Eterna Bleach Bypass | FUJI X WEEKLY

Fujifilm X-E4 Film Simulation Recipe: Ektachrome 320T

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Since 1938* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Ektachrome 320T”

The Ektachrome line has been around since the 1940’s, but Kodak didn’t introduced Ektachrome 320T, also known as Ektachrome EPJ 320T, until 1992. This was a high-speed Tungsten color-reversal (slide) film intended for use under artificial light. Tungsten films were never as popular as daylight-balanced films; when used in daylight you get a strong blue cast (unless you have an 80A filter). I’m not completely sure when Kodak discontinued Ektachrome 320T, but I believe it was sometime in the early to mid 2000’s—all Ektachrome films were discontinued by 2013. When Kodak reintroduced Ektachrome in 2018, EPJ 320T was unsurprisingly not included.

This film simulation recipe was not intended to mimic Ektachrome 320T. I was simply trying to create a tungsten film look using the new Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation. Prior to this I had only one recipe for Eterna Bleach Bypass, LomoChrome Metropolis, so I was eager to create another. The reason for a tungsten-like recipe is because I feel as though I don’t have as many after-dark options as I’d like. This recipe’s similarities to Ektachrome 320T film is coincidental, as I didn’t set out to recreate it, but it does, in fact, resemble the film fairly well.

On – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Ektachrome 320T”

Even though I didn’t intend to create an Ektachrome 320T recipe, these settings come curiously close. I would consider, when using this recipe under artificial light, setting the White Balance Shift to -7 Red & -6 Blue to more accurately reflect the film (I didn’t make that adjustment for any of the photographs in this article). I wish that +5 was an option for Color—that would likely be more accurate to the film—but unfortunately it tops out at +4. I debated if Grain size should be Small or Large, but I ended up going with Small because that’s what I originally set it to; however, Large grain might be slightly closer to what you’d find on actual Ektachrome 320T, although that’s certainly debatable.

This recipe is the first one to use the new Auto Ambience Priority white balance, which is currently (as of this writing) only available on the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10 and X-E4 cameras. That means this recipe is only compatible with those three cameras. As a reminder, the camera will take a moment to save each exposure when using Clarity. Also, High ISO NR on the newer camera models is the same as Noise Reduction—Fujifilm renamed it for some reason, but it’s the same thing.

Eterna Bleach Bypass
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1
Shadow: -2
Color: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: 0
Clarity: -3
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: Auto Ambience Priority, -6 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Ektachrome 320T film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*White Tree, Blue Sky* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Thistle Field* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Fake Plant on a Table* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Cage Free Eggs* – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lifted* – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Old Navy Carts* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Ghost Mart* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Pot & Bench* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lights in a Puddle* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Night Blooms* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Old Old Navy* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Cotton Eyed* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

Find this film simulation recipe on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

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!

$2.00

Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe: LomoChrome Metropolis

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Stop No. 11* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T4 – “LomoChrome Metropolis”

I’ve had many requests to create a LomoChrome Metropolis recipe, but it was impossible until Fujifilm created the new Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation and new Auto White Priority white balance. LomoChrome Metropolis film, which is a Lomography product, has only been around for a couple of years. The film is high-contrast, with low-saturation and a warm cast. It has a cool retro-feel despite being new.

There’s a special quality to this LomoChrome Metropolis recipe. It’s almost a color version of black-and-white photography. In the right situations it creates a wonderful look that’s easy to love. It often mimics the film pretty faithfully. I’m very happy with how this one turned out, and I used it recently on a trip to Arizona.

This LomoChrome Metropolis recipe has been on the Fuji X Weekly app as a Patron Early-Access recipe since December 1st when the app launched. All of the Patron Early-Access recipes will eventually be made available to everyone as they’re replaced with new ones, which means that there’s a new recipe for Fuji X Weekly Patrons on the app right now, so if you’re a Patron, go check it out. This LomoChrome Metropolis recipe has been unlocked, so everyone now has access to it.

*Dark Blossoms* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – “LomoChrome Metropolis”

Because this recipe requires Eterna Bleach Bypass, Auto White Priority and a .5 adjustment, it’s only compatible with the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, and X-E4 cameras. Unfortunately, all of the other X-Trans IV cameras (as of this writing) don’t have the required JPEG options, so it’s not compatible with other cameras. If you have an X-T4, X-S10 and X-E4, you might really appreciate this new film simulation recipe!

Eterna Bleach Bypass
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +2.5
Color: -2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -1
Clarity: +4
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: Auto White Priority, +1 Red & -7 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this LomoChrome Metropolis film simulation recipe:

*Artful Girl* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T4

*National Geographic Bag* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Bouquet of Fake Flowers* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Blossoming Red* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Tropical Bloom* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Red Winter Berries* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T4

*Dirt Desert Drive* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Sunlight Through a Dormant Tree* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T4

*Backlit Reeds* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T4

*Suburban Triangles* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T4

*Yellow Blossom Sky* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Hanging Light Bulb* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

Find this film simulation recipe on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

Quick Eterna Bleach Bypass Experiments

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

LomoChrome Metropolis recipe, using the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation

My wife has a Fujifilm X-T4, and I was able to borrow it briefly for an experiment with the new Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation. The X-T4 and the X-S10 are currently the only cameras that have this film simulation. My new LomoChrome Metropolis recipe, which is currently only found on the Fuji X Weekly App for iOS, uses Eterna Bleach Bypass.

I snapped the picture below of my daughter using the Fujifilm X-T4 and the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation. Highlight, Shadow and Color were set to 0, using Auto White Balance, and pretty much everything set to defaults.

I reprocessed the RAW file in-camera, and tried to (in a short period of time) recreate Eterna Bleach Bypass using regular ol’ Eterna. I set Highlight to +4, Shadow to +3, Color to -4, and set a shift of -2 Red and -3 Blue to the Auto White Balance, which roughly gets you close. If I had more time I could get closer, but this was just a quick experiment. The takeaway is that Eterna Bleach Bypass is essentially Eterna but with more contrast and less color saturation, and some other small differences.

Below I reprocessed the RAW file in-camera using my Bleach Bypass film simulation recipe that uses Classic Negative. That recipe wasn’t intended to mimic the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation, but actual bleach bypassed film. It looks kind of like the new film simulation, but with more contrast and saturation.

There was an interview published recently in Japan where a couple of Fujifilm managers explained a bunch of different things about Fujifilm cameras. Between the translation and my interpretation of that translation, I mistakenly thought that it said a Bleach Bypass look could be achieved using the Provia film simulation with Highlight set to +1, Shadow set to +3 and Color set to -4, so I reprocessed the RAW file in-camera doing this, which is below.

Obviously that doesn’t look right, so I reread the quote, and realized what it actually said was that the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation recipe is intended to mimic cinematic film (for cinematic purposes) that’s skipped the bleach during development. Bleach bypass for still photography is (or often is) not the same—different film and/or different process. What was being said by those Fujifilm managers is to mimic bleach bypass for still photography, use the Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation (not Provia) with Highlight set to +1, Shadow set to +3, and color Set to -4. An example of that is below.

Eterna Bleach Bypass with more contrast and less saturation

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.

There’s no one exact aesthetic for bleach bypass. The Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation is a great starting point, and I plan to experiment more with it and create at least a few different film simulation recipes using it. Classic Negative can also be used, and maybe even Classic Chrome and PRO Neg. Hi (and perhaps others), just depending on the exact bleach bypass look you are after. While more complicated, you can use the double-exposure feature to create a bleach bypass look. There’s not necessarily a right or wrong way, or even a right or wrong look, which makes experimentation more fun. I invite you to pick a film simulation (whether or not your camera has the new Eterna Bleach Bypass film simulation), turn up the contrast and turn down the color saturation, and see what you can create!