Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Kodak Ultramax 400

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Empty Outdoor Seating – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Ultramax 400”

Ultramax 400 is Kodak’s consumer grade ISO 400 color negative film. Kodak has sold Ultramax 400 under many different names, beginning in 1987 with Kodacolor VR-G 400, rebranded Gold 400 one year later, called simply GC at one point, and finally, in 1997, Kodak settled on Ultramax 400. Kodak still sells Ultramax 400, although it’s not the same film as Kodacolor VR-G 400. This film has been tweaked and updated at least nine times over the years; however, the overall aesthetic is still substantially similar between all variations.

This recipe is a happy accident. I was actually working on a different Kodak film simulation recipe, and this was a failed attempt. But I liked how this one looked, so I made a minor adjustment, and created this recipe, which I determined looked a heck-of-a-lot like Ultramax 400. I didn’t intentionally create an Ultramax 400 recipe, but nonetheless here it is! Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

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Colorful Store Decor – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Ultramax 400”

For some of you this new recipe will be an instant favorite. I really love how it looks and plan to use it frequently. This one might be right up there with Kodachrome 64 and Portra 400 for favorite Kodak presets. A word of caution: it does require Clarity, which slows down the camera considerably. This film simulation recipe (as of this writing) is only compatible with the Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4 cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +1
Color: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: 0
Clarity: +3
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Auto, +1 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

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

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Road Construction – Clearfield, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Store Closing – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Urban Roses – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Summer Fruit Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Ripening Peaches – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Wood Barrel – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Table & Chair – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Library Lights – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Contemplation – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Blackberry Boy – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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End Table Succulent – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Math Books on a Table – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Kitchen Tools – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Quality Goods – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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75 – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Table Bloom – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Fake Tulips – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Fake Flowers in Window Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation: Kodak Portra 400

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Bridge Over Stream – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Portra 400”

This is a brand-new version of my X-T30 Kodak Portra 400 film simulation recipe, designed specifically for the Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4. My “old” recipe isn’t, in fact, old, as I published it only one month ago, but already I have improved on it, thanks to Fujifilm’s new tools, and also thanks to Fuji X Weekly reader Thomas Schwab, who helped tremendously refine the recipe to be more accurate to actual Portra 400 film. You see, he captured some pictures with Portra 400 film and made some identical pictures with his X-Pro3. After a few small changes, this new recipe emerged. It’s very similar to the X-T30 Portra 400 recipe, the differences aren’t huge, but it is subtly better in my opinion.

Portra 400 was introduced by Kodak in 1998, and was redesigned in 2006 and again in 2010. As the name implies, it’s intended for portrait photography, but can be used for many other types of photography. It’s similar to Portra 160, but with more contrast, saturation and grain. Believe it or not, ISO 400 was considered “high ISO” by many photographers back in the film days, and Portra 400 was one of the absolute best “high ISO” color films ever made. Like all films, results can vary greatly depending on how it’s shot, developed and printed or scanned, and even which version of the film you’re talking about.

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Backlit Forest Leaves – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Portra 400”

This new Portra 400 film simulation recipe requires the use of Clarity, which slows down the camera considerably. Fujifilm suggests shooting RAW and adding Clarity later, but I just use the pause to slow myself down. The use of Clarity also means that this recipe can’t be used on “older” cameras, only the X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4 (as of this writing), but feel free to apply the white balance shift of this recipe to the X-T30 version and see if you like it better.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -2
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Clarity: +2
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Daylight, +3 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

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

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Light Green Leaves – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Sunlight In The Tree – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Forest – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Creek Through The Trees – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Light on the Water – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Creek – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Big Green Leaf – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Sunshine & Tree Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Sunlit – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Stone & Blooms – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Jo Swinging – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Brother & Sister Driving – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Protect & Serve – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Seagull on a Lamp – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Stormy Reeds – 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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My Fujifilm X100V Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe

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Evening at a Pond – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V “Kodachrome 64”

The Fujifilm X100V has some new features, including Clarity and Color Chrome Effect Blue, that my X-T30 doesn’t have, despite sharing the same sensor. The more JPEG options that I have, the more accurately I can create in-camera looks. My hope is to revisit some of my film simulation recipes, and create what I hope are more accurate versions using the new features. The first one that I revamped is my Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe.

Many people love my Kodachrome 64 recipe, but not everyone. The biggest complaint that I’ve heard about it is that the reds aren’t vibrant enough. I don’t disagree with that, but there are always compromises when recreating looks in-camera because the tools available to me are limited. Of course, what Kodachrome 64 looks like depends on how you’re viewing it, whether projector, light table, scan, print, and how so. You can find some vastly different looking pictures that were captured on Kodachrome 64. For this revamped recipe, I spent some time studying the Kodachrome slides that I captured many years ago.

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Red Lights & Rain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V “Kodachrome 64”

While I feel that this is an improved Kodachrome 64 recipe, it’s still not perfect. Those who disliked how reds were rendered on the old recipe will certainly like this one better, but is it 100% exactly like the film? No. I think +2 Color might be too much, but +1 Color doesn’t render reds and yellows vibrant enough. If you prefer +1 Color, feel free to do that instead. There’s a little less contrast with this new version. Both of the Color Chrome Effects, the lower Dynamic Range setting, and Clarity add contrast, so I changed Highlight and Shadow to compensate. The X-T4 has .5 Highlight and Shadow adjustments, and I would set Shadow to +0.5 if I were using these settings on that camera (I hope that Fujifilm updates the X100V and X-Pro3 to allow this, too). I think it would be acceptable to use +1 Shadow, but I felt that was a tad too much, so I set it to 0. Despite not being perfect, I do feel that this version is a little more accurate to actual Kodachrome 64 film.

If you have an X100V, X-Pro3 or X-T4, I invite you to try this new-and-improved Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe. Be sure to let me know what you think! Here are a couple pictures comparing the two versions of this recipes:

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Original Kodachrome 64 recipe.

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New Kodachrome 64 Recipe.

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Original Kodachrome 64 recipe.

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New Kodachrome 64 recipe.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: 0
Shadow: 0
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +1
Clarity: +3
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Daylight, +2 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this new Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

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White Horse by a Stream – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Horses in the Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Curious Horse – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Country Tires – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Yellow Flowers, Blue Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Wishful Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Beer & Board – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Road Bicycling – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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All the World’s a Sunny Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Orders & Pickup – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Red, White & Blue Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Flag Up Close – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Reeds by the Water – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Evening Reeds – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Landscape Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Handlebar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Kodak Colors – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Half of an Orange – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Ground Beans – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Pallets – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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IHOP – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Cupcake – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Sitting on Concrete – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Spring Snow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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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My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodak Portra 400 Film Simulation Recipe

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Around The Bend – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Portra 400”

Portra 400, which is a color negative film, was introduced by Kodak in 1998. It was redesign in 2006 and again in 2010. As the name implies, it’s intended for portrait photography, but can be used for many other types of photography. It’s similar to Portra 160, but with more contrast, saturation and grain. Believe it or not, ISO 400 was considered “high ISO” by many photographers back in the film days, and Portra 400 was one of the absolute best “high ISO” color films ever made. Like all films, results can vary greatly depending on how it’s shot, developed and printed or scanned, and even which version of the film you’re talking about. Interestingly, Kodak briefly made a black-and-white version of Portra 400!

I’ve been meaning to revisit Kodak Portra 400 for some time now. As you may know, I already have a Kodak Portra 400 recipe, which I created two years ago, but it requires a difficult-to-achieve custom white balance measurement. I was never really satisfied with that recipe, even though it can produce interesting results. I have been eager to create a new Portra 400 recipe, and, In fact, I’ve tried a couple of times, but without success.

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Blue Sky Day – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Portra 400”

A Fuji X Weekly reader suggested to me that if I use my Kodak Portra 160 recipe, except increase Shadow, Highlight and Color by one, that should be pretty close to Portra 400. Indeed it is! I liked what I saw, but I played around with the settings more to see if I could improve on it. Turns out not much needed to be tweaked. I liked the results better with Color Chrome Effect set to Strong, but if you have an X-Trans III camera, which doesn’t have that feature, you can still use this recipe, but it will look slightly different. The only other change that I made was I set Grain to Strong.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -1
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
White Balance: Daylight, +4 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Portra 400 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Mountain in the Evening Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Reeds To The Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Jensen Pond – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Water Beyond The Trees – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Paved Trail – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Spring Green & White – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Fries in the Sky – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Royal Lunch – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Evening Suburban Home – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Boy in the Striped Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Boy Sitting – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sunlight Through The Pink Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pink Tree Bloom – 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 Kodacolor II 126 Film Simulation Recipe

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Blooming Pink – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodacolor II 126”

A Fuji X Weekly reader asked me to recreate the look of some old family prints from the 1970’s that he found. After some investigating, it was determined that the pictures were captured on an Instamatic camera using 126 film (also called Kodapak). 126 film was basically 35mm film, except with a paper back and no sprockets (like 120 film), and in a cartridge that didn’t need to be rewound (similar to 110 film). It was intended for low-budget point-and-shoot cameras, and the cartridge made loading and unloading film easier. Basically, Instamatic was Kodak’s attempt to open up photography to the masses, as it required little to no skill or photographic background. It was very popular in the 1960’s and ’70’s, and became less popular in the 1980’s. A quirk of Instamatic cameras and 126 film is that it captured square pictures.

It’s unknown what film was used on the pictures in question, but most likely it was Kodacolor II, which was by far the most popular color 126 film during the time that these pictures were captured. Kodacolor is a name that Kodak gave to a number of different color negative films going back to the 1940’s. Kodacolor II was the very first C-41 process film. It was introduced in 1972 and discontinued in 1981, replaced by Kodacolor VR, which is the film that my Kodacolor film simulation recipe resembles. The prints likely have some fading and color shifts due to age, but they appeared to be in good condition overall.

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Instamatic – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodacolor II 126”

This film simulation recipe, which I’ve called Kodacolor II 126, is a bit unusual in that it is supposed to mimic a look that came from cheap cameras. It calls for Image Quality to be set to Normal instead of Fine (I normally use Fine). The only other recipe that I’ve done this with is my Kodak Elite Chrome 200 Color Fade. I keep the ISO high on this recipe to make it look more grainy. While I’ve done that with several black-and-white recipes, this is the first time I’ve done it with color. This is also the only recipe that calls for the 1:1 aspect ratio, although feel free to use 3:2 or 16:9 if you’d like. These settings pair well with vintage lenses, and if you “miss” focus a little sometimes, well, that just makes it resemble Instamatic even more.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +3
Color: -4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Image Quality: Normal
Aspect Ratio: 1:1
White Balance: 6300K, +6 Red & +3 Blue
ISO: 3200 – 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Kodacolor II 126” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Polaroid Girl – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Lizard, Boy & Wall – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Boy in the Alley – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Two Cans – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Suburban House & Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Suburban Trees & Distant Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tree Top & Mountain Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Suburban April  – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Robot in the Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Heart & Soul – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Wreath & Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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White Paper – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Bowl on a Trike – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Hose & Elephant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Concrete Path – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Little Colorful Chair – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Summer Chair – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Day Dreaming – 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 Kodak Gold 200 Film Simulation Recipe

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Crown Burger – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Gold 200”

I’ve been asked countless times to create a Kodak Gold film simulation recipe. I’ve tried several times to make one, but I couldn’t get it quite right. Last week I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw a picture that I thought at first glance was captured using my Portra 160 recipe. It’s not unusual to see pictures that were captured using my different recipes, as some of them have become quite popular. It was an interesting picture, so I took my time looking at it, and as I did I thought that there was just too much saturation, contrast and grain for it to be my Portra recipe, yet it was still very similar. When I read the description I realized that the picture was captured with actual Kodak Gold 200 film! At that moment I knew that I could create a Gold recipe simply by modifying the Portra recipe.

Kodak Gold, which was introduced in the late-1980’s and is still around today, is a general purpose color negative film. It was originally called Kodacolor VR-G, then Kodacolor Gold, and finally Gold. It replaced Kodacolor VR. While the film has been improved a few times over the years, it still looks pretty much the same today as it did in the 1980’s. The film is prone to color shifts, and results can vary significantly depending on how the picture was shot, developed and printed or scanned.

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Flowing Farmington Creek – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Gold 200”

Even though this Kodak Gold film simulation recipe is very similar to my Portra recipe, it took many experiments to get it right. I tried different combinations of Highlight, Shadow and Color before settling on these settings. I adjusted the white balance shift several times before returning to the same shift as Portra 160. I feel that this recipe is a good facsimile to actual Gold film, although, like all recipes, it will never be exact, as it cannot account for all the variables. It’s pretty close, though, in my opinion. I want to give a special thank-you to Fuji X Weekly reader Piotr Skrzypek for creating the original Portra 160 recipe for X-Trans II, which allowed me to make one for X-Trans III & IV cameras, which in turn made this Kodak Gold 200 recipe possible. This recipe is compatible with X-Trans III & IV cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -2
Shadow: +1
Color: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: Daylight, +4 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Gold 200 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Space Communication – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sky Traffic – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Little Grass Runner – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pear Tree Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Spring Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tree Blossom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Backlit Pear Blossoms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pear Blossom Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Boy in Spring – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Branch & Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pear Blossom Reflection – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Phragmites – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Easy Feelin’ – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Girl in the Backyard – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Stages of Tulip Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Crescent Tulips – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Floral Decor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Cheese – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Grill & Chill – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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No Door Dash in the Drive Thru – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Corner – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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KFC – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Everette Brown – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Outside 7-Eleven – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sunlight Through The Trees – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tree Trunk Above the Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Boulder Above the Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Father & Son Fishing in Farmington Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Fishing in Farmington Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Staircase Down to the Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Flowing Creek – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Creek in the Woods – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Rocky Farmington Creek – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Winter is Nearly Over – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Red Car in Green Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Bug in the Dirt – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sunset on Burger Customer Parking  – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipe

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!

$5.00

Classic Chrome for Those Who Don’t Have It (X-Trans I)

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One of these two pictures is Classic Chrome and one is PRO Neg. Std. Can you guess which is which?

Classic Chrome is probably the most popular film simulation created by Fujifilm. It is the most common starting point for my film simulation recipes. It was introduced by Fujifilm beginning with the X-Trans II sensor, so those who have X-Trans I cameras or older Bayer sensor cameras don’t have it as an option. The X100, X100S, X-E1 and X-Pro1 all lack Classic Chrome.

I’ve been asked many times how to replicate Classic Chrome for cameras that don’t have it. I figured it out! And it’s not what you might expect. It’s not the advice that I have been giving out over the years, which was based on Astia. I figured that Astia with the contrast turned up and color turned down would be close, but I was wrong. It’s difficult to get the contrast correct when using Astia, and with Color set to -2 it’s still much too vibrant. Turns out PRO Neg. Std is the film simulation required to mimic Classic Chrome. Shocked? I was. It was literally the last color film simulation that I tried.

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One of these two pictures is Classic Chrome and one is PRO Neg. Std. Can you guess which is which?

My experiments were conducted on my Fujifilm X-T1. Using Classic Chrome, I set Color, Highlight, Shadow and Sharpness at 0, Dynamic Range to DR100, Noise Reduction to -2, and White Balance to Auto with Red and Blue both set to 0. Then I tried to replicate that look using one of the other film simulations. I figured out how to get pretty darn close using the PRO Neg. Std film simulation.

There are some differences between actual Classic Chrome and these settings. This faux Classic Chrome is actually slightly more yellow. If there was a way to shift the white balance by fractions this could be made more accurate, as the actual shift should be closer to +0.3 Red and -0.6 Blue, but that’s not possible. You could set the white balance shift to 0 Red and 0 Blue if you prefer less yellow, and I think that’s a legitimate option, as I debated between that and this, but ultimately I went with the warmer white balance shift. There’s also slightly deeper shadows and more saturation with these settings than real Classic Chrome. I think +0.7 Shadow and Color would be more accurate, but +1 is as close as I could get. I found that setting Shadow and Color to 0 produced results that were further away from Classic Chrome, but that’s something you could consider. These settings are not perfect, but for those who don’t have Classic Chrome as an option, in my opinion this is as close as you’re going to get, which is actually pretty close. 

PRO Neg. Std
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +1
Color: +1
Sharpness: 0
Noise Reduction: -2
White Balance: Auto, 0 Red & -1 Blue

What about the pictures above? The top one is the faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std and the bottom one is actual Classic Chrome. Did you guess correctly?

Below are example photographs, all straight-out-of-camera JPEGs from my Fujifilm X-T1, that compare faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std with Classic Chrome.

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Faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std

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Classic Chrome

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Faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std

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Classic Chrome

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Faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std

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Classic Chrome

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Faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std

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Classic Chrome

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Faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std

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Classic Chrome

My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation Recipe

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Summer Waves Hello – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Portra 160”

This is the film simulation recipe that you’ve been waiting for! One of the top films that I’ve been asked to create a film simulation recipe for is Portra 160. I’ve tried many times, and I felt that I got close a couple of times, but I was never able to get it quite right. Fuji X Weekly reader Piotr Skrzypek recently created a Portra 160 film simulation recipe for his Fujifilm X-E2, which he gave me permission to share. I modified his settings very slightly, and published that Portra 160 recipe for X-Trans II cameras last week. Using those settings as a starting point, and understanding how X-Trans II is different than the newer sensors, I was able to make a Portra 160 film simulation recipe that is compatible with X-Trans III & IV cameras.

Portra is a line of films that Kodak introduced in 1998. As the name implies, it was designed for portrait photography, although it has been used for many different genres, as it’s good for more than just portraits. Kodak made Portra in three different ISOs: 160, 400 and 800. The ISO 160 and 400 versions originally had two options: Neutral Color (NC) and Vivid Color (VC). In 2011 Kodak redesigned Portra, and they did away with the Neutral and Vivid versions, making instead only one option in each ISO. Portra has been a popular film since its introduction.

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Horizontal Ladder – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Portra 160”

This recipe looks great when you turn the exposure compensation dial up. You don’t want to clip highlights, but if you keep the highlights just below clipping you can get excellent results. This recipe is especially good for high-contrast scenes. Really, this is a good all-around recipe that you’ll want to keep programmed in your camera’s Q Menu. I imagine that for some of you, this will be the top film simulation recipe that you use most of the time. Don’t be afraid to use Auto-White-Balance instead of Daylight, or to adjust Color up to +2 or down to 0, depending on your tastes.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -2
Shadow: -2
Color: +1
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Grain Effect: Weak
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: Daylight, +4 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Portra 160 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Last Light Roofline – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Yellow House – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Rooflines – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Garages – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Blue Dumpster – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Stop – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Elevator Trucks – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Bird Over Grain Elevator – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Autumn Leftovers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sky Reed – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Boy in Thought – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Blue Wall Boy – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Girl by the Fence – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Bike Seat – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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First Pear Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Goosenecks – Goosenecks SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Satellite Dish – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Grey Sky Over Roof – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Red Barn Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sky Blooms – 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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[Not] My Fujifilm X-T1 (X-Trans II) Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation Recipe

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Mitchell Mesa – Monument Valley, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1 “Kodak Portra 160”

Kodak introduced Portra film in 1998. As the name implies, this film was designed for portrait photography, as it produces pleasing skin tones. It came in three ISO options: 160, 400 and 800. The ISO 160 and 400 versions came in two varieties: Neutral Color (NC), which was less saturated, and Vivid Color (VC), which was more saturated. In 2011 Kodak did away with the Neutral Color and Vivid Color options, making a new version that was more-or-less in-between the two.

One of the top films that I’ve been asked to create a film simulation recipe for is Portra 160. I’ve tried many times, and I felt that I got close a couple of times, but I was never able to get it quite right. Fuji X Weekly reader Piotr Skrzypek recently created a Portra 160 film simulation recipe for his Fujifilm X-E2, and he gave me permission to share his settings with you! When I first looked at his pictures, I immediately thought that they resembled Portra, and I continued to think so as I used his recipe on my X-T1. Piotr has a lot of experience shooting film, and the main film that he uses is Portra 160. I’ve shot Portra before, but it’s been many years. How the film is shot, developed, and printed or scanned effects the way that it looks, so results can vary, but this recipe is overall an excellent facsimile of actual Portra 160 film. Great job, Piotr Skrzypek!

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Portra – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 “Kodak Portra 160”

I did alter Piotr’s recipe a little. I have Color set to +1, but he has Color set to +2, which I think more mimics Portra 160VC. Whether you set Color to +1 or +2, you are still getting a Portra look, and you can try it both ways and decide which you like better for your photographs. You can even try setting color to 0 to get a Portra 160NC look. The other change I made is to white balance, which I set to Daylight, while Piotr uses auto-white-balance. In many outdoor circumstances Daylight and AWB will produce identical results, so for the most part it doesn’t matter which you choose. I like Daylight a little more than AWB, but you can decide which you prefer for yourself. This recipe is intended for X-Trans II cameras, but there will be a Portra 160 recipe for X-Trans III and IV cameras coming soon!

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -2 (Low)
Shadow: -2 (Low)
Color: +1 (Medium-High)
Sharpness: -2 (Low)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
White Balance: Daylight, +3 Red & -4 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Portra 160 recipe on my Fujifilm X-T1:

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Snow on the Roofs – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Roof Snow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm  X-T1

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Faux Green – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Beside the Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Silver & Green – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Green Stems – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Bright Blossoms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Future Fujifilm Photographer – Monument Valley, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1

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Girl, Horse & Books – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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The Peg Game – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Girl & Game – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Wood Ladder – Edge of the Cedars SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Monumental Crosswalk – Monument Valley, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Four Desert Horses – Monument Valley, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1

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Mittens Evening – Monument Valley, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1

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Rural Grass – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Reeds & Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

See also:
Fujifilm X-T1 Kodacolor Recipe
Fujifilm X-T1 Kodachrome II Recipe
Fujifilm X-T1 Kodachrome 64 Recipe
Fujifilm X-T1 Ektachrome 100SW Recipe
Fujifilm X-T1 Agfa Optima Recipe

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!

$5.00

My Fujifilm X-T30 Classic Slide Film Simulation Recipe


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Winter Reeds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Slide”

A lot of my film simulation recipes lean towards a warm cast. In the film days, many different films, especially those by Kodak, tended to lean warm. I often used a warming filter for my landscape photography, which made an even more pronounced color cast. This was all very common and normal. But not all films were balanced that way, not even all of Kodak’s. Since films have a specific Kelvin temperature (often “daylight balanced”), the light conditions could create a cool cast even on a warm-toned film. I decided that I needed another film simulation option with a cool color cast, because film isn’t always warm, and sometimes the scene demands something that’s cool.

I call this film simulation recipe “Classic Slide” because it has a slide-film aesthetic, in my opinion. I didn’t go about trying to mimic the look of any specific film. I think it’s in the neighborhood of Ektachrome 100G, or Elite Chrome 100, or Provia 100F and 400X, although it’s not an exact match to any of those films. It’s probably a bit closer to Provia than Ektachrome. It has a general color reversal film look, without matching any one in particular.

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Indoor Green – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Slide”

To create this film simulation recipe I began with my Kodachrome 64 recipe. You might notice many similarities. In fact, the white balance shift is the biggest change. I adjusted Sharpness down one notch just because Kodachrome was known as a “sharp” film, and this isn’t Kodachrome, but, in reality, the difference between +1 and +2 is tiny. I also set Color Chrome Effect to Off, which makes it completely compatible with all X-Trans III & IV cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +2
Color: 0
Sharpening: +1
Noise Reduction: -4
Grain: Weak
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: Daylight, -2 Red & +3 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

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

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Yellow Couch – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Chair & Blue Pillow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Green Leaves Indoors – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Dresser Decor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Laying in the Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Blinded by the Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Duck out of Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Crossing Flags – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Remaining Relic in Disrepair II – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Francis Peak in Evening Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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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Kodacolor Film Simulation Recipe, Part 2

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Remaining Relic in Disrepair – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

One of the most popular film simulation recipes that I’ve created is Kodacolor, which mimics the look of Kodacolor VR film, and ColorPlus 200 (the same film re-branded). A Fuji X Weekly reader recently asked me to create a recipe that resembles the aesthetic of photographer Stephen Shore. Stephen has been around for many, many years, and he’s still photographing today. Over the decades he’s used many different films, and perhaps even digital in recent years, but most notably he shot Kodacolor in 35mm, 4″ x 5″ medium-format, and especially 8″ x 10″ large format.

When I was looking at Stephen Shore’s pictures, there was something about it that seemed “off” when compared to my Kodacolor recipe. Close, but off. Some of that could be attributed to the use of different films, or how the film was shot, developed and/or printed. Then I read that the medium-format and especially the large-format versions of Kodacolor film were more vibrant, more saturated, then the 35mm version, and I realized why my recipe seemed off. It needed Color to be turned up in order to mimic Stephen Shore’s pictures.

This is not a new recipe. It is my Kodacolor recipe with one change: Color is to 0 instead of -2. That’s it! The results are only subtly different, but closer to Stephen Shore’s aesthetic. I think, alternatively, setting Grain to Weak could also be appropriate, but I left it at Strong. All of the pictures in this article were captured using this modified Kodacolor recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30. This recipe (as well as the original Kodacolor recipe) is compatible with all X-Trans III & IV cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +2
Color: 0
Sharpening: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Grain: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: 6300K, -1 Red & -4 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to + 1-1/3 (typically)

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Francis Peak Afternoon – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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March Reeds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Ready To Swing – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Potted Plant by a Window – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pointing Towards the Sky – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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House Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Colorful Neighborhood – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Kiss The Crepes – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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5:20 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Packed Parking Lot – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Kodacolor for X-Trans II

My Fujifilm X-T30 “Bleach Bypass” Film Simulation Recipe


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Instamatic Morning – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Bleach Bypass”

The upcoming Fujifilm X-T4 will have a new film simulation: Bleach Bypass. This new film simulation might eventually come to other X-Trans IV cameras, such as the X-T30, X-T3, X-Pro3 and X100V, but it might not, as Fujifilm has yet to add Classic Negative to the X-T3 and X-T30. It would certainly be nice if Fujifilm gave those of us with “older” X-Trans IV cameras the new film simulations. Even if they never do, you are in luck, as I have created a film simulation recipe to mimic the look of bleach bypass!

Bleach bypass is a darkroom technique where you skip or limit the bleach during development of color film, which causes it to retain the silver. Results will vary greatly depending on the film used and exactly how you develop it, but generally speaking what you get with bleach bypass is a high-contrast, low-saturation, grainy picture that appears as if a black-and-white and color picture were combined together. This technique is more common for motion picture film than still photography, but some people do bleach bypass with C-41 film.

I experimented with the techniques that I used for this film simulation back in June of last year. Much came out of those experiments, including both the Faded Color and Faded Monochrome film simulation recipes, as well as in-camera texturing. I created something similar to this recipe, but gave up on it before completing it. Last week Fuji X Weekly reader James Clinich reached out to me to share some experiments he had been doing, which turned out to be very similar to what I had done back in June. This rekindled my interest, and with inspiration drawn from James, I made this “Bleach Bypass” film simulation recipe.

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Car’s 3 & 4 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Bleach Bypass”

This film simulation recipe requires the use of the double exposure feature of your camera. You will need a tripod, and there can’t be any movement in the scene. You have to make two identical exposures, one in color and one in black-and-white. After the first exposure is made, you must change the film simulation before making the second exposure. You can have both sets of settings programmed into the custom menu as separate presets, and toggle between them, or just change the film simulation, making sure that the tone is set correctly when making the Acros exposure. It’s a bit tricky and limited, but the results are nice. If you don’t want to do double exposures, but want something that will produce similar results to this recipe, try my Dramatic Classic Chrome recipe except set color to -4. That’s about as close as you can get. Otherwise, if you want to create a bleach bypass look in-camera, this recipe is your best option.

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

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

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

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Pillows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Window Robot – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Illuminated Faux Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pronto! – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Touch of Green – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Rooftops & Mountaintops – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tracks Under The Bridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Do Not Cross Tracks – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Locked Box & Escape Route – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Empty Walking Bridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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Fujifilm X-T1 (X-Trans II) Kodachrome II Film Simulation Recipe


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Rural Grass – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

One of my favorite film simulation recipes, and one of the most popular, if not the most popular, on Fuji X Weekly, is my Kodachrome II recipe. This version of that recipe is adapted for Fujifilm X-Trans II cameras, such as my X-T1. It will work on all cameras with an X-Trans II sensor, plus Bayer sensor cameras, such as the XF10, X-T100 and X-A7. Because it requires the Classic Chrome film simulation, it is not compatible with X-Trans I cameras, or the original X100.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +2 (High)
Shadow: +1 (Medium-High)
Color: -1 (Medium-Low)
Sharpness: 0 (Medium)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
White Balance: Auto, +1 Red & -2 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 3200

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured on my Fujifilm X-T1 using this Kodachrome II film simulation recipe:

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The Wetlands of Farmington Bay – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Pallet Dump – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Old Wood – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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February Thistles – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Francis Peak in February – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Succulents – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Bright Apple – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Kodak Film Canisters – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Bolsey on the Camera Shelf – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Longing For Another World – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

See also:
Fujifilm X-T1 Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe
Fujifilm X-T1 Kodacolor Film Simulation Recipe
Fujifilm X-T1 Ektachrome 100SW Film Simulation Recipe
First Fujifilm X-T1 Film Simulation Recipes

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My Fujifilm X-T1 (X-Trans II) Kodacolor Film Simulation Recipe


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Man in Red – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – “Kodacolor”

Yesterday I published my Kodachrome 64 recipe for X-Trans II cameras, such as my Fujifilm X-T1, and today I will share with you my Kodacolor recipe for X-Trans II! Because this Kodacolor recipe requires the Classic Chrome film simulation, those with X-Trans I cameras can’t use it, but those with X-Trans II or Bayer sensor cameras can. While I got the overall aesthetic pretty darn close to the original Kodacolor recipe for X-Trans III and IV, the one thing that I wish I could change is the grain. Newer Fujifilm cameras have faux grain options, but older ones don’t. If you want to mimic the grain in-camera, your best option is to use a higher ISO, such as 3200 or 6400, and let the digital noise act as faux grain. Otherwise, I’m quite pleased with how this Kodacolor film simulation recipe turned out.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1 (Medium-High)
Shadow: +1 (Medium-High)
Color: -2 (Low)
Sharpness: 0 (Medium)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
White Balance: 6300K, -3 Red & -2 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodacolor recipe on my Fujifilm X-T1:

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Front Runner – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Fro – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Cross at Crosswalks – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Look Both Ways – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Pipe – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Rusty Shadows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Stop by the Rack – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Nord’s Stop – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Mall Across the Mud – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Pond Among Reeds – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Grass on the Water – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Lake Reflection – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Antelope Island Beyond Farmington Bay – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Camera Shelf – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Green is Good for My Soul – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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My Fujifilm X-T1 (X-Trans II) Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe


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Sun Roof – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – “Kodachrome 64”

One of my favorite film simulation recipes is Kodachrome 64. It’s also one of the most popular recipes on Fuji X Weekly. Those with X-Trans III and IV cameras, such as the Fujifilm X-T30 that I created it on, have been enjoying it since August, but those with X-Trans II cameras—X-T1, X-T10, X-E2, X-E2s, X100T, and X70—have been left out of the fun. Those with Bayer sensor cameras, such as the X-T100, XF10, X-A7, etc., have been out of luck, too. That all changes, starting now. I have cracked the code, and created a Kodachrome 64 recipe for my X-Trans II camera! Unfortunately, it won’t work on the X100, X100S, X-E1 or X-Pro1 because it requires the Classic Chrome film simulation, which those cameras don’t have. But those who own a Fujifilm X-Trans II or Bayer camera, which do have Classic Chrome, I’m sure will appreciate this Kodachrome 64 recipe.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +2 (High)
Shadow: +1 (Medium-High)
Color: 0 (Medium)
Sharpness: 0 (Medium)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
White Balance: Daylight, 0 Red & -3 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodachrome 64 recipe on my Fujifilm X-T1:

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Watered Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Reflection in the Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Reed Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Reeds In Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Sisters on a Bridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Red Mustang – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Wrangler – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Parking Lot Sunset – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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January Evening Hill – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Rooftop Birds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Suburban Silver Lining – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Coffee Cup – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Prerequisite – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Yellow Pillows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Smiling Jon – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

See also: First three Fujifilm X-T1 Film Simulation Recipes

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First Fujifilm X-T1 Film Simulation Recipes


Fujifilm X-T1 Blog

I’ve had my Fujifilm X-T1 for less than two weeks. I plan to create many different film simulation recipes for it, but that takes time, so they’ll likely trickle out over the coming months. I did create three film simulation recipes, which you’ll find below. I like to mimic the aesthetic of vintage films with in-camera JPEG settings, as I learned photography in the film era. These three X-T1 recipes aren’t intended to mimic the look of any particular film; I just like how they look.

The in-camera JPEG options on the X-T1, which has an X-Trans II sensor, are different and much more limited than X-Trans IV or even X-Trans III cameras. Fujifilm continues to provide more and better features to achieve desired looks straight out of camera. While the X-T1 doesn’t have as many options, it’s still possible to get very nice pictures right out of the camera, no post-processing needed. Actually, sometimes it’s nice to have fewer choices as it makes things more simple.

Even though these recipes were created on a Fujifilm X-T1, they’re compatible with all X-Trans II cameras, such as the X100T, X-E2, and X-T10, as well as Fujifilm Bayer cameras, like the XF10, X-T100, and X-A7. The Velvia and Monochrome recipes are compatible with X-Trans I cameras, such as the X-Pro1, X100S and X-E1. I should also point out that my Fujifilm XF10 film simulation recipes are compatible with the X-T1 and other X-Trans II cameras.

Some of you have been asking me to create recipes that are compatible with the older models for some time now, and I’m happy to finally be able to share some. You’ve waited awhile! These three film simulations are just the beginning for the X-T1. I will be creating more. I hope to recreate some of my other looks with the X-Trans II sensor, but we’ll see how that goes. Some future recipes might require unconventional approaches. I can’t wait to see what I come up with! In the meantime, enjoy the recipes below.

Classic Chrome

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Praying the Order is Right – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
White Balance: Auto, -1 Red & -1 Blue
Color: +2 (High)
Highlight: +1 (Medium-High)
Shadow: +1 (Medium-High)
Sharpness: 0 (STD)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200

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Rural Road In Winter – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Winter Boxcar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Flaming Lemon – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Joyful Dining – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Opening a Soda Bottle – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Egg, Bowl & Rice – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Grill Fire – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Velvia

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Pink Penguin – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Film Simulation: Velvia
Dynamic Range: DR200
White Balance: Auto, 0 Red & -2 Blue
Color: +2 (High)
Highlight: -1 (Medium-Low)
Shadow: -1 (Medium-Low)
Sharpness : 0 (STD)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200

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Kobe Cold – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Sushi Lamp – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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For Goodness Sake – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Anchored Caboose – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Red In The Woods – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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When The Season Is All Wrong – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Rudy Drain Winter – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Monochrome

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Rebuilt 24 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Film Simulation: Monochrome (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +1 (Medium-High)
Shadow: +1 (Medium-High)
Sharpness : +1 (Medium -Hard)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400

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Monochrome Lines – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Metal – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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When Life Gives You Lemons – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Soup – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Jo With Chopsticks – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Drinking Soup – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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Eating Rice – South Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodak Elite Chrome 200 Color Fade Film Simulation Recipe


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JTPX 1204 – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Elite Chrome 200 Color Fade”

I recently ran across some old slides that I had forgotten about, and one of those color transparencies was a frame of Kodak Elite Chrome 200 that was beginning to fade and change color. The picture wasn’t especially good, but it looked interesting because of how the image was transforming. Elite Chrome was a version of Ektachrome, which has been dubbed Fade-a-chrome, as it’s very prone to fading and discoloration, especially if not stored correctly, which this particular picture wasn’t. You can see the fading Elite Chrome 200 photograph below.

I wondered if I could create a film simulation recipe that mimics the look of fading Elite Chrome 200. I experimented with the settings a bunch, but couldn’t get it to look right. After showing my wife, Amanda, she suggested that the digital picture looked too crisp, too detailed. I made some more modifications, and found myself much closer. Not perfect, but very close. I made more changes and adjustments, but unfortunately I couldn’t get it to look better, so I went back to those settings that were very close to being right, which is the recipe here.

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DGNO Locomotive – Dallas, TX – Canon AE-1 & Kodak Elite Chrome 200 35mm film

One addition to this film simulation recipe that you’ve never seen in any of my other recipes is Image Quality. I have always used Fine, because it’s the highest quality setting, but in this case Fine was, well, too fine. I set it to Normal instead so as to better mimic the transparency. While I’m sure this particular recipe is not for everyone, those looking for something that resembles film from decades ago might appreciate it, as it has an analog aesthetic, and a look that’s a bit unusual, perhaps a bit lomographic (did I just make up a word?).

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: 0
Shadow: +2
Color: -2
Noise Reduction: +2
Sharpening: -4
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Image Quality: Normal
White Balance: 8300K, +4 Red & +8 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to -2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Elite Chrome 200 Color Fade recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Green Locomotive – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tank Rider – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Tracks By The Refinery – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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American Joe – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Neighborhood Patriotism – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sidewalk Tricycle – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Red Flag – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Peek – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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One Eye Open – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Evening Bike – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Fence & Path – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Out Flowing – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Mountain Sky – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Wet Red Rose – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Rose Blossom Fence – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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[Not] My Fujifilm X Urban Vintage Chrome Film Simulation Recipe


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Refine – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm f/2 – “Urban Vintage Chrome”

Fuji X Weekly reader Thomas Schwab recently shared with me a film simulation recipe that he created. He calls it “Urban Vintage Chrome” because it has a classic analog aesthetic, it’s based on the Classic Chrome film simulation, and it pairs especially well with urban scenes. I tried it out and was highly impressed with the results. Thomas agreed to let me share it on this blog, and even allowed me to use some of his pictures in the article.

What the Urban Vintage Chrome recipe reminds me of is Bleach Bypass, which is a technique where, during development, you fully or partially skip the bleach. It increases contrast and grain and decreases saturation. The results can vary depending on the film used and how exactly it’s developed, but generally speaking this recipe produces a look that is similar to it, or at least the closest straight-out-of-camera that I’ve seen. It’s compatible with all Fujifilm X-Trans III and IV cameras.

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Hazy Rural Sunset – Woods Cross, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm – “Urban Vintage Chrome”

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: 0
Shadow: +2
Color: -4
Sharpening: 0
Noise Reduction: -4
Grain: Weak
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: 4300K, -1 Red & -3 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

I want to give big “thank you” to Thomas for sharing this recipe and allowing me to use some of his photographs in this article. I really appreciate it! Be sure to show your appreciation in the comments!

Example photographs using this film simulation recipe:

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Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – Fujifilm X100F – Photo by Thomas Schwab

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – Fujifilm X-T2 & Fujinon 35mm f/2 – Photo by Thomas Schwab

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – Fujifilm X100F – Photo by Thomas Schwab

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – Fujifilm X100F – Photo by Thomas Schwab

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – Fujifilm X100F – Photo by Thomas Schwab

Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – Fujifilm X100F – Photo by Thomas Schwab

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Creek Ducks – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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Green Locomotive – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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Oil Toil – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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Tracks By The Refinery – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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Gate Arm Nut – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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CF Trailer – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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Hidden Wall Street – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & 90mm

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe


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Kodachrome Slides – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Kodachrome 64”

Kodachrome 64 is probably the most requested film that people have asked me to create a recipe for. Kodachrome has a long history, with the first successful version debuting in 1935 (film simulation recipe here). In the early 1960’s Kodak replaced that version of the film with Kodachrome II and Kodachrome X (film simulation recipe here). In 1974 Kodak made the final version of Kodachrome, available in ISO 25 and ISO 64 (and later ISO 200) versions. This Kodachrome was discontinued 10 years ago. Kodak also discontinued the chemicals to process Kodachrome, and nine years ago the last roll was developed. This film simulation recipe is meant to mimic the aesthetics of Kodachrome 64.

In the early 1970’s there was a movement to end Kodachrome. The process to develop the film was toxic and complex. Kodachrome is actually a black-and-white film with color added during development, which you can imagine isn’t a simple procedure. Instead of discontinuing their most popular color film, Kodak made a new version that required a less-toxic (but still toxic) and less complicated (but still complicated) development process. This appeased those who wanted the film gone, but the new version of Kodachrome was not initially well received by photographers, many of whom liked the old version better. William Eggleston, for example, who used Kodachrome extensively in his early career, wasn’t a fan of the new version, and began to use other films instead.

The photography community did come around to Kodachrome 25 and Kodachrome 64. Due to Kodachrome’s sharpness, grain, color, contrast and archival characteristics, this film was a great all-around option that worked well in almost any circumstance. The film became incredibly popular, and was found on the pages of many magazines, including National Geographic, which practically made its use a requirement. Steve McCurry was perhaps the best known photographer to extensively use this era of Kodachrome. He said of the film, “It has almost a poetic look with beautiful colors that were vibrant and true to what you were shooting.”

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Onaqui Wild Horses – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Kodachrome 64”

I shot many rolls of Kodachrome 64, and a few rolls of Kodachrome 25. My favorite was Kodachrome 64 because it had a little more contrast and was slightly more saturated. It was a sad day for me when Kodak discontinued it. I was just getting into digital photography at that time, and in retrospect I wish that I had paused on digital and shot a few more rolls of Kodachrome. Kodak has hinted that they might resurrect it, but I would be surprised if they actually did because of the complex development process.

When I decided to attempt a Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe for my Fujifilm X-T30, I did some experiments, and after a few tries I thought that I had it figured out. Excitingly, I snapped many frames with these settings, but then I figured that I should consult some actual Kodachrome 64 slides to make sure that it matched. It didn’t. Kodachrome 64 looked different than how I remembered it. I was close, but not close enough, so I went back to the drawing board. A handful of experiments later I got it right, which is the recipe that you see here.

Of course, the issue with all of these film simulation recipes that mimic actual film is that one film can have many different looks, depending on how it was shot, under what conditions, how it was developed, and how it’s viewed, whether through a projector or light table, a print (and how it was printed), or a scan (and how it was scanned and perhaps digitally altered, and the monitor). There are a ton of variables! Kodachrome looks best when viewed by projector, no doubt about it, but that’s not how Kodachrome is seen today, unless you own a projector and have some slides. While I don’t think that this recipe will ever match the magic of projected Kodachrome, I do think it’s a close approximation of the film and it deserves to share the famed name.

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Mayhem – Tooele, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Kodachrome 64”

I have Grain set to Weak, but I feel that when using this recipe at higher ISOs Grain should be set to Off. While I chose DR400, in low-contrast situations DR200 is a good Dynamic Range option. For X-Trans III cameras, which obviously don’t have Color Chrome Effect, this recipe will still work and will appear nearly identical, but it will produce a slightly different look. To modify this recipe for Kodachrome 25, I suggest setting Shadow to +1, Color to -1, Grain to Off, and Sharpness to +3.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +2
Color: 0
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +2
Grain Effect: Weak
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
White Balance: Daylight, +2 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

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Shopping Cart Car – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Traffic Lamp – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Red Tricycle – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Hay Stack – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Pony Express Trail – Faust, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Wild Horse Country – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Wild Horse Grazing – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Lonely Horse – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Wild & Free – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Onaqui Horses – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Spotted Green – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Grassland – Dugway, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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In The Dust – Faust, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Roar Forever – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Jon In The Backyard – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Big Wheel – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Evening Tree – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Look Up To The Sky – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Lavender Bee – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Lavender Sunset – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sunset Leaves – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sun Kissed Leaf – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Summer Tree Leaves – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Jar of Coffee Beans – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Beans To Grind – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Sugar Dish – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Morning Coffee – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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Processed by Kodak – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Kodachrome 64 for X-Trans II

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Comparing Film Simulation Recipes


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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