Extended Spectrum | FUJI X WEEKLY

Full Spectrum Infrared Recipes are now in the Fuji X Weekly App

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Ritchie Roesch

*Red Yucca in the White Sand* – White Sands NP, NM – Fujifilm X-T4 ES – Aerochrome v2

The Full Spectrum Infrared Film Simulation Recipes are now in the Fuji X Weekly App! If your phone didn’t automatically update to the new version, I recommend manually doing so now (Android, Apple). Because those Recipes are different than those for “normal” (non-infrared) cameras, a lot of little tweaks had to be made to the App in order to display them correctly. It was significantly more work to get these into the Fuji X Weekly App than I had anticipated, but I’m happy they are available there now.

So far, I have published six Full Spectrum Infrared Recipes for Fujifilm cameras: Aerochrome v1, Aerochrome v2, Aerochrome v3, PurpleChrome, Cotton Candy Chrome, and Agfa 400S. These Recipes require a full spectrum X-Trans IV or X-Trans V model. Converting a normal camera to full spectrum is an expensive and invasive procedure from a third-party vendor, such as LifePixel, Kolari Vision, or Spenser’s Camera (to name a few). Otherwise, the Fujifilm X-T4 ES (“Extended Spectrum”) is a full spectrum camera (is sensitive to light outside the visible gamut) briefly offered by Fujifilm to the general public. As of this writing, I believe that you can still buy the Fujifilm X-T4 ES from B&H, but it requires a phone call or in-person visit, and cannot be ordered from the internet. Additionally, these Recipes require specific filters.

I know that the vast majority of people don’t own a full spectrum camera like the Fujifilm X-T4 ES, but I have seen a growing interest in infrared since I started posting these Recipes last summer. The general rule of thumb was that extensive editing was required—including channel swaps—in order to achieve good infrared results, particularly for color images. Thankfully, with the right filters and camera settings, that’s just not true, and excellent straight-out-of-camera infrared photography can be quite easy. While the number of people who will use these Full Spectrum Recipes will always be small, I do believe it will grow significantly in the coming months and years—I suspect there may be a small infrared resurgence of sorts.

Also, for those who may have missed it, I added several GFX cameras to the Fuji X Weekly App. If you haven’t opened it in the last few days, you’ll likely notice some changes. There are many more improvements in the works, and hopefully those will be ready in the coming months. While the Fuji X Weekly App has come a long ways since it was first released, it will continue to get better and better.

Aerochrome v3 — Fujifilm X-T4 ES (Full Spectrum Infrared) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Ritchie Roesch

*Red Palm* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES – Aerochrome v3

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

Aerochrome v3 sits in-between—and bridges the gap between—Aerochrome v1 and Aerochrome v2; however, it is notably different from both, and even has some surprising commonality to Cotton Candy Chrome upon close inspection. That’s because it uses the Classic Negative film simulation instead of Velvia, which gives it a more pronounced analog feel, but also is more of a negative film look than slide film (real Aerochrome was a slide film). In that sense, this might be viewed as the least accurate version, but it’s also very easy to appreciate the aesthetic of this Aerochrome v3 Recipe, which is just lovely. While v2 is my personal favorite, I think some of you are really going to like this one. Because X-Trans V renders blue more deeply on some film simulations, including Classic Negative, if you have a full spectrum converted X-Trans V camera, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak instead of Strong.

*Iowa Water* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES – Aerochrome v3

Aside from having a full spectrum camera (like the X-T4 ES), this Recipe requires three filters: True Color Infrared Autumnizer (Turquoise), Hoya G(XO) Yellow-Green filter and Tiffen Yellow 2 #8 filter. The True Color Infrared Autumnizer (Turquoise) filter is simply a QB19 Blue filter and LB18 Green filter combined into one, and can be found on AliExpress. If you choose to use a QB19 and LB18, then you’d have four filters instead of three. I was a little hesitant to buy the Autumnizer (Turquoise) filter (because I had never purchased anything from AliExpress before, and saw mixed reviews regarding the platform), but thankfully the process turned out to be smooth. The Autumnizer is intended for infrared photography, while the Yellow-Green and Yellow filters are for B&W film. I’m not sure if the order matters, but I have the Yellow filter first (closest to the lens), the Autumnizer next, and the Yellow-Green last (furthest from the lens).

Filters: True Color Infrared Autumnizer (Turquoise), Hoya G(XO) Yellow-Green & Tiffen Yellow 2 #8
Film Simulation: Classic Negative
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Strong
White Balance: Daylight, +9 Red & +8 Blue
Highlight: -1.5
Shadow: -0.5
Color: +4
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Aerochrome v3 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T4 ES:

*Air Dancer* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Four Lamps* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Tree Fingers* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Bright Tree, Dark Tree* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Pink Leaves* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Hidden Craftsman* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Two Palms in the Suburbs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Little Flag* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Backlit Infrared Joy* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Joshua, Indoor Infrared* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Jon, A Cut Above the Rest* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Not Abbey Road* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Brick Staircase & Jeep* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Brick Staircase* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Parking* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Nike Walk* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Buckeyes* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Chicken* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Cardinal* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Lonely Chair* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Sunlit Bougainvillea Branch* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Desert Bricks* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Cool Cat* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Skyjack* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Descending Stairs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

*Globe* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 ES

10 Frames: Infrared in the Desert — White Sands National Park with Aerochrome v2

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Ritchie Roesch

A few weeks back, in-between Christmas and New Years, I briefly stopped in White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico for a couple of hours. Since it was the holiday season, the park was very crowded. There were so many cars, and people were everywhere! It was difficult to capture images without someone somewhere in the frame, and it was nearly impossible to find scenes without footprints.

My main objective for this stop was to photograph the White Sands with the Fujifilm GFX100S II at golden hour, with the hope of achieving one or two good XPan pictures. Secondarily, I wanted to create a few images with my Fujifilm X-T4 ES full spectrum infrared camera. I love using this camera, especially for the unusual pictures that it makes. My favorite Film Simulation Recipe for the X-T4 ES is Aerochrome v2, which I’ve used coast-to-coast and many places in-between, so that is what I chose for the White Sands.

The 10 frames in this article were made during about a two hour window in White Sands National Park using my Fujifilm X-T4 ES camera with a Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens and the Aerochrome v2 Recipe. It was partly overcast. Winter probably isn’t the best time to do infrared photography at this location, since much of the vegetation is dormant. Still, I came away with a couple good pictures, so I’m happy. But I know that I need to revisit the White Sands—hopefully next time I can dedicate a little more time to it. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy these pictures.