There’s a feature on most Fujifilm cameras that few use—you might not be aware that it even exists—called Advanced Filters. Fujifilm introduced Advanced Filters in 2013 with the X100S and X20. With the exception of a few early models, your Fujifilm X-series camera has Advanced Filters (however, GFX models does not have it). Find Advanced Filters on the Drive Dial or Drive Menu (depending on the specifics of your model). For older cameras, Advanced Filters are JPEG only; however, on newer models, you can save a RAW file in addition to the JPEG. Since its initial implementation, Fujifilm has left this feature unmodified, offering the same options on each camera generation.
Why are the Advanced Filters so obscure and not widely used? Worse, why is it actually detested by some who have tried it? Well, the short answer is that Advanced Filters aren’t “advanced” at all, and are probably the most gimmicky and sometimes cringy thing Fujifilm has included in what are otherwise sophisticated cameras. My personal opinion is that some of the Advanced Filters are okay, others aren’t particularly good, and some are definitely out-of-date. Let’s take a look at each Advanced Filter.
Toy Camera
Fujifilm describes this Advanced Filter as “a retro toy camera effect”, which is to say that it is roughly modeled after a Holga or Diana film camera aesthetic. It’s intended to be a “lomo” look. It seems to be the Provia Film Simulation with a yellow cast and some vignetting.
Miniature
This adds blur to the top and bottom of the frame, similar to using a tilt-shift lens. When you are photographing from an elevated vantage point, the Miniature Advanced Filter can give the illusion that the subject is a miniature model. It’s better to use an actual tilt-shift lens to get this effect, but if you don’t own one, this is an easy way to approximate it. Like a lot of the Advanced Filters, I believe that it is based on the Provia Film Simulation.
Pop Color
Pop Color is my favorite Advanced Filter. It more-or-less resembles Fujichrome Fortia 50 film, and in my opinion Fujifilm should make Pop Color the next Film Simulation and call it Fortia. Perhaps they’ll need to fine-tune some aspects of it, but whatever it is that they need to do, I believe that Pop Color absolutely should graduate from Advanced Filters.
High Key/Low Key
Above Left: High Key Advanced Filter; Above Right: Low Key Advanced Filter
The High Key Advanced Filter creates a bright overexposed image, while the Low Key Advanced Filter creates a dark underexposed image. There’s nothing especially special about High Key and Low Key, as both can be easily replicated using the Provia film simulation. You might occasionally use these two in lieu of having a Film Simulation Recipe programmed into C1-C7 with a similar look, but I don’t believe many people are doing that. Instead, you could use Recipes like Bright Kodak or Low Key for better results.
Dynamic Tone
“Dynamic tone expression is used for a fantasy effect,” is how Fujifilm describes it. What it reminds me of is HDR photography with aggressive tonemapping, which was all the rage 15 to 20 years ago despite being hideous.
Soft Focus
The Soft Focus Advanced Filter is kind of like setting Clarity to -20 and Sharpness to -10 on your Fujifilm camera (if that were possible) while using the Provia Film Simulation. In my opinion, it’s much too strong; instead, it should be integrated into the Toy Camera Advanced Filter with the options of Off, Weak, or Strong (with the current iteration being Strong).
Partial Color (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple)
Above left: Partial Color Red Advanced Filter; Above right: Partial Color Green Advanced Filter
The six Partial Color filters are the Monochrome film simulation (with everything set to factory defaults), but with one color recorded (either red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple—the singular color is the Provia Film Simulation). This is another effect that was popular 15 to 20 years ago, but is not currently trendy.
In the past when I’ve suggested that Fujifilm should consider overhauling Advanced Filters, I was surprised by the pushback. There are people who use these, and surprisingly some of the options are beloved by some photographers. The best thing that Fujifilm could do is to allow them to be customized with White Balance, Dynamic Range, Grain, etc.. For Toy Camera, it would be cool if you could choose the Film Simulation, too. If Fujifilm were to ax half of the Advanced Filters, I don’t think most people would mind (or even notice).
Let’s hypothesize that on the next generation of Fujifilm cameras, which are likely coming within the next handful of months, that they overhaul Advanced Filters. Fujifilm is probably not doing this, but let’s just pretend that they are (because they should). Let’s say that Pop Color is gone because it’s now the Fortia Film Simulation. Let’s also say that High Key and Low Key are removed because they are unnecessary and their inclusion is a bit silly. Additionally, let’s say that Dynamic Tone and Soft Focus are axed because they’re cringy. That leaves Toy Camera, Miniature, and Partial Color, which Fujifilm should allow customization for, so that they can be modified for each person’s tastes.
Obviously, some new Advanced Filters will need to be added to replaced the ones that were removed. Fujifilm needs to look no further than the X half to find the answer. The Fujifilm X half has Filters, which are the Advanced Filters plus some new ones taken from the Instax Evo series. Some of these are really good, and should make their way into other X-series cameras. Let’s look at a few that Fujifilm should add to Advanced Filters.
Retro
The best that I can describe the Retro Filter is push-processed Ektachrome slide film from the late 1960’s and 1970’s (think Ormond Gigli’s color work from that era). This is one of my favorite X half filters, and would be a great addition to the X-series.
Expired Film
Above: Expired Film Filter — Fujifilm X half
The Expired Film Filter on the X half has three options: Green, Red, and Neutral. These aren’t Filters that I would use all the time, but on occasion they can be a lot of fun. As long as Grain can be selected (or maybe Fujifilm has Grain built into it), then it doesn’t need to be customized any further.
Light Leak & Halation
Above left: Light Leak Filter; Above right: Halation filter
There are two other X half Filters that I would like to see added to the X-series: Light Leak and Halation; however, I would like these to be JPEG options and not stand-alone Advanced Filters. You should be able to apply them to any Film Simulation, and make them a part of Fujifilm Recipes. For Light Leak, the options should be: Low, High, On, Off. If set to On, every image has a light leak; if set to Low, only a small percentage of random images (say 5%) get a light leak; if set to High, a larger percentage of random images (say 20%) get a light leak. The Halation effect, which should have the options of Off, Weak, and Strong, would be great for Cinestill Recipes. If Fujifilm is unwilling to do that, at the very least they should add these two to Advanced Filters.
Cross Process
This is a bonus, but I think an Advanced Filter that resembles cross-processed Fujichrome Velvia 50 film would be really cool. I used to develop E6 slide film in C41 chemistry for fun many years ago, and if my Fujifilm camera could replicate that aesthetic, I would love it.
If Fujifilm asked for my input on how to improve the Advanced Filters, I would get rid of a few of them (namely, High Key, Low Key, Dynamic Tone, and Soft Focus). I would graduate Pop Color to a Film Simulation named Fortia. I would allow Toy Camera, Miniature, and Partial Color to be customized with various JPEG options. I would add Retro and Expired Film from the X half to the list of Advanced Filters, as well as Light Leak and Halation if Fujifilm is unwilling to make them JPEG options that can be applied to any Film Simulation. And I would add a Cross Process Advance Filter that resembles Fujichrome Velvia 50 developed in C41 chemistry, because that would be really cool. This would turn what is often viewed as a cringy feature into something more useful and better appreciated. Will Fujifilm take this advice? I hope so, but my guess is that Advanced Filters will continue to be identical to what it was way back in 2013 when it was first introduced.