Step Two.
Why do you need a Fujifilm camera? Why not a Canon, Sony, or Nikon? Because Fujifilm has, in my opinion, the best JPEG engine in the industry. They’ve used their vast experience with film to give their digital cameras an analog soul. In other words, Fujifilm has made it easier than any other brand to get a film look out-of-camera. Could you do it with another brand? Sure—I created JPEG settings for film looks on Ricoh GR cameras. You can do something similar with other brands, but, in my experience, Fujifilm gives you more and better tools to do this. The best brand for achieving a film look that doesn’t require post-processing is Fujifilm, so that is why you need a Fujifilm camera.
I’ll recommend the Fujifilm X100V or Fujifilm X-E4, both of which I own and use often. I also own a Fujifilm X-T30, Fujifilm X-T1, and Fujifilm X-Pro1, and those are very capable cameras, too. Additionally, I’ve shot with a Fujifilm X100F, Fujifilm X-Pro2, Fujifilm X-T20, Fujifilm XQ1, Fujifilm XF10, Fujifilm X-T200, Fujifim X-A3, Fujifilm X-E1, and Fujifilm X-M1. It doesn’t matter which model you buy, but, if you can afford it, I would go for one the newer models (X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, or X-T30 II), because they have more JPEG options, and it’s possible to get more looks out of those cameras. Don’t worry if a new camera is out of your reach, as there are many quality used options that are affordable.
Film simulation recipes are JPEG camera settings that allow you to get a certain look straight-out-of-camera. They’re basically a customization of the stock film simulations that come with the camera, adjusted to achieve various aesthetics. I’ve published over 175 film simulation recipes for Fujifilm cameras, most based on (or inspired by) classic film stocks. They’re free and easy to use. I even created a film simulation recipe app for both Apple and Android! If you have a Fujifilm camera, you should have the app on your phone. Film simulation recipes go a very long ways towards achieving a film look in-camera. Programming a recipe into your camera is kind of like loading a roll of film, except that you can capture as many frames as you wish on each roll, and change the film anytime you want.
There are a lot of wonderful options to choose from, including Kodachrome 64, Kodak Portra 400, Kodak Tri-X 400, Fujicolor C200, Fujicolor Pro 400H, AgfaChrome RS 100, and so many more! There are nearly 200 of them on this website, plus some more on the Community Recipes page. No matter your Fujifilm X camera, there are some great film simulation recipe options for you to use. I even have a number of unusual recipes, like Cross Process, Expired Slide, and Faded Negative, intended to mimic some alternative analog aesthetics. The three example pictures above are unedited (aside from, perhaps, some minor cropping), just to give you a brief taste of what recipes look like.
3.Use Diffusion Filters
10% CineBloom.
5% CineBloom.
5% CineBloom.
As I already mentioned, the biggest difference between digital images and film photographs are how highlights are handled (and, to a lesser extent, shadows). Diffusion filters help with this. They take the “digital edge” off of your pictures by bending a small percentage of the light that passes through the filter, which causes it to be defocused. The images remain sharp, but a slight haziness is added, especially in the highlights, which produces a more graceful gradation to white.
There are various types of diffusion filters by a few different brands. I recommend Black Pro Mist filters by Tiffen or CineBloom filters by Moment. You want the effect to be subtle, so I suggest a 1/8 or 1/4 Black Pro Mist—I used a 1/4 in the picture at the very top of this article—or a 5% or 10% CineBloom, which I used in the three pictures above; however, I have seen some good results with the stronger options (1/2 Black Pro Mist and 20% CineBloom). A slight effect from a diffusion filter in the right situations can subtly improve a photograph’s analog appearance.
I love using vintage lenses on my Fujifilm cameras, because they often have flaws that give pictures character. Some of the charm of analog photography stems from imperfect gear—that serendipity I mentioned earlier is often from flawed glass. Modern lenses are precision engineered and meant to give you perfect pictures. But they can be too good and too sharp. They’re great if you photograph test charts, but vintage lenses often have seemingly magical qualities that make real-world pictures better, and definitely more film-like. A lot of time you can find these old lenses for pretty cheap, but you do need an adaptor to attach them to your Fujifilm camera.
If you don’t want to buy used gear and adaptors, a great alternative is to get yourself some inexpensive manual lenses, like the Pergear 50mm f/1.8, 7artisans 50mm f/1.8, and Meike 35mm f/1.7. There are, of course, lots more manual options like these, many of which have flaws and character similar to vintage lenses, except that they’re brand-new and don’t need adaptors. Manual lenses are trickier to use, especially if you don’t have much experience with them, but I find them to be a rewarding, delivering wonderfully imperfect photographs.
With digital photography, you have many tools to make sure your focus is spot-on; if you are unsure that you precisely nailed it, you can immediately review the image and zoom in to make sure, and retake if necessary. With film photography, not only are the focus tools much more limited, you don’t even know if you got it exactly right until the film comes back from the lab. If you study classic photography, you’ll notice that many iconic pictures didn’t spot-on nail the focus. You’ll even notice this in old movies and television shows, too. It was common, and nobody cared. It has become a small part of the film look.
Worry more about composition and storytelling, and less about getting perfect focus. In fact, my recommendation is to not review the LCD after each shot to check. Take the picture, and if you got focus perfect, great! And if you didn’t, don’t let the imperfection bother you, but celebrate that a little softness can be a part of the analog aesthetic. A little blur is not always bad, especially if the picture is otherwise interesting or compelling.
One of the big differences between digital and film is that film has lovely silver grain while digital has ugly noise. Grain can be ugly, too, but digital noise is generally regarded as undesirable, and usually it is, while grain is general regarded as artful. Fujifilm has programmed their cameras in such a way that the noise has a more film-grain-like appearance than other brands. It’s definitely not an exact match to any film grain, but it’s certainly better than typical ugly noise. So why not incorporate it into your pictures?
A lot of photographers are afraid to use high ISOs. Back in the film days, I remember that ISO 400 was considered to be a high-ISO film. Some people thought you were nuts if you used an ISO 800 or 1600 film. ISO 3200 film was only for the most daring, or for use under extreme circumstances. Early digital cameras were pretty bad at higher ISOs, too, but camera technology has made incredible progress, and now cameras are pretty darn good at high ISO photography. I routinely use up to ISO 6400 for color photography, and even higher for black-and-white. Those ultra-high ISOs just weren’t possible or practical 10 or so years ago. Now combine high-ISO photography with Fujifilm faux grain (found on X-Trans III & X-Trans IV cameras), and the pictures begin to appear a little less digital and a bit more film-like.
Transparency film often requires a very precise exposure because there’s very little latitude for overexposure or underexposure. Negative film often has a much greater latitude—generally speaking it can tolerate more overexposure than underexposure. Each film is different. But here’s the thing: you don’t know if you got it right until later when the film is developed. In the moment you don’t know for sure if the exposure is really correct. With experience you can get pretty good, and exposure bracketing can help (not something you want to do all of the time because you’ll go through your film too quickly), but it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll end up with a few overexposed or underexposed frames. Sometimes this can affect the aesthetic or mood of the image, and by chance your picture is actually more interesting because of your mistake—that analog serendipity again. If you discover something you really like, you might even begin to do it on purpose (like overexposing Fujicolor Pro 400H by several stops).
Your digital camera has many great tools to help you get the exposure perfectly correct, which is great. And if you don’t get it right, you can know right away, and capture another exposure if need be, or fix it later by adjusting the RAW file. However, purposefully not getting the exposure just right, whether by overexposing or underexposing, is a good way to mimic the film experience, and sometimes you’ll get an unexpected result, which can be a very happy accident. I wouldn’t do this all of the time, but occasionally it is a fun and fruitful exercise.
Step One, which is using a Fujifilm camera, and Step Two, which is using film simulation recipes, are the most critical of these seven tips. You could use Ricoh GR cameras instead of Fujifilm, but I definitely recommend using Fujifilm. Step Three through Step Seven are optional, and they aren’t necessarily intended to be used all together or all of the time, although you certainly can if you want. Pick a couple of them—perhaps diffusion filter and vintage lens or high-ISO and underexposure—and see what results you get.
There are two things that I’d like for you to get out of this article. First, you don’t need software or editing apps to achieve an analog aesthetic. You can do it in-camera. All of the pictures in this article are unedited (except for some minor cropping). This saves you a whole bunch of time, and you might even find the process more fun. Second, I hope that this article inspires you to try something new. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Mistakes can be highly rewarding, and you might even discover something extraordinary.
A few more example photograph:
Vintage Color recipe & 1/4 Black Pro Mist filter.
Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe & 1/4 Black Pro Mist filter.
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
I’ve received feedback from a number of Fuji X Weekly App users with this suggestion: explain better the benefits of becoming a Patron. I’ve heard stories like, “I’ve had the app for awhile, but I didn’t realize how much better it was when you subscribe. I wish I’d known this months ago!” Let me lay out for you the benefits of becoming a Fuji X Weekly App Patron.
First, before I get too far into this, let me briefly explain what the App is and why you should go download it right now, if you don’t already have it on your phone. The Fuji X Weekly App is a mobile film simulation recipe library containing over 175 recipes for Fujifilm cameras. Film simulation recipes are JPEG settings that allow you to achieve various looks, many based on classic film stocks, straight-out-of-camera without the need to edit. These settings save you time, simplify the photographic process, and make capturing pictures even more enjoyable. If you own a Fujifilm camera, you should try these recipes and have the App on your phone. So take a moment right now to download the Fuji X Weekly App if you don’t already have it.
My film simulation recipes are completely free, and the Fuji X Weekly App is also free. There is absolutely no cost to you. It’s my gift to the Fujifilm community—it’s a real honor if you find it beneficial to your photography, as I’m happy to be helpful.
Within the App there is an option to become a Fuji X Weekly Patron (click the gear icon), which is $19.99 (USD + tax) for an annual subscription. Why should you subscribe? What benefits do Patrons get?
Becoming a Patron unlocks the best App experience.
This app does have some advanced features that can be unlocked by becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron! These advanced features include filtering by sensor or camera, as well as by film simulation or color/B&W, and the ability to favorite recipes for quick access. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of these features.
Filtering
If you are using the free version of the App, you have to look at each recipe individually to discover which cameras it is compatible with. For example, if you open the Agfa Optima 200 recipe on the App and scroll down a little, it lists all of the fully compatible cameras that this recipe will work on. If your camera is listed, you can use the recipe, and if your camera isn’t listed, you probably need to keep looking. Alternatively, you could cross-reference the recipes using this website, which are sorted by sensor, as a method for narrowing your search.
There is an easier way, if you are a Fuji X Weekly App Patron.
If your camera is, let’s say, a Fujifilm X-S10, you can Filter By Sensor, and select X-Trans IV, and you’ll find the Agfa Optima 200 recipe in the list, because that recipe is compatible with X-Trans IV cameras. If your camera is, let’s say, an X-E3, you can Filter By Sensor, and you’ll find the Agfa Optima 200 recipe in that list, too, because that recipe is also compatible with X-Trans III cameras. Another option is to Filter By Camera. You might think that the Agfa Optima 200 recipe would still show up—and it will for the X-E3—but it won’t show up for the X-S10. Why? Because that recipe isn’t fully compatible with all X-Trans IV cameras, and the X-S10 is one of those that the recipe won’t fully work with; however, it’s 99% compatible, so with one change you can use it. You see, newer X-Trans IV cameras have Grain Size (either Small or Large) that you must choose, a feature not found on older X-Trans IV and X-Trans III cameras, so that’s why it is only 99% compatible.
You have two options to narrow down the recipes that you can use—Sensor or Camera—and understanding these tools can help you find the recipe that you’re looking for. If you want a recipe that is 100% compatible with your camera, then Filter By Camera is what you want to use. Note that you can only choose one camera. If you want to find the most recipes that will work with your camera, but perhaps some aren’t 100% compatible (like Agfa Optima 200 on the X-S10) and you might have to make a choice on a setting (like Grain Size), or accept that it might produce a slightly different look (more on this in a moment), or you might even have to sort through some non-compatible recipes, then Filter By Sensor is what you want to use. Note that you can choose as many sensors as you’d like. If you have an X-S10 and if you Filter By Camera, you’ll find over 60 recipes that are 100% compatible with your camera. If you Filter By Sensor, choosing X-Trans III, X-Trans IV, and GFX, you’ll find over 140! Yes, you can use those 140+ recipes, but that’s a lot to go through.
Other cameras are in a similar situation. Bayer sensor cameras only have six recipes, but you can also use X-Trans I and X-Trans II recipes, although the results will be slightly different. You might like it, you might not, but you won’t know unless you try. If you Filter By Sensor and choose X-Trans I, X-Trans II, and Bayer, you’ll find nearly 40 recipes that will work on your Bayer camera. It’s a similar story if you have an X-Trans II camera. For GFX, many X-Trans IV recipes are compatible with GFX, but will render just slightly different. The bottom line is that you can Filter By Camera and get a limited list of fully compatible recipes that will look as intended on your camera, or you can Filter By Sensor (and even select multiple sensors) and potentially get a much bigger list of recipes that may or may not be good options for your camera model—you get to decide how adventurous you want to be.
In many cases, no matter if you Filter By Sensor or Filter By Camera, there’s still going to be a lot of recipes to choose from, and it can be overwhelming. That’s where Filter By Simulation or Filter By Color/BW comes in handy. If you know that you want a B&W recipe, you can remove all of the color recipes from the list, and if you know that you want a color recipe, you can remove all of the B&W recipes from the list. If you know that you want a Classic Chrome recipe, you can display only those that use Classic Chrome, or if you know that you want an Eterna recipe, you can display only those that use Eterna. These are great tools to really narrow down your search, which will save you time!
Fuji X Weekly App Patrons have a much easier time finding the recipes that they’re looking for. Yes, you could scroll through 175+ recipes individually to find the ones for your camera, or you can use the Filter options to quickly locate exactly what you want, and only Patrons can do that.
Favoriting
Another wonderful tool that is unlocked by becoming a Patron is the ability to Favorite recipes. Once you’ve narrowed down your list with the Filtering options, you can “Star” recipes, and they’ll show up at the top of the list. To Favorite a recipe, with the recipe open, tap the star in the upper-right corner. The Filtering options apply to Favorite recipes, which is demonstrated in the above screenshots. What’s great about this is that, if you have multiple generations of sensors, say X-Trans II and X-Trans III, you can Favorite recipes for both, and when you Filter for your X-Trans II camera, only X-Trans II recipes will show up, and the X-Trans III recipes that you put a Star on won’t display, and vice versa. You can use the Favorite tool to keep track of the recipes that you currently have programmed into your camera, or to list the ones that you want to someday try, or to note the ones that you’ve used and you really like.
Becoming a Patron unlocks early-access recipes.
Fuji X Weekly Patrons also get early access to some new film simulation recipes! There are currently 10 “early-access” film simulation recipes on the App (marked by an aperture symbol), that only Patrons can view. These recipes will eventually be free to everyone, but right now they’re only available to Patrons. As new early-access recipes are cycled into the App for Patrons, the others will be made available to all. My favorite Patron early-access recipes currently on the App are Vintage Color, Old Kodak, Pushed CineStill 800T, Kodacolor VR, and Vintage Negative. Getting early-access to some new film simulation recipes is a fun reward for your support.
Becoming a Patron supports Fuji X Weekly
Nothing is free. My film simulation recipes are free to you, both on this website and on the App, but that doesn’t mean that they’re free—it just means someone else is paying for it. As you can imagine, creating and maintaining an app isn’t cheap. Same for a website. Creating and sharing these recipes takes a lot of time and effort and sometimes even money. All of this is to say that Patrons support the App and website and future film simulation recipes and more! Their support leads to other great things, too, like the Community Recipes page, and even recipes for Ricoh cameras. Patrons partner with Fuji X Weekly for the benefit of the Fujifilm community and beyond, and without their support all of these great things, including the App, wouldn’t happen. Also, if you found film simulation recipes and the app useful to your photography, this is a great way to show your appreciation.
I want to give a big “thank you” to all of the Fuji X Weekly App Patrons! If you’re not already, consider becoming a Patron today.
To conclude, Fuji X Weekly Patrons unlock some great tools for the best app experience, plus they get early-access to some new recipes while supporting Fuji X Weekly for the benefit of the Fujifilm community and more. It’s a win-win!
I want to mention here at the very end of this article that we’re busy building a big App update that will add some great new functions and features. We’re working hard to get this update out before December, and with any luck it will happen. I think you’ll really appreciate these improvements, as they’ll make the Fuji X Weekly App even better!
Episode 04 of SOOC was this morning. I want to give a big “Thank You” to everyone who tuned in and participated—you are the ones who make these episodes great! If you missed it when it was live, you can still watch it (above). We ran a little long (almost two hours!), but I hope you learned something, that you were inspired, and/or that it was entertaining enough to make it worthwhile. Asking for two hours of your time is a lot, and we really appreciate everyone who journeyed along with us today!
For those who may not know, SOOC is a monthly live video series, with each episode focused on a different film simulation recipe. It is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). SOOC is a fun and educational experience where we not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions and give tips and tricks. Basically, we’re trying to help you master your Fujifilm camera, with a focus on simplifying your photographic workflow.
In this month’s episode we discussed my Kodacolor film simulation recipe, and viewed the wonderful pictures that you captured with this recipe. We also introduced the next recipe: Agfa Optima 200. Upload your pictures here to be featured in the next video! Episode 05 will be on November 18th, so mark your calendars, and I look forward to seeing you then!
If you appreciated Episode 04, be sure to hit the “thumbs up” button on YouTube. Also, help us spread the word by sharing the video on your social media accounts. Thanks so much!
Episode 04 of SOOC is live today! Join Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry (Tame Your Fujifilm) and Ritchie Roesch (Fuji X Weekly) as we discuss the Kodacolor film simulation recipe and so much more! This will be both educational and entertaining, and well worth your time. SOOC is an interactive program, so we need your participation! I personally invite you to tune in at 10 AM Pacific Time, 1 PM Eastern—if you are not sure what time it will be where you’re at, you can use this time zone converter. I hope to see you soon!
City Roses – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Pushed CineStill 800T”
The Fuji X Weekly app is free, yet becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron unlocks the best app experience! One benefit of being a Patron is you get early access to some new film simulation recipes. These early-access recipes will eventually become available free to everyone in time, including this new one. In fact, many early-access recipes have already been publicly published on this blog and the app, so now everyone can use them. Patrons help support Fuji X Weekly and, really, without them there would be no app. So I want to give a special “thank you” to all of the Patrons!
A few days back I published a Patron early-access recipe called “Pushed CineStill 800T” that was compatible with the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras, and I immediately received requests for an alternate version for the X100V and X-Pro3. I was able to get pretty darn close! While this new Patron early-access recipe is for those with an X100V or X-Pro3, it is also compatible with the X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II, and if you have one of those cameras you will have to decide which version to use—even though they’re both nearly identical, you might prefer one over the other.
Both recipes mimic the look of push-processedCineStill 800T film. To create this aesthetic, I studied overcast daytime examples of the film, and, interestingly enough, it did quite well at night, too; however, I do believe it more faithfully mimics the film in cloudy daytime conditions—it does produce nice results in daylight or night, so feel free to use it anytime. Film can look different depending on how it is shot, developed, printed, or scanned. This recipe doesn’t replicate pushed CineStill 800T film under all circumstances, but in certain conditions it’s a good facsimile. I really like how this one looks, and I think some of you will really appreciate it, too!
If you are a Fuji X Weekly Patron, it’s available to you right now on the app!
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Pushed CineStill 800T” film simulation recipe:
Gas Pumps at Night – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Nighttime Neighborhood – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Night Walkway – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Nighttime Flowerpot – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Episode 04 of SOOC is this Thursday, October 21, at 10am Pacific Time, 1 PM Eastern!
SOOC is a monthly live video series, with each episode focused on a different film simulation recipe. It is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). SOOC is a fun and educational experience where we will not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions and give tips and tricks.
A Fuji X Weekly reader asked me to mimic the look of some photographs that he shared with me. These were digital pictures that had been edited with software, but he was hoping to achieve this look straight-out-of-camera, if at all possible. It turns out that it is possible (although I only had three images to study, so I’m not completely certain this is an exact match, but I believe it is pretty close); however, it requires the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation, which, unfortunately, his camera does not have. If your camera does have Eterna Bleach Bypass, than you are fortunate because you can use this very interesting recipe!
What film does this recipe most closely mimic? The most similar film might be the (now discontinued) Konica Impresa 50, although it is certainly not an exact match. There are also some similarities to Portra that’s had the bleach skipped, although I wouldn’t say that this is an exact match for that, either. I don’t think this film simulation recipe is a faithful facsimile of any film, yet it produces a nice analog aesthetic anyway. It has strong contrast and very muted colors—almost monochrome. In a way, it’s the closest thing to black-and-white in color photography.
First Light on the Ridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Muted Color”
This recipe is only compatible with the Fujifilm X-E4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. If you have one of those cameras, I invite you to give this recipe a try! I know that it will be an instant favorite for some of you.
Eterna Bleach Bypass Dynamic Range: DR400 Highlight: -0.5 Shadow: +1 Color: -4 Noise Reduction: -4 Sharpening: 0 Clarity: -2 Grain Effect: Weak, Small Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak White Balance: Auto, +3 Red & -8 Blue ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Muted Color” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:
Girl in Beanie – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Just Hangin’ Around – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
At the Schoolyard – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Monkey Bars – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Neighborhood Fire Hydrant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Grass & Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Berry Bush – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Pink Rose – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Single Rose – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Red Leaf – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Cross – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Mountain Trees in Autumn – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
“What exactly is Fuji X Weekly?” “What is your website about?” “What is it that you do?”
I get these questions often. People I meet ask them. Photographers just trying to understand what this thing they keep hearing about ask them. Family and friends ask them. While these are common and seemingly straightforward inquiries, giving a good answer has not been easy. I’ve struggled with this, and I’ve concluded that I haven’t considered enough what the Fuji X Weekly story is. Why did I create this website? What has it evolved into? Why do you come here? This article is my attempt at articulating answers to these questions.
In the very first post on the Fuji X Weekly blog I stated, “I love to photograph and I love to write. Those are two things that I truly enjoy. So I decided to do just that, without profit or self-promotion as a driving force. If nobody ever reads this, I’m OK with that. I’m not looking for money or attention. I’m publishing this because that’s what I want to do.” I then added, “I’ve called this blog Fuji X Weekly because I plan to publish one article per week. Sometimes I might write more than that, sometimes less. The topic of choice is Fujifilm X cameras, specifically my Fujifilm X100F that I purchased four weeks ago. I’ll be talking about one camera. I’ll be writing about my personal experiences with this one camera. And that’s it! However, I purposely left the name of this site, Fuji X Weekly, a little more ambiguous in case that I decide in the future to expand to include other cameras. I didn’t want to make something that might become too limiting or obsolete in a few years.” I did eventually change the website to be all-things-Fujifilm instead of just about the X100F.
That’s a good origin story description, even if it is a little lengthy. I would summarize it like this: “I started Fuji X Weekly because I love to photograph and write, and I desired to share my journey with whoever wanted to come along for the ride, even if that was no one. Originally it was exclusively about the Fujifilm X100F camera, but I was open to someday expand it to Fujifilm in general, which eventually did happen. I committed to publishing at least one article per week.”
That’s how it began, but what is Fuji X Weekly today? How did it get there? Where is it going?
I started Fuji X Weekly more than four years ago, and a lot has happened in the meantime. Early on I began to publish film simulation recipes—the first two were Acros and Classic Chrome. I didn’t realize the significance of this—in fact, I don’t even remember why I called them “recipes” (Did I coin it? Did I see someone else use it first? Honestly, I have no idea. However it came to be, the term has unquestionably become a part of the Fujifilm lexicon!)—by far these were the articles that people came to the website for. People wanted JPEG settings for their Fujifilm cameras. My fifth film simulation recipe, which I published nearly four years ago, was Vintage Kodachrome. To this day it is a fan-favorite—so far it is the fourth most viewed recipe in 2021, and stands as the number one most viewed recipe of all-time. It was a breakthrough for me because I realized that I could mimic specific films and aesthetics by being more bold and creative with the settings. This recipe required some settings adjustments that most people would not have dared to try on their own because they were pretty extreme, but the results were interesting, similar to the first era of Kodachrome film.
I began more-and-more to model new recipes after specific films and development processes. I’ve now published over 175 film simulation recipes, many of them modeled after film stocks. How was I able to do this?
The Fuji X Weekly story actually goes all the way back to the summer of 1998—the summer between high school and college—when I travelled to Vermont with some friends. I borrowed my dad’s 35mm Sears SLR and shot a whole bunch of rolls of film. When I returned home, I excitedly dropped off the film at a one-hour lab, and, when they were developed, the pictures were… absolutely awful! Many were blurry, most were significantly overexposed or underexposed (a difficult feat considering the exposure latitude of many films), and poorly composed. I was so disappointed. That fall, when I enrolled in college, I chose Photography 101 as an elective, because I wanted to be able to capture a decent picture. It wasn’t for a love of the camera that I enrolled, but out of determination born from failure; however, I discovered very quickly that I loved photography.
For the next year-and-a-half you’d often find me in the darkroom, with the strong scent of photographic chemicals in the air, developing and printing my pictures. I remember one day heading into the lab before sunrise and not finishing until after sunset—I had missed the entire daylight portion of the day! If I wasn’t in the darkroom, or in class, or at one of my two jobs, or doing homework, I was out with my camera, a Canon AE-1. That was my favorite part of photography: out on some adventure in search of something interesting to photograph. When I didn’t have access to a darkroom, I most often shot slides, which I could send off to a lab and get consistent results back.
Night Train – Plano, TX – Canon AE-1 & Kodachrome 64 – 1999
As is common in life, I was thrown a couple of curve balls, and I didn’t pursue photography as a career. I had an opportunity to work for JCPenney as a catalog photographer, which I turned down because I lacked the confidence in my own abilities and didn’t have the courage to take the risk. I went a whole different direction with my career, and photography was “just a hobby” for a long time. I continued to shoot film, resisting the move to digital because I didn’t like how digital photographs looked. I remember very proudly being able to tell if a picture was captured on film or digitally just by looking at it. Slowly it became harder and harder to tell, but I could still tell. It wasn’t until 2009 that I got my first digital camera, and I felt like I had to learn photography all over again because it was so much different.
I shot both film and digital for awhile. I preferred how film looked, but digital was more consistent, convenient, and cheaper (at least once the initial investment was made). I jumped from brand-to-brand, trying to find one that I liked, but was never completely happy with any. First I tried Pentax (because by this time I was shooting with a Pentax film camera, and those lenses were compatible with the digital camera), then Samsung (remember when they made interchangeable-lens mirrorless cameras?), then Sigma (oh, the much loved and hated Foveon sensor!), then Nikon, then Sony (with a Panasonic briefly thrown in for good measure), and finally Fujifilm. My first Fujifilm camera was an X-E1, which I loved, although a year later it was replaced by an X100F, which I loved even more!
When I setup my Fujifilm X-E1, I chose RAW+JPEG, but mostly used the RAW files. Occasionally I preferred the camera-made JPEGs. My JPEG settings were the factory defaults (I didn’t bother to adjust them), yet the results were sometimes quite nice. In those cases I’d use the JPEG over the RAW, and not bother with post-processing, or (perhaps more commonly) I would lightly edit the JPEGs. I began to realize during this time that Fujifilm’s JPEGs were higher quality than the other brands that I’d used, although I wasn’t completely convinced yet that I could rely on out-of-camera JPEGs. When I setup my X100F, I also chose RAW+JPEG, and I quickly discovered that the JPEGs were even better than those from the X-E1. The epiphany that I could rely on JPEGs (and not fiddle with RAW anymore) came after I edited some RAW files, and when I compared them to the straight-out-of-camera JPEGs they were very similar. My first thought was, “Why am I spending all this time editing RAW files only to get the same look as the JPEGs?” My second thought was, “If I adjust the JPEG settings, can I get even closer to my edited RAW files?” The first two recipes, Acros and Classic Chrome, came from this. They were my attempts to get my out-of-camera JPEGs to more closely match my edited RAW files.
Snake River Fog – Grand Teton NP, WY – Fujifilm X-E1 – Silver Efex – 2017
The advantages of shooting JPEGs are time, simplicity, and enjoyment. Because I was no longer editing RAW pictures, I suddenly had a lot more time. My rule-of-thumb was that every hour of photographing would require two-to-three hours of post-processing. With JPEGs I could “post-process” hours of photography in minutes. My workflow suddenly evolved into uploading the pictures from the camera to my iPhone, cropping and/or making very minor adjustments if needed (not usually needed) using the Photos App, and uploading the pictures to the Cloud for storage. That’s it. My production noticeably increased while simultaneously I had more time to spend with family and friends. It’s amazing how many hours and hours I had been spending for years in front of a computer monitor fiddling with pictures, and now I didn’t need to. This had a profound impact on my life, and that’s not hyperbole. The simplicity of this approach was freeing! I no longer needed RAW editing software, or any photo editing software, or even a computer if I didn’t want to have one. The process was more analog-like—more reminiscent of my film days—and I found it to be more enjoyable. Photography became even more fun for me! I began to realize that these JPEG settings were helping a lot of other people in the same ways that they were helping me. My recipes allowed them to save time, simplify their process, and make photography more enjoyable for them.
I would summarize this (very long) portion of the Fuji X Weekly story like this: “I used my experience as a film photographer to create JPEG settings, called film simulation recipes, that often mimic film stocks. These settings save time, simplify the photographic process, and make capturing pictures even more enjoyable.”
Photographers who were using these recipes began to spread the word—the popularity of Fuji X Weekly grew very organically. Experts would probably tell you that, from the very beginning, I did everything wrong to grow the audience. I did almost nothing—barely anything at all—for the first three years to promote the website. It was others, on their own accord, spreading the word to the photography community, because these recipes made a difference to their photography. There were just over one million page-views over the first two years combined, which I thought was a lot. Then Fujirumors picked up on the website, followed by Andrew & Denae, Vuhlandes, Omar Gonzalez, and many others, and traffic significantly jumped. The Fuji X Weekly audience continues to grow and grow, and much of that is still organic—just photographers telling other photographers about film simulation recipes, and how they’ve made a difference to their photography.
About one year ago Sahand Nayebaziz, an app developer and photographer who shoots Fujifilm cameras and uses Fuji X Weekly recipes, reached out to me with a proposal: let’s make an app together. My wife, Amanda, had been telling me for awhile that these recipes needed to be in an app, but I didn’t have the knowledge, experience, or resources to do it. Sahand did, and he wanted to partner with me to make it happen. We worked very hard for a couple of months, and on December 1, 2020, the Fuji X Weekly App launched on iOS, and we continued to work hard, and on March 1, 2021 the app launched on Android. These were major accomplishments that just wouldn’t have happened without Sahand—frankly, there would be no Fuji X Weekly App without him.
I would summarize this portion of the Fuji X Weekly story like this: “Fuji X Weekly grew in popularity very organically, largely spreading by word of mouth. A lot of people have helped in various ways, and, because of that, this has become much more than a website—it is a community of photographers journeying down the same path.”
Over the summer I secretly worked on another project: recipes for Ricoh cameras. I made JPEG recipes for the Ricoh GR, GR II, GR III, and GR IIIx cameras, and just last month I lunched a new website, Ritchie’s Ricoh Recipes, and published a new App for Ricoh GR. My wife told me that I needed an overarching website to link Fuji X Weekly and Ritchie’s Ricoh Recipes together, so I created RitchieRoesch.com. The very first words on this website are: “Custom JPEG settings for cameras. Get the look you want straight-out-of-camera without the need to edit. Easy to use. Free.” That’s what I do. That’s what my websites are about. That’s my contribution to the photography continuum. Right now this is for Fujifilm X and Ricoh GR cameras, but perhaps someday it will expand beyond those brands—it’s hard to know what the future holds. Fujifilm is my preferred choice—no doubt about it—and I will continue to create recipes for X-series cameras for as long as I can. I immensely enjoy what I do, and I know for certain that I will continue to do it.
I would summarize this portion of the Fuji X Weekly story like this: “I immensely enjoy creating recipes, and I will continue to do so as long as I can.”
That’s a pretty long story (which, by the way, could have been much longer, but I didn’t want to bore you too much), and I’m glad that you found it entertaining enough to get this far. Really, I’m honored and humbled that you would be this interested in what I do, and that you’re journeying with me on this adventure. If you did find it to be a little too wordy, here’s the Cliffs Notes version:
I started Fuji X Weekly because I love to photograph and write, and I desired to share my journey with whoever wanted to come along for the ride, even if that was no one. Originally it was exclusively about the Fujifilm X100F camera, but I was open to someday expand it to Fujifilm in general, which eventually did happen. I committed to publishing at least one article per week. I used my experience as a film photographer to create JPEG settings, called film simulation recipes, that often mimic film stocks. These settings save time, simplify the photographic process, and make capturing pictures even more enjoyable. Fuji X Weekly grew in popularity very organically, largely spreading by word of mouth. A lot of people have helped in various ways, and, because of that, this has become much more than a website—it is a community of photographers journeying down the same path. I immensely enjoy creating recipes, and I will continue to do so as long as I can.
Or, even more simply:
I create free and easy-to-use custom JPEG settings to achieve looks straight-out-of-camera without the need to edit.
Whether it’s the long version, short version, or super short version, this is the Fuji X Weekly story; however, this isn’t the end, it’s really just the beginning. I hope this is Chapter 1 of a much longer tale, and that you join me on this journey, wherever it leads.
Snow on the Stormy Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Pushed CineStill 800T”
The Fuji X Weekly app is free, yet becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron unlocks the best app experience! One benefit of being a Patron is you get early access to some new film simulation recipes. These early-access recipes will eventually become available free to everyone in time, including this new one. In fact, many early-access recipes have already been publicly published on this blog and the app, so now everyone can use them. Patrons help support Fuji X Weekly and, really, without them there would be no app. So I want to give a special “thank you” to all of the Patrons!
This new Patron early-access recipe is called “Pushed CineStill 800T” and is compatible with the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II X-Trans IV cameras. It mimics the look of push-processed CineStill 800T film. To create this aesthetic, I studied overcast daytime examples of the film, and, interestingly enough, it did quite well at night, too; however, I do believe it more faithfully mimics the film in cloudy daytime conditions—it does produce nice results in daylight or night, so feel free to use it anytime. Film can look different depending on how it is shot, developed, printed, or scanned. This recipe doesn’t replicate pushed CineStill 800T film under all circumstances, but in certain conditions it’s a good facsimile. I really like how this one looks, and I think some of you will really appreciate it, too!
If you are a Fuji X Weekly Patron, it’s available to you right now on the app!
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Pushed CineStill 800T” film simulation recipe:
Book & Minolta – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Happy Birthday Wish – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Ready To Go Nowhere – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Pipe Door – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Night Urban Path – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Empty Parking Garage – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Empty Harmons Fuel Stop – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Night Hydrant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Wet White Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Little Wild Berries – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Clouds Building Over Green Ridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Pumpkins In A Patch – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Wrong Way Shadow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Silver Summer”
This film simulation recipe, called Silver Summer, was a Patron early-access recipe on the Fuji X Weekly App, and Patrons have had access to it since July. One benefit of being an app Patrons is that you get early-access to some new film simulation recipes, and this was one of them, but now it is available to everyone, since a different early-access recipe is now on the app. The Silver Summer recipe has some unintentional similarities to Lomography Cine 200, but it’s definitely not an exact match. I wasn’t intending to mimic a specific film, but a specific aesthetic that I was asked to create. While it’s not modeled after a specific film, it definitely has an analog look. I really like how this one turned out, and I think some of you will really appreciate it, too!
I found that this recipe is particularly well suited for sunny days. It uses the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation, and produces a silvery look similarly to film that’s had the bleach skipped. If you are looking for a film-like-look that’s a bit “different” than what everyone else is shooting, this is a recipe you’ll want to try.
This film simulation recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II X-Trans IV cameras. Unfortunately, because it requires Eterna Bleach Bypass, it’s not compatible with the X100V or X-Pro3, and because it uses Clarity and Color Chrome FX Blue, it’s not compatible with the X-T3 or -T30.
Eterna Bleach Bypass Dynamic Range: DR400 Highlight: -1 Shadow: +1 Color: +4 Noise Reduction: -4 Sharpening: -2 Clarity: -3 Grain Effect: Strong, Small Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong White Balance: 5300K, -3 Red & -6 Blue ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Silver Summer” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:
Bee on a Thistle – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Lily – Sundance, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Tree Branch and Creek – Sundance, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
Kodachrome They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summer Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day
Kodachrome is probably the most iconic photographic film ever made. It was legendary, and many people saw the world through its colors. Kodak produced Kodachrome film from 1935 through 2009, when, to the dismay of photographers around the world, it was suddenly discontinued.
The Kodachrome name has been used for many different films over the years. The first Kodachrome product was a two-glass-plate color negative that was introduced in 1915. Like all other color photography methods of its time, the results weren’t particularly good and the product not especially successful.
In 1935, Kodak released its next Kodachrome product: a positive color transparency film. This Kodachrome was the first film that produced reasonably accurate colors, and, because of that, was the first commercially successful color film. It became the standard film for color photography for a couple decades, and was even Ansel Adams’ preferred choice for color work. The December 1946 issue of Arizona Highways, which was the first all-color magazine in the world, featured Barry Goldwater’s Kodachrome images. While the most popular Kodachrome during this time was ISO 10, Kodak also produced an ISO 8 version, as well as a Tungsten option in the 1940s.
Kodak made significant improvements to Kodachrome, and in 1961 released Kodachrome II. This film boasted more accurate colors, sharper images, finer grain, and a faster ISO of 25. While it was still somewhat similar to the previous Kodachrome, it was better in pretty much every way. A year later Kodachrome-X was introduced, which had an ISO of 64, and produced more saturation and increased contrast, but was grainier. Kodachrome for cinema had an ISO of 40, and would continue to be ISO 40 until 2009 when Kodak discontinued Kodachrome.
There was a movement in the early-1970s to end Kodachrome because the process to develop it was very toxic. Kodachrome is actually a black-and-white film with color added during development, which you can imagine isn’t a simple procedure. Instead of discontinuing their most popular color film, Kodak made a new version that required a less-toxic (but still toxic) and less complicated (but still complicated) development process. This appeased those who wanted the film gone, but the new version of Kodachrome was not initially well received by all photographers, some of whom liked the old version better. William Eggleston, for example, who used Kodachrome extensively in his early career, wasn’t a fan of the new version, and used other films instead.
In 1974, because of the new less-toxic development process, Kodachrome II was replaced by Kodachrome 25 and Kodachrome-X was replaced by Kodachrome 64. They also introduced Kodachrome 200, a high-ISO version. This generation of Kodachrome is what most people think of when they picture (pun intended) the film, gracing the pages of magazines like National Geographic. Due to Kodachrome’s sharpness, grain, color, contrast, and archival characteristics, it was a great all-around option that worked well in most circumstance. Steve McCurry, who is perhaps the best-known photographer to extensively use this era of Kodachrome, said of the film, “It has almost a poetic look with beautiful colors that were vibrant and true to what you were shooting.”
When Kodak discontinued Kodachrome in 2009, it shocked the photographic community; however, the deeper blow was that Kodak discontinued the chemicals required to develop it. Even if you had an old roll of the film (which I did), you couldn’t develop it, except as a black-and-white film from a specialty lab. By the end of 2010, the Kodachrome era was officially over for good.
Captured using real Kodachrome 64 35mm color transparency film on a Canon AE-1.
I shot many rolls of Kodachrome 64, and a few rolls of Kodachrome 25. My favorite was Kodachrome 64 because it had more contrast and more saturated colors—while it was a little less true-to-life, it produced bolder pictures more like Paul Simon’s description. It was a sad day for me when Kodak discontinued it. At that time, I was just getting into digital photography; in retrospect I wish that I had paused on digital and exposed a few more rolls of Kodachrome, just for the joy of it.
Paul Simon shot his Kodachrome on a Nikon camera, and I shot mine on a well-used Canon AE-1. Even though the film is long gone, I now shoot “Kodachrome” on a Fujifilm X100V and an X-E4. Yes, Kodachrome lives, thanks to Fujifilm’s great JPEG output! I’ve created film simulation recipes that mimic Kodachrome 64. While they’re not a 100% perfect match, considering the limited options and parameters that are available in-camera, they’re surprisingly accurate to the film. They certainly attain the “memory color” that Fujifilm’s managers often talk about. Ah, the irony of achieving a Kodachrome look on a Fujifilm camera is not lost on me!
I’ve actually published over 150 recipes (which you can fin on the Fuji X Weekly app) for Fujifilm cameras, many of which are based on film stocks. Using film simulation recipes, no matter the Fujifilm camera you have, allows you to get straight-out-of-camera pictures that appear as if they were post-processed—or, even better, shot on film instead of digital. This is obviously a big time-saver, but can also be more fun.
Captured using the Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe on a Fujifilm X100V
Whenever I go out to photograph, I always have at least one Fujifilm camera with me, loaded with seven film simulation recipes. My favorite color recipe is Kodak Portra 400 v2, and my favorite black-and-white recipe is Kodak Tri-X 400. Some recipes aren’t modeled after specific films, but produce an analog aesthetic anyway, such as my Xpro ’62 recipe, which has a vintage cross-processed look, and my Positive Film recipe, which is intended to mimic Saul Leiter’s style. I like to load a few of my favorite recipes into my camera before going out, and the remaining presets are often experimental recipes that I’m working on, as I’m always creating new ones.
Kodachrome 64 is one of those recipes that I find myself often programing into my camera—that is, if it isn’t already a C1-C7 preset from my last outing! It has the right amount of nostalgia, delivering those “nice bright colors” and “greens of summer” that “makes you think all the world’s a sunny day.” I can’t help but think, if Paul Simon picked up a Fujifilm camera today to take a photograph, the Kodachrome 64 recipe would be his favorite, and perhaps he’d even write a song about it.
I call this recipe “Pulled Fujicolor Superia” because it is similar to Fujicolor Superia Xtra 400 film that’s been pulled one stop. Of course, how any emulsion is shot, developed, printed and/or scanned has an impact on its aesthetic, and one film can have many different looks. I didn’t set out to recreate the look of pulled Superia film, but, in fact, it does look surprisingly close to some examples I found. It’s better to be lucky than good, right? I wouldn’t say that this is 100% spot-on for pulled Superia 400 film, but it’s not far off at all.
Break – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Pulled Fujicolor Superia”
Because this recipe uses the Classic Negative film simulation, Clarity, and Color Chrome Effect Blue, it is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. I think it works best on sunny days, but I did use it with some success in overcast and indoor situations.
Classic Negative Dynamic Range: D-Range Priority Strong Color: +3 Noise Reduction: -4 Sharpening: -2 Clarity: +2 Grain Effect: Weak, Small Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong White Balance: Daylight, -4 Red & -2 Blue ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Pulled Fujicolor Superia” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:
Packed Parking Garage – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Dee’s – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Salt Lake Shoreland Preserve Boardwalk – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Wetland Grass & Mountains – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Grass – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Fence & Hidden Building – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Playing Pokemon – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Looking Through Binoculars – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
My Four Kids – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Jonathan at f/3.6 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Yellow & Green Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Pops of Fall – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X100V
A Little Splash of Autumn – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
Episode 04 of SOOC has been postponed one week to Thursday, October 21. Unfortunately, things came up, and we’re not able to do the broadcast on the 14th as previously planned. I’m very sorry if this causes any problems for you—hopefully it isn’t too inconvenient.
SOOC is a monthly live video series, with each episode focused on a different film simulation recipe. It is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). SOOC is a fun and educational experience where we will not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions and give tips and tricks.
Barn by the Tetons – Grand Teton NP, WY – Fujifilm X-E1 – Nik Silver Efex edit
What will future cameras be like? More specifically, what do I think they’ll be like? This is an odd topic that has come up a few times recently in various places. I don’t have any inside information. I’ve never laid eyes on any top-secret still-in-development cameras. I only have my own ideas and opinions, which are probably inaccurate. I’ve certainly been wrong before, and I’m probably wrong now. Still, it’s fun to speculate.
I think, in the not-too-distant future, perhaps beginning in roughly five years, we’ll see camera manufacturers team up with software companies to offer more (and better) in-camera filters. We’re going to see more software built into cameras, and with that, I think we’ll start to see VSCO, RNI, Alien Skin, Nik Collection, and others, partner with camera manufacturers to include their popular presets integrated into gear. This will also allow RAW files to match straight-out-of-camera JPEGs (and TIFFs) simply by applying the same preset in-software as in-camera.
Mirrored Mountain – Mirror Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 – Alien Skin Exposure edit
The Zeiss ZX1 camera has Lightroom Mobile built-in. The Pixii camera can be programmed with LUT profiles. It’s not even close to mainstream yet, but you can see the very beginning of this shift start to build. I think it is only a matter of time before you will be able to capture in-camera with (for example) the RNI Kodak Gold v.3 preset. I don’t think Canon, Sony, Nikon, or Fujifilm will be the first company to do this. Maybe Leica. Perhaps a future Panasonic S-series model. I’m not exactly sure, but it will definitely be a marketing strategy for whoever does it first.
I believe that in the beginning it will be collaborations between specific manufactures and software companies. For example, Sony might partner with VSCO, and perhaps Nikon partners with RNI. I personally hope Fujifilm partners with RNI or Alien Skin, but my guess is that Fujifilm will hold onto their film simulations, which, let’s be honest, is a similar concept. Film simulations are kind of like presets, especially since they can be customized with film simulation recipes; however, in its current state film simulations don’t go as far as what I believe is coming. I do think Fujifilm can accomplish in-house their own presets, since they do seem to have a nice head start, but I don’t know if they have the foresight to take it far enough or the R&D resources to keep up once it takes off. We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out. Currently, Fujifilm’s Film Simulations, with the help of custom JPEG recipes, are the closest thing right now to what I believe is coming.
Eventually I see it morphing into more of an app model, where you can buy any company’s presets and use them on your camera, no matter the brand. Buy a Canon and download the RNI app if you want their presets, or VSCO if you want theirs. If you have a Fujifilm camera, you can use the exact same presets on that camera as you can on your Sony. This might be 10 or more years down the road, but it seems like it is inevitable that it will happen someday.
Why do I think all this is the future of photography technology? What I believe is going to happen is a stronger movement towards straight-out-of-camera. Not for bragging rights, but for three reasons: 1) it saves so much time, 2) it can be more fun, and 3) it opens up photography more to those who don’t have the desire, skills, or time to post-process their pictures. Technology will make getting post-processed-like-looks more accessible without the need to actually do it. It’s going to be easier and more automatic. You, the photographer, will have to select which look you want, and the camera will do the work for you and will deliver to you out-of-camera that look without any need for Lightroom, etc., to achieve it. Upload the picture to whatever social media or cloud storage you want right from the camera. No need for a computer, as it’s all handled by the camera. You won’t even need your phone, unless camera companies figure out that they can harness the phone’s computing power to do the work for them, and the phone becomes (wirelessly) integrated into the camera.
I could be completely wrong about all of this. I’ve certainly been wrong many times before. Nobody knows the future. I do see things moving in this direction, and in a very small way, because of my film simulation recipes, I’ve had a hand in moving it.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people are creating film simulation recipes and sharing them on their social media accounts, but they’re easily lost and forgotten. I wanted to create a place where you can share your recipes, and where you can find recipes created by others. That’s the idea behind the Fuji X Weekly Community Page—this is a library of film simulation recipes created by you and for you!
If you want even more film simulation recipes for your Fujifilm camera than what I’ve published here, or if you’ve created a recipe that you want to share, or if you just want to check out some pictures captured by others, be sure to visit the Fuji X Weekly Community Recipes Page! My hope is that this will become a great resource for the Fujifilm community. Be sure to bookmark it and check it often!
I want to highlight some of the recipes that you’ll find on the Community page.
These are just four of the (as of this writing) 17 recipes that you’ll find on the Community Recipes page. I’m sure more will be added in the coming days, weeks, and months. I want to thank everyone who has submitted a recipe—your participation is much appreciated by myself and the Fujifilm community! Also, a special “thank you” to Daniele Petrarolo (website, Instagram), who partnered with me to make this website a reality.
The first time that I saw Bruce Barnbaum‘s Chair & Shadowphotograph was over 20 years ago in college during Photography 102. Most of those classes began with a look at well-known or really good photographs, with a discussion of why these pictures were special, and Bruce’s photo was one of those. At the time I had no idea who he was. I remember being struck by how this simple image could be so moving. The Zone System was mentioned, as well as dodging and burning and perhaps some other technical stuff.
I didn’t see Chair & Shadow again for more than a decade, when it was featured on the cover of The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression. I bought the book and read it cover-to-cover. It’s a great resource for those wanting to be more artful with their images. Note that the current edition of the book has a different cover photo.
Bruce’s picture is of a simple folding chair inside a large empty room with a door cracked open. The building looks old. The picture leaves far more questions than answers. Where is this? What is the significance of this place? Why is the chair in this large and otherwise empty room? Who sits in it? Why is the door partially open? What is outside? Is this a good place or bad place? These and other unanswered questions are likely why this image produces an emotional response, and, depending on the answers your mind invents, it might be good feelings or uneasy feelings—either way, you likely had an emotional response to the photo. Ultimately the picture is about shadow and light—more shadow than light, with light piercing the darkness—and utilizes a simple (yet effective) composition to make that point.
Yesterday I visited PetaPixel and saw that they published an article (which apparently first ran in Medium Format Magazine) in which Bruce Barnbaum explains the story behind his famous photo. It was such a fun read for me, because of my own experiences with the image. Many of my unanswered questions were answered in an interesting way. I very much enjoyed it!
Then I read the comments section. Big mistake. It’s amazing how people can be so negative yet full of unsubstantiated pride. You see it everywhere on the internet, including photography websites. I suppose it is easy to do that when you can hide behind anonymity. I learned awhile back not to Google my own name, because people have said some really awful things about me, largely because they simply disagreed with something I said. You can imagine, since I encourage people to shoot JPEGs, that it rocks the boat a little.
What’s great about the Fuji X Weekly community is that you’ll find very little of this nasty negativity here. Yeah, it’s seemingly everywhere else, but not among you. You guys and gals are extraordinarily kind, and it shows. You are like the light shining through the door in Chair & Shadow, illuminating the room. It’s really refreshing, and seemingly uncommon. Thank you for being a light in the “darkness” that is the internet. You are the best community in all of photography—I’m certain of it—and I appreciate you!
