Lantana Blooms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fujicolor Natura 1600
Fujifilm produced Fujicolor Natura 1600, a high-ISO color negative film, from 2003 through 2017. It was only sold in Japan, but it became renown worldwide as word got out about this wonderful emulsion. A lot of speculation has surrounded it. Is it simply renamed Fujicolor Superia 1600? Many people think so. Is it slightly modified Superia 1600 for Japanese skin-tones? Some people think so. Is it slightly modified Superia 1600 made specifically for the Fujifilm Natura camera? Perhaps so. I haven’t found any definitive evidence to conclude if Natura 1600 is unmodified Supera 1600 or a slightly modified variant of it; if it isn’t identical, it’s very similar.
I have a Fujicolor Superia 1600 Film Simulation Recipe already, and it’s a Recipe that I personally quite like. One film can have many different aesthetics, depending on a whole host of factors, including (but not limited to) how it was shot, developed, and scanned. In a sense, you could consider this a v2 of the Fujicolor Superia 1600 Recipe; however, it was modeled after examples of Fujicolor Natura 1600 scans that I found online (and not Superia). This Fujiclor Natura 1600 Recipe isn’t new, but simply a modification of the X-Trans IV version for use on X-Trans V cameras. Because X-Trans V renders blue more deeply on some film simulations, a slight change was needed to Color Chrome FX Blue, but otherwise the two versions are identical.
Fiat – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fujicolor Natura 1600
Film Simulation: Classic Negative Dynamic Range: DR400 Grain Effect: Strong, Large Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak White Balance: 5500K, -1 Red & -2 Blue Highlight:-1.5 Shadow: +1.5 Color: -2 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -4 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Fujicolor Natura 1600 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
Newly Sprouted Bougainvillea Branch – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea in the Neighborhood – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
A Frame, Dormant Tree – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea by Twin Windows – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Americana Suburbia – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Suburban Spanish Architecture – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sunset over Suburban Home – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Apartments behind Pond – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Tree Reflections – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Reflection Abstract – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sunset Light on Jonathan – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Parking Garage at Dusk – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Parking Garage at Night – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Library Shelves – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Don’t Look – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Dying Blossoms – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Pallets & Blocks – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Caution Light – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Car Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Rover Mini Headlamps – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
My Fujifilm X100VI preorder was completed six minutes after the camera went live at the the top of the hour during the X Summit. It didn’t ship today. The store that I ordered from is not saying when it might ship, only that it could be weeks or months. I’m not worried or upset, though.
I’m guessing that many of you might be in the same boat as me. I’m sure some reading this didn’t preorder the new camera, but, with record-demand (not just for a Fujifilm model… the X100VI apparently had more preorders than any other camera by any brand ever), it’s a safe bet that many of you did order it. If you weren’t super quick (I thought I was, but obviously wasn’t quick enough), your order likely didn’t ship today. I’m sure that some of you did, in fact, receive a notice today that yours has shipped, and even a few of you might already have it in your possession. That’s awesome! Enjoy your new camera. For the rest of us, it’s easy to feel empty or even envious. If you preordered the X100VI but your copy wasn’t in the first batch, let me give you some reasons not to be dismayed.
First, in time, you’ll get your new camera. Just be patient. The hype will subside, new copies will be made, and it will get to you before you know it. Waiting a few weeks or months is not a big deal. Yes, we’re used to everything being instant. But a little delay won’t hurt you. Just take a deep breath in and out, and let the FOMO go. Know that it’s going to work out alright, and before you know it you’ll be shooting with the new model.
Second, the X100VI won’t be a night-and-day difference from your other Fujifilm gear. It likely is an upgrade, but it’s not going to be a massive upgrade, unless you’re coming from an early X-series model. Keeping expectations in check will not only help limit disappointments, but also help with patience.
Third, whatever camera you do have already, it’s plenty good enough. It’s a positive exercise to go back to the old reviews of your gear and read the glowing praise, which serves as a reminder that the cameras we own are actually pretty darn good. New gear won’t make you a better photographer. A camera like the X100VI can be a lot of fun, and sometimes that enjoyment can motivate us to use our gear more; however, there are plenty of ways to find renewed enjoyment from our old gear, such as trying different Film Simulation Recipes, using vintage lenses, or simply taking it on adventures.
So if you’re feeling disappointed that you’ll have to wait a bit longer for your new camera, I hope that this helps you feel a little better. A little patience will help ease your anxiousness, and a little fresh air is good for the spirit. So grab your current camera, whatever it is, and go out right now and shoot with it.
If you didn’t order the new Fujifilm X100VI but would like to, you’ll likely have a significant wait, but eventually it will be in stock.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
So you purchased a Fujifilm X100VI, but you’re not sure which Film Simulation Recipes to program into your camera’s C1-C7 Custom Presets first. Well, let me help with that! I’ve got just the seven Recipes for you to try. If you have any other X-Trans V camera, this set will work for you, too.
Like film, many Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases where they work best. The majority are intended for sunny daylight situations; however, they can sometimes work really well in other scenarios, too. For example, I’ve gotten great results pairing Kodak Portra 800 v3 with flash for indoor photography, even though it was intended for sunshine. This set is meant to provide you with at least one Recipe that will work great in nearly any light situation and with almost every imaginable subject.
It’s important to note that everyone has different tastes and preferences. Your style might be different than mine. If you don’t like one or more of these seven Film Simulation Recipes, no problem. Simply try the suggested alternatives until you do. Perhaps you won’t like Kodachrome 64, but you’ll love Kodak Gold 200. Or maybe you’ll love both Reala Ace and Timeless Negative. The only way to know for sure is to give them a try! You can pick any from the X-Trans V list, and I’m always making more.
Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
My Film Simulation Recipes are popular, but programming them into your Fujifilm camera can be confusing for those trying to use them for the first time. A little over three years ago I published an article explaining how, but I think, with the new X100VI coming out, it would be worthwhile to try again, and perhaps offer a little more clarity. If you are new to Film Simulation Recipes, then this article is for you!
To start with, there are some variances between models. It’s important to read your camera’s manual, which thankfully Fujifilm makes easy: click here to find your owner’s manual online. For most cameras, within the manual, navigate to the Shooting Menus set, select Image Quality Setting (Still Photography), and finally Edit/Save Custom Setting. For example, click here to view this for the X-T5. Also, I’ve included a screenshot of this section from the X100V manual below. Everything you need to know for your specific camera is found in your manual, so that’s why it’s important to review it first.
There’s an easy shortcut for navigating to the Edit/Save Custom Settings Menu. Simply press the Q-Button, which brings up the Quick Menu, then press-and-hold the Q-Button, which activates the Edit/Save Custom Settings Menu. This shortcut works on most Fujifilm cameras. A shortcut to edit the Quick Menu is to press-and-hold the Q-Button from outside of the Quick Menu.
A Film Simulation Recipe is simply a set of JPEG parameters that produce a certain look straight-out-of-camera, mostly inspired by film stocks. Each Recipe contains a specific set of settings that must be programmed into your camera, either in the Edit/Save Custom Settings Menu or the IQ Menu. The newer the camera, the more options and parameters there are to program.
On the latest cameras, a Film Simulation Recipe contains: Film Simulation, Dynamic Range, Grain Effect, Color Chrome Effect, Color Chrome FX Blue, White Balance and WB Shift, Highlight, Shadow, Color, Sharpness, Noise Reduction, Clarity, ISO, and Exposure Compensation. All of those settings together make up a Recipe. The older the camera, the fewer parameters there are, and might only include: Film Simulation, Dynamic Range, White Balance and WB Shift, Highlight, Shadow, Color, Sharpness, Noise Reduction, ISO, and Exposure Compensation. On the newer models, Noise Reduction was renamed High ISO NR (it is the same thing) and Highlight and Shadow were combined into Tone Curve.
One parameter that cannot be saved is “Typical Exposure Compensation.” On most Fujifilm cameras, there is an Exposure Compensation knob on the top of the camera, which is where this is adjusted (unless you are in Manual Mode, in which case you’ll have to do it manually). An important note is that the suggested Exposure Compensation in each Recipe is only meant to be a starting point, and not a rule; each exposure should be judged individually. Also, most often I use Auto-ISO, but it is certainly alright to manually set the ISO. You might prefer different ISO parameters than what I like, and that is perfectly fine. It’s always ok to “season to taste” any Recipe to make it work better for you.
Most Fujifilm cameras have seven Custom Settings (sometimes called Custom Presets), that are often referred to as C1-C7. The X-S10 and X-S20 have only four (C1-C4), and I believe there are some GFX cameras with six (C1-C6). Edit/Save Custom Settings is where you’ll program Film Simulation Recipes into your camera; however, some older Fujifilm models don’t have Custom Settings. In that case, you’ll program the desired Recipe parameters into the IQ Menu subset. Also, the newest Fujifilm models will allow you to program a Recipe into the IQ Menu subset in addition to the Custom Settings presets (basically, a bonus Recipe).
An important side note is that the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-T30 (however, not the X-T30 II), along with all of the cameras that came before it—X-Trans I, X-Trans II, X-Trans III, and older GFX—cannot save a White Balance Shift within the Custom Settings. Only the newer cameras can: X-Trans IV (except for the X-T3/X-T30), X-Trans V, and newer GFX. For those models that cannot save a WB Shift within the Custom Settings, you’ll have to program it from within the White Balance Menu found within the IQ Menu set. Also, those cameras will only remember one WB Shift per WB type, so choosing Recipes that either share the same WB Shift or use different WB types will make the user experience more enjoyable.
I don’t have any step-by-step instructions to program a Film Simulation Recipe into your specific camera, because there are variances between some models, and each step can be slightly different. It’s not difficult to program a Film Simulation Recipe, and once you’ve done it a couple of times it becomes quite easy. It’s just getting through the first time or two that can be confusing. Should you find yourself stuck, there are a few videos on YouTube that walk you through the process. If you are a visual learner, you might find these especially helpful to you: How to Save Fujifilm Simulation Recipes by Scott Dawson, Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes — How to Find & Save Them by Craig Pitts, and What are Fuji Film Simulation Recipes — Getting Started by TB-Photography. Even if you have a different model than what’s in those videos, the process for most cameras is similar enough that you should be able find your way through.
For those with the newest cameras, Custom Settings saves more than just your Recipes, but literally most camera settings, including focus preferences and even sound settings. My best recommendation is to program C1 with everything just as you want it to be, then copy that preset to the other C2-C7 (or C2-C4), so that they’re all exactly the same. Then, you just have to update them with the Film Simulation Recipe parameters for the specific Recipes that you wish to program. I also recommend disabling Auto Update Custom Setting. If your camera doesn’t have those options, then disregard this paragraph.
A common question is what about the settings that aren’t in the Film Simulation Recipe? What should those be set to? There are some options that are user-preference, so I don’t provide those as Recipe parameters. Choose whatever works for you. Let me touch on a few of them real quick, though.
I most often choose Image Size Large 3:2. I used to shoot with Image Quality Fine, but now choose Fine+RAW, as the RAW files can be reprocessed in-camera, which makes creating new Film Simulation Recipes much easier. My RAW files are Uncompressed. I choose JPEG over HEIF because Clarity isn’t available with HEIF (by the way, Clarity causes a short storing pause when set to anything other than 0). I don’t like Smooth Skin Effect personally, so I set it to Off. Lens Modulation Optimizer is often set to On, but it can be interesting when set to Off. Color Space is sRGB, as I had a bad experience once many years ago with AdobeRGB and have avoided it ever since. I usually use Multi Mode for metering (Photometry), but sometimes I use Spot.
There are over 300 Film Simulation Recipes in the Fuji X Weekly App, which is free (consider becoming an App Patron to unlock the best experience and to support this website), and available for both Android and Apple. Otherwise, find them here:
One benefit of having your own website is that you get to say whatever you want. It’s your platform, and nobody can tell you what you can or cannot state. They’re your opinions; if someone doesn’t like them, they’re free to leave and never come back. As the saying goes, everyone has opinions….
I don’t typically like to comment on the opinions of others, because they’re free to express their own, just as I’m free to express my own. I don’t have to like what they say, just as nobody who visits this website has to agree with everything that I say. We can disagree on things and still be friends (at least it should be that way, and it used to be). Arguments on the internet tend to be pointless endeavors that don’t do much good.
There’s an article I read on a photography website that I’m just really baffled by. I wasn’t going to say anything, though. Is it even my place? After all, they’re allowed to write whatever they want on their own page. If I don’t like it, I’m free to not return. Their article, though, has been bothering me for a few days now, so I thought maybe I should address it. Perhaps you read it, too, and are equally puzzled.
Initially I wasn’t even going to link the article in this post, because maybe I shouldn’t drive traffic to their website. Sometimes when people post outrageous things it is for attention, so maybe I’m doing just what they hoped people would do, and I’m falling for it hook, line and sinker. It’s a fairly popular and well-known page, so you could easily find it if you wanted to. But, for the sake of transparency, the website is The Phoblographer, and the article is their Fujifilm X100VI review by Chris Gampat, the founder and chief-editor of the site.
Here’s an interesting fact about The Phoblographer that I didn’t know until I was researching for this: they don’t have much more traffic than Fuji X Weekly. According to data available on the internet (which might not be 100% accurate), they get roughly about 10% more visitors than I do. They’re way more established, having been founded in 2009 (Fuji X Weekly dates back to 2017). At the current rate of growth, it’s probable that this website will exceed their’s by the end of the year, or possible sooner. I must be doing something very wrong, though, because they’re somehow able to support five employees off of that traffic.
Anyway, Fujifilm gave The Phoblographer a preproduction copy of the X100VI to try out, and Chris Gampat wrote about it. And he gave it a scathing review. Interestingly, Chris gave the X100V a five-star review, saying that it was “the closest they’ve come to a perfect camera.” Somehow, in a little less than four years, with some updates and improvements, it’s gone from nearly perfect to one-star, the lowest Chris could give. If you are Fujifilm and reading this, in the future perhaps you should consider sending your preproduction copies to someone else instead.
Now Chris is entitled to his opinions. He doesn’t have to be all-positive, and I don’t think anyone expects him or anyone else to be overtly optimistic about any gear. Being genuine is valuable. Authenticity is what people want. Overly positive reviews can seem dishonest, but so can overly negative reviews. Especially when the nearly-identical predecessor camera was “close to perfect”; somehow the barely different but definitely improved successor is “the embodiment of the word ‘meh.'” It just doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t pass the smell test.
On one hand, Chris’ review reads like a toddler-tantrum after not getting his way. I guess he thought the “nearly perfect” camera was somehow due for a major overhaul (ignoring “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” I suppose); since he didn’t get his way, it’s now garbage (or, as he puts it: a TikTok fashion accessory that’s actually a toy camera; Fujifilm betrayed him with this model). Many of the things that he liked about the X100V he now dislikes about the X100VI, despite them being the same. Stomping and kicking and screaming will surely get Fujifilm’s attention, no? Maybe he’s simply upset that this model is so popular, and soon there will be too many Star-Bellied Sneetches with it for his liking (time to get that star removed, eh?). Perhaps their partnerships with other brands is driving the over-the-top negativity? As they say, follow the money and you’ll find the truth. I don’t know what the answer is, but whatever the case, it’s baffling. And dishonest, even though he self-proclaims that he’s being “very honest” in the opening paragraph, and not to believe others. If you have to state that up front, that’s a big red-flag.
ISO 25600 — Expired Eterna Recipe — Fujifilm X-T5
What I found humorous is that he doesn’t like anything above ISO 800 for color photography, apparently. I guess he wouldn’t appreciate my GAF 500 Film Simulation Recipe, which uses ISO 12800 on purpose for the aesthetic of it. Or my Expired Eterna Recipe, which can be used as high as ISO 51200!
I’ve not touched or seen in real life a Fujifilm X100VI, but I have a Fujifilm X100V and a Fujifilm X-T5 (which collectively provide for me the experience of the outside and inside of the X100VI), and I disagree completely with many of his complaints. It’s perfectly ok to have some complaints, and I’m not saying Chris doesn’t have some valid criticisms; however, the one-star rating and excessive scathing complaints seem way unfair. Instead, say: I wish they had done this or that, and since they didn’t, it’s four-stars (or three-stars; something that seems remotely fair, unlike one-star). That would be honest and authentic.
In any event, The Phoblographer (faux-blographer?) has lost a lot of credibility with me, personally. I give them a one-star review. It’s clear—when it comes to X-series cameras, anyway—that they’re not a trustworthy source whatsoever. It’s a real shame, too, because I’m sure that they could bring some unique point-of-views to the table that could be valuable to somebody, if only they could get out of their own way (but they couldn’t and so didn’t). They’re missing the boat on what is sure to be the most-desired camera of 2024, and maybe of all time; however, that’s their choice. This was a curios decision that I don’t understand, but it’s important to not take any of it personal. I’m sure that Chris and everyone else at The Phoblographer are very nice people in real life.
Maybe their article will provide them with a much-needed traffic boost. Maybe it will prove to be the beginning of the end for them—the moment that they jumped the shark, so to speak. I have no idea if there will be any positive or negative consequences to their review. I’m just really baffled by it all, and I wonder if Fujifilm—or even the other camera brands—have taken notice. How will they respond? I don’t think the one-star review is having any impact on sales.
I did order the Fujifilm X100VI, approximately six minutes after it was available for preorders. I don’t expect to be in the first batch that’ll be shipped on February 28th, but if mine arrives before the end of March I’ll count myself as lucky. It’s easy to have FOMO (fear of missing out) when this camera is all that everyone seems to be talking about, but just know that whatever camera you have is pretty good. It’s a positive exercise to go back to the old reviews of your gear and read the glowing praise, which serves as a reminder that the cameras we own are plenty good enough. New gear won’t make you a better photographer. A camera like the X100VI can be a lot of fun, and sometimes that enjoyment can motivate us to use our gear more. There are plenty of ways to find renewed enjoyment from our old gear, such as trying different Film Simulation Recipes, using vintage lenses, or simply taking it on adventures. Experiences are often better investments than new gear.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Fujifilm introduced Superia 1600 in 2000. It was the highest ISO version of Superia, and was one of the best ultra-high ISO color negative films ever made. There are some reports that both Natura 1600 and Press 1600 were the same emulsion as Superia 1600, but they might be slightly varied; Fujifilm was known for keeping their “best” emulsions in Japan, sometimes tweaking the film to best reproduce Japanese skin tones. Whatever the case, there were plenty of photographers who were disappointed by its discontinuation in 2016.
This is a quick update to the X-Trans IV Fujicolor Superia 1600 Film Simulation Recipe for compatibility for fifth-generation X-Trans cameras. Because X-Trans V cameras render blue more deeply on some film simulations, including Classic Negative, a small tweak to Color Chrome FX Blue is necessary. Aside from that small change, this Recipe is identical to the X-Trans IV version. If you have a fifth-generation X-Trans camera, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, and X100VI, use this version of Fujicolor Superia 1600.
Film Simulation: Classic Negative Dynamic Range: DR400 Grain Effect: Strong, Large Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak White Balance: Daylight, +3 Red & +1 Blue Highlight:0 Shadow: +2 Color: -3 Sharpness: -1 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -4 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 — for best results: 1600 to 6400 Exposure Compensation: 0 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Fujicolor Superia 1600 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
Standing Saguaro – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Senna Along Fence – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Vines on Cinderblock Wall – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Window into the Abandoned – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bench & Trashcan – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Photo by Jon Roesch
Light on a Tree Trunk – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Photo by Jon Roesch
Unlit Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Crawling Thru – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
iMaGiNe – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Desert Sunset 2 – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Go – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Palm Trees at Night – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
DispoLens is a 3D-printed body-cap with a recycled disposable-camera lens on it, made by DispoStudio in Switzerland. The lenses are from Kodak FunSaver and Fujifilm QuickSnap cameras, and you don’t know from which yours is from. FunSaver cameras have a 30mm f/10 lens, while QuickSnap cameras have a 32mm f/10. They’re pretty similar, and it probably doesn’t matter much at all if it’s from a Kodak or Fujifilm disposable camera—either one will produce a near-identical image.
You can’t buy the DispoLens from Amazon or any camera stores, only from DispoStudio’s Etsy shop, where you’ll find it for $51.02 USD. My copy, obviously, is for Fujifilm X-mount, but they also make them for Sony E-mount, Nikon Z-mount, Canon RF-mount, Micro-4/3, Leica L-mount, and Leica M-mount. DispoStudio has a couple of other products, too.
There’s not much to the lens. You twist it on like a body cap. Once it clicks into place, you’re good to go. On your Fujifilm camera, make sure that you have Shoot Without Lens enabled, or else it won’t work.
This lens is “focus free” which means that it is prefocused. About five or six feet to infinity is “in focus” but nothing is especially sharp. The lens is soft throughout the frame, but more so as you move away from the center. Probably eight feet to maybe 50 feet is the most sharp. This is all a part of the charm, which some people will love, and others won’t.
DispoStudio says that “DispoLens recreates all visual organic imperfections that come from using a disposable camera lens, like halation, chromatic aberration, vignetting, softness and imperfect image projection. Please keep in mind that DispoLens does not recreate the colors that film cameras are typically known for.” However, that’s where Fuji X Weekly Film Simulation Recipes come in. If you want a ’90’s film look, I have a number of Recipes to try! Pairing the DispoLens with a Fujifilm camera, my Film Simulation Recipes, and a flash is a great way to recreate the nostalgia of disposable-camera photography from your childhood.
For this project, I used my Fujifilm X-E4, the DispoLens, a Godox Lux Junior flash, and my new Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe. I shot 27 frames, just like a disposable camera—I’ve included most of those pictures below.
Frame 1
Frame 3
Frame 4
Frame 5
Frame 6
Frame 7
Frame 8
Frame 9
Frame 10
Frame 11
Frame 12
Frame 13
Frame 14
Frame 16
Frame 17
Frame 19
Frame 20
Frame 21
Frame 22
Frame 24
Frame 26
Frame 27
How does the DispoLens compare to the Xuan Focus Free 30mm F/10 Body Cap Lens? The image quality is very similar—probably identical—but the build quality is much different. The DispoLens is significantly superior. It looks better, and seems much less likely to accidentally break. If you want a disposable camera look, the DispoLens is a great way to achieve that. Find it on DispoStudio’s Etsy page.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
To begin with, it’s been plagued by technical issues since the beginning, and WordPress has not been very helpful with that. More recently, a new problem arose: some of those who have canceled their Creative Collective subscriptions are still getting charged each month. I’ve spent many hours trying to get this fixed, but WordPress and Stripe (which is who handles the payments) are not taking responsibility or providing a solution. It seems that the only way to fix the issue is to end the Creative Collective altogether.
I started the Creative Collective on November 9th, 2021, with the intent of publishing bonus content that was in addition to the regular articles. It was a way to support this website and get a little extra content in return. During that time I published 64 Creative Collective articles, which included 27 issues of FXW Zine, an eZine extension of this website. I hope that you all who were Creative Collective subscribers enjoyed it, and found it useful, inspiring, or at least entertaining.
For everyone who was a Creative Collective subscriber, I really appreciate your support! You mean a lot to me, so it’s with a heavy heart that I’m doing this. I’m working on one last FXW Zine that I will email out to all the current Creative Collective subscribers, probably in the first week of March. All of the current Creative Collective content will eventually become free for everyone, but it will take some time to get through all of it.
Once again, I’m really sorry for this announcement.
It’s been a whirlwind ever since Fujifilm announced the X100VI, the much-anticipated successor to the much-desired-but-hard-to-find X100V. According to Fujirumors, the X100VI has had the most preorders of any other Fujifilm camera ever. According to Sonyalpharumors, the new Fujifilm camera has 50 times more preorders than the Sony A7cII and Sony A7cR combined. Amateur Photographer states that the “Fujifilm X100VI breaks all records as sales are off the charts.” There are a couple of quotes within that article that are worth sharing:
“This is the most successful launch we’ve ever had,” a Fujifilm manager in the U.K. stated. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“The response has been unprecedented,” said Wex (the largest camera chain in the U.K.). “We have seen a huge surge in initial demand and are now on course to break all records for Wex.”
I decided to do my own sleuthing. I contacted several big camera stores, as well as a couple small local stores, and asked them about X100VI preorders. One of the big stores told me that they didn’t want to talk specifics, but that demand has been extremely high; there will be a delay in fulfilling all of the preorders, but they don’t know how long that delay will be—could be weeks, could be months.
Another big store was much more open. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” they told me. “Probably 10 to 12 times the next biggest launch we’ve ever seen.” One store’s waitlist is currently a little over two-years long (yes, two years already!), but they’re hoping that Fujifilm will increase delivery of units to them, so they can cut that time down from years to months. They also told me that Fujifilm will be shipping cameras to them on a weekly basis. If you’re not in the first batch, if you’re high on the list, you might only have to wait another week or two to receive yours.
The local stores are in a similar boat. While their waitlists have far fewer people on them, they also expect to receive far fewer copies of the camera, so it could be months before they are able to fulfill the current preorders.
“We are seeing the pent up demand from the previous model transform into strong commitment from existing customers, as well as huge levels of excitement and intrigued from new,” Wex explained in the Amateur Photographer article. In that same piece, Park Cameras gave this advice: “The sooner you get your preorder in, the sooner you’ll get your camera.”
If you weren’t super quick to preorder, you’ll likely have some wait before your’s arrives, and possibly a long wait; however, in time all of the preorders will be fulfilled. You might need to be extra patient. Just know that everyone—the camera stores and Fujifilm—are working extra hard to make sure you get it as quickly as possible. If you have yet to preorder but you’d like to, the quicker that you do so the faster the camera will be in your hands; however, be prepared that you might not get it for many months.
Where should you buy yours from? Personally, I’ve purchased gear from local stores, Amazon, B&H, Adorama, Moment, and I’m sure others. Of all of those, Moment is my personal favorite. They’re a pretty cool company, and they’re fans of Fuji X Weekly.
Fuji X Weekly is intrinsically connected to the brand-new Fujifilm X100VI.
Let me explain.
This goes back about a year-and-a-half ago, when the Fujifilm X100V famously and suddenly became an instant hit, two-and-a-half years after its release. I later discovered that I played a significant role in that. You see, social media influencers on TikTok and Instagram began using the X100V, and when they shared their pictures, it caused a spike in interest in the camera, which led to an explosion in demand. As it turns out, those social media influencers were using my Film Simulation Recipes, and it was the film-like straight-out-of-camera pictures that ultimately caused the buzz.
Autumn in a Mountain Meadow – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 100
Last Christmas Eve I pointed out that a number of camera stores mentioned Fuji X Weekly and my Recipes. I concluded that they were doing so because Film Simulation Recipes sell Fujifilm cameras. Many camera retailers recognize this, and so they encourage new and potential customers to check out this website.
Yesterday evening I finally had a chance to view most of the articles and videos about the upcoming Fujifilm X100VI. I caught the X Summit when it was live at 10:30 PM my time, then in the morning did a live broadcast with Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry discussing the event and the new camera. Then I had all sorts of things going on, and finally found some time in the late afternoon to write an article about the new camera. It wasn’t until later that I could finally take a look at what others were saying, particularly those who had early-access to the camera.
A lot of people are surprised that Fujifilm doesn’t send me their new models. This website is one of the most popular for Fujifilm (2.4 million visitors in 2023), and (as I already said) Film Simulation Recipes do more to sell Fujifilm cameras—directly or indirectly—than probably almost anyone. I pay for my gear myself, except for a few inexpensive third-party lenses that were sent to me free of charge. Fujifilm gifted me a coffee mug three or four years ago, which I still use occasionally. If I’m being completely honest, it is a little disheartening when I see others who seemingly do less for Fujifilm get the goodies; however, I never imagined that all of this would go anywhere near as far as it has (and it seems to be still growing!), so I’m just thankful to be on this ride, whatever it does or doesn’t have in store for me. If that means not getting early-access to the latest models like others did, that’s perfectly ok with me. It’s better to be grateful for what you do have than be envious of what you don’t.
Golden Light in Abandoned House – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Reala 100
As I was going through the content posted about the new camera, something caught my attention. In a number of videos, there were mentions of—or even a focus on—the JPEGs produced by the X100VI. They talked about film simulations, no need for editing (or maybe only lightly editing), and even film-like results. I didn’t catch any specific mentions of Fuji X Weekly or Film Simulation Recipes, but many hints towards it. But, in the articles, there were indeed some direct mentions, and even links to this website. The Verge said, “Ask any Fujifilm shooter, and they’ll tell you one of the company’s core strengths is JPEG processing: there are entire websites devoted to tweaking these film sims and getting the best possible straight-out-of-camera results.” They included a link to Fuji X Weekly. That’s huge!Moment stated, “If you’re interested in creating custom film recipes using film simulations, you can easily do so with the Fuji X Weekly App or by visiting the Fuji X Weekly website.” Jonas Rask wrote, “…the community that revolves around making your own custom looks from Film Simulations has exploded in popularity, largely due to the popularity of sites such as FujiXweekly.com.”
There’s a seemingly universal understanding that many of those who have already ordered (or who plan to order) the Fujifilm X100VI will be shooting straight-out-of-camera JPEGs with it. Film Simulation Recipes will be such a big part of the experience of the new camera. Even those who aren’t all that familiar with Recipes (yet) are well aware of film simulations and Fujifilm’s out-of-camera output. It’s this ability to get film-like results without the need to edit that is a big driver of all the preorders that apparently are greatly exceeding Fujifilm’s expectations. If you wanted to buy the X100VI, I hope that you ordered it quickly after preorders opened, otherwise you might have to wait a little while. I’m “sorry, not-sorry” for any role that I may have played in that. Joking aside, I hope you enjoy your new camera, for all of those who took the plunge. For those who didn’t, let’s not forget how awesome our cameras are.
I’m pretty sure I’m last to the party today, but in case you haven’t yet heard the news, Fujifilm announced the new X100VI, the much-anticipated successor to the much-desired-but-hard-to-find X100V. There are a lot more similarities than differences between the two models, so I’ll jump right into what has changed.
For me, the big headliner is the Reala Ace film simulation. The X100VI will be the first X-series camera to get it. Apparently, Fujifilm is planning to bring Reala Ace to the other X-Trans V models—the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20—via a Kaizen firmware update sometime in late-spring or summer (hurray, Kaizen!). If you have one of those cameras, with a little patience, you’ll get the new film sim. If you don’t have patience, try my Reala Ace Film Simulation Recipe.
For others, the big headlines are probably the 40mp sensor and IBIS. I like the 40mp X-Trans V sensor, but I actually like the 26mp X-Trans IV sensor just a tad more. More resolution can be great sometimes, but for most people, 26mp is already overkill for most purposes. The Digital Teleconverter benefits the most from the megapixel bump. IBIS is cool and all, but it does add a little weight, and for the most part is not a huge benefit for still photography on a camera like the X100VI; however, for video it can make a big difference. Speaking of video, the new camera has a nice jump in specs, but it will likely have heat dispersion issues similar to the X100V, which will limit its usefulness for cinema. In my opinion, these will help sell the camera, but for practical use, they’re somewhat minor upgrades that come with tradeoffs.
I will say this: the engineers and programers who worked on the X100VI project pulled off a small miracle of sorts. The size is “essentially” the same… the lens does protrude 2mm further out than on the X100V to accommodate IBIS. The new camera weighs only 0.1 pounds more. Most incredibly, Fujifilm claims that the X100VI gets a little bit better battery life than the X100V, even though it uses the same battery. I’m not sure if they measured with IBIS on or off, but if it is indeed with it on, that’s a significant feat that’s probably not getting enough press for how impressive it is.
Fujifilm is calling the new camera “X106” (ex-one-hundred-six). I think it’s a bit strange, but perhaps rolls off the tongue a tad easier than X100VI (ex-one-hundred-vee-eye). Fujifilm didn’t call the X100S “X102”, the X100T “X103”, the X100F “X104”, or the X100V “X105”. It was ex-one-hundred-es, ex-one-hundred-tee, ex-one-hundred-ef, and ex-one-hundred-vee. So why X106? And if you’re going to say “six” shouldn’t it be ex-one-thousand-six, as in X1006? I’m just going to say vee-eye, personally, as X106 doesn’t sound right to me. I’m sure Fujifilm put a lot of thought into it, but if there’s one area that (in my opinion) they messed up (what I’m sure will be an iconic camera), it’s the name. But it is what it is, and it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
The price of the X100VI is a little higher than the X100V, but that’s to be expected with inflation and the added resolution and IBIS. All things considered, $1,600 isn’t bad, especially since the X100V has been selling second-hand for that much or more. For a little higher price tag, you could get the limited-edition 90th Anniversary model. Hopefully, with the introduction of the X100VI, the price-gouging on the older versions will subside, and some normalcy will return to the used camera market. However, I suspect that the new camera will sell out rather quickly—if it’s not already—and will also be difficult to buy for awhile. The camera will begin shipping within the next couple of weeks, possibly before the end of the month.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Yellow Blossoms Along a Fence – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Agfa Ultra 100 v2
Ultra 100 was a short lived color negative film made by Agfa from 2003 to 2005. After its discontinuation it gained a cult-like following; unsurprisingly, I’ve been asked many times to replicate the aesthetic for Fujifilm cameras. The supply of this emulsion has been getting smaller and smaller, and before long it will likely be completely gone. Nowadays, a digital approximation will be your best bet to achieve an Agfa Ultra 100 look.
Two years ago I published an Agfa Ultra 100 Film Simulation Recipe, using Classic Negative as the base. I said of it, “I’m actually not fully satisfied with this Recipe. I think sometimes it’s pretty spot-on, and I think other times it is significantly off.” Two years later, having just re-reviewed a lot of Agfa Ultra 100 photographs in preparation for this article, I completely agree with that assessment: some of the pictures captured with my Agfa Ultra 100 Recipe look extremely similar to some pictures I found captured with the film stock, while others don’t look especially alike. That shouldn’t be too surprising because one film can produce many different looks based on a host of factors, including how shot, developed, printed and/or scanned.
Vibrant Spring – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Agfa Ultra 100 v2
I recently received an email from a film photographer who has been shooting with Agfa Ultra 100 for many years. He purchased a large supply of the film back in 2007, and has kept it in his freezer ever since. With his supply now running low, he began to look for alternatives, and in the process stumbled upon Fuji X Weekly. Unfortunately, my Agfa Ultra 100 Film Simulation Recipe wasn’t a good match for his pictures, so he reached out to me to see if it would be possible to better replicate his photographs. He sent me some samples, and I noticed right away that it was dissimilar from my Recipe. His pictures had a distinct Nostalgic Neg. vibe, so I thought I could probably recreate the aesthetic using that film simulation.
His Agfa Ultra 100 pictures were captured with Pantax MZ-S 35mm SLR, overexposed slightly to compensate for the film being expired, developed by MPix, and scanned on a Noritsu. No post-processing was done, other than whatever corrections the lab may have made while scanning. The resulting pictures looked different than my Recipe, and also different from most of the photographs captured with the film that I found online. In particular, his photographs were significantly warmer and a tad more vibrant than my original Recipe. After a few days of tweaking, I feel like I got really close to the specific aesthetic of his pictures. He only sent me a handful of images to examine, so it’s based on a small sampling; however, this new Recipe seems like a pretty good match overall.
My new Agfa Ultra 100 v2 Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with fifth-generation X-Trans cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, and X100VI cameras. Those with newer GFX cameras that have the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation can use it, too; however, it will render slightly different (try it anyway). While this Recipe is intended for sunny daylight situations, it does surprisingly well in a variety of light scenarios.
Film Simulation: Nostalgic Neg. Dynamic Range: DR400 Grain Effect: Weak, Large Color Chrome Effect: Weak Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak White Balance: 5800K, -3 Red & -3 Blue Highlight:+1.5 Shadow: +1 Color: +3 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -2 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: 0 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Agfa Ultra 100 v2 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
SRT303 – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Empty Shell Station – Glendale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Dusk Lamp – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Corner House at Dusk – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Groceries & Meat – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Joshua in Window Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Fake Orchid – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Curtains & Blinds – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bright Buzz People Happen – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
PARK – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sunset from a Parking Garage – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sunset Reflected in a Pond – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Golden Suburbia – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Roofline & Lens Flare – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea Green – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Yellow Desert Flowers – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sharp Spikes – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Rad – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
American – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Red Stripe – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Repurposed Fire Hydrant – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bell Tower – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Do Not – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Fish Fan – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Girl on the Green Grass – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Pavement, Grass & Shadows – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Yes, I have a YouTube channel, but it’s a pretty minor footnote compared to everything else that is Fuji X Weekly. I’m a blogger. I’m an app developer (Sahand Nayebaziz deserves much of that credit, though). You could even make an argument that I’m a social media influencer, although that is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. I do, however, have a YouTube channel, and I do occasionally post videos—a whopping total of three last year. Technically speaking, I’m a YouTuber, but practically speaking, I’m a photography blogger who happens to have a small YouTube channel.
My definition of a YouTuber is someone who is successful at it. They post regularly, have some popularity, and earn a nice side-hustle income or even a full-time income from it. I fail at all three of those points. That doesn’t mean that it won’t ever happen, because it could. If I make a plan and work very hard at it, plus don’t give up, there’s a pretty good chance that I could find success. In time I could be a YouTuber, but right now I’m very far from it.
Making YouTube content is hard. It doesn’t have to be: strap on a GoPro and post the clips. That’s not my style, though. Many hours of recording and editing go into each minute of every video on the Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel. A two minute video might have taken eight hours or more to complete, start to finish. My wife, Amanda, does the vast majority of it. She’s busy raising our four children, and YouTube content is not at the top of her priority list. She very much enjoys doing it, though, and I’m always impressed at her skill and vision. I have a face for radio and a voice for print, yet she somehow manages to make it seem otherwise. It’s easy to understand why putting together quality videos is a near impossible task—hence, just three published in 2023—but Amanda does an amazing job, especially considering all of the challenges. She deserves a lot of credit.
I’m surprised by the success that the Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel has had: over 14,000 subscribers, and three videos that have topped 15,000 views. 14K subscribers puts the channel deep into the Top 10%! Supposedly, only about 9% of all YouTube channels have over 1,000 subscribers, and only about 2% top 10,000 subscribers. I’m only in the Top 2% because of the popularity of this website, and not because I’m prolific on YouTube. The percentage that tops 100K subscribers is about 0.3%, so Omar Gonzales, Serr, Pal2Tech, and many others like them, are in an elite category that not very many reach, and even less surpass. Only 0.03% YouTube channels have a million or more subscribers.
What’s interesting is that the top 0.8% most-watched YouTube videos (which are ones that have at least 100K views) account for about 83% of all views on the entire platform. The inverse of this is that 99.2% of all YouTube videos (ones under 100K views) only account for about 27% of all views. Most of the videos on YouTube don’t get many views—in fact, about 88.5% have less than 1,000 views. Only 8% have more than 1,000 views but less than 10,000 (which is where most of my videos are), and only about 3.5% have more than 10K views. The percentage of videos with 100K or more views is less than 1%.
If you’re not a big channel with 100K or more subscribers, you are playing in the shallow end of the pool. There are some smaller channels that manage to break the mold, and have some success with one or two or a few videos. For most people, they’re stuck with under 1,000 subscribers, and their videos will almost always get less than 1,000 views. I feel very fortunate to have somehow moved into the Top 2% for subscribers, with most of my videos in the Top 8% for views, and a few that climbed into the Top 3.5%. Even so, I’m very small potatoes. The Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel is still much too small for me to be considered a YouTuber. Maybe someday it will get there (although that’s not currently a goal of mine). I like seeing it grow, but I have no expectations that it will ever be in that Top 0.3%, which is where one needs to be in order to eke out a living at it. Those that are getting rich from YouTube—aside from Google—are an extremely tiny fraction of the users—probably about 35,000 people worldwide (there are about 115 million channels on the platform).
So I went on YouTube today, and found some videos from smaller channels that posted about Fujifilm and/or Film Simulation Recipes, and included them below. I hope that in some way this helps them grow their channels. I also hope that you enjoy their content. If this can facilitate you finding someone new to follow on YouTube, then this article was a success. At the very bottom I also included my latest YouTube video, in case you have yet to watch it. Right above it is the latest SOOC Live broadcast.
Fujifilm X-T5 + Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe
This morning I headed out with my Fujifilm X-T5 to capture some images, so that I could do a side-by-side comparison of the new Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipes with the other two Portra 800 options, plus Kodak Portra 400 v2. As I explained in the article for the new Recipe, Peter McKinnon’s Portra 800 photographs were the inspiration for it, and it is also reminiscent of some of Kyle McDougall’s An American Mile Portra 400 pictures. With all of these Recipe options, perhaps you are unsure which one you should use. Just because I published a new version, doesn’t mean that it is inherently the best one or the right one for you; it’s simply an alternative that you may or may not like. Hopefully, this article will help you with your decision. I do believe that many of you will appreciate the new Kodak Portra 800 v3 Recipe.
It’s important to understand that one film can produce many different looks based on a whole host of factors: how shot (film format, lens, exposure, filters, light, etc.), how developed (push/pull, brand of chemicals, freshness of chemicals, timing, temperature and pH of the water, etc.), how printed (paper, chemicals, timing, filters, etc.) and/or how scanned (brand of scanner, correction profiles, post-editing, etc.). Even within one photographer’s collection of one specific emulsion, there can be some noticeable variances. In the case of Peter McKinnon and his Kodak Portra 800, there is indeed significant divergences in the exact look of different pictures. My Kodak Portra 800 v3 Recipe does not accurately mimic all of his pictures captured with the film, but it is pretty close to some of them.
These three Kodak Portra 800 Recipes can all resemble the film; however, they’re much different from each other. Since one emulsion can produce divergent results, you can achieve various looks by choosing different Film Simulation Recipes. My original Kodak Portra 800 Film Simulation Recipe was a joint venture between myself and Thomas Schwab based on “memory color” (as Fujifilm likes to put it) of the film. The next version, Kodak Portra 800 v2, was created entirely by Thomas Schwab after he shot a roll of the film and his Fujifilm X-Pro3 camera side-by-side. The third version was created by me after carefully examining Peter McKinnon’s pictures of Kodak Portra 800 film. I included my Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipe in this comparison because it is fairly similar to the Kodak Portra 800 v3 Recipe, and because there is an obvious resemblance with the new Recipe to some Portra 400 film photographs.
With all of that said, let’s jump right into the comparison! Because X-Trans V renders blue more deeply on some film sims, I adjusted Color Chrome FX Blue down one notch on Kodak Portra 800 and Kodak Portra 800 v2 to make them compatible with my X-T5.
For me, personally, it’s really hard to beat Kodak Portra 400 v2. It’s one of my all-time personal favorite Film Simulation Recipes, and it’s also one of the most popular. In each of these five sets, it’s the Recipe that I’m most drawn to. Kodak Portra 800 v3 is the most warm of these four options; a comparison of warmer Recipes—1970’s Summer, 1971 Kodak, Vibrant Arizona, Kodak Vericolor Warm, Kodak Portra 400 Warm, Bright Summer, Bright Kodak, and the new Kodak Portra 800 v3—would be interesting. The original Kodak Portra 800 Recipe is the punchiest, Kodak Portra 800 v2 is the softest, and v3 is the warmest. Ignoring the Kodak Portra 400 v2 pictures, I like Kodak Portra 800 v3 the best in the first set (with the truck), the third set (broken window, wide), and the fourth set (gas station); I like the original Kodak Portra 800 Recipe the best in the second set (broken window, tall) and the last set (Motor Hotel); while I do like Kodak Portra 800 v2 in each set, it wasn’t my top choice in any.
Now it’s your turn! From this test, which of these four Film Simulation Recipes did you like best? Which was your favorite for each set? Let me know in the comments!
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Find these Film Simulation Recipes and over 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
South Rim Sunrise – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 800 v3
My wife recently challenged me to create a Film Simulation Recipe that mimics the aesthetic of Kodak Portra 800 film that Peter McKinnon has been sharing on Instagram and YouTube. I’m really drawn to his analog photography—I think they’re some of his best photographs. While there were plenty of examples of his Portra 800 to examine, I found it to be a difficult endeavor to replicate on my Fujifilm cameras.
As I’ve said many times, one film can produce many different looks based on a whole host of factors: how shot (film format, lens, exposure, filters, light, etc.), how developed (push/pull, brand of chemicals, freshness of chemicals, timing, temperature and pH of the water, etc.), how printed (paper, chemicals, timing, filters, etc.) and/or how scanned (brand of scanner, correction profiles, post-editing, etc.). Even within one photographer’s collection of one specific emulsion, there can be some noticeable variances. In the specific case of Peter McKinnon and his Kodak Portra 800, there is indeed significant divergences in the exact look of different pictures.
Mineral Stains on a Dry Fountain – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Portra 800 v3
Before I get any deeper into this, let me give a brief history of Kodak Portra 800 and my Film Simulation Recipes that mimic this film. Kodak introduced Portra 800 in 1998 at the same time as Portra 160 and Portra 400. Portra 160 and Portra 400 both originally came in a “VC” (vivid color) and “NC” (neutral color) versions, which were later merged into in-between emulsions that still exists today; however, Portra 800 only ever came in one variety. I don’t know if it is true, but I read that Portra 800 was based on the older Vericolor/Vision2 technology, while Portra 160 and Portra 400 were based on T-Grain/Vision3 advancements. In any event, all of these films have been tweaked and updated by Kodak several times over the years. While it has become increasingly expensive, all three ISO versions of Portra are still being manufactured today by Kodak. In fact, the current version of Lomography 800 is supposedly repacked Portra 800 (although it might be a run that didn’t pass quality control).
My original Kodak Portra 800 Film Simulation Recipe was a joint venture between myself and Thomas Schwab based on “memory color” (as Fujifilm likes to put it) of the film. The next version, Kodak Portra 800 v2, was created entirely by Thomas Schwab after he shot a roll of the film and his Fujifilm X-Pro3 camera side-by-side. This new third version was created by me after carefully examining Peter McKinnon’s pictures of Kodak Portra 800 film.
Pink Girl on a Green Slide – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 800 v3
I divided Peter’s Portra 800 pictures into seven groups. Each group contained photos that seemed similar in overall aesthetics to each other. The commonality within each group tended to be (for the most part) the lighting condition that the film was shot in (although it was not universally so). I picked one group, and tried to replicate the look of it as closely as possible using the options available on my Fujifilm X-T5 (or should I say my Kodak Retina camera?), choosing similar light and colors for my pictures. Once I was satisfied that I was close, I used those settings to create images similar to the photographs in the other groups; however, this is where it fell apart. One Recipe was not able to replicate multiple aesthetics from the same film, which is not surprising. I made a bunch of small modifications until I had one Film Simulation Recipe that was a fairly faithful facsimile to multiple groups of Peter’s Portra 800 pictures. I say “fairly faithful” because compromises had to be made in order to match multiple groups. These settings are in the ballpark of four of the seven groups (and most similar to just two), and not especially close to the other three, unfortunately. This is not a 100% faithful recreation of any of his picture aesthetics, but in being less faithful to one specific look, I was better able to replicate the film examples overall.
This new Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe is intended for fifth-generation Fujifilm X-Trans cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20 (yes, the X-S20), and the upcoming X100VI. To make this Recipe compatible with some X-Trans IV models—specifically, the X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II—I simply set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak instead of Off, since X-Trans V cameras render blue more deeply on some film simulations. For those with the X-Pro3 or X100V, consider setting Shadow to 0 instead of 0.5. I do think that the original Kodak Portra 800 Recipe, as well as Kodak Portra 400 v2, are not very far off from Peter’s pictures, and could be good alternatives.
The Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe is great for both golden-hour and midday light. While it is intended for sunny daylight conditions, it does pretty well in shade, too. It’s alright for overcast days, depending on the specific cloud cover conditions. It’s great for natural-light indoors, and surprisingly decent for nighttime photography, but I’d avoid it for artificial light scenarios with warm bulbs. This Recipe is fairly versatile, despite it’s warm Kodak-like colors. In the right light, it can look pretty darn close to some of the Kodak Portra 800 scans that Peter McKinnon has been sharing on his social media channels. Interestingly, there’s also similarities to some of the Kodak Portra 400 images in Kyle McDougall’s An American Mile series. I have a feeling that this will quickly become a favorite option for many of you—personally, I really love this one!
Film Simulation: Classic Chrome Dynamic Range: DR400 Grain Effect: Strong, Large Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome FX Blue: Off (X-Trans V); Weak (X-Trans IV) White Balance: 6600K, -1 Red & -3 Blue Highlight: -2 Shadow: -0.5 Color: +3 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -3 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 1/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:
Morning Lightbulbs – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Read Leaves on a Block Wall – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Rounded Light on an Circular Table – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Orange Tables and Leaf – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Main Street Market – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Sunny Suburbia – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Ready for an Adventure – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Rainy Day Rose Blossom – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
Sunrise Beyond Grandeur Point – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Dead Tree at the Rim’s Edge – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Golden Sunset inside the Grand Canyon – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Morning at the Rim – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Maricopa Point at Midday – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Canyon Ridge in Golden Light – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sunrise over icy South Rim Trail – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bright Angel Trail from Above – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Too Close to the Icy Ledge – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Lookout Studio – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Grand Canyon Railway 237 – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Williams Flyer – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
American Painted Horse – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Swift Trailer – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Blue Barrel, Red Bricks – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Raindrop on a Lightbulb – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Raindrops of Fall Leaves – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Hanging Lightbulbs – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Fingers as Carrots – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sitting Siblings – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Minolta & Film Book – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Camera, Books – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Busy Parking Lot – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Window Paperclip – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Window Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Hanging Plastic Golfballs – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Blossoming Trumpet Flower – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
This time next week, the upcoming Fujifilm X100VI will be official. We already know some things about it, but there’s also plenty that we don’t; however, soon we’ll know everything. Fujirumors is the place to find all the latest leaked specs. I don’t have any inside information, and Fuji X Weekly isn’t a rumor site, but I do like to talk about upcoming gear, especially if it’s a model that I am particularly interested in (such as the Fujifilm X100V successor). Fujifilm is going to announce the new camera at their upcoming X Summit on February 19th/20th, and all will be clear then.
The date of the X Summit—whether the 19th or 20th—depends on your time zone. It will be in Toyko at 2:30 PM on the 20th, which means that it will be 10:30 PM on the 19th in Phoenix. That’s 9:30 PM for those in the Pacific time zone, and 12:30 AM (just after midnight) for those in Eastern time. Preorders should be open immediately following the event, so if you want to be first in line, you might be up really late on the 19th, or up really early on the 20th if you’re in Europe or Africa.
I’m going to tune in to this particular X Summit. I don’t always watch them—in fact, I don’t catch the majority of them. This is one that I’m particularly interested in, so I’ll definitely tune in.
Then, on the 20th at 10 AM Phoenix time, which is 9 AM Pacific and noon Eastern, Nathalie Boucry and I will discuss the X Summit and the newly announced camera, plus whatever else was said—there’s some talk about possibly a new lens or major X App update or possible firmware updates. I have no idea what else besides the X100VI will be announced (if anything), but whatever it is, we’ll talk with you about it live on YouTube. This will be Episode 2 of the current SOOC Live season. I hope that you can join us!
I’ve received a ton of feedback following the “Kodak Retina” video that I published two days ago. It was controversial, just as I thought it would be. While it was a joke, it was also inherently dishonest (up to the point where I came clean, which was early on). Most people seemed to understand that it was comedy. The vast majority of the feedback I received was positive, with a lot of “lol” comments and laughing emojis. Some people didn’t like it, though, and didn’t “get” the humor. A few people said some really unnecessarily mean things. A little bit of the negative feedback was constructive criticism, and so that’s actually positive, and much appreciated.
There were a few different ideas behind the video, and various things that I wanted to accomplish with it. I think it would be worthwhile to explain them to you, so that maybe they’re better understood. If you haven’t yet seen the video, I’ve included it below. You can also find it on the Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel.
First, the video was a gag. It was supposed to be funny. If you follow me on social media, you already know that I have a sense of humor—typically a dry one. If you’ve ever seen videos with two guys sitting down sipping coffee, telling each other “dad jokes” while trying not to laugh… that’s my type of humor. Some people suggested that my video would have been a great April Fools prank, and I agree. It definitely would have been. I didn’t want to wait for April 1st because I figured I wasn’t the only one with this idea (using the TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 limited edition yellow/orange lens to make a Kodak-looking camera), so I wanted to beat anyone else doing something similar to the punch(line). Also, Kodak’s new Super 8 camera has people thinking Kodak right now. The timing was right for this video, despite the date; however, it would have been more obviously comedic had it been released on April 1st (I will have to come up with another idea for that date).
Second, I wanted this video to attract people who would not normally click on content about Fujifilm gear. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a few months now. I’ve known for awhile now that Film Simulation Recipes which mimic Kodak emulsions are the most popular, but I never really thought of the deeper implications of this. It makes perfect sense: Kodak was a more popular film manufacturer than Fuji. However, I think some people overlook Fujifilm cameras simply because it is Fujifilm. It’s not that they have anything against Fuji, it’s just that it’s not [insert brand name here]. The point of the gag was more than just for a good laugh, but to perhaps get a few people who would otherwise ignore Fujifilm to take a closer look, and to discover what they’ve been missing.
Third, I wanted to provide to you a sampling of photographs that demonstrate how well various Kodak-like Film Simulation Recipes perform for southwest-America travel photography. I tested out eight Recipes, and shared the results. You can see if any of them might work well for you, should you find yourself in a similar photographic situation. The video serves as a micro-review of the Fujifilm X-T5 and TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 for travel, as well.
Fourth, I wanted to give a glimpse of what it’s like to ride the Grand Canyon Railway to the National Park, stay a night at the rim, and return back on the railroad the next day. This video would serve as a mini travel-vlog of the adventure. Perhaps it will be helpful to someone else considering the same thing. While this was a goal of the video, it was not the main point.
Fifth… my family and I love looking back at videos we’ve made over the years of our adventures. This is one that we’ll definitely watch (especially beginning at the 3:07 mark) many times over the coming years as we remember the great time that we had. This is a huge bonus for me.
I hope that this explanation helps to shed some light on the exact purpose—why I made this video.
Was it successful? Did the video accomplish what I hoped it would? I think so. Most people seemed to find the humor in the hoax. I did’t expect that everyone would find it funny, and some didn’t. Several folks stated that they didn’t appreciate the gag. A few people told me that I need to be more serious with my content. But a couple of people said that they’re going to look into Fujifilm cameras and Film Simulation Recipes. Many of you mentioned that you appreciated the pictures and enjoyed the adventure. And a lot of you laughed. Perhaps it wasn’t a home run, but I do think the video is doing just what I wanted it to.
Introducing the brand-new Kodak Retina digital mirrorless camera! Inside this retro-styled body is a 40-megapixel APS-C BSI CMOS sensor. It has eight built-in presets that mimic classic Kodak film stocks. The pictures from the Kodak Retina look great straight-out-of-camera, no editing needed! This new camera is bold yet beautiful; classic yet modern; digital yet analog.
I was given a pre-production copy of the Kodak Retina camera to try out, and used that as an excuse to visit the majestic Grand Canyon in northern Arizona! I recorded the experience, which I just published to my YouTube channel. The video is my review of the new camera, plus an epic adventure by train to one of the natural wonders of the world. I’ve included it below—you don’t want to miss this one!
The Kodak Retina
Top view of the Kodak Retina
Below are example pictures that I captured on this trip using the eight built-in presets included in the Kodak Retina:
Kodachrome 64
Kodak Retina + Kodachrome 64
Portra 160
Kodak Retina + Portra 160
Portra 400
Kodak Retina + Portra 400
Gold 200
Kodak Retina + Gold 200
Ultramax 400
Kodak Retina + Ultramax 400
Ektachrome E100VS
Kodak Retina + Ektachrome E100VS
Vision3 250D
Kodak Retina + Vision3 250D
Tri-X 400
Kodak Retina + Tri-X 400
At this point, I’m sure you’re already aware that there’s no such thing as a Kodak Retina digital camera. Kodak made Retina film cameras from the 1930’s up to 1970. While Kodak pretty much invented the digital camera, and were an important early innovator of the technology, they never made an interchangeable lens APS-C model. They did produce some full-frame DSLRs in the very early 2000’s, and made an APS-C back for a Nikon SLR in the late 1990’s, and even sold a Micro-Four-Thirds interchangeable-lens mirrorless in 2014 (manufactured by JK Imagining under the Kodak brand name); however, nothing remotely like my faux digital Retina was ever produced by Kodak. This was all just for fun—sorry if I got your hopes up.
The camera is actually a Fujifilm X-T5. That might have been obvious to you. I put some silver tape over the Fujifilm logo, and added a Kodak decal. If you look closely, you can tell that I did that. The lens is a TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 in their limited edition yellow/orange color scheme, which is very Kodak-like; the lens is actually what inspired me to do this project. The camera strap is something I’ve owned for years now, and a red soft-shutter-release completed the look.
I chose those particular Recipes because they mimic popular Kodak emulsions, which seemed appropriate since the X-T5 was disguised as a Kodak camera. You can find them—and over 300 more—in the Fuji X Weekly App, available for Android and Apple. Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
My thoughts with this camera were: what if, 15 years ago, Kodak had pivoted, and began making retro-styled mirrorless cameras with built-in film emulation presets? How much different would the industry look like today if they had? While Kodak didn’t pivot, Fujifilm did. Instead of a digital Retina, we have the X-T5. You don’t need Kodak to make this camera, because it already exists. The X-T5 (or any other Fujifilm model), combined with my Film Simulation Recipes, will do what I proposed a digital Kodak Retina would do. Fujifilm is doing what Kodak should have done but didn’t.
Now it’s your turn! What do you think of this project? How much different would the camera industry look today if a digital Kodak Retina actually existed? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
I get asked fairly regularly which Film Simulation Recipes are the most popular. For me, this is a fascinating topic, but it’s definitely hard to know definitively. While I get a glimpse on social media, my best gauge is the Fuji X Weekly website statistics; specifically, which Recipe articles are viewed the most. I don’t collect any data on the Fuji X Weekly App, so that’s no help—although, if I did, it would likely offer the most accurate picture; however, it would still be impossible to know which Recipes people programmed into their Fujifilm cameras, or how often they used each. Perhaps a survey would be particularly useful, yet even it has its limitations. While certainly a flawed method, page-view website statics offer the best glimpse at which Film Simulation Recipes are the most popular, so that’s what I’m using for this article. These are simply the Top 25 most-viewed Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly website last month (January 2024).
Most of the time these lists are pretty predictable. Those with Kodak brand names in the title—Kodachrome, Portra, Gold, Tri-X, etc., etc.—are the most popular. Classic Chrome is the king of film simulations, as the majority of the most-viewed Recipes are based on that film simulation. X-Trans IV Recipes, especially for the X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras, tend to be the most popular.
This time, however, I was a surprised by many of the rankings. The top two—Kodachrome 64 and Kodak Portra 400 v2—did not surprise me at all. Those particular Recipes are far-and-away the most popular. Third place, which made this list despite being so new (released towards the end of the month), is a good deal behind the top two. Reala Ace is now the most popular Classic Negative Recipe, edging out Pacific Blues. Kodak Vision3 250D is the only Recipe that uses Eterna, and Kodak Vision3 250D v2 is the only one that uses Nostalgic Neg.. There’s also only one PRO Neg. Std Recipe and one Acros, while five use Classic Negative and 16 (of the 25) use Classic Chrome. By far the most popular X-Trans II Recipe is Classic Kodak Chrome, which ranks 21st. Fujicolor C200 v2 is the only App Patron Early-Access Recipe that I’ve ever seen make it into one of these lists.
Without any further delay, below are the most popular Recipes of last month!
Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes of January 2024
Fujirumors is reporting which battery the upcoming Fujifilm X100VI will use: the old NP-W126S.
A lot of Fuji X Weekly readers frequently visit Fujirumors. There’s some crossover between the audience of both websites; however, I’m not a rumor site, and I don’t personally have inside information on upcoming gear. I can only comment about what other people report, and Fujirumors has a reputation of being correct a whole lot more than incorrect. If you want the inside scoop, that’s where you need to go. But I do get asked to comment on the things that Fujirumors reports. Just within the last couple of hours, three different people reached out to me for my opinion on the latest rumor.
I think a lot of photographers—myself included—speculated that, since the X100VI will have IBIS, it will also have the new WP-235 battery. Between the 40mp sensor and the in-body-image-stabilization, there’s a lot of potential battery drainage, so the old battery would be insufficient, and the new battery would be a requirement. In order to use the bigger battery, the camera would need to be larger, at least a little. Plus, the new battery is a tad heavier. The assumption was that the new camera would be a hair bigger and a little heavier to accommodate IBIS and the WP-235 battery.
The X100VI will indeed be a hair bigger—but literally just a hair—as apparently the lens needs to extend just 1mm further out to make room for the IBIS, but otherwise it will be basically identical to its predecessor. I’m sure the camera will be just a smidge heavier, too, but not much at all. By using the old battery—the same battery that the X100V takes—Fujifilm prioritized size and weight on the new model. It seems as though more will be the same than different between the X100V and X100VI, and that’s not bad whatsoever. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But it definitely raises some questions regarding battery consumption. The expected battery life on the X100F was 390 pictures, and it increased to 420 on the X100V. Those numbers are decent enough, but not necessarily impressive; plenty of battery life most of the time, yet occasionally insufficient. Of course, battery life depends on a whole host of factors, so your mileage might vary. I used to own a Sigma DP Merrill camera that got between 35 and 40 exposures on a battery—about as many frames as a roll of 36 exp film. So it’s nowhere near that; however, it’s also not particularly close to the 580 shots that the X-T5 is rated at. The X-S20, with the old sensor and new battery, can apparently get 750 exposures, which illustrates that the new sensor drains the battery significantly more than the old sensor. So what kind of battery life are we looking at? I’m sure that the Fujifilm programmers worked some magic to maximize efficiency, but it would be pretty shocking if the X100VI can get more than 350 shots… it might even be less than 300. I have no idea, this is mere speculation, and I could certainly be wrong. I’ve been wrong plenty of times before, so definitely take all of this with a grain of salt.
There are, of course, some things that one can do to mitigate battery drainage. For example, on my X-T5, if I know I’ll be shooting all day and need the batteries to last, I’ll turn Image Stabilization Off, and only use it when I need it (most of the time I don’t need it). On my X100V, I like to keep the rear LCD off and use the Optical Viewfinder, which not only gives a film-like shooting experience, but also saves battery. It’s possible to make the battery last quite awhile if you need it to. And, as always, you can keep a spare or two nearby. If you are in a studio, you could always use a tethered faux battery that plugs into the wall.
I think it’s clear that the X100VI—much like the X100V—is a photographer’s camera more than a cinematography tool. With the heat issues and battery drainage—sure, it’s possible to use it for video with much success, but it is far from ideal for that purpose. I don’t use my X100V for video, and don’t anticipate using the X100VI for video, either, even with IBIS. Can you? Absolutely. Is it the best option? Absolutely not.
I’m actually a little glad that the X100VI will take the old NP-W126S, and that Fujifilm prioritized size and weight over battery life. The way I use the camera, I get significantly more than 420 exposures on a fully-charged battery. I can turn IBIS off, and only activate it when I need to, which I’m sure won’t be very often. It’s good to have IBIS as an option, but the reality is that it’s not all that important on a camera like the X100. Size and weight matter more to me. I don’t think Fujifilm’s battery choice will be a big deal for most people (it won’t be for me), but for some it might make the X100V an intriguing choice over the X100VI, just depending on how long the battery will last on the upcoming camera.
