Acros

FRGMT B&W — A Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe by Hiroshi Fujiwara

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Oak Creek in Monochrome – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5 – FRGMT B&W

A couple of weeks ago Fujifilm announced the GFX100RF Fragment Edition, a limited-edition version of the GFX100RF, which will only be available in Japan. The camera was modified by fashion designer, producer, and artist Hiroshi Fujiwara, the founder of Fragment. Interestingly, it comes preloaded with a Film Simulation Recipe by Hiroshi called FRGMT B&W, which is in the Film Simulation menu in lieu of the Monochrome Film Simulation. This is the first official Fujifilm Recipe, and the first (as far as I’m aware) by Hiroshi Fujiwara. Fujifilm published the details of this Recipe within the GFX100RF Fragment Edition announcement, which means that anyone can use it, and not just those in Japan who purchase the limited-edition camera.

When I saw this, I knew that some of you would want to try the FRGMT B&W Recipe, so I shared it. I wasn’t going to make it an “official” Fuji X Weekly Recipe or include it in the Fuji X Weekly App unless I had permission to do so from those involved. I reached out to Fujifilm and asked for permission, but I knew it was a long shot. My request was forwarded up the chain all the way to Japan. I didn’t think the odds were very good, but, perhaps as a Christmas miracle, the answer came back pretty quickly. To my shock, yes, I do have permission, both from Fujifilm and from Fragment, to publish this Recipe. Wow!

Cheers – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5 – FRGMT B&W

It’s such an honor to get this permission, not only because it’s the first Recipe included in any of Fujifilm’s cameras, but also because it was created by Hiroshi Fujiwara. For those unaware, that’s a really big deal. Hiroshi has collaborated with Eric Clapton twice. He appeared on the big screen in Lost in Translation. If someone like Pharrell Williams created a Film Simulation Recipe and then gave me permission to include it on this website and in the Fuji X Weekly App, that would be fairly equivalent to this (obviously, there is only one Hiroshi Fujiwara).

The FRGMT B&W Recipe produces a contrasty and grainy black-and-white aesthetic. It reminds me of Ilford Delta 400 pushed one stop. I didn’t study or research that; it’s more of a “memory color” (as Fujifilm puts it) of using Ilford Delta 400 and push-processing it 25 years ago or so. I don’t believe this Recipe was intended to resemble any specific film or process, but if you were to ask me what film this Recipe most closely mimics, it’s Ilford Delta 400 pushed one stop. Again, that’s not based on research, but just what I remember from way back in my film days.

Shadow Shapes – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II – FRGMT B&W

With the exception of the X-T3 and X-T30, this FRGMT B&W Recipe is compatible with all of the fourth and fifth generation models: Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II, X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, and X-T30 III. It’s also compatible with the GFX100S, GFX100 II, GFX100S II, and GFX100RF. Because this Recipe uses Clarity set to something other than 0, there is a short storing pause after capturing a photo, with a similar delay as advancing to the next frame on a film camera. I want to give a big shoutout to both Fujifilm and Fragment for allowing me to publish this, and also to Hiroshi Fujiwara for creating it. Thank you!

Film Simulation: Acros (including +Ye, +R, or +G)
Monochromatic Color (Toning): WC 0 & MG 0 (Off)
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: Auto, 0 Red & 0 Blue
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +2
Sharpness: -4
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: +5
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically) — Hiroshi says +1/3

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this FRGMT B&W Film Simulation Recipe on a Fujifilm X-E5, X-T5 and GFX100S II:

Notice – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5
Regular – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5
Abandoned Gas Pumps – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5
Mercedes-Benz – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5
Broken Shelving – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5
West Fork – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5
Fujifilm Photographer – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5
Monochrome Leaves – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5
Flowing Creek – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E5
Lost Creek, Found – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Creek in the Desert – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Rural Water – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Supai – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Rocks in the Sky – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Pirate – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Classic Design – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
The Man in Black & White – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – by Amanda Roesch
Tall Bank, Empty Lot – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 400 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Kodak Plus-X 125 — Fujifilm X-Trans IV & X-Trans V Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Coastal Photographer – San Francisco, CA – Fujifilm X100VI – Kodak Plus-X 125

This new Kodak Plus-X 125 Film Simulation Recipes comes to us curtesy of Dylan Van Matre. “The short story is that I’ve been a film shooter for a long time,” Dylan told me, “and one of my favorite films during that time has been Kodak Plus-X 125. When I moved to Fuji and discovered Film Simulation Recipes, one of the films I looked for was Kodak Plus-X 125. It was a favorite of mine during the early 90’s. I couldn’t find one published by someone else, so I endeavored to make my own. I enlisted the help of Anders Linborg to learn about Recipes and how to create them.”

“When I decided to try and create this Recipe,” Dylan continued, “I thought that I should try and learn from someone who has created ones that I enjoyed and felt were accurate. Anders with his Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe (and others) immediately came to mind. I emailed him inquiring about his creation process. Anders was kind enough to respond, and he gave me a great check list on how to go about creating a Recipes. I download the specification sheet for Plus-X 125 film and found the spectrum analysis chart. I found the most prominent peak on the chart and made a note on the frequency that it’s located. That’s how I decide upon my white balance.”

Irrigation Pipe – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II – Kodak Plus-X 125

“From there I picked the response curve that I felt was most appropriate,” Dylan said, “which led me to the Acros film simulation. After that I used the reference images I had, which were a bunch of Plus-X scans from the early 90’s, and I starting shooting with my Fujifilm camera. I’ve shot in all kinds of lighting conditions over the last couple years, making tweaks here and there. After some fine-tuning, I had created a Recipe that I feel most represents Plus-X 125 film. I want to thank Andors Linborg for his amazing advise, and I want to thank Ritchie for his amazing website.”

Included in the email was a private link to some of Dylan’s photos captured with this Kodak Plus-X 125 Film Simulation Recipe, as well as some of his scans of actual Kodak Plus-X 125 film. It was quite obvious to me comparing the two that this Recipe is a good match, and Dylan did an excellent job creating it. He certainly put in a lot of research and effort to get this right. Thank you, Dylan Van Matre, for creating and sharing this Recipe!

Cactus & Barbed Wire Fence – Rock Springs, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Plus-X 125

Plus-X was a long-running classic B&W negative film by Kodak, known for its fine grain, sharpness, and moderate contrast that made it popular for both professional and amateur photographers. Originally introduced in 1938 as a motion picture film, it evolved over the decades. The ISO 125 version was released in 1954. After more than 70 years in production, Kodak discontinued Plus-X in 2010, with the last batch shipping in 2011, marking the end of an era for one of the company’s longest-running emulsions. This Recipe is compatible with X-Trans IV (except the X-T3/X-T30) and X-Trans V cameras, as well as newer GFX models.

Film Simulation: Acros (including +Ye, +R, or +G)
Monochromatic Color (Toning): WC 0 & MG 0 (Off)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Grain Effect: Weak, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: Daylight, +9 Red & +9 Blue
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +1
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: +2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to -2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Plus-X 125 Film Simulation Recipe on a Fujifilm X-T5, X100VI, X-E4 & GFX100S II:

Distant Dust Storm – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Estrella Mountains from White Tank Foothills – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Spewing Water – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Truck Junk Yard – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm GFX100S II
Table 18 – Avondale, AZ – Fujifilm X100VI
Sunlit Banister – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Saguaro & Dark Storm – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifim X-E4
Closed for Storm Damage – Navarro, CA – Fujifilm X100VI
Post in the Water – Bodega Bay, CA – Fujifilm X-T5
Coastal Cove – Elk, CA – Fujifilm X-T5
Desert Saguaro – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100VI
Wild at Heart – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Photo by Amanda Roesch
Angled Doorway – Elk, CA – Fujifilm X-T5

Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 400 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 Five Favorite Fujifilm Film Simulations

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm’s Film Simulations are not mere digital filters. Harnessing more than 70 years of knowledge and experience making photographic and cinematic films, Fujifilm set out to infuse their X and GFX cameras with an analog soul. With a combination of complex elements, these Film Simulations provide a wide variety of looks inspired by film or darkroom techniques. There are 20 different Film Simulations on the latest models, and it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. I like some more than others, but which are best is personal—my preferences might be different than yours. For me, five Film Simulations have emerged as iconic, and are my personal favorites. There are others that didn’t make this cut that I also appreciate and use regularly. Each Film Simulation has its moment when it works really well.

My five favorites are Acros, Classic Chrome, Classic Negative, Nostalgic Neg., and Reala Ace. We’ll take a look at each of them. I will also recommend a few Film Simulation Recipes, selected for those who want to experience the full power of Fujifilm’s renown JPEG engine. Recipes use the various JPEG parameters made available by Fujifilm to customize the aesthetic of the Film Simulations, producing a variety of looks that are often based off of classic film stocks.

Acros – The Soul of Black & White

Top: Fujifilm GFX100S II & Kodak Tri-X 400; Bottom Left: Fujifilm X-T5 & Kodak T-Max P3200; Bottom Right: Fujifilm X100F & Agfa Scala

Acros is Fujifilm’s crowning achievement in monochrome photography. This Film Simulation replicates the tonal response and grain structure of real panchromatic film. It features smooth gradation, deep blacks, and beautiful highlight roll-off. Acros is unique because Grain is applied algorithmically and varies depending on ISO and exposure, giving it an organic analog-like feel. Fujifilm offers three filter variants: Acros+R (simulates the use of a red filter), Acros+Ye (simulations the use of a yellow filter), and Acros+G (simulates the use of a green filter), further mimicking the tonal rendering of black-and-white film.

This Film Simulation shines in genres where texture and tone are essential, especially street photography, portraits, documentary, and minimalism. Acros is ideal when you want to eliminate the distraction of color and focus purely on light and form. When paired with the right Recipe, it can evoke the gritty spirit of classic film stocks like Tri-X, or deliver a softer tonality for quieter moments. The Acros Recipes below are some of my personal favorites.

Kodak Tri-X 400
Kodak T-Max P3200
Agfa Scala

Classic Chrome – A Kodak Aesthetic

Top: GFX100S II & Kodachrome 64; Bottom Left: Fujifilm X100VI & Kodak Portra 400 v2; Bottom Right: Fujifilm X-T4 & Reggie’s Portra

Classic Chrome was modeled after classic photojournalism photographs, and produces a documentary-style look. The reference pictures were emulsions like Kodachrome and Ektachrome. While Fujifilm will never say Kodak, Classic Chrome has a distinctive Kodak-like color palette. With a slightly lower saturation and stronger contrast than many other Film Simulations, it can be used for a bold-yet-somehow-subdued look.

Classic Chrome is great for many genres. It can be adapted for landscapes, portraits, travel, street and urban scenes, or storytelling photography. It’s the most popular Film Simulation for those who use Recipes, and the most iconic Recipes use Classic Chrome as their foundation. Below are the most popular Film Simulation Recipes—not only that use this Film Sim., but out of all Recipes.

Kodachrome 64
Reggie’s Portra
Kodak Portra 400 v2

Classic Negative – Fujicolor Superia Film

Top: Fujifilm X100VI & Fujicolor Superia 800; Bottom Left: Fujifilm X-E4 & Pacific Blues; Bottom Right: Fujifilm X100V & Fujicolor Reala 100

Classic Negative is based on Fujicolor Superia, a line of consumer films known for rich colors and its 4th layer technology, which provided versatility in a variety light situations. It’s a bold Film Simulation with a unique ability: the way it renders is dependent on the brightness of the picture, behaving somewhat similar to the film when overexposed or underexposed—delivering complex, sometimes unpredictable color shifts. Greens can appear silvery, reds can pop or fade depending on the lighting, and skin tones have a nostalgic rendering. The results are reminiscent of pictures found in many photo albums from the 1990’s and early 2000’s.

Classic Negative is especially well suited for snapshots of daily life and family vacations—really, any subject where you want a stylized, analog-inspired aesthetic. It exaggerates contrast in a way that feels emotionally driven, almost like how memory transforms color and mood. It’s one of the most fun Film Simulations to experiment with, and the Recipes built on it often have strong personalities.

Pacific Blues
Fujicolor Superia 800
Fujicolor Reala 100

Nostalgic Neg. – Classic Americana

Top: Fujifilm X-E5 & Kodak Vericolor VPS; Bottom Left: Fujifilm GFX100S II & 1970’s Summer; Bottom Right: Fujifilm X-T50 & Nostalgic Americana

Introduced with the GFX100S and later made available in fifth-generation X-Trans V cameras, Nostalgic Neg. was designed to mimic the aesthetic of New American Color prints from the 1970’s. It was inspired by the works of William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld and Richard Misrach, among others. Like Classic Chrome, Nostalgic Neg. has a strong Kodak-like rendering, albeit from a different era. Nostalgic Neg. gives the feeling of looking through an old photo album filled with warm memories, especially prints from the ’60’s and ’70’s.

This Film Simulation excels in storytelling, and is especially great for travel and documentary photography. Nostalgic Neg. is an emotional Film Simulation, and Recipes built on it often lean into the sentimental, creating photos that feel more like visual poetry than true-to-life renderings.

1970’s Summer
Nostalgic Americana
Kodak Vericolor VPS

Reala Ace – Negative for a New Era

Top: Fujifilm X100VI & Fujicolor PRO 160C Warm; Bottom Left: Fujifilm X-E5 & Summer Sun; Bottom Right: Fujifilm X-T50 & Pushed Analog

Reala Ace is the newest Film Simulation in Fujifilm’s lineup. It blends natural color fidelity with enhanced contrast and shadow depth, aiming to strike a balance between documentary realism and artistic expression. The tones are clean and accurate, but never sterile—just enough pop to give photographs life without looking overly processed. It’s most similar to PRO Neg. Std, but isn’t exactly like it, either, with an obvious nod to Fujicolor PRO 160C color negative film.

Reala Ace is an excellent choice for all-purpose photography—whether you’re shooting travel, street, portraits, or landscapes. It can be adapted to a wide range of subjects, lighting, and moods. As a base for Recipes, it can be made to produce a variety of different looks. It’s not surprising to me that Reala Ace is becoming a go-to Film Simulation for many photographers.

Fujicolor PRO 160C Warm
Pushed Analog
Summer Sun

These five Film Simulations—Acros, Classic Chrome, Classic Negative, Nostalgic Neg., and Reala Ace—represent the heart of Fujifilm’s JPEG magic. Each offers a unique way to see the world. They allow you to create finished straight-out-of-camera photographs that look great and don’t need to be edited, especially when combined with Film Simulation Recipes. Film Simulations and Recipes are tools of expression, just like film stocks. Shoot more, edit less, and let your camera become your darkroom. Wow, I need to use that last sentence as a tagline or something.

Agfa 400S — Fujifilm X-T4 ES (Full Spectrum Infrared) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Monochrome Founders – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES – Agfa 400S

This is my first B&W Film Simulation Recipe for Fujifilm full spectrum cameras, like the Fujifilm X-T4 ES (“Extended Spectrum”). It’s not for “normal” cameras; you must have a full spectrum X-Trans IV or X-Trans V model, which requires an expensive and invasive procedure from a third-party vendor like LifePixel, Kolari Vision, or Spenser’s Camera. Otherwise, the Fujifilm X-T4 ES is a full spectrum camera (is sensitive to light outside the visible gamut) briefly offered by Fujifilm to the general public. As of this writing, I believe that you can still buy the Fujifilm X-T4 ES from B&H, but it requires a phone call or stopping by in-person, and cannot be order from the internet.

The reason why it took me so long to publish a B&W Recipe for full spectrum IR cameras is because I had trouble creating one that I was fully satisfied with. I experimented with many different filters and settings, but just couldn’t find the right combination that produced the results that I desired. Initially, this was another one of those failed experiments, until I added a third filter (QB2), and instantly fell in love with the aesthetic that this Recipe creates.

Water in the Desert – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES – Agfa 400S

The emulsion that this Recipe is most reminiscent of is Agfa AviPhot 400S, which is also sold under Rollei Retro 400S, Rollei 400 IR, Japan Camera Hunter Street Pan 400, Astrum Foto 400, and Svema Foto 400. This film was made for aerial surveillance—hence: AviPhot, which is short for “Aviation Photography”, and “S” for surveillance—and is both infrared and UV sensitive, although only a little. In order to get good IR results, the film requires a 720nm filter and adding two or three stops to the exposure.

This Agfa 400S Film Simulation Recipe doesn’t use a 720nm filter; instead, it requires three filters: Kolari Vision IR Chrome, Tiffen Deep Yellow 15, and QB2 blue. The QB2 was given to me and I have no idea what brand it is, but here are some that I found online: JTSF, PMP, Nantong, Shanghai Longway, Tangsinuo. This is a fairly uncommon filter (that’s why none of the name brands make it), but it is used by some in the IR world (my Cotton Candy Chrome Recipe also uses the QB2 filter). I’m not sure if the order matters, but I have the Deep Yellow filter first (closest to the lens), the IR Chrome next, and the QB2 last (furthest from the lens).

Tree in Grey – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES – Agfa 400S

While this Recipe was designed on and intended for the Fujifilm X-T4 ES camera, it should be fully compatible with any full spectrum converted X-Trans IV (except the X-T3 and X-T30) and X-Trans V models. For a grainier look, use higher ISOs, such as 6400 and 12800 (Water in the Desert is an ISO 12800 image). For a cleaner look, use lower ISOs.

Filters: Tiffen Deep Yellow 15, Kolari Vision IR Chrome, & QB2 Blue
Film Simulation: Acros+R
Monochromatic Color: WC 0 MG 0 (Off)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: 2500K, +9 Red & -2 Blue
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +4
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Agfa 400S Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T4 ES:

Sunlit Jon – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Sunglasses – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Flower Girl – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Photographer Jon – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Hand in Hand – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Dogs out a Truck Window – Laveen, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Dramatic Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Lamp Post – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Second Floor Windows – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Neighborhood Eucalyptus – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
White Tree – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Grey Saguaro – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
17th Green – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Closed Umbrella in Monochrome – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Second Floor – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Sunlit Stucco – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Empty Cart – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Shade – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Coffee Work – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Open Umbrellas – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
White Bougainvillea 1 – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
White Bougainvillea 2 – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Palm Fronds – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
V Tree – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Evening Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Tis but a Scratch– Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Desert Road – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Last Light on the Peaks – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Trees & Flare – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES
Saguaro Fingers – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

See also: Full Spectrum Recipes

Top 10 Most Popular B&W Film Simulation Recipes of 2024

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Round Window – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

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 10 most-viewed B&W Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly website so far in 2024.

It’s close enough to the end of the year that there is unlikely to be much movement, if any, between now and January 1st, so I thought it would be a good time to begin looking at year-end statistics. When I share the Top 25 most popular Recipes of any given month, the results are pretty predictable: color Recipes dominate, especially those that mimic Kodak film stocks and use Classic Chrome. On the suggestion of a Fuji X Weekly reader, I’m going to share some Top 10 articles for Recipe categories where few are likely to crack the Top 25 overall. I’m starting with black-and-white, and we’ll see where this all goes from here.

Smoking – Philadelphia, PA – Fujifilm X100VI – Kodak Tri-X 400

I knew that Kodak Tri-X 400 would be Number One. It’s far-and-away the most popular black-and-white Film Simulation Recipe for Fujifilm cameras, and is in the Top 15 overall. Second place is a distant second, and not close to cracking the Top 25. I really didn’t know how the others would rank, and I was quite surprised by some of them. Four of these use the Acros film simulation (I thought more would), and six use the Monochrome film simulation.

Without any further delay, below are the most popular B&W Recipes of 2024!

Top 10 Most Popular B&W Film Simulation Recipes of 2024

#1:

Kodak Tri-X 400

This is the long-time most popular B&W Recipe on Fuji X Weekly. It’s based on the Acros film simulation, and has compatibility with X-Trans III, X-Trans IV, and X-Trans V models.

#2:

Kodak T-Max P3200

Another Acros-based Recipe, this one is compatible with X-Trans IV (except the X-T3/X-T30) and X-Trans V cameras.

#3:

Ilford HP5 Plus 400

This is the highest ranked Recipe that uses the Monochrome film simulation. It is compatible with X-Trans IV (except the X-T3/X-T30) and X-Trans V cameras.

#4:

Ilford FP4 Plus 125

Another Monochrome-based Recipe, this one is compatible with X-Trans IV (except the X-T3, X-T30, X-Pro3 & X100V) and X-Trans V models.

#5:

Ilford HP5 Plus

This is an older Recipe, published back in 2018. It uses the Acros film sim and is compatible with X-Trans III cameras, plus the X-T3 and X-T30.

#6:

Acros

Based on Acros, this was one of the very first Film Simulation Recipes published on Fuji X Weekly. It is compatible with X-Trans III cameras, plus the X-T3 and X-T30.

#7:

Monochrome Red

This Recipe is for X-Trans II cameras, and uses the Monochrome film simulation.

#8:

Monochrome

This is an X-Trans I Recipe that uses the Monochrome film simulation.

#9:

Dramatic Monochrome

Another Monochrome-based Recipe, this one is compatible with the X-T3 and X-T30; for use on X-Trans III, simply ignore the settings that your camera doesn’t have.

#10:

Kodak T-Max 400

Last but certainly not least is Kodak T-Max 400, which also uses the Monochrome film simulation. It has compatibility with X-Trans III, X-Trans IV, and X-Trans V models.

See also:
Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes in November 2024
How To Add Film Simulation Recipes To Your Fujifilm Camera
The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First
Which Film Simulation Recipe, When?

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App!

Kentmere Pan 400 — Fujifilm X100V (X-Trans IV & V) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Cash for your Scrap – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kentmere Pan 400 – Photo by Jon Roesch

Even though Kentmere Pan 400 is a fairly new film, the history of it is a bit grey (pun intended). Harman Technologies is the parent company of both Ilford and Kentmere; prior to the Harman purchase, Kentmere did not produce any photographic films (they did make photo paper), so it would seem that Kentmere 400, which was introduced in 2009, is essentially an Ilford emulsion. Sometime a few years ago “Pan” was added to the name, although it is unclear if the emulsion was modified, or if it stayed the same and the name change was only marketing.

Kentmere Pan 400 is a low-budget black-and-white negative film marketed towards photography students. Harman has stated that Kentmere Pan 400 is similar to Ilford HP5 Plus 400, and the reason that they can sell it for cheaper is that it contains less silver. For this reason some people have speculated that it is simply HP5 Plus with less silver; however, Ilford also makes a Pan 400 film, and so some others have speculated that Kentmere Pan 400 is actually Ilford Pan 400 with less silver. Oh, and then there’s AgfaPhoto APX 400 (2013 and onward, anyway), which apparently is the same emulsion as Kentmere Pan 400, and possibly even Rollei RPX 400. It’s hard to know exactly what the truth is, other than Kentmere Pan 400 is a cheap B&W film made by Ilford, who has produced many excellent B&W films for a long time.

This Film Simulation Recipe was developed by Dan Allen. He shot a few rolls of Kentmere Pan 400 film, and during that time also shot a bunch of frames side-by-side with his Fujifilm X-Pro3. Using X RAW Studio, he fiddled with the Fujifilm files until they closely matched the Kentmere scans. One film can produce many different looks—depending on a host of factors, including how shot, developed, and printed and/or scanned—and even within this experiment, Dan discovered that there were some variances; these settings aim at the middle ground of those results. For many pictures, this Recipe is strikingly similar to the film, and you can tell that he put a lot of work and care into creating it. Thank you, Dan!

Lockers – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kentmere Pan 400

This Kentmere Pan 400 Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with all X-Trans IV cameras—except the X-T3 and X-T30—and all X-Trans V cameras: the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II, X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, and X100VI (as of this writing). I’m sure you can also use it on newer GFX models, although it might render very slightly different (try it anyway). Because Kentmere Pan 400 film is intended for student photographers, I had my 14-year-old son, Jonathan, use this Recipe—half of the pictures in this article are his.

Film Simulation: Acros+G
Monochromatic Color (Toning): Off (WC 0 & MG 0)
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: Auto, +7 Red & +6 Blue
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +1
Sharpness: +3
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: +1
ISO: up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kentmere Pan 400 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

Rentals – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Street Lamp – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Power Pole & Street Light – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Slug Bug – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Crushed Monster – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Back Alley – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Dark Parking Garage – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
I C – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Roadrunner – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Table & Chair – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
FED 5c & Yosemite – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Snowman – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Photo by Jon Roesch
Nicolas in a Window – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
White Flower – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Courtyard – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Education Building – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Twin Palms & Building Corner – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Two Palms, One Shadow – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

See also: How To Add Film Simulation Recipes To Your Fujifilm Camera

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Why do we Still make B&W Photos?

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Round Window – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe

The world is full of color, so why would one want to photograph in black-and-white? It’s so old-fashioned anyway. Are there any good reasons to make monochrome pictures in 2023?

In 1826, the first photograph was captured by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in France. It was black-and-white because the first process was B&W. But then in 1861 the first color picture was made by James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton in Scotland. That should have been the end of B&W photos, right? Actually, color photography didn’t catch on for a very long time because the process to create them was much more complex than B&W, and their color reproduction not particularly accurate. Kodak launched Kodachrome slide film in 1935, which was the first reasonably accurate color process. That should have been the end of B&W, but it wasn’t. In fact, many photographers shunned color photography, and derided it as for amateurs. Black-and-white was for the serious, while color was not.

The New American Color movement of the 1960’s and ’70’s is really what made color photography an acceptable art form. It challenged the idea that “real” photography was only in monochrome. Color images could be just as good as, or perhaps even better than, B&W pictures. It revolutionized photography.

Epic Zip Line – Sundance, UT – Fujifilm X100F – Agfa Scala Recipe

That was so long ago. Color photography is the norm now, not black-and-white. Your digital camera captures a color picture, and you have to convert it to B&W if you want to see in shades of grey. B&W has become a niche of sorts.

So why should you shoot black-and-white photographs in 2023? What reasons are there, other than nostalgia for a time long gone? I love B&W photography, so let me offer a few to you.

Black-and-white pictures are abstract by nature. They’re not faithful reproductions of the world as we see it. Because it is abstract, the photographer is invited to capture the scene in a unique way, with a vision that is dissimilar to, and perhaps even the opposite of, reality. It’s not so much about what the scene is, but about how we see the scene through a divergent eye, and how we can express that to the viewer. It’s a timeless approach to fine-art photography.

The strength of color photographs is color, but it’s also its weakness. When color works within a color theory—perhaps contrasting or harmonious—it can create an especially dramatic or beautiful picture; however, when the colors within an image work against each other, it can be a distraction. B&W photos remove the distraction of color, allowing the viewer to see the important elements without color fighting for their attention—it’s the art of subtraction.

Playing with Waves – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe

Black-and-white photography is about light and shadow. It’s about contrast. It’s about shape. Texture. Pattern. Space. Emotion. Those are very important elements to color photography, too, but they’re even more critical to B&W pictures. Mastering monochrome will make you a better photographer, even for your color work.

Fujifilm cameras are particularly great for black-and-white photography thanks to their wonderful film simulations: Monochrome and especially Acros. Many different Film Simulation Recipes can be made using these as the base, with a wide variety of characteristics. Pick one that looks interesting to you, and shoot with it for a day or two to see what you get. My personal favorite is Kodak Tri-X 400, but there are so many that are really good, it’s hard to go wrong with any of them.

Whether you’ve been shooting black-and-white for decades and decades, or if you never have before but are interested, I invite you to join myself and Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry as we discuss B&W photography in-depth on SOOC Live this Thursday, August 3rd, at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, 1:00 PM Eastern. I’ve included it below so that you can easily find in on Thursday.

If you missed last Thursday’s SOOC Live broadcast, where Nathalie and I finished our discussion of travel photography, be sure to watch it now. I’ve included it below, or visit the SOOC Live YouTube Channel. Also, if you haven’t seen the Viewers’ Images slideshow (your pictures!), I’ve added that to the bottom of this article—be sure to watch!

Kodak T-Max P3200 — A Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe for X-Trans IV & V

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

A grainy high-contrast B&W Film Simulation Recipe for the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II, X-H2, X-H2s, X-T5, and X-S20.

Courthouse Butte – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak T-Max P3200 Recipe

“Stop the presses!”

That was the subject of an email I recently received from Anders Lindborg. Longtime Fuji X Weekly readers will immediately recognize Anders, since he invented the Kodak Tri-X 400, Ilford HP5 Plus 400, Ilford Pan F Plus 50, and Ilford FP4 Plus 125 (plus co-created Kodak T-Max 400) black-and-white Film Simulation Recipes—he is, in my opinion, the guru on Fujifilm B&W Recipes. Kodak Tri-X 400 is my all-time favorite Recipe, period. Anders also created the Kodak Gold v2 Recipe, seven Fujicolor Pro 160NS Recipes, seven Fujicolor Pro 400H Recipes, and made an important D-Range Priority discovery. When Anders Lindborg says to stop the presses, I knew to stop the presses!

The story that I found in that email was absolutely incredible! Whether or not you ever use the Film Simulation Recipe that Anders sent to me, the story itself makes this article a worthwhile read. I was (and still am) just blown away by it! It’s funny how life comes full circle in surprising ways sometimes.

Closed Umbrella – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak T-Max P3200 Recipe

“Some years back,” Anders Lindborg wrote me, “I found myself being totally photographically stuck. People liked my photos, but I could feel there was something missing from them and I thought they were still too amateurish. By chance, a photography magazine published an article called Learning How to See in which they mentioned a photographer named John Sevigny, an art teacher at a university in Mexico City. The magazine referenced Mr. Sevigny because he often talked with his students—and had also written some papers—about the subject of the article. Anyway, I started searching the internet and found many articles about him and his work. I also found some of his papers on the subject. Afterwards, I noticed that something gradually happened to my photos, and I realized that I could often see a deeper meaning in random ordinary things, people’s expressions and behavior. It really helped me, and I swore to never forget about this guy.”

“Life is funny,” Anders continued, “and I think I’m slowly starting to believe in this karma stuff. As it happens, awhile back I was contacted out of the blue by no other than John Sevigny himself! He had apparently found my stuff published on Fuji X Weekly very interesting and asked very kindly if I could help him out with the final touches on his upcoming book. The project that he had been working on was really heavy stuff, so he was temporarily burned out and needed some technical assistance, which I gladly provided. After the material for the book was finished, we continued chatting and I’m now proud to call him my friend.”

“After weeks of talking about photography, John mentioned that he really missed shooting with Kodak T-Max P3200 that he used to use all of the time while working as a news photographer. So, he said, how about making a recipe for it? I couldn’t resist, so we started developing it immediately. John provided me with all the information about the emulsion that I could possibly need, including a bunch of his own 25-year-old scans, but most important was his experience of shooting it daily for years. According to John, anytime there was a request for something that was going to be an article inside the newspaper, that’s the film they used since the available light would almost always be ranging from bad to worse. It didn’t matter if it was a sports event or a murder, they used Kodak T-Max P3200. After reading up about it (since I never shot it myself, sadly), I understood why: it was optimized to create sharp and (reasonably) detailed photos in generally bad light.”

Now Serving Bacon – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak T-Max P3200 Recipe

“Much care and testing has been put into this recipe by both John and myself,” Anders concluded, “and since John had all this experienced with the film, he had to be the one to officially approve it, which he did. I couldn’t be happier with the results we got from the tests! I actually put his scans in a photo album together with my test shots and the only thing revealing was the lens quality. When using the recipe with a vintage lens, I promise that you’ll have a really hard time telling your photos apart from the real film! Even some of the film’s tell-tale quirks have been replicated.”

Wow! Thank you, Anders Lindborg and John Sevigny, for creating this Kodak T-Max P3200 Film Simulation Recipe and allowing me to share it with the Fujifilm community on Fuji X Weekly—your work is much appreciated! I really love how Fujifilm cameras and Film Simulation Recipes are bringing people together across the world—it’s truly amazing! As great as this Recipe is—and it is great—the story behind it is even better.

Like Anders, I have also (sadly) never shot with Kodak T-Max P3200 black-and-white negative film (I went with Ilford Delta 3200 instead). Originally released in 1988 (the ISO 100 and ISO 400 versions were released two years prior), Kodak discontinued T-Max P3200 in 2012, but reintroduced it (with an “improved” emulsion) in 2018. It’s actually an ISO 800 (some say ISO 1000) film that labs automatically develop with two stops of push-processing, unless you tell them otherwise. But you can shoot it at ISO 800 and not push or ISO 400 and pull one stop (for less contrast) or ISO 1600 and push one stop. Some (brave? crazy? desperate?) photographers even shot it at ISO 6400 and pushed it three stops! Kodak T-Max P3200 can basically be anywhere from an ISO 400 to an ISO 6400 film, and it can go from a fairly flat and fine-grained emulsion to a punchy and gritty film, just depending on how you shot and developed it.

Yucca Flowers – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak T-Max P3200 Recipe

With this Kodak T-Max P3200 Film Simulation Recipe, the higher the ISO you shoot with, the more it will resemble shooting the film at a higher ISO and push-processing, and the lower the ISO it will more resemble shooting at ISO 800 and not pushing in development. In other words, you are going to get somewhat different results at ISO 640 than ISO 6400; I especially appreciate how this Recipe looks from ISO 3200 to ISO 12800. You will need to consider if you want a cleaner or more grainy aesthetic, and choose an ISO that will produce those results.

If you have a Fujifilm X-Trans IV camera (X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-S10, X-T30 II) or X-Trans V (X-H2, X-H2s, X-T5, X-S20, and any other released after publication), I invite you to give this Kodak T-Max P3200 Film Simulation Recipe a try! It’s not compatible with the X-T3 or X-T30 or X-Trans III, unfortunately; however, if you ignore Toning, Grain size, and Clarity, it should still produce good results, so don’t be afraid to give it a try. This Recipe should also work with GFX cameras, although I haven’t tested it and have no firsthand experience if it will look similar or not.

Film Simulation: Acros (or Acros+Y, Acros+R, Acros+G)
Monochromatic Color (Toning): WC -1 & MG -1
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: 5500K, +4 Red & +7 Blue
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +3
Sharpness: +2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: +1
ISO: up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak T-Max P3200 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5, X-E4 and X100V cameras:

Tall Flower Vine – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Tiny White Blooms – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Garden Bulb – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Forest Stream – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
38th Way – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Palm in the Contrail Sky – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Tall Cactus – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Highlight & Shadow Leaves – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Backyard Barrel – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Water Wheel – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Castle Rock – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Jet Above the Rocks – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Cloud Above the Desert – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Arizona’s High Desert – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Oak Creek & Cathedral Rock – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Rocks & Big Sky – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Busy Parking Lot – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Delilah – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Sunlit Suburban Tree Branch – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Peaceful Pool – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Josh by the Pool – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Closed Umbrella 2 – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Towel on Chair – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Empty Bench – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Please Don’t Litter – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilom X100V
Basket – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Hoop & Pine – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Bus Rider – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Camera Fight 1 – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Camera Fight 2 – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Sisters in the Back of the Bus – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Lady with Paw-Print Earring – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Joy’s Smile – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Girl Along a Wall – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Preparing Hands – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Sink Full of Dirty Dishes – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Fake Plant – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Floor – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Table Lamp – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Outdoor Patio Lights – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V
Betty Elyse – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

ISO 640 vs ISO 12800:

ISO 640 Crop
ISO 12800 Crop

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Pentax Has A Monochrome Camera — Fujifilm Should, too!

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Pentax just announced the K3 III Monochrome DSLR. Yes, a black-and-white only camera!

I find a few things intriguing by this. First, a lot of people say that there’s no market for such a camera, that only the Leica enthusiasts with Leica-like budgets will buy a monochrome-only camera. Yet Pentax apparently disagrees. I hope they’re right. It’s certainly a risk that they’re taking, but I think it will do well enough simply based on all the initial hype, which there’s quite a bit of.

The Pentax K3 III Monochrome (such an uninspired name, right?) has a 26-megapixel APS-C sensor inside. Sound familiar? My guess is that it’s the same Sony sensor that’s found in Fujifilm X-Trans IV models, just with the color filter array removed. I could be wrong about that. Perhaps more importantly, this monochrome sensor is clearly available for camera makers to buy, because Pentax is doing so, which means Fujifilm could, too.

The price difference that Pentax is charging for the monochrome vs the regular model is $500. That seems pretty steep, but it’s a niche product, so a premium should be expected. I suspect that Fujifilm would likely charge a similar amount—$300 to $500—for a monochrome version of one of their models, if they were to make one.

I’ve been suggesting for years that Fujifilm should make a dedicated black-and-white camera, and call it the Acros Edition. Why? With an X-Trans sensor, 55% of the light-sensitive sensor elements are recording luminosity information while 45% are recording color information. With a monochrome sensor, 100% of the light-sensitive sensor elements are recording luminosity information. Because of this, you get higher perceived resolution, as pictures will appear more richly detailed, and there’s more shadow latitude, which improves dynamic range and high-ISO capabilities. You can also use color filters just like with black-and-white film. It’s definitely not a camera that everyone will want, but some—myself included—will line up for it the day it is announced.

Basically, it will have only the Acros film simulation, and the same JPEG options as other X-Trans cameras (except no Color or White Balance). I can imagine Fujifilm offering a stronger Grain option than what’s currently available on the other models, and perhaps an Acros Hi and Acros Low, for higher or lower contrast rendering. I’d also like to see a lifted shadow option for a faded look. The X-Pan aspect ratio should absolutely be included. Otherwise, I don’t think too many modifications will be required to the menu.

Hopefully Fujifilm is already working on this. They should be, anyway, but they’re probably not. Ideally, it would be an X-Pro or X100 model, but at this point I’d take any, except for the X-S or X-H lines. Seriously, a Fujifilm X-Pro3 Acros Edition or X100V Acros Edition would be simply incredible! It would definitely catch people’s attention. If Fujifilm wants a WOW product, this is it right here.

Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe: Moody Monochrome

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Apocalyptic Pavillion – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Moody Monochrome”

Of the different faux filter options for Acros, +Y is the one I use the least. I think it goes back to my film days when I used color filters with B&W film. I would select Orange or Red before Yellow, because Yellow is fairly subtle, but the advantage of the Yellow filter is that it doesn’t block as much light. Of course, the faux filters on Fujifilm cameras don’t affect the exposure like real filters with film. Anyway, recognizing that I infrequently use Acros+Y, I set out to make a Film Simulation Recipe that uses +Y and produces an aesthetic that I like. I think it is important to challenge myself sometimes, so if there’s some setting or gear or option that I don’t use often, forcing myself to use it helps me to grow as a photographer. That’s why I made this recipe.

I wanted something with an overall darker curve, so that it would produce a moody look. Maybe deep blacks reminiscent of Tri-X, and maybe a push-process feel. I didn’t have any specific film in mind, but I’m reminded of this time that I push-processed a roll of Ilford Delta 400, but inadvertently got it wrong—I underexposed two stops, and only had the lab push it by one stop, so the pictures were largely underexposed, and they were darker and moodier (yet less contrasty and grainy) than I had intended. This isn’t exactly the same as that, but not too dissimilar, either, so that’s why I call this recipe Moody Monochrome.

Early Blossoms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Moody Monochrome”

Because this film simulation recipe uses Clarity, it is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. If you have an X-T3 or X-T30 or X-Trans III camera, ignore Clarity and Grain size, and use a diffusion filter, like a 10% CineBloom or 1/4 Black Pro Mist, to get similar results.

Acros+Y
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpness: -2
Clarity: -3
Grain Effect: Strong, Large 
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Off
White Balance: Fluorescent 3, -4 Red & -9 Blue
ISO: 3200
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Moody Monochrome” Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

Stop West – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Watch For Falling Bikes – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Sun Beams – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Tower in the Middle of Nowhere – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Path Through The Grass – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Wetland Boardwalk – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Wetland Grass – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Creek in the Trees – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Creek, Stick & Vines – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Log Above The Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Grey Brush – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V
Cat on a Log – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Fujifilm Noir

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Photographer Omar Gonzales made a video about turning your Fujifilm X camera into the Fujifilm Noir, a dedicated black-and-white camera. This post will make much more sense if you watch the video first, so take a moment to do that right now if you haven’t already done so.

Did you watch it? Don’t read anything below until the video is finished!

Done? Okay, let’s move on.

I made my own Fujifilm Noir camera using my X-T30. I have the silver version, so gaffer tape didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the new label that I wanted to attach to the front. I asked my daughter to create something using paper and pencils that might better match the camera. For those wondering, these labels are available for $25 each (only kidding, of course). And, yes, gluing a paper label to a camera is much less heart-stopping than sandpapering a camera.

The Fujifilm Noir camera.

My Fujifilm Noir is an X-T30 with an Asahi Super-Takumar 55mm f/2 attached to the front. I screwed an 1/2 Black Pro Mist filter to the lens (not pictured, sorry) to further enhance the film-like aesthetic. I shot the camera in manual mode using a black-and-white film simulation recipe that I created just for this project. What’s the film simulation recipe? Well, you’ll find it below!

Acros+G
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +1
Grain: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Toning: 0
Sharpening: -4
Noise Reduction: -4
White Balance: 2500K, +9 Red & +9 Blue
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to +2/3 (typically)
ISO 3200

This film simulation recipe was actually an experiment (from when I was creating my B&W IR recipe) that I didn’t love, but I thought it was good enough to use here. I won’t make it an official recipe, this is simply a bonus for you. Feel free to use it in your own photography, as it’s compatible with all X-Trans III and IV cameras. It reminds me of Kodak BW400CN, a black-and-white film that used the C-41 (color) development process. These settings weren’t intended to look like that film, but that’s what it reminds me of.

Kodak BW400CN was not likely ever a popular choice for Noir photography. Noir is French for Black, and Noir photographs are often dark and moody, inspired by 1940’s through 1960’s monochrome crime movies. This recipe isn’t especially Noir, but I used it anyway. There are probably ten different film simulation recipes that are more appropriate for Noir than this one.

I didn’t follow all of Omar’s rules. I shot RAW+JPEG, but only because I used a 2GB memory card, which has enough space for 27 exposures. On a 24-exposure roll of film, you could typically get 25 or 26 frames on it if you were careful. 27 exposures was possible but not commonly achieved (outside of disposable cameras). To make this more of a film-like experience, I used the 2GB SD Card to limit myself to a maximum of 27 exposures, and I refused to change the “film” (recipe) until I had exposed the card. I deleted the RAW files and just used the out-of-camera JPEGs. I got the memory card idea from Fuji X Weekly reader Josh Gagnon.

All of the pictures below were from the first 27-exposure “roll” of “Kodak BW400CN” that I captured using my “Fujifilm Noir” camera. Yes, they’re all camera-made JPEGs, unedited except for some minor cropping here and there.

Smile – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Lamp Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Girl, Drawing – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Tortilla Flour – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Drink – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Top Ten – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Building Stack – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Building Tree – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
The Nature of Structure – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Campus Skateboarder – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
One of You – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
$5 Pizza Bus – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Fallen Tree at the Capital – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Fallen Tree – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm Noir
Tree & Stormy Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm Noir

Not bad for one “roll” of “film” on my “Noir” camera, right?

Now the ball is in your court! Turn your Fujifilm X camera into a Fujifilm Noir camera and shoot some black-and-white pictures with it! I don’t have any specific rules, but try to give yourself some limitations because limitations improve art. I enjoyed the 2GB card thing. Share with me your Noir pictures using #fujixweekly on Instagram. Let me know in the comments if you like this project and what you think of this “Kodak BW400CN” film simulation recipe!

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Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Black & White Infrared

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

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Stop Here on Infrared – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100V – “Black & White Infrared”

Infrared photographing is capturing light beyond the visible spectrum. It requires special film, or a digital sensor that has had the infrared filter removed. Any digital camera has the potential to be infrared sensitive, but the process isn’t easy or cheap. Full spectrum photography is similar to infrared, but also includes ultraviolet and visible light (not just infrared light). With full spectrum photography you can choose by the use of filters which light you want to capture. You can use filters with infrared, too, to control what light comes through, but not to the extent of full-spectrum. A characteristic of both infrared and full-spectrum in black-and-white is deep contrast, with dark skies and white foliage. One of my favorite photographers is Mitch Dobrowner, who converted his Canon cameras to full-spectrum for dramatic monochrome storm photography.

When I purchased my Fujifilm X-T1, I had the intentions of converting it to full-spectrum, but the cost of the conversion has prevented me from doing it. I still hope to do so, maybe later this year or perhaps next year. We’ll see. But I figured out a way to simulate something that’s in the neighborhood of infrared or full-spectrum on my Fujifilm X100V without any conversions. In the right light and with the right subject, it can be quite convincing! Even though you are only using the visible spectrum of light, it can appear as though you are actually doing infrared photography. Amazing!

Even in situations where this recipe doesn’t resemble infrared or full-spectrum, it will still produce a dramatic, high-contrast look that you might find appealing. Those who have said that Acros+R doesn’t actually resemble the use of a red filter on black-and-white film will appreciate these settings. Many landscape photographers, including Ansel Adams, employed a red filter to achieve a dark sky (for example, Moonrise Over Hernandez).

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White Tree Black Sky – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Black & White Infrared”

The trick is to use a low Kelvin white balance in conjunction with a dramatic white balance shift when using Acros+R. I got the idea from Fuji X Weekly reader James Clinich, who uses between 3800K and 4500K with a 0 Red & +8 shift to achieve a darker sky, which is something you can apply to other B&W recipes if you’d like to better mimic the use of a red filter. I just took his idea a step further to make it even more dramatic for this recipe.

My Black & White Infrared film simulation recipe can be difficult to use. I find that it doesn’t always work well. It can be very tough to gauge the best exposure, and I’ve had to go anywhere from -1 to +3 on the exposure compensation dial to get it right. It’s one of the more difficult to use recipes that I’ve created, yet it is highly rewarding. If you like dramatic black and white photographs, you’ll want to give this one a try! As of this writing, it’s only compatible with the Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4 cameras.

Acros+R
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +3
B&W Toning: 0
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Clarity: +5
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Off
White Balance: 2750K, -5 Red & +9 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Black & White Infrared film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

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Crafts & Hobbies – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Cloud Above The Wall – Draper, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Flags Over IKEA Infrared – Draper, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Pinnacle – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Suburban Abstract – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Suites – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Paved Paradise – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Accessible Parking – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Done Shopping – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Soda Glass – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Couch Stripes – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Flowers in the Sky – Big Sky, MT – Fujifilm X100V

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Grey Hills – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

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Abandoned Dream Infrared – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

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Abandoned House by the Hill IR – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

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Henry’s Fork River – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

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Upper Red Rock Lake IR – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

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Red Rock Road Monochrome – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

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Aspen Leaves Infrared – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Illuminated Tree – West Valley City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Infrared Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

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Fujifilm X100V Silver   Amazon   B&H

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Making Color Pictures Using Acros, B&W Toning & Multiple Exposures

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

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This is a combination of 8 B&W Exposures with different color toning applied to each.

The Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4 cameras have a new tool for toning black-and-white pictures in-camera. I mentioned in my article about this new toning feature that there’s the potential to get creative with it, especially when combined with multiple exposure photography. I thought that it might be possible to create color pictures using the Acros film simulation, B&W toning and multiple exposures. This is certainly an unusual use of those tools! A sturdy tripod is a requirement for this experiment.

On my X100V, there are 1,368 possible colors to tone B&W pictures, but I concentrated on the more bold options. To make this work, the best results are found in the +/- 15-18 range. My camera has four multiple exposure options: Additive, Average, Bright and Dark. Additive and Average won’t work for this project because it muddies the colors. Bright and Dark will work, and they work similarly. For Bright, the camera compares the exposures and chooses only the brightest pixel at each location; for Dark, it chooses the darkest pixel. I found that one option typically works better than the other, depending on the scene. You could get creative and adjust the exposure of each image to control which colors are chosen; however, I didn’t do that for these pictures.

At first I tried using just three exposures: one with Toning set to WC -18 MG 0 (Blue), one set to WC +18 MG -18 (Red), and the other set to WC 0 MG +18 (Green). This worked alright, but there are not any in-between colors. The transitions from one color to the next are harsh. Still, I was able to create color pictures this way.

After a little experimenting, I decided that eight exposures worked better (you can combine up to nine). In addition to the Toning described in the previous paragraph, I added one with WC 0 MG -18 (Magenta), WC -18 MG -18 (Purple), WC -18 MG +18 (Teal), WC +18 MG +18 (Yellow), and WC +18 MG 0 (Orange-Red). This made the color transitions a little less harsh, but it’s still not ideal. The pictures look strange and nothing like “normal” color photographs. I also tried reducing some colors to as low as +/- 15 (instead of 18) in an attempt to control the outcome a little, but it’s hard to know what you’ll get until you’ve made all eight exposures.

The results remind me of some cross processing experiments that I did a number of years ago. You can get weird results, depending on the film and process. The toned B&W multiple exposures on my X100V loosely resemble the “worst” cross-processing results from those analog experiments years ago. This isn’t something that I’d want to do all of the time, but it was fun nonetheless. Most people will never try this, but a few of you will. I can see someone doing an abstract photography project using this technique.

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I used three exposures for this picture.

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Another three exposure picture.

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This is an eight exposure image.

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Another eight exposure picture.

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I used eight exposures for this picture. 

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Another eight exposure picture.

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Eight exposures. The wind moved the grass between exposures.

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This is another eight exposure image.

I never really thought that I’d be creating color images from black-and-white in-camera. The results aren’t especially great, so it’s not really a practical thing, more gee-whiz. I do believe, with practice and experimentation, it’s possible to get better results. I hope that you found this article interesting, and perhaps even a few of you were inspired to do your own experiments.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

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Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Kodak Tri-X 400

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

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Leaves in the Forest – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200 – “Kodak Tri-X 400”

The number one black-and-white film simulation recipe that I’ve been asked to create is Kodak Tri-X 400, but I’ve never been satisfied with my own attempts. Thankfully for you, Fuji X Weekly reader Anders Lindborg (Instagram) was able to do it! This is brilliant, and I’m sure you’ll love it. It’s the only B&W recipe I’m using on my Fujifilm X100V right now.

Kodak introduced Tri-X in the early 1940’s, and in the 1950’s they began selling it in 35mm format. Ever since, it has been the “standard” high-ISO black-and-white film for photographers. It’s been made in ISO 160, 200, 320 and 400 versions; this recipe is based on Tri-X 400. Kodak re-engineered Tri-X 400 in 2007 with finer grain and lower contrast, but it’s still nearly identical to the old stock.

Anders actually made three recipes in one: low-contrast, mid-contrast, and high-contrast. Tri-X, like most films, can be made more contrasty or less contrasty based on how it’s developed (chemicals used and/or development times) or printed (contrast filters). The recipe further down this article is the mid-contrast version. For low contrast, set Highlight to -1 and Shadow to +2. For high contrast, set Highlight to +1 and Shadow to +4. This film simulation recipe was designed for the X-T3 and X-T30, but I changed a couple of things for the X100V: I set Clarity to +4 (which isn’t available on the X-T3 and X-T30) and Grain to Strong & Large (on the X-T3 and X-T30, Grain is set to Strong). Because it adds contrast, setting Clarity to +4 actually makes this look more like the high-contrast version. If you are using this on the X100V, X-Pro3 or X-T4, feel free to try all three contrast versions, with or without Clarity, to see which you like better. For X-Trans III cameras, which don’t have Color Chrome Effect, you can still use this recipe; while it won’t look exactly the same, it will still look very similar. In other words, even though the title says “Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe” you can actually use it on any camera with the Acros film simulation—I’ve tried it on an X-T30 and X-T20, and it looks great!

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Forest Edge – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600 – “Kodak Tri-X 400”

I found that this recipe looks best when set to ISO 1600 or higher. From ISO 1600 to 3200, the results more resemble newer Tri-X 400 film. From ISO 6400 to ISO 12800, the results more resemble older Tri-X 400 film. I want to give a big thank-you to Anders Lindborg for creating this recipe, sharing it, and allowing me to publish it here—you are appreciated! Thank you!

Acros (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: 0
Shadow: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +1
Clarity: +4
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Off
White Balance: Daylight,+9 Red & -9 Blue
ISO: ISO 1600 – 12800
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Tri-X 400 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

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Fallen Trunk – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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The Forest – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Light in a Dark Canopy – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Sunlight & Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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Monochrome Backlit Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Drops on a Window – Fruit Heights, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Half Leaf In The Road – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Footstep – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Barrier – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Corner Benches – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 6400

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Drinking Fountains – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Feel Like A Kid Again – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Walking at an Amusement Park – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 1600

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Waiting at the Exit – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Diagonal Light Boy – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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FED 5c Film Camera – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Coffee Grounds in a Filter – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Rainbow Feet on the Floor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Girl in Zebra Shirt – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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Rainy Day Siblings – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Level Up – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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Wet Leaf in the Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 5000

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Wet Tree Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Leaf of a Different Color – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Emptiness – Roy, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Empty Boxes in an Abandoned Home – Roy, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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Nobody’s Home – Roy, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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White Truck – Roy, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 3200

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Dead End Night – Roy, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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Trolley Bus – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

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Wrong Way – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X100V – ISO 12800

See also:
Film Simulation Recipes
Tri-X Push-Process Film Simulation Recipe

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

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Fujifilm X100V Silver   Amazon   B&H

Help Fuji X Weekly

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Cyanotype Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

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Ball Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Cyanotype”

Cyanotype is an early photographic process that produces blue prints. It was invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, and was popular in Victorian England. The chemicals needed are simple: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanid. It’s a contact process, so positives have to be placed right over the paper. Sunlight or UV light is required for the exposure. Cyanotypes are pretty simple, and anyone can do them at home.

I thought it would be fun to make a film simulation recipe to mimic cyanotype prints. Fujifilm X-Trans IV cameras have the ability to tone black-and-white pictures, either warm or cool. By toning the pictures blue, I was able to get in the neighborhood of cyanotype photography. Unfortunately, going all the way cool, which is -9 on toning, is only marginally blue enough to pass for cyanotype. Still, this was a fun experiment. If you are bored, why not give it a try yourself?

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Blue Blossom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Cyanotype”

Acros
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +3
Shadow: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Toning: -9
White Balance: Auto
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Cyanotype” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Orbit – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Caged Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Blue Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Succulent Blue – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Light Bulb Blues – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Stems – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Welcome – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Daffodil Blue – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Falling Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Post & Wire – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Threatening – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Growth in the Rocky Place – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Studying Blues – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

Help Fuji X Weekly

Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There's a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Monochrome Kodachrome Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch


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Light on the Wall – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Monochrome Kodachrome”

Kodachrome was a black-and-white film. No, really, it was! The color dyes were actually added during development. The process to develop Kodachrome color transparencies was complex and toxic. As demand for the film decreased and Kodak experienced financial troubles, both the film and the chemicals to develop it were discontinued. If you still have some undeveloped Kodachrome film sitting around, there’s absolutely no place in the world that can process it; that is, except as black-and-white negatives. It’s true: Kodachrome can be developed to this day as a black-and-white film!

While I think that this recipe does more-or-less mimic the look of Kodachrome developed as black-and-white, that’s not necessarily the intent of it. This recipe began as an experiment by Fuji X Weekly reader Thomas Schwab, who created the Urban Vintage Chrome recipe. He took my Vintage Kodachrome recipe and replaced the Classic Chrome film simulation with Acros, Monochrome and Sepia, and the results were quite interesting! I made a couple of minor adjustments to create this recipe. This is definitely a joint effort, and it wouldn’t exist without Thomas Schwab’s experiments and willingness to share the results. Thank you!

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Window & Blinds – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Monochrome Kodachrome”

What I like about this Monochrome Kodachrome film simulation recipe is that it has a great film-like quality to it. This recipe pairs especially well with vintage lenses (I used an Asahi Super-Takumar 28mm for about half of these pictures). Even though it says “Fujifilm X-T30” in the title, it can be used on any X-Trans III & IV camera. You can also use this same recipe with the Monocrome+R film simulation, for a slightly different result.

Acros+R
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +4
Shadow: -2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +1
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Toning: 0
White Balance: AWB, 0 Red & +9 Blue
ISO: Auto, ISO 3200 to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Monochrome Kodachrome film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Roman – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Cleaning Cart – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Fake Potted Plant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tree Shadow on a Brick Wall – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Small Bridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Rural Road – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Monochrome Mountain Landscape – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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B&W Reeds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tennis Swing – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Engaged In Television – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Little Jo – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Hand Washing – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Faceless – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Muffins – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pronto! – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Daylight Balanced – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

Help Fuji X Weekly

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Split-Toned B&W Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch


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Vintage Bolsey Camera – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Split-Toned B&W”

While creating my “Bleach Bypass” film simulation recipe, which requires double exposures, I also discovered how to split-tone black-and-white pictures in-camera using double exposures. Split toning was originally a darkroom technique where one would give their black-and-white print a bath in two different toning chemicals, which resulted in shadows and highlights having two different colors. There are many different ways to split tone and many different potential results. This Split-Toned B&W recipe loosely mimics the aesthetic of ferrocyanide toning (blue) with diluted sepia (reddish-brown). You can get similar results very easily with software, but it’s fun to achieve a split tone effect straight out of camera.

For this recipe, you’ll capture the first exposure as normal. I find that increasing the exposure by 1/3 to 2/3 stop over what you might normally do produces better results. For the second exposure, photograph blue paper. I used an 8.5″ x 11″ medium-blue construction paper for my pictures. I like to purposefully make the second exposure out of focus, although I’m not sure that it matters much if you do. You can control the strength of the blue tone by how bright the second exposure is. The darker the exposure, the less blue there will be and the less faded the picture will appear. The brighter the exposure, the more blue there will be and the more faded the picture will appear. It’s fun to experiment with this, because you can vary the look significantly by how you expose the second image. If you want the highlights to be warmer, simply increase the tone of the first exposure to be more warm, or even use the Sepia film simulation instead of Acros. You could use a different color paper, or even use a cool tone instead of warm on the first exposure, if you wanted. You could really play around with this and come up with all sots of different looks.

Exposure 1
Acros
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +4
Tone: +6 (warm)
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Grain: Weak
Sharpening: +1
Noise Reduction: -4
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 (typically)

Exposure 2
Velvia
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +4
Color: +2
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Grain: Weak
Sharpening: +1
Noise Reduction: -4
White Balance: Auto, 0 Red & 0 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -1 to -3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Split-Toned B&W film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Open Blinds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Ocean – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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White Faux Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Monochrome Floral Arrangement – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Lily Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Throw Pillows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Dirt Play – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Girl In The Sunlight – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

Help Fuji X Weekly

Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There's a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!

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Fujifilm Monochrome

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

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Mountains Dressed In Monochrome – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Leica recently announced the M10 Monochrom, which is their third black-and-white only camera. It can’t capture a color picture because it doesn’t have a Bayer array. It only does black-and-white photography. Fujifilm should do something similar, even though most won’t buy it.

Believe it or not, there’s actually an advantage to a monochrome sensor. With a typical Bayer color array, only 50% of the light-sensitive sensor elements are recording luminosity information, while the other 50% are recording color information. With an X-Trans sensor, 55% of the light-sensitive sensor elements are recording luminosity information while 45% are recording color information. With a monochrome sensor, 100% of the light-sensitive sensor elements are recording luminosity information. Because of this, you get a higher perceived resolution, as pictures will appear more richly detailed, and there’s more shadow latitude, which also improves high-ISO capabilities. You can also use color filters like with black-and-white film.

I think an X-Pro3-M, a black-and-white only version of the X-Pro3, or an X100V-M, a black-and-white only version of the upcoming X100V, would do well enough commercially. Yes, it’s clearly a niche product, as there’s only a tiny market for it, yet Leica found a way to make it profitable, and Fujifilm could, too. There are plenty of photographers who use their X-Pro or X100 series camera to only shoot black-and-white. A Monochrome version would make things simpler for them, while improving perceived resolution, dynamic range and high-ISO. And, Fujifilm has a cool marketing angle: call it the X-Pro3 Acros or X100V Acros. People would eat that up. Increase the price a couple hundred dollars and it would sell well enough to be profitable, in my non-expert opinion.

The flip side to this is that Fujifilm X-Trans cameras, particularly X-Trans III and IV cameras that have the Acros film simulation, are already fantastic for black-and-white photography. Would a monochrome-only camera really produce enough of an improved image to justify buying one? I think that’s a tough question to answer, but my guess is probably not for most people. Still, a monochrome-only camera wouldn’t be for “most people” as it would be for a very small crowd, and for those people the difference would indeed justify buying it. For most, your current X-Trans camera is a great black-and-white photography tool, and there’s no need to get a monochrome-only camera. Some, however, would absolutely love to have one, and I think there’s enough of those people that such a camera could be profitable for Fujifilm, if they ever wished to create one. I hope they do.

Photoessay: Suburban B&W

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

You might think that you live in a boring neighborhood. You might think that there’s nothing of interest to photograph where you live. You might think that you have to go somewhere to capture good photographs. This photoessay is intended to debunk that. I live in a boring suburban neighborhood, but I have still made an effort to walk the sidewalks with my camera in hand. This particular collection features some recent black-and-white images that I’ve captured in the neighborhood where I live. In the past I’ve shared many pictures captured in my neighborhood, so these are far from the only ones or even the best ones–they are simply ones that I have not posted on here before. I hope that this article inspires you to get out into your local area with your camera, even if “getting out” is just a short trip around the block.

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Home Peek – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

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Shadow Maker – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

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Suburban Pathway – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

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Monochrome American Flag – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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Geo – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Pentax Auto-Takumar 55mm f/2.2

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House Work – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

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Alaskan Engineer – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

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Ray Above The Roof – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

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Hill Behind The Homes – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

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Curious Cow – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

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Grey Fence – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 35mm

Comparing Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch


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I shoot JPEGs, but it’s not uncommon for me to shoot RAW+JPEG, since it gives me the opportunity to reprocess the picture in-camera, which is helpful when developing different film simulation recipes. Because of this, I was able to process a single picture I captured recently on my Fujifilm X-T30 using many of my different recipes to compare the differences. I thought that this might be helpful to some of you. Perhaps there’s one recipe that stands out to you in the pictures below that you’ve never used. Obviously different settings look better in different situations, and in this article there’s just one picture to compare, so even though you might not like how one recipe looks in this article doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t like it with different subject and in a different light. The scope of this article is quite limited, but I hope that seeing the various film simulation recipes applied to a single exposure is helpful to someone.

Not every recipe was used for this post. Some of them require a specific parameter that was not available. For example, the picture at the top was made using my HP5 Plus Push-Process recipe, which requires an ultra-high ISO, so it wasn’t possible to apply it to the exposure below. Other recipes, such as my faded color and faded monochrome, require double exposures. There are other film simulation recipes that you could try not represented below, and I invite you to investigate the different options to see if there’s one or more that work well for your photography. Let me know in the comments which film simulation recipe is your favorite and which in your opinion fits the exposure below best.

Color

B&W