FUJI X WEEKLY

A Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV cameras that is almost always number one in these lists.

#3:

A Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV cameras that is almost always number two in these lists.

#4:

McCurry Kodachrome

Another Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV cameras. It was published in January, and was ranked #3 last month.

#5:

Reggie’s Portra

Again, a Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV cameras. It was ranked #4 last month.

#6:

Kodak Portra 800 v3

A recently published Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV and X-Trans V cameras.

#7:

Kodak Portra 400

Another Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV cameras. This was often ranked at #3 for a very long time, and was #5 last month.

#8:

Again, a Classic Chrome based Recipe for X-Trans IV and X-Trans V models. Was ranked #6 last month.

#9:

By far the most popular B&W Recipe, Kodak Tri-X 400 is based on the Acros film simulation, and has compatibility X-Trans III, X-Trans IV, and X-Trans V models. It was ranked #10 last month.

#10:

Vintage Kodachrome

A Classic Chrome based Recipe that is compatible with X-Trans III cameras. This is almost always the most popular X-Trans III Recipe, and has been around for a very long time. It was ranked #7 last month.

#11:

Pacific Blues was the highest-ranked Classic Negative based Recipe in 2023. It’s compatible with X-Trans IV models (there is an X-Trans V version). Last month it ranked #9.

#12:

This is the X-Trans V version of Kodachrome 64. It was ranked #24 last month.

#13:

This is the X-Trans V version of Kodak Portra 400 v2. It was ranked #18 last month.

#14:

Kodak Portra 400

The original Kodak Portra 400 Recipe, compatible with X-Trans III cameras. It was ranked #12 last month.

#15:

Classic Chrome

This was the very first Film Simulation Recipe on Fuji X Weekly, and is compatible with X-Trans III cameras. It was ranked #14 last month.

#16:

Kodak Portra 160

Another Classic Chrome based Recipe, Kodak Portra 160 is compatible with X-Trans IV cameras. Last month is ranked #13.

#17:

Agfa Ultra 100 v2

A newly published Recipe for X-Trans V models that is based on the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation.

#18:

The original CineStill 800T Recipe, intended for X-Trans III cameras. It is based on the PRO Neg. Std film simulation, and was ranked #15 last month.

#19:

Kodak Gold 200

Another Classic Chrome based Recipe for use on X-Trans III models, plus the X-T3/X-T30 (there’s a new version for X-Trans V). Last month is was ranked #11.

#20:

Vintage Eterna

Vintage Eterna is based on the Eterna film simulation, and is compatible with X-Trans IV and V models, plus the X-H1. This is its first appearance on the list.

#21:

A Classic Negative based Recipe that’s compatible with X-Trans V cameras (there’s also an X-Trans IV version). It was ranked #25 last month.

#22:

Kodak Ultramax 400

Yet another Classic Chrome based Recipe, compatible with X-Trans IV cameras (there’s an X-Trans V version). It was ranked #19 last month.

#23:

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

This used to commonly be in the Top 10, but it has been slipping in popularity lately. It’s based on Classic Chrome, and is compatible with X-Trans III models (there’s an X-Trans IV version). It was ranked #16 last month.

#24:

Fujicolor Superia 1600

A newly published Recipe for X-Trans V cameras (there is a version for X-Trans IV that’s been around awhile), Fujicolor Superia 1600 is based on the Classic Negative film simulation.

#25:

Kodak Max 800

Lastly, there’s Kodak Max 800, another Classic Negative based Recipe that’s compatible with X-Trans IV cameras. It was ranked #20 last month.

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

The first 7 Film Simulation Recipes to use in your Fujifilm X100VI

So you purchased a Fujifilm X100VI, but you’re not sure which Film Simulation Recipes to program into your camera’s C1-C7 Custom Presets first. Well, let me help with that! I’ve got just the seven Recipes for you to try. If you have any other X-Trans V camera, this set will work for you, too.

Like film, many Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases where they work best. The majority are intended for sunny daylight situations; however, they can sometimes work really well in other scenarios, too. For example, I’ve gotten great results pairing Kodak Portra 800 v3 with flash for indoor photography, even though it was intended for sunshine. This set is meant to provide you with at least one Recipe that will work great in nearly any light situation and with almost every imaginable subject.

It’s important to note that everyone has different tastes and preferences. Your style might be different than mine. If you don’t like one or more of these seven Film Simulation Recipes, no problem. Simply try the suggested alternatives until you do. Perhaps you won’t like Kodachrome 64, but you’ll love Kodak Gold 200. Or maybe you’ll love both Reala Ace and Timeless Negative. The only way to know for sure is to give them a try! You can pick any from the X-Trans V list, and I’m always making more.

Don’t know how to program Film Simulation Recipes into your camera? Click here to find out how.

Now, to the first seven Film Simulation Recipes to program into your Fujifilm X100VI (or any X-Trans V camera) first!

C1 — Kodachrome 64

Classic Kodak slide film aesthetic that’s great for sunny daylight situations. Alternatively, consider Kodachrome 25, Kodak Gold 200, or Kodak Negative.

C2 — Kodak Portra 400 v2

This is the Recipe for a Kodak color negative film look, and it’s perfect for golden hour photography. Alternatively, consider Kodak Portra 160 v2, Kodak Vision3 250D v2, or Agfa Ultra 100 v2.

C3 — Kodak Portra 800 v3

Kodak Portra 800 v3

With warm summer-like analog colors, this Recipe is great for sunny daytime situations. Alternatively, consider Vibrant Arizona, 1970’s Summer, or Kodak Vericolor Warm.

C4 — Pacific Blues

The perfect Recipe for a sunny day at the beach, yet surprisingly great for other situations, too. Alternatively, consider Fujicolor Superia 100, Thommy’s Ektachrome, or CineStill 400D v1.

C5 — Reala Ace

Reala Ace

Great for versatility, use this Recipe anytime of the day or night. Alternatively, consider Kodak Ultramax 400, 1976 Kodak, or Timeless Negative.

C6 — Fluorescent Night

Fluorescent Night

Use this Recipe for after-dark photography. Alternatively, consider Pushed CineStill 800T, Fujicolor Super HG v2, or Superia Xtra 400.

C7 — Kodak Tri-X 400

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

Classic B&W aesthetic with strong grain and good contrast. Alternatively, consider Ilford FP4 Plus 125, Kodak T-Max P3200, or Ilford HP5 Plus 400.

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes in January 2024

*Icy Morning at the Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor C200 v2

This time, however, I was a surprised by many of the rankings. The top two—Kodachrome 64 and Kodak Portra 400 v2—did not surprise me at all. Those particular Recipes are far-and-away the most popular. Third place, which made this list despite being so new (released towards the end of the month), is a good deal behind the top two. Reala Ace is now the most popular Classic Negative Recipe, edging out Pacific Blues. Kodak Vision3 250D is the only Recipe that uses Eterna, and Kodak Vision3 250D v2 is the only one that uses Nostalgic Neg.. There’s also only one PRO Neg. Std Recipe and one Acros, while five use Classic Negative and 16 (of the 25) use Classic Chrome. By far the most popular X-Trans II Recipe is Classic Kodak Chrome, which ranks 21st. Fujicolor C200 v2 is the only App Patron Early-Access Recipe that I’ve ever seen make it into one of these lists.

Without any further delay, below are the most popular Recipes of last month!

Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes of January 2024

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Kodak Vision3 250D v2

#18:

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Posted on January 16, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

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

White Balance & Film Simulation Recipe Versatility

Which Film Simulation Recipes are the most versatile? What makes a particular Recipe especially versatile, anyway? What does White Balance have to do with any of it? These are questions that I get asked pretty regularly, so I thought I would answer them today.

Let’s start with White Balance, including White Balance Shift. In the analog days, with a few exceptions, film was either Daylight-balanced or Tungsten-balanced. Daylight-balanced film, as you can imagine, was intended for use in sunny daytime scenarios, with a Kelvin temperature around 5500-5600K. Tungsten film was intended for artificial light scenarios, with a Kelvin temperature around 3200K. Because film was made for one of two specific light situations, you had three basic options for use outside of those scenarios: 1) accept the results for what they are, 2) use Color Correction Filters to adjust the Kelvin temperature to more closely match the light, or 3) use lighting equipment to artificially make the light match the film.

*Fujifilm X100V — Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled*

Digital cameras have a large number of White Balance options, which, when combined with WB fine-tuning (Fujifilm calls it WB Shift), can match the precise light that you are photographing in. If the White Balance is exactly correct for the light, things that are pure white in real life will appear pure white in the photograph, no color tint. But, just because the White Balance is technically correct, doesn’t mean that it is artistically correct. Nobody said that the White Balance must always be spot-on accurate—maybe you don’t want it to be, for aesthetic reasons. In fact, in the film days, it was quite common for the Kelvin temperature to be a mismatch for the light, at least a little. Kodak—the most popular film maker—was known for making emulsions with a warm color cast. In other words, achieving a perfectly accurate White Balance, which wasn’t particularly common until somewhat recently, might not be desirable. However, in the digital age with Auto White Balance, we’re often used to having a highly accurate White Balance in our photographs, and seeing it not spot-on accurate can perhaps be a bit unnerving, especially if it is pretty far off.

Many of the Fuji X Weekly Film Simulation Recipes are facsimiles of actual film stocks, and often that means using a fixed White Balance. Unless you have Color Correction Filters or are artificially lighting the scene to match the White Balance (both of which are unlikely), if the scene’s light is a mismatch for the Recipe, you can get undesirable results sometimes (just like with film). My best advice is to use a Film Simulation Recipe that is a match for the scene. For example, Fluorescent Night might be a better choice for nighttime photography than 1970’s Summer, since the former is more like Tungsten-balanced and the latter is more like Daylight-balanced. Sometimes the best Recipe for a particular light situation might be obvious, and other times it might not be, and trial-and-error is necessary to figure it out—my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series is intended to help out with this.

Not all of the Recipes use a fixed White Balance; instead, some call for Auto White Balance. Newer Fujifilm cameras actually have three AWB options: Auto White Priority, Auto, and Auto Ambience Priority. White Priority leans cooler in artificial light than standard Auto, while Ambience Priority leans a little warmer in artificial light. All three AWB options are intended to produce reasonably accurate White Balances in all light situations. Because of this, Recipes that use AWB tend to be a lot more versatile than Recipes with a fixed White Balance, since you can use them in all sorts of light situations, and not just one. This is much less film-like, but perhaps can be equated to carrying a bunch of different Color Correction Filters with you all of the time. The easiest way to find my Film Simulation Recipes that use AWB is to Filter By White Balance (available to App Patrons) in the Fuji X Weekly App.

White Balance and WB Shift are probably the largest factor in determining the versatility of a particular Recipe, but it’s far from the only factor. Film Simulation, Dynamic Range, Highlight and Shadow, Color, etc., all play a role. One Recipe that uses AWB might be more versatile than another that also uses AWB, and some Recipes that use a fixed White Balance can be surprisingly versatile. However, what one person likes might be different from another, since each person has their own unique tastes. I might like a particular Recipe for a specific scenario, but you might dislike it for that exact same situation.

The pictures in this article were all captured with Film Simulation Recipes that use AWB and that I find to be especially versatile. Use them anytime of the day or night, in any light situation, and for any subject. If you want a versatile option to program into your Fujifilm camera, those are ones to consider. But they are far from the only versatile Recipes, and they might not be the best, either. If one of them stands out to you, I definitely invite you to try it.

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

Fujifilm X-T5 in black:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X100V in black: Amazon   B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X100V in silver: Amazon B&H  Moment

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 6: X-Trans I

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Sunset Branch* – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro1 – Color Analog

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3/X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II

I frequently get asked: which seven Film Simulation Recipes should I program into my camera first? I’ve published over 300 on this website and in the Fuji X Weekly App, and the choices can become overwhelming. I’ve attempted to help out with this dilemma several times, including the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series, Try These 3 Film Simulation Recipes No Matter Your Fujifilm Camera, The 10 Best Film Simulation Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly App, Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes of 2023, and many others. My hope is that these types of articles help you to find some good Recipes to try, in case you’re not sure where to begin or what to use. This post is Part 6 of the series, and the final installment.

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans I cameras, which are the X-Pro1, X-E1, and X-M1 (the X-M1 doesn’t have the PRO Neg. Hi and PRO Neg. Std film sims, so it is a bit more limited; it doesn’t have C1-C7, either). If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.

*Arched Window* – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro1 – Kodachrome I

A couple of important side notes here. First, this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases—such as sunny daylight—so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Also, X-Trans I models cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. Since X-Trans I was excluded from the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series, I decided to take WB Shift into account for this article, and choose Recipes with a variety of WB types. This will make the user experience more enjoyable, but it does exclude some Recipes that might be preferable over others, since I’m avoiding multiple Recipes with the same WB type. For the 7th Recipe, use Daylight/Fine instead of Auto; by doing so, you’ll still get a similar result, and, since the two Daylight WB Recipes share the same WB Shift, you’ll be good to go.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans I camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome II — Auto WB

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

C2 — Punchy Velvia — Daylight/Fine WB

Punchy Velvia

C3 — Color Negative Film — Kelvin WB

Color Negative Film

C4 — Superia Xtra 400 — Shade WB

Superia Xtra 400

C5 — Vivid Color — Fluorescent 1 WB

Vivid Color

C6 — Provia — Incandescent WB

Provia

C7 — Sepia — *Use Daylight/Fine WB (instead of Auto)*

Sepia

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 5: X-Trans II

*Purple Mountains* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1 – Classic Kodak Chrome

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3/X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 6 — X-Trans I

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans II cameras, which are the X100S, X100T, X-T1, X-T10, X-E2, X-E2s, X70, X20, X30, XQ1, and XQ2. A few of the older models—X100S, X20, and XQ1—don’t have Classic Chrome, so I have a set of Recipes at the bottom that exclude the Classic Chrome film simulation. To complicate it more, I don’t believe that either of the XQ models have PRO Neg. Hi or PRO Neg. Std (but they also don’t have C1-C7). If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.

*Indoor Tree* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1 – Provia Negative

A couple of important side notes here. First, this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases—such as sunny daylight—so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Be sure to visit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article for a more comprehensive group of options for various use cases. Also, X-Trans II models cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. The suggestions below do not take this into account; however, the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article does, so be sure to read it.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans II camera first:

C1 — Classic Kodak Chrome

Classic Kodak Chrome

C2 — Kodachrome II

C3 — Kodak Portra 160

Kodak Portra 160

C5 — Ektachrome 100SW

Ektachrome 100SW

C5 — Pro Film

Pro Film

C6 — CineStill 800T

C7 — Monochrome Red

Monochrome Red

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans II camera first (without Classic Chrome):

C1 — Porto 200

Porto 200

C2 — Color Negative Film

C3 — Astia

C4 — Eterna

C5 — Pro Film

C6 — CineStill 800T

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

C7 — Monochrome Red

Monochrome Red

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 4: X-Trans III

*Last Warm Light on Wasatch Front* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – Negative Print

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3/X-T30, Part 5 — X-Trans II, Part 6 — X-Trans I

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans III cameras, which are the X-Pro2, X100F, X-T2, X-T20, X-E3, and X-H1. If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.

*Follow the Bird to Salt Lake* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – Cross Process

A couple of important side notes here. First, this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases—such as sunny daylight—so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Be sure to visit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article for a more comprehensive group of options for various use cases. Also, X-Trans III models cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. The suggestions below do not take this into account; however, the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article does, so be sure to read it.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans III camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome II

C2 — Vintage Kodachrome

Vintage Kodachrome

C3 — Classic Chrome

Classic Chrome

C4 — Fujicolor Superia 800

Fujicolor Superia 800

C5 — Everyday Astia

Everyday Astia

C6 — CineStill 800T

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

C7 — Agfa Scala

Agfa Scala

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Creative Collective 062: FXW Zine — Issue 26 — January 2024

Happy New Year!

The January issue of FXW Zine is out now! Creative Collective subscribers can download it today. Not a Creative Collective subscriber? Join to gain access to this issue plus all pervious issues of FXW Zine and the many bonus articles.

In Issue 26, I discuss 24 Film Simulation Recipes that I anticipate using often in 2024. There are 77 pictures (including the cover) over 54 pages. Enjoy!

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 3: X-T3 & X-T30

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Vintage Sunset* – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Kodacolor

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II, Part 6 — X-Trans I

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for the X-T3 and X-T30. Fujifilm left these two models on an island (didn’t give them the same JPEG options as the other X-Trans IV models), so that’s why they get their own article. If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.

*Evening at Monument Valley* – Monument Valley, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30 – Velvia

A couple of important side notes here. First, this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases—such as sunny daylight—so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Be sure to visit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article for a more comprehensive group of options for various use cases. Also, the X-T3 and X-T30 cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. The suggestions below do not take this into account; however, the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article does, so be sure to read it.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-T3 or X-T30 camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome 64

C2 — Kodak Portra 400 v2

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

C3 — Kodak Gold 200

Kodak Gold 200

C4 — Kodacolor

Kodacolor

C5 — Fujicolor 100 Industrial

Fujicolor 100 Industrial

C6 — Velvia v2

Velvia v2

C7 — Dramatic Monochrome

Dramatic Monochrome

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 2: X-Trans IV

*Spooner Cove* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 3 — X-T3 & X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II, Part 6 — X-Trans I

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans IV cameras (except for the X-T3 and X-T30, which will be found in Part 3). If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.

*Airstream* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – Chrome Slide

An important side note here: this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases—such as sunny daylight—so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Be sure to visit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article (this one, too) for a more comprehensive group of options for various use cases.

This list is for X-Trans IV cameras (except for the X-T3 & X-T30), which include the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II. The X-S20’s exclusion is a bit controversial because it has an X-Trans IV sensor paired with the X-Trans V processor, but since it seems to render more similar to X-Trans V than X-Trans IV, and has the X-Trans V JPEG options, it’s not in this list, but with the X-Trans V cameras.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans IV camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome 64

C2 — Kodak Portra 400 v2

C3 — Reggie’s Portra

Reggie’s Portra

C4 — Vibrant Arizona

C5 — Pacific Blues

C6 — Fujicolor Superia 100

Fujicolor Superia 100

C7 — Kodak Tri-X 400

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 1: X-Trans V

*Golden Aspen* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Gold 200

Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3 & X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II, Part 6 — X-Trans I

This is Part 1 of what will be a series of articles on this topic. I actually attempted to do this back in the summer, but got sidetracked, and never made it beyond the first post. So those with an X-Trans V camera get a little bonus. My hope is to make it all the way through X-Trans I, so if you have an older model, don’t worry—we’ll get to your camera soon.

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans V cameras. If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.

*Left the Lights On* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fluorescent Night

An important side note here: this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases, such as sunny daylight, so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Be sure to visit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? for a more comprehensive list of options for various use cases.

This list is specifically for X-Trans V cameras, which (as of this writing) are the Fujifilm X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20. The X-S20 is a bit controversial to be included here because it has an X-Trans IV sensor paired with the X-Trans V processor, but since it seems to render more similar to X-Trans V than X-Trans IV, and has the X-Trans V JPEG options, it is included in this list. Also, use this list for the upcoming X100V successor, once it comes out (in February or March, most likely). Next up in this series is X-Trans IV.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans V camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome 64

C2 — Kodak Portra 400 v2

C3 — Vibrant Arizona

C4 — Pacific Blues

C5 — 1970’s Summer

1970’s Summer

C6 — Reala Ace

Reala Ace

C7 — Kodak Tri-X 400

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Helping You Decide Which Film Simulation Recipes to Choose

*Golden Autumn Trees* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Ektar 100 Recipe

There are over 300 Film Simulation Recipes on this website and the Fuji X Weekly App. Having so many options to choose from is great, because no matter your style there’s bound to be at least one that you love, and different Recipes are sometimes best in specific situations. The only problem with having all these options is that sometimes it’s hard to know which ones to choose. There can be a paralysis of choice, or, at the very least, it can seem overwhelming.

But not to worry, I’m here to help! Over the last year I’ve been publishing articles to help with this specific problem—to be a guide of sorts through the many Recipes. There’s no comprehensive list (nor should there be, I think) of when to use each option, because whether or not a particular Recipe is great for a specific scenario is subjective. I might like one, but you might dislike it. However, I can provide some direction—something that I have been attempting to do over the last 12 months.

The problem with my method, though, is that it’s easy for my articles on this subject to get lost in the shuffle. So I thought it would be helpful to round them up, and put them into one place. That’s the intention of this article.

First up is my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series. If you only open one article, that’s the one to choose. I think it’s probably the most helpful out of all of them in this post. You might appreciate many of the others, too, so I would encourage you to click on more than one article to read, especially if the number of Film Simulation Recipes feels overwhelming to you, or you’re just not sure where to begin. I hope this helps with that, and you’ll have a little more confidence choosing some to program into your camera.

*Evening Charge* – Santa Rosa, NM – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipe

Which Film Simulation Recipe, When?
Part 1 (X-Trans IV)
Part 2 (X-T3 & X-T30)
Part 3 (X-Trans III)
Part 4 (X-Trans II)
Part 5 (X-Trans V)
Summer Edition (X-Trans IV)

*Working* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Vision3 250D Recipe

Elevating Your Street Photography with Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes + 5 Recipes to Try Today!

*More Than Double Wide* – Arlington, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1970’s Summer Recipe

Using Film Simulation Recipes to Recreate Vintage Looks — 10 Recipes to Try Today!

*Motel* – Panguitch, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe

Five Film Simulation Recipes Every Social Media Influencer Should Try on Their Fujifilm X100V

*Abandoned & Trashed* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Reala 100 Recipe

Try These 5 Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes Today for a Color Negative Film Look

*Ghosts of the Past* – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm XF10 – Classic Chrome Recipe

Try These 3 Film Simulation Recipes, No Matter Your Fujifilm Camera (almost, anyway) + When To Use Them!

*Spiderwebs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Pacific Blues Recipe

5 Film Simulation Recipes every Fujifilm X-T5 Photographer Should Try

*Sentinel & Merced* – Yosemite NP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Vintage Color Recipe

The 10 Best Film Simulation Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly App

*Garden Spiderweb* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – GAF 500 Recipe

7 Film Simulation Recipes for Ultra-High-ISO Photography

*Evening Hoop* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – Muted Color Recipe

7 Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes for Photographing Basketball Hoops

*Backlit Lupine* – Sun City, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Thommy’s Ektachrome Recipe

Fujifilm Recipes for Spring Flower Photography

*Night Statue* – Jackson Hole, WY – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T Recipe

10 Must Try Film Simulation Recipes for Night Photography

*Pink Blossom Bush* – San Diego, CA – Fujifilm X-T5 – Emulsion ’86 Recipe

Top 7 Best Nostalgic Neg. Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm X-Trans V Cameras

*Boat Shack at Sunset* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fujicolor Super HG v2 Recipe

8 Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes for Those Hot Summer Nights

*Argus 520 Camera* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Max 800 Recipe

Getting that ’90’s Film Look with Fujifilm Cameras

*Arizona Barn* – Sedona, Arizona – Fujifilm X-T5 – Vibrant Arizona Recipe

The First 7 Film Simulation Recipes to try on your Fujifilm X-Trans V camera

*Autumn Aspen* – Big Arm, MT – Fujifilm X100V – Vintage Vibes Recipe

10 Vintage Film Simulation Recipes You Should Try!

*Rose Budding* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodachrome Blue Recipe

5 Amazing Film Simulation Recipes (that few are using…)

*Coastal Sunset Colors* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Reggie’s Portra Recipe

Comparing 6 Kodak Portra Film Simulation Recipes

*Mountain Pines at Sunset* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Reala Ace Recipe

Five Fantastic Film Simulation Recipes that are Versatile

*Autumn in a Mountain Meadow* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 100

I used THESE 7 Film Simulation Recipes for Fall Colors on my Fujifilm X100V

*First Dance* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled Recipe

Using Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes for Wedding Photography

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Help Support Fuji X Weekly!

Nobody pays me to write the content found on the Fuji X Weekly blog. There’s a real cost to running this website. I also put a lot of my own time into writing the posts. If you’ve found something on Fuji X Weekly helpful to you and you’d like to give back, this is a good place to do it. You can donate to this blog using PayPal by clicking below. I appreciate it! Thank you for your support! Please do not feel obligated to give, but do so only if you want to.

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Using Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes for Wedding Photography

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Fujifilm X100V — Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipe*

I’m not a wedding photographer, although I have photographed a few weddings in the past as a favor to family and friends. Since I’m always carrying a camera around, I’m occasionally asked to capture someone’s wedding, but it’s not my thing. While I have a lot of photography experience, I have limited experience as a wedding photographer.

I don’t envy those in this genre, because it’s a lot of work. The wedding photographer is often one of the first to arrive at the venue, and one of the last to leave, because every moment—from setup to reception’s end, and especially every instance in-between—is worth recording. There are so many memorable moments throughout the day, and the photographer’s job is to capture as many as possible, including every single of the big ones. Then there’s all the culling and editing. I would estimate that for every hour spent capturing pictures, I’d need two to three hours at the computer to edit the images. If I photographed for 12 hours, that would mean 24 to 36 hours of post-processing. Yikes!

Because Film Simulation Recipes can save you a whole bunch of time, it’s not surprising that I’ve been asked a number of times which ones might be good for wedding photography. Whether you’re a professional, or just doing it as a favor, or as a guest, Recipes are much more efficient, and cutting the culling and editing down to a reasonable time is highly appealing. I haven’t photographed a wedding since I began using Recipes, so it’s been difficult to recommend specific ones. Without personal experience, I’ve only been able to guess which ones might do well.

Last month I was invited to Marisa and Sahand Nayebaziz‘s wedding in Laguna Beach, California. Sahand is an app developer—if you’ve ever used the Fuji X Weekly App, Ricoh Recipes App, or RitchieCam App, you’ve seen his handiwork. His own app is called Details Pro, and if you are familiar with SwiftUI, you’ve probably heard of and maybe even used his app. Anyway, I’ve worked with Sahand for three years now, and he has been a significant part of the Fuji X Weekly story. He shoots with Fujifilm cameras and uses Film Simulation Recipes, so naturally we have developed a friendship. It was a real honor to be invited to Marisa and Sahand’s marriage ceremony.

The wedding was incredibly beautiful! Aside from the breathtaking location and the perfect weather, the event was decorated so well. It was literally like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was like a movie, except it was real!

My wife and I were guests. I brought my Fujifilm X100V—with a 10% CineBloom filter on the front—and did my best to stay out of the way. I wanted to photograph the wedding, but there’s nothing more annoying to the wedding photographer—and perhaps also the bride and groom—than to get in the way by being pushy with the camera. It’s much better to just blend into the crowd. I wasn’t the wedding photographer, and was quite satisfied with that arrangement; however, I still wanted to capture some images. Funny story, the wedding photographer, who was using a couple of Leica models, asked me several questions about my X100V; apparently he’s interested in buying one for his personal photography. Although I tried to blend in, my camera caught his attention, but I think in a good way.

My approach was to focus on things that I thought the wedding photographer might overlook. Of course, I had no idea what the photographer would or wouldn’t capture, but I know how easy it is to miss small things when your attention is on big things. I did my best to photograph those potentially missed pictures, while drawing as little attention to myself as practical. Also, I think the perspective of the guests can be a little different than that of the wedding crew, so I approached it as such.

The Fujifilm X100V is a great camera, but the fixed-focal-length lens is limiting. That’s not always a bad thing, but it did make it challenging in this case because I was sometimes further away than I needed to be to get the shots that I wanted. The digital teleconverter was utilized more often than usual—in a pinch it works well, but I avoid it when I can.

I had two Film Simulation Recipes in mind for the wedding, but I wasn’t sure until I got there if they would be good choices. It was a daylight outdoor wedding, and for those pictures I used my Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipe, which is a favorite of both Sahand and myself, so it made a lot of sense to try it. That Recipe worked excellent, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. For the indoor reception pictures, I used the Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled, which is soft and versatile—perfect for the situation.

Kodak Portra 400 v2 is a Film Simulation Recipe that I’m now happy to recommend for outdoor daylight wedding photography. Some others to consider are Kodak Portra 400, Reggie’s Portra, Timeless Negative, Reala Ace, Fujicolor Reala 100, Fujicolor Superia 100, Fujicolor C200, Fujicolor Pro 400H, and Fujicolor Natura 1600. I’m sure many others could work, too. Of course, which one you should choose will depend on the exact light condition and the aesthetic you desire. Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled is a Recipe that I’m happy to recommend for indoor wedding photography. Fujicolor Super HG v2, Eterna v2, Reggie’s Portra, Reala Ace, and Timeless Negative are some others to consider. You might notice that a few Recipes are in both categories, and that’s because they’re more versatile. In fact, Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled could also be a good option for sunny daylight situations. Kodak Tri-X 400 would be my top choice for black-and-white.

I just picked two Recipes, but if I was the photographer (and not a guest), I would have seven options ready to go in my C1-C7. I would select two for sunny outdoors, two for indoor, two for versatility, and one B&W. Something like Kodak Portra 400 v2 and Fujicolor Superia 100 for outdoors, Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled and Fujicolor Super HG v2 for indoors, Reggie’s Portra and Reala Ace for versatility, and Kodak Tri-X 400 for monochrome. Then, I’d test each one at the venue, and decide at that point which ones I want to use—perhaps just three or maybe four of them—and stick with those few, unless the light changed and an adjustment was needed.

The photographs in this article are about 1/3 of the total that I gave to the bride and groom. Because I used Film Simulation Recipes and didn’t edit (aside from some cropping), the culling and post-processing took minutes, and not hours and hours. These were bonus pictures for them, hopefully complimenting the wonderful photographs that the actual wedding photographer captured. Marisa and Sahand seemed to like them. If you are considering using Film Simulation Recipes at an upcoming wedding, I hope that this article provides you with some direction. If you’ve used Recipes at a wedding, let me know in the comments which ones you used and how they worked out.

Kodak Portra 400 v2

Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled

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

Fujifilm X100V in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X100V in silver: Amazon B&H Moment
CineBloom Filters: Moment

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Let’s talk about 3 Killer Film Simulation Recipes… Tomorrow!

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

Tomorrow, myself and Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry will be discussing live on YouTube three “killer” Film Simulation Recipes. This will be a special episode of SOOC Live, with a divergent format and on an abnormal date.

This season, our broadcasts have been (with a few exceptions) the first and last Thursday of each month—the first episode introduces a theme and the second finishes the discussion. So far, we’ve talked about Street Photography, Storytelling, AI, Travel Photography, and Black & White. This month there’s only one episode, and it’s right in the middle of the month, on September 14 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, 1:00 PM Eastern. I hope that you can join us. As always, it’s an interactive show, and your participation makes it better.

I’ve included the video below, so that you can easily locate it tomorrow. You can also find it on the SOOC Live YouTube channel. See you tomorrow!

Comparing 6 Kodak Portra Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Sunset Photography* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Portra 400 v2

Some of the absolute most popular Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras are those that mimic Kodak Portra film. I have a number of Recipes that are modeled after Portra, and with so many choices it can be difficult to know which ones to program into your camera. I thought I’d take this opportunity to compare six of them, with the hopes that it will help you decide. There are actually several more Portra-inspired Recipes than the six here, but I chose to compare these because they’re all X-Trans IV Recipes compatible with my Fujifilm X100V, the camera I used to capture them on a recent trip to the California coast.

Kodak introduced the Portra line in 1998, with two ISO 160 versions, two ISO 400 versions, and an ISO 800 emulsion (plus a short-lived ISO 100 Tungsten film, for those keeping score). Portra saw a couple of updates by Kodak, and in 2010 the two ISO 160 versions were merged into one, as well as the two ISO 400 versions. The film has become iconic, with its warm yet natural colors. As the name implies, it was meant for portrait photography, but is popular for many genres.

*Laguna Coast* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Portra 400 v2

One film can produce all sorts of various looks, depending on a host of factors, including how it was shot, developed, printed and/or scanned. The Kodak Portra 400 and the Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipes are very similar, but they were modeled after two different photographer’s Portra film pictures, and so their rendering varies just a little. Kodak Portra 400 leans a little more towards red-orange, while Kodak Portra 400 v2 leans a little more towards yellow-green. Kodak Portra 400 Warm, which is a modification of both Kodak Portra 400 Recipes, is intended to better replicate the results of Alex MacDougall’s Portra-Style presets. To create Reggie’s Portra, Reggie Ballesteros modified my Kodak Portra 400 Recipe to better suit his style. Because it uses Auto White Balance and a slightly more neutral WB Shift, it is much better than the others in artificial light situations; also, because it has Clarity set to 0, it is the best option for fast photography (Clarity set to anything other than 0 causes a short “storing” pause). Kodak Portra 800 is the grainiest of these Recipes. To create Kodak Portra 800 v2, which is the least vivid of these six, Thomas Schwab captured side-by-side images with a Fujifilm X-Pro3 and an analog camera loaded with Portra 800 film.

While each of these Portra-inspired Film Simulations Recipes are different—some only slightly so, others more significantly so—they all produce a distinct Portra-like aesthetic. Looking at the results, it’s easy to understand why these are popular options! Because they are a little different from each other, you can find the one that most closely matches your style. Or you can choose different ones for various scenarios. Perhaps you prefer something like Kodak Portra 400 for sunsets, Kodak Portra 400 Warm for midday light, Kodak Portra 800 v2 for soft portraits, and Reggie’s Portra for indoor pictures. If you’ve never tried any of these Recipes, be sure to pick at least one to program into your camera today!

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Kodak Portra 400

Kodak Portra 400 v2

Kodak Portra 400 Warm

Reggie’s Portra

Kodak Portra 800

Kodak Portra 800 v2

The First 7 Film Simulation Recipes to try on your Fujifilm X-Trans V camera

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

I get asked somewhat regularly which Film Simulation Recipes one should try first. Perhaps you just purchased your first Fujifilm camera, or maybe you’ve had one for awhile but have never tried Recipes before—with so many to choose from (there are now 300 Film Simulation Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly App!), it can be hard to know where to start. Which Recipes are essential to program into your camera right away?

Everyone has their own tastes and style, so what one person might love another might not. That’s why it’s great to have such a wide variety to choose from—there’s bound to be at least a few that you’ll appreciate. Options are good up until the point where there are too many, and it becomes difficult to decide. I don’t want you to be paralyzed by choices, so let me suggest seven to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets first. You might love all of them, or you might find that only one or two suit you well. Either way, these are ones that you should definitely try.

This will be a series of articles. The first one, which you are reading now, is for X-Trans V models, and I’ll work my way through the other sensors in the parts to come. If you have a Fujifilm X-H2, X-H2s, X-T5, or X-S20, I invite you to program the Film Simulation Recipes below into your camera.

There are a couple of special notes about the X-S20. First, it has an X-Trans IV sensor but an X-Trans V processor, so it’s a bit iffy if it should be included in this list or with the X-Trans IV cameras; however, reports I have received indicate that, due to its rendering and options, it best fits in the X-Trans V category. Second, the X-S20 has only four custom presets and not seven, so pick the four below that are the most intriguing to you, and once you’ve had a chance to try those, then replace your least favorite with another from this list.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at seven Film Simulation Recipes to program into your Fujifilm X-Trans V camera first!

Kodachrome 64

Kodachrome 64 was a classic slide film, and it’s become a classic Film Simulation Recipe. It’s very popular, and it would be a shame to not include it—in fact, I put it first for a reason. This is one of those Recipes that everyone should try! It produces a retro 1970’s through 1990’s slide film aesthetic reminiscent of the pictures found on the pages of magazines like National Geographic. For best results use in sunny daylight; however, it can be decent in other situations, too, like overcast, shade, and blue hour.

Kodak Portra 400 v2

This Recipe mimics the aesthetic of one of Kodak’s most-loved color negative film stocks: Portra 400. As the name implies, it’s especially well suited for portraits, but it is also good for many genres of photography. Kodak Portra 400 v2 is another Film Simulation Recipe intended for use in sunny daylight situations, and it’s my favorite option for golden hour images.

Fujicolor Super HG v2

Fujicolor Super HG v2 produces a 1980’s Fujifilm color negative film vibe, which is notably divergent from the aesthetic of the first two suggested options. Perhaps more importantly, this Recipe is highly versatile, and can be used for almost any subject or light—including overcast, indoor artificial light, and nighttime cityscapes—where some other Recipes might be less than ideal. If you are after one option that can do it all, take a look at this one.

Pacific Blues

The Pacific Blues Film Simulation Recipe is specifically intended for a sunny summer day at the beach, which it is absolutely incredible for, but it’s surprisingly good for other situations, too. I’ve had great success with it on dreary overcast and foggy days. I’ve used it for portraits. I’ve used it for natural light indoors. It’s definitely not always the best Recipe for a given situation, but it often does quite well, and sometimes the pictures it produces are just stunning.

1970’s Summer

1970’s Summer

If you want a vintage vibe from your photographs, 1970’s Summer is for you! It produces a New American Color aesthetic that will transport you back in time 50 or so years. For best results, use in sunny daylight—this is a great option for when the sun is high in-between the two golden hour periods. This Recipe isn’t particularly versatile, but when it works it’s absolutely incredible.

Vibrant Arizona

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

Vibrant Arizona mimics the Wes Anderson look that’s in-style right now. It’s bright, warm, and colorful. This Recipe is intended for use in sunny daylight, especially harsh midday light. It’s not always the best option, but in the right situations it’s wonderful.

Kodak T-Max P3200

Kodak T-Max P3200

It would be a shame not to include a black-and-white Recipe in this list, so we’ll conclude with Kodak T-Max P3200, which is not only a great monochrome option, but is also excellent for high-ISO photography. If the light is getting dim and you need to bump the ISO up a bit, this is a great one to use. Or if you want classic B&W pictures with grain and good contrast, the Kodak T-Max P3200 Film Simulation Recipe will produce that for you.

Coming soon: the next installment in this series!

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

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

Fujifilm X-T5 in black:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-H2:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-H2S:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-S20:  Amazon  B&H  Moment

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Top 7 Best Nostalgic Neg. Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm X-Trans V Cameras

*Duck Pond* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1970’s Summer Recipe

The new Nostalgic Neg. film simulation found only on the latest Fujifilm cameras is becoming quite popular! A lot of people really seem to love the aesthetic of it. All X-Trans V models, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2, X-H2s, X-T5, and X-S20, have Nostalgic Neg., as well as a couple of GFX cameras (GFX100S and GFX50S II). Classic Chrome is the most-used film sim by a large margin, followed distantly by Classic Negative and Acros, but currently there’s a lot of interest in the new option.

According to Fujifilm, Nostalgic Neg. is based on “American New Color” photography of the 1970’s. They studied photographs by William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld, and Richard Misrach in order to create it. Eggleston and Sternfeld largely shot on Kodachrome—II and X in the early 1970’s, 25 and 64 in the late ’70’s—while Shore shot mostly Kodacolor, and Misrach shot a lot of Vericolor. All of those are Kodak emulsions, but with different aesthetics. These four photographers had different styles and different darkroom processes, and they each had a unique look; the commonality that Fujifilm found was an “overall atmosphere based on amber.” That’s a basic explanation of what the new film simulation is. While not mentioned by Fujifilm, I think Nostalgic Neg. also has some similarities to photographs by Saul Leiter and Joel Meyerowitz. Leiter used a whole bunch of different films over the years, including Kodachrome and Anscochrome, but apparently he didn’t mind using generic drug store brands, either. Meyerowitz mostly shot a mix of Kodachrome and Ektachrome for his color work. Nostalgic Negative is a divergent approach for Fujifilm, I think, in that it is not intended to mimic a certain emulsion (or the “memory color” of a specific film stock), but instead tries to mimic the “memory color” of a certain decade (the 1970’s), or perhaps simply elicit a nostalgic emotional response.

A lot of various looks can be made using the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation. Because it is largely intended to mimic a retro Kodak aesthetic, it’s a good starting point for Kodak-esque Film Simulation Recipes. While some of my Recipes that use Nostalgic Neg. are intended to replicate a specific stock, most of them are not, and instead are more reminiscent of a certain time or era instead of a specific emulsion; however, some of those were made from studying pictures captured on specific films, so they do tend to resemble actual film stocks to an extent.

I get asked which Nostalgic Neg. Film Simulation Recipe one should try first on their X-Trans V camera. There are plenty to choose from, and the list is growing. Since your camera has seven custom presets (with the exception of the X-S20, which only has four), I would like to suggest the seven Nostalgic Neg. Recipes below. Choose one or two or even all seven to program into your camera, and give it a try! I bet at least one of them will become a new favorite Film Simulation Recipe that you find yourself using often.

1970’s Summer

The 1970’s Summer Film Simulation Recipe very much has a nostalgic Kodak “memory color” (as Fujifilm likes to say) that is reminiscent of old color photographs from the 1970’s. You might notice some similarities to William Eggleston’s Election Eve and 2 1/4 series and some of his other work from the late-1960’s through the mid-1970’s—not every picture, but certainly several. You might spot some similarities between this look and some of Stephen Shore’s photographs from the early-to-mid 1970’s. I think there are some similarities to a few of Joel Sternfeld’s American Prospects pictures. There’s a noticeable likeness to several of Richard Misrach’s desert photographs. In other words, 1970’s Summer produces a distinct American New Color aesthetic with a clear 1970’s vibe. This recipe works best in sunny daylight, and is excellent for midday photography.

*Going Out of Business* – Prescott, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1970’s Summer

*Short Train* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1970’s Summer

*More Than Double Wide* – Arlington, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1970’s Summer

Summer of 1960

I found the December 1960 issue of Arizona Highways in a used bookstore. It has page after page of amazing photography! I really love the look of the pictures in this particular issue—while not every image looks alike, there is definitely a commonality to the photo aesthetic. For those who don’t know, Arizona Highways is a magazine with an important history. It began in 1925, and in 1946 published the world’s first all-color publication. From the beginning, Arizona Highways has been dedicated to the art of photography. Ansel Adams was a regular contributor. Barry Goldwater, Ray Manley, Chuck Abbott, David and Josef Muench, Ed Ellinger, Esther Henderson, and many other talented photographers were often featured. The publication is full of wonderful images even to this day. While it is not purely a photography magazine, Arizona Highways is a publication that photographers love due to their passion for the medium.

The vast majority of the pictures in the December 1960 issue were captured on Ektachrome, and fair number were shot on Kodachrome. While it was the December issue, most of the photographs had been captured that previous summer. The Summer of 1960 Film Simulation Recipe mimics the aesthetic of the those images, including the magazine photo below, made by Chuck Abbott in July 1960 using Kodachrome.

*Agaves in 1960* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Summer of 1960

*Saguaro Spines* – Tucson, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Summer of 1960

*Agua Caliente Pond* – Tucson, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Summer of 1960

Emulsion ’86

When I was six-years-old, my family and I went to Expo ’86 World’s Fair in Vancouver, Canada. Not long ago I found many old pictures of that event—personal, in books, and online. The Emulsion ’86 Film Simulation Recipe is highly reminiscent of some of those photographs, producing a nostalgic analog aesthetic that is similar to some pictures from the mid-1980’s (presumably primarily Kodak emulsions). While it is a good option for sunny daylight photography, I especially like how this one looks on dreary overcast days.

*Old California Architecture* – San Diego, CA – Fujifilm X-T5 – Emulsion ’86

*Don’t Climb on the Bikes* – Oceanside, CA – Fujifilm X-T5 – Emulsion ’86

*Pink Blossom Bush* – San Diego, CA – Fujifilm X-T5 – Emulsion ’86

Kodak Negative

The Kodak Negative Film Simulation Recipe isn’t intended to mimic any specific emulsions; instead it has a “memory color” similar to some Kodak films, like Royal Gold, Gold 100, and Ektar 100. It’s not an exact match to any of those, but just in the general ballpark with a warm and vibrant Kodak color negative film palette. Because it uses Auto White Balance, the Kodak Negative Recipe is fairly versatile and can be used for many subjects and lighting situations.

*Three Oranges* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Negative

Lake Lamp – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Negative

*Water & Reflection* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Negative

Thommy’s Ektachrome

Thommy’s Ektachrome was made by Thomas Schwab, who was simply trying to make a Recipe using the Nostalgic Neg. film sim that would be good for portraits. The Recipe he created has a distinctive Ektachrome aesthetic, especially similar to National Geographic photographs prior to Ektachrome’s discontinuation by 2013 (prior to the revival in 2018). That was, of course, by chance and not intentional, but there certainly are some similarities. This Recipe is not only good for portraits, but also landscapes and I’m sure many genres of photography. Thommy’s Ektachrome does particularly well in sunny daylight, but is good for overcast, shade, and natural-light indoors, too.

*Way Over That Way* – Tucson, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Thommy’s Ektachrome

*Wildflower Spring* – Sun City, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Thommy’s Ektachrome

*Historic Ranch House* – Tucson, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Thommy’s Ektachrome

Nostalgia Negative

I wasn’t trying to emulate any specific film or process when I created the Nostalgia Negative Film Simulation Recipe, I just wanted something that looked good. This was my very first X-Trans V Recipe, and it was simply an attempt to create a better Nostalgic Neg. than just using the default settings. I hoped that perhaps it would even evoke feelings of nostalgia with a vintage analog-like aesthetic.

*Two Ducks* – Lynx Lake, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Nostalgia Negative

*311* – Lynx Lake, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Nostalgia Negative

*Don’t Shoot* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Nostalgia Negative

Timeless Negative

The creators of the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation stated, “Nostalgic Negative is tuned for the best allrounder settings, but if you want to tweak it to get that classic American New Color look from the ’70’s, there are some adjustments you should make.” This Timeless Negative Film Simulation Recipe is a tweak to Fujifilm’s recommended settings, bringing it closer to a ’70’s vibe. This particular Recipe is especially versatile, and can be used for many different genres of photography and in various light conditions—it’s good for anytime of the day or night.

*Dark Coffee* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Timeless Negative

*Evening Bougainvillea* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Timeless Negative

*UnAmerican Experience* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Timeless Negative

Comparison

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Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment

Top 10 Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Two Caballeros* – Culleoka, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodachrome 64 Recipe

I’m always fascinated by which Film Simulation Recipes you are using. I get a glimpse on social media, but my best gauge is the website statistics; specifically, which Recipe articles are viewed the most. Two months ago I shared with you the Top 10 most viewed Recipe articles of 2022 plus the most viewed through the first two months of 2023, and I was surprised by a couple of the rankings. Looking at this two months later, I’m once again surprised by a few things, and not so much by most of it.

So far in 2023, seven of the ten—including the Top 3—Film Simulation Recipes are for X-Trans IV camera. From the data I have, the majority of people who shoot with Recipes are doing so on X-Trans IV models. Kodachrome 64 remains king of Recipes, Kodak Portra 400 v2 is a close second, and Kodak Portra 400 is solidly third. Vintage Kodak and Classic Chrome (the original Fuji X Weekly Recipe), which are both for X-Trans III cameras (plus the X-T3 and X-T30), hold the fourth and fifth spots. Kodak Tri-X 400, the only B&W Recipe on this list, is sixth. Those first half-dozen are all identical rankings to 2022.

Kodak Ultramax 400 didn’t make last year’s Top 10 list, but it did rank number seven through the first two months of this year, and it continues to hold that through April. The X-Trans III version of Kodachrome II dropped one spot, while the X-Trans IV version moved out of the Top 10 completely. Pacific Blues didn’t make the Top 10 last year, but is number nine so far in 2023, up one spot from two months ago. Reggie’s Portra also didn’t make the Top 10 last year, but now holds the last spot, down one from two months ago, switching places with Pacific Blues. Kodak Ektar 100 and Nostalgic Negative both fell out of the Top 10.

10 Most Viewed Film Simulation Recipes of 2023 (…so far)

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Now let’s look at April-only. How did the Film Simulation Recipes rank during those 30 days?

The big surprise is that Vibrant Arizona is number two. It’s a little complicated, because that article actually includes four Recipes—two for X-Trans IV and two for X-Trans V. Even though I published it only nine days ago, the Vibrant Arizona Recipe, which is intended to produce a Wes Anderson aesthetic, is being used a heck-of-a-lot right now! The only other surprises are that Pacific Blues moved up to number eight, while Kodak Tri-X 400 fell two spots to number nine and Kodachrome II fell two spots all the way to the bottom. The first seven Recipes, plus the last one, all use the Classic Chrome film sim, which is Fujifilm’s most popular.

10 Most Viewed Film Simulation Recipes of April

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

Fujifilm Recipes for Spring Flower Photography

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Vibrant Flowerbed* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Velvia Recipe

April showers bring May flowers, as the saying goes. Yes, it’s wildflower season already, and if you are not sure which Film Simulation Recipe to program into your Fujifilm camera to capture the colorful spectacle, this article should help with that. No matter which Fujifilm X-Trans camera you have, there’s a Recipe for you to try today!

This is far from a comprehensive list of Film Simulation Recipes that will work well for photographing spring blossoms. There are nearly 300 Recipes, and most of them could be a good choice, depending on the exact subject, lighting, and your style. This list is simply a selection of the ones that I personally like and can recommend to you. Feel free to try other Recipes not included in the list below. If I didn’t include your favorite Recipes for photographing spring flowers, let me know in the comments because I’d love to hear which ones you use. If you are not sure which Film Simulation Recipe to try, these recommendations should get you started.

X-Trans V

X-T5, X-H2, X-H2s

Thommy’s Ektachrome

Kodak Ultramax 400

X-Trans IV — Part 1

X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II

Vibrant Velvia

The Rockwell

X-Trans IV — Part 2

X-T3, X-T30

Velvia

Kodak Portra 400

X-Trans III

X-Pro2, X100F, X-E3, X-T2, X-T20, X-H1

Ektachrome E100GX

Everyday Astia

X-Trans II — Part 1

X100T, X-E2, X-E2s, X-T1, X-T10, X30, XQ2, X70

Kodak Color Negative

Classic Kodak Chrome

X-Trans II — Part 2

X100S, X20, XQ1

Color Negative Film

Fujichrome Slide

X-Trans I

X-Pro1, X-E1, X-M1

Color Negative Film

Color Analog

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and nearly 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

10 Must Try Film Simulation Recipes for Night Photography

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

Which Film Simulation Recipes are good for nighttime photography? With nearly 300 to choose from, it can be difficult to know when to use which Recipe. Almost all film emulsions are either Daylight-balanced or Tungsten-balanced; similarly, most Recipes are intended for daytime photography, and some are intended for nighttime photography. There are also some that, even though made for sunny conditions, still do well after the sun goes down. So let me suggest to you 10 Film Simulation Recipes that do well at night!

Depending on the exact light situation, some Film Simulation Recipes that are intended for daytime use will still look good at night, and other times they will produce a strong warm cast that you might not like. While adjusting the White Balance to better suite the situation is always an acceptable option (“season to taste” the Recipe), picking a Recipe that is intended for the light situation you are in is my preferred method. Like film, it’s better to pick the “right” one that matches the conditions you’ll be shooting in, but there’s no right or wrong way to do photography, so you’ll have to decode what works for you.

Of course, everyone has different tastes. There are some Recipes that you might love, and some that you might not. Your favorite after-dark Recipe might not be in this list, as it’s not comprehensive. There are certainly other Recipes that I have personally used and liked for nighttime photography; however, these are ones that I think are especially well-suited. A couple were tough cuts, and would certainly have been included if it was 15 Recipes and not 10.

If you are not sure which Film Simulation Recipe to use at night, try one of these!

Serr’s 500T

Jeff Davenport Night

Pushed CineStill 800T

Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten

Ektachrome 320T

Superia Xtra 400

Timeless Negative