Someone pointed out something interesting to me: the new DJI Osmo Pocket 4 has “Film Tones” that take close inspiration from Fujifilm. Specifically, CC Film and NC Film are “Fuji-inspired” (as DJI puts it), and are obviously similar to Fujifilm’s Classic Chrome and Classic Negative Film Simulations (apparently, CC Film more so than NC Film). These are intended to give a finished look straight-out-of-camera.
First, as Oscar Wilde famously stated (or maybe he didn’t, it’s apparently debatable), “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” That’s not a dig on DJI, but simply noting that 1) Fujifilm’s Film Simulation are both great and popular, and 2) someone’s approximation of it will never be quite the same as the real thing (but maybe it doesn’t need to be). If something is successful, there will be copycats—sometimes close copies and sometimes more of an “inspired by” situation. I’m not sure what type of copyrights and trademarks Fujifilm may have for (say) Classic Chrome, or if DJI infringed on it, but my guess is that legally speaking, it’s all ok (I’m not an attorney, though).
Above left: Classic Chrome Film Simulation (Classic Color Recipe); Above right: Classic Negative Film Simulation (Pacific Blues Recipe)
I personally don’t take issue with DJI copying Fujifilm; however, maybe they should have been more discrete about it. As Albert Einstein famously stated (or maybe he didn’t, it’s apparently debatable—a theme in today’s post), “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Flaunting it is a little brash. Call it Chrome Color Film and Negative Color Film and don’t mention that it’s trying to emulate Fujifilm’s Film Simulations. Or, the other option is to be upfront and honest about the origins and intentions, giving Fujifilm credit for the inspiration. I like that better, actually. And maybe there’s a point to it.
The problem when you use multiple camera brands to record clips that will be included in the same video is that they look different. With enough grading, you can get them to be similar enough, but that’s a lot of work. Now imagine that you have an X-H2s or X-S20 or some other Fujifilm camera, and you’re using the Classic Chrome Film Simulation to record clips (so as to reduce or eliminate color grading) for a YouTube video; you also have the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 for some clips, and on it you’re using the CC Film Tone. In that situation, you’re going to spend less time in software because all of the clips are going to have a similar aesthetic out of the camera.
So, if you’re a videographer that uses Fujifilm cameras and Film Simulations, you might find the new DJI camera to be an intriguing option for certain situations, as a companion to your larger gear. Perhaps that’s their point: not necessarily to convince people to buy their camera instead of a Fujifilm model, but as a potentially complimentary tool for Fujifilm photographers. At least that’s my take on it. The addition of Fujifilm-like profiles is appealing to me as a Fujifilm photographer; however, at least for the time being, the DJI camera is not available in the US.
If I was in charge of any camera company I would copy Fujifilm as well, within legal limits. Perhaps be inspired to do something even cooler (which would be hard because Fujifilm in camera stuff is very cool). A better RAW processor which didn’t need to connect to the camera’s brain to process could beat Fuji’s system.
Wow. Fujifilm is driving the market. I have used a lot of cameras and have never seen a simulation or similar formation in a brand before Fujifilm. But after fuji simulations became popular in recent years, there have been many brands following in his footsteps. Nikon Lumix and others. Of course, we are consumers who are lucrative here. It’s always good to have too many options. Fujifilm deserves appreciation in this regard. Imitations keep the original alive.
I think a lot of companies are trying to jump on the train in one way or another, and probably more are in the process. It’s a noticeable shift. Even though Fujifilm isn’t as large as the big three (when excluding Instax), they are the engineer driving the train that’s causing the shift.
There’s something tacky about using some of the same names and abbreviations (see the Portra filter from PolarPro), but overall I think a lot of this is good.
We could be so lucky for more companies to copy some of the nice things from Fuji. More physical control dials on cameras and aperture rings on lenses. Making JPEGs fun. Nice fixed-lens cameras like the x100 series. Like, imagine if Canon came out with a new Canonet? That’d be great. So long as the model number isn’t G100X specifically.
Yeah, I would say it was a bit tacky, and that’s why my initial thought was: why not use different names? On other side of the same coin, from a photographer’s point-of-view, I would love for more companies copy the great things about Fujifilm cameras. If I were Fujifilm I wouldn’t appreciate that, but I’m not Fujifilm….