Original Series

Summer is here! Traveling, camping, visits to the beach, boating on the lake, and stuff like that are common during these months. Perhaps you are looking for some Film Simulation Recipe recommendations for your Fujifilm camera for the summer season. I thought I’d take this opportunity to revisit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series of articles. This post will make a lot more sense if you’ve read the original series—especially the first article—so be sure to take a look at it if you haven’t yet (or if it’s been awhile and you don’t remember).

This Part 1 is for Fujifilm X-Trans IV cameras, except for the X-T3 and X-T30, which will be covered in a different section. If you have an X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, or X-T30 II model, I invite you to give these Recipes a try! There are seven suggestions below—one for each C1-C7 Custom Preset—and three alternative ideas for each in case you don’t like the first recommendation. Each Custom Preset slot serves a specific purpose, so you should have a good Recipe option programmed into your camera no matter the subject or lighting. This group of seven isn’t necessarily better or worse than my original recommendations, just a different set chosen specifically for the summer months.

C1 — Fujicolor Natura 1600 — Golden Hour

Fujicolor Natura 1600 is a Film Simulation Recipe that does well at anytime during daylight hours—and it’s one of my all-time favorites—but I’m going to recommend it specifically for “golden hour” near sunrise and sunset. If you like the aesthetic, this really could be your primary use-all-of-the-time recipe, and that’s why I suggest placing it in C1, but when the sun is low to the horizon, this is one I definitely recommend shooting with. I personally use this recipe frequently.

Alternatives for “golden hour” photography:

Fujicolor 100 Gold
Kodak Portra 400 v2
Kodak Portra 400

C2 — Pacific Blues — Midday

Pacific Blues is another one that could be your go-to everyday-use Recipe, but specifically I want to suggest it for daytime (non-“golden hour”) photography. Obviously it can also be used for when the sun is low to the horizon, too, which it excels at, but I think it is an excellent option for when the sun is not low—from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. It’s especially well suited for a day at the beach.

Alternatives for “midday” photography:

Kodachrome 64
Vintage Color
Superia Summer

C3 — Urban Dreams — Overcast

If it’s thick overcast and rainy, the Urban Dreams Recipe is surprisingly an excellent option. Yes, it’s pretty good in daylight, too (even “golden hour” and at night), but give it a try on drab overcast days—I think you’ll really appreciate just how well it does in that situation.

Alternatives for “overcast” photography:

Elite Chrome 200
Reggie’s Portra
Kodachrome II

C4 — Nostalgic Negative — Natural-Light Indoor

For natural-light indoor photography, a good option is the Nostalgic Negative Recipe. This is another great all-rounder that could be used in pretty much any daytime situation and produce excellent results, but specifically I’m recommending it for natural-light indoor pictures. For artificial-light indoor images, use the Recipe for nighttime photography below.

Alternative for “natural-light indoor” photography:

Kodak Ultramax 400
Color Negative 400
Classic Negative

C5 — Pure Negative — Nighttime

If it’s after dark, an excellent option for nighttime or artificial light photography is Pure Negative. This is a low-contrast Recipe with a natural rendering, which makes it especially ideal for high contrast scenes, particularly during midday light; however, it also does quite well in the darkness between sunset and sunrise and in indoor artificial light situations.

Alternatives for “nighttime” photography:

Serr’s 500T
Ektachrome 320T
CineStill 800T

C6 — Vibrant Arizona — Bonus

The C6 slot is a bonus, and the Vibrant Arizona Recipe is a solid option to fill it with—and it’s one of the most popular Recipes right now. If you didn’t want to use Vibrant Arizona, you could instead select your favorite “alternative” Recipe from C1-C5 above, or use one below.

Alternatives bonus Recipes:

Bright Kodak
Bright Summer
Silver Summer

C7 — Kodak T-Max P3200 — B&W

The newest black-and-white Film Simulation Recipe is Kodak T-Max P3200, and it has quickly become one of my favorites! If you don’t want to use this one, definitely give Kodak Tri-X 400 a try.

Alternatives for “B&W” photography:

Kodak Tri-X 400
Ilford HP5 Plus 400
Moody Monochrome

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Fujifilm X-E4 in black:  Amazon   B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 in silver:  Amazon   B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X100V in black:  Amazon   B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X100V in silver: Amazon   B&H  Moment