classic negative | FUJI X WEEKLY

My New Camera: Fujifilm X100V!

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

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Today is my 40th birthday! I wasn’t going to say anything about it, but something happened that changed my mind. I had a different article that I had planned to publish today, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.

My wonderful wife, Amanda, gave me an amazing surprise. Her gift to me this morning for turning the big 4-0 was a Fujifilm X100V. I couldn’t believe it! A Fujifilm X100V! Wow! This is the camera that I wanted even before it had been announced back in early February.

The Fuji X Weekly blog began as my Fujifilm X100F journal. Almost all of the early articles are about the fourth model of the X100 camera. I happily sold that X100F, not because I didn’t like it (I loved it), but because I used the proceeds to buy my wife a Fujifilm X-T20. A couple years ago she wanted a camera for her birthday, so I sold my X100F to buy her one. I’d do it again without thinking twice about it. Now, things have come full circle, and she bought me an X100V for my birthday.

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I had a battery already charged, so I was able to quickly set up the camera, but just barely. There are a number of new features that I’ll have to spend some time playing with. I like what I see so far. The X100F is a great camera; it’s clear that the X100V is even better. You can expect many articles about this camera and the new features in the coming weeks and months.

I made a handful of exposures with the X100V this afternoon, which are the pictures below. They are all camera-made JPEGs using the new Classic Negative film simulation. I’ll likely create many new recipes from Classic Negative. The little that I’ve seen from this film simulation has left me very impressed. I can tell already that it’s a great film simulation, and I look forward to seeing what I’ll do with it. I hope you’ll come along for the ride. It’ll be a fun journey, and it’s all because my wife gave me a wonderful gift for my 40th birthday. Thank you, Amanda, for such an amazing surprise!

Sunlight Tree – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Singular Flower Blossom – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Deep Blue Sky & Blooms – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Fisher Beer – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Two Yellow Hooks – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Electric Yellow – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Hanging In There – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Comparing “Classic Negative” and “Color Negative” Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Someone asked me what the differences are between my “Classic Negative” film simulation recipe and my “Color Negative” film simulation recipe. They’re pretty similar, but they’re not exactly identical. I thought it would be helpful to see them side-by-side, so I applied my “Color Negative” recipe using the in-camera RAW converter on my Fujifilm X-T30 to a few recent exposures that I had captured using my “Classic Negative” recipe. Check them out:

“Classic Negative”

“Color Negative”

“Classic Negative”

“Color Negative”

“Classic Negative”

“Color Negative”

“Classic Negative”

“Color Negative”

As you can see, while they’re quite similar, the “Color Negative” recipe is more saturated, has a tad more contrast, and is a little warmer with a bit more red. The “Classic Negative” recipe is slightly more bland, but with a nice vintage negative-film aesthetic. So which film simulation recipe do you like better, “Classic Negative” or “Color Negative”? Let me know in the comments!

Film Simulation Challenge –Roll 4: Classic Negative (with Ree Drummond)

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Back in August I introduced the Film Simulation Challenge, which is where you pick one film simulation recipe and shoot either 24 or 36 frames before changing settings. It’s kind of like loading your camera with a roll of film, and you are stuck with whatever film you loaded until that roll is completely exposed. This challenge is the digital equivalent of that analog issue. I thought it would be a fun experiment to encourage photographic vision while sharing the joy of Fujifilm X cameras.

The “film” that I loaded into my Fujifilm X-T30 was a 36 exposure “roll” of my new “Classic Negative” film simulation recipe. This recipe is the closest that I could come to matching the new film simulation of the same name that’s on the X-Pro3, but I have to admit, it’s not a complete match. The Classic Negative film simulation changes depending on the light and how you expose it, which is different than the other film simulations. I don’t think it’s possible to create an exact match, but hopefully my “Classic Negative” recipe is at least in the general ballpark. Or, if it isn’t, I hope that some of you appreciate it nonetheless.

My wife, Amanda, is a big fan of Ree Drummond (also known as The Pioneer Woman). She’s a famous blogger, author and television personality best known for her cooking recipes. She has a store, restaurant and bakery in Oklahoma, which my wife and I visited two summers ago. Ree has a new cookbook, and she’s been traveling the country doing book signings. Amanda insisted that we go so that we could meet her, and so we did! We stood in line for almost an hour in order to have a thirty second conversation with her. It was a very quick meet-and-greet that seemed like it was over before it even began. What you might not know is that Ree’s a pretty good photographer, and I was able to suggest that she create a photojournal book of her ranch that features her black-and-white photographs. She replied that she needs to get the pictures off her SD Card first.

I made 36 exposures using my “Classic Negative” film simulation, and most were of this event, especially while waiting in line. The lighting inside the bookstore was terrible, with some crazy mixed artificial lights, and this recipe wasn’t a good choice for it. I did reprocess in-camera the RAW image of Ree Drummond, and I’ve included that at the bottom of this article. I used a Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens for these pictures. I hope that you enjoy!

Frame 1: Pink Sleeve – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 2: Sunset 218 – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 3: Changing Nature – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 5: Sweetaly Gelato – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 7: King of Books – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 8: Waiting For The Bus – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 9: 15th Street – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 15: Brick Chimney – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 18: A Roof – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 19: Waiting In The Waning Sun – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 22: Rick – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 24: No Trucks – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 26: Salt Lake Neighborhood – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 28: Ree Drummond – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 30: Open – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 31: Happy Amanda – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 32: Bank On It – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Frame 33: Brews – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Classic Negative”

Reprocess of frame 28:

Ree Drummond – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – PRO Neg. Hi

My Fujifilm “Classic Negative” Film Simulation Recipe (For X-Trans III)

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

November Morning – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 – “Classic Negative”

The Fujifilm X-Pro3 has a new film simulation: Classic Negative. This film simulation is supposed to mimic the look of Superia film. The Classic Negative film simulation is expected to make its way to the X-T3 and X-T30 via a firmware update at some point in the near future, but for now the X-Pro3, which is still a couple weeks out from shipping, is the only camera with it. I’ve already had a number of requests for a film simulation recipe that resembles Classic Negative, despite it being so new.

To be clear, I have absolutely zero experience with the Classic Negative film simulation. There’s only a small sampling of examples that I could find online. I have used Superia film before, but sometimes the film simulations aren’t exact matches to the film they’re supposed to look like. From what I can tell, in this case Fujifilm did a decent job of creating a film simulation that resembles the film.

Classic Negative is actually a little different than other film simulations. Fujifilm has increased the color contrast in it compared to other film simulations. How it renders the picture depends on the lighting and exposure. The darker the light, the lower the saturation, while the brighter the light, the stronger the saturation. In addition, warm colors seem to be a little more vibrant, and cool colors appear a little less so. Highlights seem to have a creamy quality to them, while blacks look a tad faded. This is unlike any other option Fujifilm has given us, so you can imagine creating a film simulation recipe that mimics this is very difficult.

Fujifilm X-Pro3 Blog

According to Fujifilm, this new film simulation has the second-most contrast out of all of them, only behind Velvia, while the saturation is in the range of PRO Neg. Std. I found it difficult to create a high-contrast look that doesn’t blow out highlights or create blocked shadows. I also found it difficult to recreate the look of warm and slightly vibrant skin tones while also creating cool and dull shadows, as you can only get one right. I tried to find a happy middle ground that’s not very far off on anything and generally provides a similar aesthetic. I hope that I succeeded, although I’m not completely confident in that I did.

I didn’t initially intend to share this recipe until I had a chance to see Classic Negative for myself. When the Eterna film simulation came out, I created a recipe for it for my camera that didn’t have it. Some time later, once I had a chance to shoot with Eterna, I realized that my recipe wasn’t as close as I thought or hoped it would be. I’m guessing this one might turn out to be the same. However, a Fuji X Weekly reader urged me to share it, even if it might turn out to be wrong, as some people might like it anyway. I hope that you do like it, whether or not it is completely accurate to the real Classic Negative film simulation.

PRO Neg. Std
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +3
Shadow: +2
Color: -3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +1
Grain Effect: Weak
Color Chrome Effect: Off or N/A
White Balance: 6700K, -2 Red & +7 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs made using this “Classic Negative” film simulation recipe:

Smile of Joy – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

November Red Shed – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Dormant Neighborhood Tree – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Icy Leaf – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Brown Cottonwood Leaf – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

Brown Eye Boy – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T20

Mixed Use Crate – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Backyard Winter – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Brown Leaf Pile – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Suburban House – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

X-Pro3 To Have New Film Simulation: Classic Negative

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm Classic Negative

The upcoming Fujifilm X-Pro3, which will feature an unusual rear screen, will have a new film simulation called Classic Negative, which is supposed to resemble Superia film, according to Fujifilm. I get a lot of requests for Superia, so I’m very happy to see this as a new film simulation. Yea!

Fujirumors stated that the X-Pro3 will have some additional adjustments for in-camera RAW processing, such as Clarity. I welcome this because the more tools that Fujifilm provides, the more easily I can achieve a desired look in-camera. Fujifilm is one of only a few companies that take camera-made JPEGs seriously, and is one of the big reasons why I appreciate their products. Shooting JPEGs saves me so much time, allowing my photography to be more productive while simultaneously allowing me to spend more time elsewhere, such as with my family.

I hope that Fujifilm makes these things–the Classic Negative film simulation and the additional tools–available to other cameras, such as the X-T3 and X-T30, which share the same sensor and processor as the upcoming X-Pro3. There is, according to Fujirumors, some big firmware updates on the horizon, and I hope that these are a part of that. Sometimes, when a new feature is included in a new camera, Fujifilm will update older cameras to include it as well, and sometimes they don’t. So it’s really hard to know. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Fujifilm Classic Negative Fujifilm X-Pro3