This is Part 1 of what will be a series of articles on this topic. I actually attempted to do this back in the summer, but got sidetracked, and never made it beyond the first post. So those with an X-Trans V camera get a little bonus. My hope is to make it all the way through X-Trans I, so if you have an older model, don’t worry—we’ll get to your camera soon.
The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans V cameras. If you are not sure which Recipes to program into your C1-C7 Custom Presets, these are my suggestions for you to begin with. These are the ones that you must try, in my opinion. You might love all of them, you might only appreciate some of them, or you might not like any of them. Each person has their own styles and tastes, and there’s no one single Recipe that’s universally loved by everyone (although a few seem close). Still, give these seven a try—keep the ones you like, and replace the ones that you don’t.
Left the Lights On – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fluorescent Night
An important side note here: this list isn’t necessarily made up of versatile Recipes. Like film, most Film Simulation Recipes have specific use cases, such as sunny daylight, so not all of these option will be good for night photography, for example, or perhaps other situations. Be sure to visit my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When?for a more comprehensive list of options for various use cases.
This list is specifically for X-Trans V cameras, which (as of this writing) are the Fujifilm X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20. The X-S20 is a bit controversial to be included here because it has an X-Trans IV sensor paired with the X-Trans V processor, but since it seems to render more similar to X-Trans V than X-Trans IV, and has the X-Trans V JPEG options, it is included in this list. Also, use this list for the upcoming X100V successor, once it comes out (in February or March, most likely). Next up in this series is X-Trans IV.
The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans V camera first:
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Yesterday, MPB (“an online platform for used photography and videography equipment”) published an article entitled How to Install and Use Fujifilm Recipes, which was largely written by Michael Schulz. I knew that this story was in the works because MPB had reached out to me several weeks ago just to make sure that it was ok to mention Fuji X Weekly in an upcoming piece; however, I only found out that it was published because I noticed a number of clicks to this website from theirs within today’s daily stats. What I love about the MPB article are the lovely photographs by Michael captured with his Fujifilm X100V, using mostly the Pacific Blues, Kodak Gold 200 (or is it this one?), and Kodak Portra 400 v2 (maybe Vibrant Arizona, too…) Film Simulation Recipes. It’s a real testament to what can be done straight-out-of-camera with Fujifilm models.
I was thinking today: why are camera stores talking about Fuji X Weekly and Film Simulation Recipes? It would be more obviously understood if I had merchandise for sale in their stores or on their websites, but I don’t. What’s in it for them? I think the answer is pretty simple: Fuji X Weekly Recipes sell Fujifilm cameras.
Golden Light in Abandoned House – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Reala 100 Recipe
Recipes are one of the reasons why the X100V has been so hard to find for over a year now. Social media influencers began saying that the X100V’s pictures “mimic film” and require “zero editing”—next thing you know they’re out of stock everywhere. With a little research I found out that these influencers were using my Film Simulation Recipes.
If you have a camera store and want to move your Fujifilm inventory, the best way is to point out to customers that the straight-out-of-camera pictures look so darn good, and post-editing isn’t necessary. Specifically, Film Simulation Recipes make it easy to get great-looking pictures without fuss, which can make photography more accessible and enjoyable, saving tons of time and frustration. There’s even an app! I think Fujifilm themselves have overall done a fairly poor job of communicating this; it’s been influencers and camera stores and really just word-of-mouth by Fujifilm photographers that has spread the message to the community at large. Outside of Fujifilm circles, this whole concept is fairly unknown or misunderstood, so there’s still a lot of work to go. MPB’s article will help; hopefully there will be more like it in the near future.
This morning I awoke to an email in my inbox from Anders. As a Christmas gift to you, he wanted to share his methods for creating Film Simulation Recipes that he has developed and put to use. This formula can be used by anyone. I have taken a similar approach a number of times myself (I do it in-camera, and not with X RAW Studio), although—for me—Recipes can come about many different ways; I don’t have one single method, but perhaps a handful of various approaches. I discussed it a bit in my Emulsion ’86 article.
Pink Blossom Bush – San Diego, CA – Fujifilm X-T5 – Emulsion ’86
Anders’ step-by-step formula is a path that you can follow to create your own Recipes that are certain to be accurate to any film aesthetic that you’d like to mimic. Oftentimes you can easily find the film spec sheets with a quick Google search, but for some emulsions you’ll have to dig deeper, or maybe you won’t find them at all. Many spec sheets for Kodak films are readily available, for example, but you may have trouble finding them for other brands or long-discontinued emulsions. If you can locate the spec sheet, then you can begin Step 1. If you don’t have or use X RAW Studio, you can do this in-camera, but it is probably a little easier to do with X RAW Studio; either way, it does require shooting RAW+JPEG so that you can reprocess the RAW file.
Thank you, Anders Lindborg, for sharing this with everyone! Even if you have no interest in creating a Film Simulation Recipe yourself, perhaps this gives you an idea of the incredible effort that sometimes goes into creating one.
Round Window – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400
Anders’ Film Simulation Development Method
Download all reference material you need, including film spec sheets. This is really important to have, if you want to create a realistic simulation. You will need a good chart of color wavelength in nanometers as well, to be able to use this method.
Load some reference photos into X Raw Studio. Select a good one that is taken at noon, as this used to be the official reference for film daylight temperature. Note: The time when the photo is taken is important. Don’t cheat!
Select the base Film Simulation you think is most similar to the film you actually want to simulate. Sometimes, the general characteristics are more important than the color scheme being spot on.
Choose the Dynamic Range you think is most correct for your simulation. The characteristic curves chart from the spec sheets can be a lot of help here.
Set the White Balance (in kelvin) to a value that corresponds to the color of the film base layer. This will most likely make your colors look really off, but don’t worry about that right now. Note: It helps knowing where the film was created, as the daylight temperature varies quite a bit depending on where in the world you are located.
Check the spec sheets and find out what colors of the second and third (with Fuji, sometimes a fourth) layers are. Look at the spectral sensitivity chart to find how the colors are distributed and which color is most prominent. Locate the highest peak of the dominant color and check the specified wavelength of the peak.
Look in the color wavelength chart and find the color that corresponds to the wavelength reading from the previous step. Now go back to X Raw Studio and open the WB Shift panel and locate the exact color you found. This takes some practice, but after doing it a few times it’s quite easy.
Now look at the colors of your photo and check the color distribution compared to the spectral sensitivity chart. Make any adjustments needed to balance out the color distribution.
Look in the spec sheets again and locate the spectral dye density curves chart. This chart describes the tonality of the film. Adjust Highlight, Shadow, and Clarity as needed.
Any other parameters needed should be set at this step. These include Grain, Sharpness, Color Chrome Effects, Noise Reduction, etc.. Note that changing a single parameter can have a huge impact, so be careful here!
Look at your photo again. Do the colors look like they should? If not, make more adjustments to either your selected White Balance or WB Shift. Only minor adjustments should be needed at this step.
Save your current recipe and apply it to your other reference photos in X Raw Studio. Compare them to photos found on Flickr and film review sites. Keep in mind that many of them are developed and scanned at home, so you need to learn how different development and scanning methods affect the final result! Adjust the recipe as needed and keep reapplying it to your reference photos and double check them over and over again.
If you think you might be done, it’s time to test it for real! Load the recipe into your camera and get out there. Try taking photos that mimics what you’ve found on the Internet so they are somewhat comparable. It’s all about details here, so keep iterating from Step 8 until you are happy. With hard work and a bit of luck, you’ll have a spot on clone of the original film!
“Don’t forget to share your creation with the world,” Anders Lindborg wrote, “and feel happy about contributing to the community! Just keep in mind that this is more of learning how to best mimic the original film, rather than creating an exact copy. There are so many variables that can affect the final result of real film and the most important part here is that the general behavior is the same. This method is proven to work for both color and black & white simulations and is all based on color science. Several successful simulations have been created while developing the method, so this is several years of blood, sweat and tears that have been compressed into these steps. While this method might look very advanced, trust me when I say that it works and that it’s worth the effort! Not only the general look of the film will be simulated, but also its behavior in different situations, including weird color shifts and other general quirks. The results have amazed me several times!”
When I first started making Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras and discovered that I didn’t need to shoot RAW anymore, I spent over a year strictly being a JPEG-only photographer. After awhile I figured out that it is a lot easier to create new Recipes when you have a RAW file that can be reprocessed in-camera, so I switched to RAW+JPEG. In the years that have passed since, the RAW files always stay on the SD Card in the camera, and it’s the camera-made JPEGs that are transferred to my phone and then to online storage.
Since I have a RAW file, I have the option to reprocess the exposure to other Recipes if I want (it can be done in-camera or via X RAW Studio… I always do it in-camera, personally), but that is something I don’t often do (except for when creating new Recipes). My preferred method is to shoot with a Recipe, and the results are whatever they are (that’s half the fun of it). I try to pick the right Recipe for the given situation; occasionally, though, if I like a particular picture but I shot it with the wrong Recipe, I’ll reprocess it using a more appropriate one. That’s the story of this article.
Interestingly, photographer Chuck Abbott addressed this very question in the September 1955 issue of Arizona Highways magazine, in an article called You’ve Got to Go Back to Get the Good Ones. For those unaware, Arizona Highways has a long history of great photography. It was the first nationally circulated magazine to have an all-color issue (way back in December of 1946). Ansel Adams was a regular contributor, as was Barry Goldwater. Chuck Abbott and his wife Esther Henderson were both long-time contributors. To this day, Arizona Highways is a great place to discover excellent photography, and I often find inspiration within its pages.
“‘Oh, Mr. Abbott,'” Chuck wrote in 1955, explaining a question that he had been asked often, “‘how do you get such good pictures? I was there and mine didn’t turn out at all well.'” He was asked the same question that The Guardian and PetaPixel put forward; however, Chuck’s answer was different than theirs. While there are a thousand ways that the question could be answered, I believe that the most profound was stated back in 1955 by Chuck Abbott.
“My answer is invariably the same,” Chuck said. “You’ll have to go back and try another day, another light, another season.” He continued, “Meanwhile, I am mentally recalling that ‘good’ picture; was it really good, couldn’t it have been better, and shouldn’t I go back again and do it over?”
Autumn in a Mountain Meadow – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 100
“For that’s the trouble with this picture business,” Chuck added, “there is so little satisfaction in it! You are always beset with the haunting thought that every picture could be improved, if not by you, then by someone, sometime; so you end up traveling in a circle, periodically returning to do a better, or at least a different, interpretation of the subject. Perfection, of course, is the goal.”
He goes on in the article to provide some practical advice, which applies much more to photographers of a bygone era than today. For example, there’s no need to rely on friends in a certain region to obtain a weather report. You also don’t need to worry about burning through film, unless, of course, you’re shooting with film instead of digital. But a little while later Chuck states, “Providence, equipment, legwork and viewpoint; to me these are the four indispensables in picture-making. You may get fair results with lesser combinations but you can’t click completely without all four.”
Pacific Poppies – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – Pacific Blues
And that’s the answer: you need a bit of luck, quality camera gear (which most equipment nowadays is), do some research before heading out, and find good compositions; when that fails or even when it succeeds, do it again another day, in a different light, during a different season. Then your photos of famous places will look good. That’s the advice Chuck Abbott gave, and I think it is just as true today as the day it was published in Arizona Highways.
In the comments section of the PetaPixel article, someone stated, “Those fantastic examples didn’t come straight out of camera looking like that. It takes work and skill to coax what our eyes see at a scenic place from what the camera saw at the same place.” While the sample pictures in the article were indeed most likely edited, I disagree that RAW editing is any sort of prerequisite to great photographs. In fact, all of my pictures in this article are unedited camera-made JPEGs using my Film Simulation Recipes. So it is, in fact, completely possible to have pictures “come straight out of camera looking like that.” You can make the camera “see” what our eyes (or our mind’s eyes) see at a scenic place (or any place) if you want to, and Fujifilm cameras plus my Recipes make it easy. The hard part is up to you: returning to places you’ve already been to capture a better, or at least different, interpretation of the subject.
As I was contemplating how I might approach the use of this Recipe on my X-T5, a Fuji X Weekly reader suggested that I should modify it by using the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation instead of Eterna. Because there are some similarities between those two film sims, there is potential for crossover. Sure enough, with the right modifications, I was able to recreate the look and feel of the Kodak Vision3 250D Recipe using Nostalgic Neg.; however, it’s not an identical rendering, especially the shadows, which are a little warmer. There are other small differences, too. As you know, one film can have many different looks depending on how it was shot, developed, and scanned or printed, so you could consider this v2 version of Kodak Vision3 250D to be a divergent (yet still similar) aesthetic that replicates a different handling of the film.
If you have a camera with the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation, I invite you to try this new Kodak Vision3 250D v2 Film Simulation Recipe! You should also try the version that uses Eterna, too, and see which one you like better. While the “v1” Recipe has been my favorite for years, I think I like this new v2 version just a little more. It definitely produces an analog-like look that is easy to appreciate.
Film Simulation: Nostalgic Neg. Dynamic Range: DR200 Grain Effect: Strong, Small Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome FX Blue: Off White Balance: Fluorescent 1, -5 Red & 0 Blue Highlight: +4 Shadow: +3 Color: -1 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -2 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Vision3 250D v2 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
Public Telephone – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Spinning Carousel – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Snack Stop – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Nighttime at Circle K – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Joyful – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Urban Bougainvillea – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Little Plant in a Courtyard – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sitting & Waiting – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Outdoor Dining – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Vines & Concrete – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Reflected Light on a Tall Building – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
In Step – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
High Rise Condo – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Constructing a Tall Building – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Jon – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Photo by Amanda Roesch
95 LED Shoes – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Parking Garage – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Urban Vine – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Level 2 – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
No Left Turn – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Holiday Guitarist – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Cranes & Palms – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Layton – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Electric Construction – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Apartment Patio – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Autumn Rooftop – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Gazebo Roof – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Rainbows & Bougainvillea – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea Veiling Palm – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Pink Blossoming Flowers – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
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In the Season 3 finale of SOOC Live, Fuji X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry and I discussed double exposure photography at length, and especially how to do it in-camera on Fujifilm models. If you are interested in the topic and didn’t catch that episode when it was live, you may want to take some time and watch it now. I’ve included it below. If you are short on time, skip ahead to the 35 minute mark, and begin around there.
I’m not going to rehash all that was said during the show (you’ve got to watch it)—this is a lengthy and complicated topic that can go many different directions. Really, books can be (and have been) written about it. Instead, I want to talk about Film Simulation Recipes for double exposures, and also provide a little more explanation for some things that maybe weren’t clear in the broadcast. I hope it all makes sense by the end.
The three Film Simulation Recipes that we discussed in the show and are challenging you to shoot with for the remainder of December plus most of January are Mystery Chrome, Dramatic Monochrome, and Faded Negative. Some notes about each:
Mystery Chrome is fully compatible with X-Trans III cameras, plus the X-T3 and X-T30. To use it on newer models, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, Clarity to 0, and choose a Grain size (Small or Large… I recommend Large). For those using newer cameras, we recommend using the Average setting for this Recipe, but don’t be afraid to try Additive.
Dramatic Monochrome is fully compatible with the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-T30. To use it on X-Trans III cameras, simply ignore Color Chrome Effect—the results will be nearly identical. To use it on newer cameras, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, Clarity to 0, and choose a Grain size (Small or Large… I recommend Large). For those using newer cameras, we recommend using the Additive setting for this Recipe, but don’t be afraid to try Average.
Faded Negative is fully compatible with X-Trans IV cameras, except for the X-T3 and X-T30. To use it on X-Trans V models, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak instead of Strong. This Recipe is not found in the Fuji X Weekly App because it requires further explanation on how to use it, and the App format is not conducive to that; however, in the broadcast Nathalie provides a great tip for how you can use the New Recipe (Blank Recipe Card) feature to add it to your App if you’d like. Be sure to read the article before attempting to use this Recipe.
You can use any Film Simulation Recipe with double exposure photography, but in my experience the ones that work best are Recipes that are especially contrasty. For the purpose of the show, we’re using three specific ones; however, feel free to try any Recipe that interests you. The color pictures below were captured using the Ferrania Solaris FG 400 Recipe, and Kodak Tri-X 400 was used for the B&W. As for submitting images for the Viewers’ Images Slideshow, please only use the Mystery Chrome, Dramatic Monochrome, and Faded Negative Recipes.
One thing that perhaps should have been demonstrated in the show but wasn’t is what in-camera double exposures look like, taking a peek at each of the two exposures individually and then the combined image. Since the newer cameras can save a RAW file of each exposure (which can be processed into a JPEG in-camera), it’s possible to demonstrate this pretty easily.
Exposure 1
Exposure 2
Double Exposure using Average
Exposure 1
Exposure 2
Double Exposure using Average
Exposure 1
Exposure 2
Double Exposure using Additive
I would say that double exposure photography takes a lot of practice to feel comfortable with, but there is a ton of potential for creativity. It’s worth trying, and it’s worth going through a lot of failures in order to get good at it. There are also so many different approaches and methods that can yield very different results. You’ll discover some of these as you practice. So my encouragement for you is to try and try again. If the pictures aren’t very good at first, don’t give up! Keep at it, and pretty soon you’ll surprise yourself with what you create.
One last thing: below I’ve included the Viewers’ Images Slideshow for the Reala Ace episode. If you haven’t yet seen it, be sure to watch it now. I want to express a very big “Thank you!” to everyone who submitted their photographs for inclusion in it. I always enjoy seeing your wonderful pictures!
Left the Lights On – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fluorescent Night Recipe
I wanted to create a Film Simulation Recipe for my Fujifilm X-T5 camera that would produce a certain look when shot under fluorescent lights at night. Now there are different varieties of fluorescent lightbulbs, and the kelvin temperature can vary quite significantly between them. It’s also not uncommon to find fluorescent lights mixed with other nearby light sources. In other words, results will very depending on the exact light situation. Sometimes this Recipe will produce warm results, and sometimes cool. While not modeled after any specific emulsion, this Recipe is similar to using a Tungsten-balanced film—perhaps something similar to Fujicolor NPL 160T or Kodak Portra 100T, although it’s not exactly like either of those. This Recipe gives you one more option for nighttime photography.
What I found myself enjoying more than I thought I would is using this Fluorescent Night Film Simulation Recipe during the day. It has an obvious cool cast with pronounced blues. Still, I was pleasantly surprised that this Recipe is halfway decent for daylight use. If you are looking for a retro film-like aesthetic that isn’t warm, Fluorescent Night might be a good option for your daylight photography.
A Visit with Santa – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Fluorescent Night Recipe
This Fluorescent Night Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with all Fujifilm fifth-generation X-Trans cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20 (yes, the X-S20). You should also be able to use this on newer GFX models, but the results will likely be slightly different (try it anyway). For nighttime use, I most often selected -2/3 or -1/3 exposure compensation, and for daylight I most often used +1/3 or +2/3; however, “typical exposure compensation” is only meant as a starting point, and each exposure should be judged individually.
Film Simulation: Nostalgic Neg. Dynamic Range: DR200 Grain Effect: Strong, Small Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak White Balance: Fluorescent 2, -8 Red & -1 Blue Highlight: -1 Shadow: -1.5 Color: +4 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -3 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Fluorescent Night Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
Happy Girl – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Neighborhood Bougainvillea – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea Blue – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea Along Stucco Wall – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Sidewalk Potted Plant – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Potted Palm Tree – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Hairstyle Chair – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Christmas Tree & Letters to Santa – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Illuminated Door at Abandoned Building – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Broken Window – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Birria – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Circle K Gas Station – Surprise, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Christmas Star – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
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Spooner Cove – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold
When I published my Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes of 2023 (so far…), what was surprisingly absent were any that were modeled after or inspired by Fujifilm emulsions. The Top 25 were almost entirely Kodak-like Recipes. That shouldn’t be too surprising since Kodak was the most popular film manufacturer, so the desire for a Kodak rendering is to be expected. But, personally, I really appreciate many of the Fujicolor Recipes, and their complete exclusion from the Top 25 list was a bit unexpected.
Someone suggested that I should make a new list, this one showcasing the most popular Fujifilm-like Recipes. Just like the Top 25 list, this one is based on page-view website statistics. It’s a flawed method, but the best that I have available to me. I included the overall ranking, too, just so that you can see where they stand in the big picture.
The number one most popular Fujicolor Recipe is for X-Trans III cameras (plus the X-T3 and X-T30), as is number eight. The tenth spot is an X-Trans V Recipe. All the others are for X-Trans IV cameras. Eight of these use Classic Negative as the base, one uses PRO Neg. Std, and one uses Velvia. Some of these are personal favorite Recipes of mine, while some of my other personal favorite Recipes that are modeled after or inspired by Fujifilm emulsions didn’t make this list.
Without any further delay, here are the Top 10 Fujicolor Film Simulation Recipes:
The December issue of FXW Zine is out now! Creative Collective subscribers can download it today. Not a Creative Collective subscriber? Join to gain access to this issue plus all pervious issues of FXW Zine and the many bonus articles.
Issue 25, which begins year-three of the publication—has four articles that feature three Film Simulation Recipes. There are 33 pictures (including the cover) over 24 pages. Enjoy!
In early 2023, Artificial Intelligence burst onto the Film Simulation Recipe scene, and, at the request of photographers across the world, AI began creating all sorts of camera settings to emulate all sorts of different aesthetics for Fujifilm models. I was on the leading edge of this, and in March published Using AI to Create Film Simulation Recipes, which included the ChatGPT-created Urban Dreams Recipe.
I didn’t stop there. In April I published a YouTube video (which you’ll find below) entitled Kodachrome X Fujifilm Recipe made by ChatGPT vs Fuji X Weekly Kodachrome II. I don’t publish very many YouTube videos (only three in 2023); however, I felt this topic was important enough to dedicate a video to it. Shortly thereafter, also in April, I published a companion article called Can AI Make a Fujifilm Recipe?, which included the ChatGPT-created Kodak Ektachrome E100VS v1 Recipe (along with the non-AI v2).
I didn’t quit there—not even close! In June, on the SOOC Live broadcasts, Fujifilm X-Photography Nathalie Boucry and myself chatted twice (for about three hours in total) about ChatGPT Film Simulation Recipes. If you’re curious about this topic, that’s probably the most informative discussion you’ll find. I’ve included both of those videos below.
Also in June, as a companion piece for those two SOOC Live episodes, I published an article entitled Shooting with ChatGPT AI Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes. That article included two more AI-made Recipes: Soft Blue Classic and Vivid Summer Glow. I’ve published a total of four ChatGPT Film Simulation Recipes on this website. I think two are pretty good, and two are very mediocre—only the two that are “good” are in the Fuji X Weekly App.
While I’ve published four AI-made Recipes, I’ve asked ChatGPT to create probably close to 50 (using multiple accounts). Most of them weren’t good, so they never saw the light of day. I’ve talked about all of this before, but just to quickly rehash, here are some of the big issues with using ChatGPT to create Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras:
AI will always give you an answer, but whether that answer has any value is another question entirely.
AI can’t see, and doesn’t know how the various camera settings translate to real-world use. It can only attempt to match descriptions.
If you ask it to create the same Recipe—using the same exact wording—on multiple accounts, you will get multiple answers, often quite divergent from each other.
I’ve never experienced an instance where all of the required Recipe parameters were included in the first try. Each time, I’ve had to identify the missing camera settings, and ask AI to add those to the Recipe.
AI will sometimes include nonexistent or nonsensical settings.
ChatGPT is very predictable, and will not usually stray outside of certain box. Ask it to make enough of these, and the box is easily identifiable.
ChatGPT doesn’t cite its sources, even when asked. It definitely operates unethically, and probably (in my opinion) illegally—eventually courts will make various rulings as they hear different lawsuits.
So why bring this up again? First, I’ve had several people over the last month comment that ChatGPT is a wonderful resource for Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes. I strongly disagree with that for the reasons mentioned above, and I thought it worthwhile to discuss those reasons again for those who might be unaware. Second, someone asked if Google’s Bard AI was any better than ChatGPT at creating Film Simulation Recipes. I wasn’t sure, so I spent some time over Thanksgiving putting it to the test. So let’s find out!
Captured with the AI-made Soft Blue Classic Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X100V.
The first question I asked Bard was, “Make me a Film Simulation Recipe for my Fujifilm X-T5 that mimics the aesthetic of Kodachrome 64 film.” Well, I could tell very quickly that this wasn’t going to work out well, as the first setting it gave was the Acros film simulation. It included the nonsensical setting of Color +2 (you cannot select Color when using Acros). The settings that Bard failed to provide were Dynamic Range, White Balance Shift, Color Chrome Effect (although it did give Color Chrome FX Blue), and Clarity. I assume that it would have also missed Grain size, but it said to set Grain to Off.
Obviously that “Kodachrome 64 Recipe” will not look anything like actual Kodachrome 64 slides, even if it did somehow make sense. I asked Bard to cite its sources, and to my surprise it did! It gave me (broken) links to my website, including these articles: Kodachrome 64, Kodachrome 25, and Monochrome Kodachrome. Apparently, Bard has been trained using Fuji X Weekly (or to search for it… Bard is a Google product after all), but it’s not very good at it. In my opinion, AI should provide a bibliography of its sources upfront without being asked. Even Wikipedia does that, and apparently it’s not a reliable enough source for serious work. Bard will cite its sources when asked, which is better than nothing, while ChatGPT won’t even do that. If Wikipedia can’t be taken seriously, than AI should be taken even less so. It’s super sketchy that AI doesn’t cite it’s sources, but at least Bard will do so when prompted to.
I asked Bard to tell me why it chose the settings that it did. This demonstrates very clearly that trying to match descriptions of camera settings with descriptions of the film is an unrealistic method for achieving accurate approximations of various looks. For example, “Acros is a black and white film simulation that provides a good starting point for replicating Kodachrome’s tonal range and contrast.” And, “Kodachrome had a tendency to lift shadows, creating a slightly brighter and more open appearance. Raising the shadow setting by 0.5 replicates this effect.” And, “Kodachrome had a subtle ability to retain detail in highlights, preventing them from becoming blown out. Lowering the highlight setting by -1 helps achieve this result.” If you know even a little about Kodachrome 64 film and Fujifilm camera settings, you should have no issues identifying the problems there.
Bard’s “Kermit the Frog juggling Elmo Recipe” is not a good choice for portraits.
I didn’t stop with that one Recipe. I asked Bard to make many more. After a number of tries, I began to ask it for ridiculous Recipes, just to see what it would do. Make me a Film Simulation Recipe that mimics Kermit the Frog juggling Elmo. Make me a Film Simulation Recipe that mimics the look of digesting rotten apples that are crawling with spiders. Make me a Film Simulation Recipe that mimics the aesthetic of comedian Brian Regan hitchhiking across the Delaware River during the Clone Wars. In each case—instead of responding with “you are nuts” or “that makes no sense”—it provided me with a Recipe. It always will. For the Brian Regan Recipe, it tells me, in order to capture the essence of his adventure, I should photograph him on a rural road next to a river bank with some fog. Sounds intriguing, but there’s a problem.
You see, Bard has a bigger tendency than even ChatGPT to include nonexistent settings. Some of these are Color Chrome FX Red (which, arguably, could be just Color Chrome Effect), Color Chrome FX Green, Grain Effect Medium, WB Shift +1, and Image Enhancement On. This is in addition to the missing settings that are required for a Recipe but weren’t included, and the occasional nonsensical ones (like Color +2 with Acros). Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of what Bard provides when asked to make a Recipe.
For those wondering about Color Chrome FX Green, Bard had this to say: Color Chrome FX Green increases saturation and vibrancy of green pixels and slightly lifts green shadows for a more balanced tonal range. Use sparingly, as a subtle application of Color Chrome FX Green can produce pleasing results. Excessive use may make the image appear unnatural. Of course, there is no such thing as Color Chrome FX Green, but even if there was, it wouldn’t work as described by Bard.
The conclusion of this whole article is that ChatGPT and Bard are not good resources for Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras. They are both capable of making Recipes (they will always give you one if you ask), but whether or not those Recipes are worth using or resemble what they’re supposed to is another story entirely. A broken clock is correct twice each day, and sometimes you can get a good Recipe by chance when using AI, but most often that won’t be the case. However, because these chatbots tend to stay within a box and don’t often stray outside of it, the Recipes that they make are often not terrible, they’re usually okay-ish. But you have to put up with the missing, nonexistent, and nonsensical settings. And you have to be alright with the unethical nature of it. My personal advice, if you want a Recipe that is more likely to give you good results, is to look no further than my website.
Someone said that AI will usually do a better job than a complete novice, but never as good as an expert. I agree with that assessment. I think if you ask ChatGPT or Bard enough times for Film Simulation Recipes, you are bound to get some that are trash, a bunch that are so-so, and a couple that are actually good. You could probably have as much luck rolling dice or throwing darts to create Recipes. That’s just the way it is. However, the technology is advancing rather quickly, and it’s only a matter of time before AI will be able to analyze pictures, have a good understanding of Fujifilm camera settings, and be able to approximate an accurate replication of picture aesthetics with the available JPEG settings. We’re not there yet, though. There’s a significant gap. I don’t doubt that the technology will get there eventually, perhaps in another five or ten years.
That will put me out of business. I understand that day is eventually coming, and that’s ok. It is what it is, as they say. The sad thing is that AI is using my own words and work against me. The more I publish, the more resources OpenAI and Google have to train their AI. It’s a type of theft. I do think that the courts will eventually rule that much of what they’ve done doesn’t qualifying as “fair use” under the law, but the damage will already have been done, and folks like me wont be compensated a dime for it. That’s the way life goes sometimes. The big guy walks all over the little guy. But, when life throws you punches, bob and weave (I’ve heard that quote attributed to Joe Frazier, but I’m not certain), which simply means that I have to evolve. As Bob Dylan sang, the times, they are a changin’. They always have been, and always will be. That’s why I spent so much time this year exploring the topic of AI Film Simulation Recipes. I had to know where Fuji X Weekly stands in all of it. This website has evolved a whole bunch since its launch in 2017, and it will continue to do so in the coming months and years. I appreciate all of those who have come along for the ride, and I look forward to seeing where this Fuji X Weekly thing goes as the future unfolds. If anything, it will be an interesting adventure, perhaps like Brian Regan’s hitchhiking escapades along the foggy Delaware River during the Clone Wars.
Working – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Vision3 250D Recipe
This is a long-overdue adaptation of the X-T3/X-T30 Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe for use on “newer” X-Trans IV cameras. Kodak Vision3 250D is one of my favorite Recipes, but it’s only compatible with the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-T30; however, I’ve been using it on my X100V and X-E4 occasionally for years. It’s not hard to adapt X-T3/X-T30 or X-Trans III Recipes for use on newer models by simply selecting a Grain size (Small or Large), setting Color Chrome FX Blue (and Color Chrome Effect for X-Trans III Recipes) to Off, and Clarity to 0. In the case of this Recipe, I prefer Clarity set to -2 and not 0, but it’s acceptable either way.
Vision3 250D is a medium-speed daylight-balanced color motion picture film introduced by Kodak in 2009. It was a replacement for the similar (yet slightly inferior) Vision2 250D. Vison3 250D can be developed in ECN-2 chemistry or C-41. There is a lot of variation in how the film can look depending on a host of factors—especially how shot, developed, and scanned—but I’ve always been impressed with how closely this Recipe mimics some of the aesthetics produces by the emulsion.
This Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. For fifth-generation models, which are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20 (yes, the X-S20!), you can use this Recipe, but blue will render more deeply, so it will look slightly different.
Film Simulation: Eterna Dynamic Range: DR100 Grain Effect: Strong, Small Color Chrome Effect: Strong Color Chrome FX Blue: Off White Balance: Fluorescent 1, -3 Red & -1 Blue Highlight: +3 Shadow: +4 Color: +3 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -2 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:
MartAnne’s – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Dancing Joy – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
No Fun – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Urban Daisies – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Boat on Lake Hamilton – Hot Springs, AR – Fujifilm X-E4
Rainy Rose – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Willow – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Afternoon Joy – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Desert Creek – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Arizona Date Palm – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Bougainvillea & Palm Trunk – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Potted Flower Blooms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Park Gazebo – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4
Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
Suburban Abstract – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Xpro”
This Xpro Film Simulation Recipe came about after some experiments with white balance and shifts. It went through several iterations before I settled on these settings. The results remind me of cross-processed Fujichrome Sensia or perhaps Elite Chrome. Cross processing film (also called Xpro) is developing it in chemistry that it wasn’t intended to be developed in, most commonly color slide film (E6) in color negative film (C41) chemistry. Different films can give different results when cross processed. I have several other cross-process inspired Film Simulation Recipes (here, here, here, and here); this one is simply a little different aesthetic.
This was a Patron Early-Access Film Simulation Recipe in the Fuji X Weekly App, available to App Patrons for over a year. It’s been replaced by a different Early-Access Recipe, so now it’s available to everyone. It’s not one that you’ll want to use all of the time, but occasionally for a different look it is great. It’s more of a “fun” Recipe. If you are a Fuji X Weekly App Patron, be sure to look for the new Early-Access Recipe!
Storm – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Xpro”
This Xpro Film Simulation Recipe is fully compatible with X-Trans III cameras, which are the X-Pro2, X100F, X-E3, X-T2, X-T20, and X-H1, plus the X-T3 and X-T30. For newer cameras, you’ll have to decide on a Grain size (Small or Large), set Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0. This Recipe can also be used on the “older” GFX models (50R and 50S), but will render slightly differently.
Classic Chrome Dynamic Range: DR400 Highlight: -1 Shadow: +3 Color: +4 Color Chrome Effect: N/A (X-Trans III) or Off (X-T3/X-T30) Sharpness: -1 Noise Reduction: -4 Grain: Weak White Balance: 3400K, -6 Red & -9 Blue ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 1/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Xpro Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-H1 and X-T30:
Associated Fence – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Green – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Structured Abstract – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Roof & Fence Lines – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Tile Roof – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Cactus Hotels – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Barrel Cactus – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Secret Garden Gate – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Don’t, This Way – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Light Bulb – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Closed Window – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Pigeon Pipe – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Pergola in the Rain – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Arizona Architecture – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Hanging Blossoms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Dark Flowers – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Light Pink with Green – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1
Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
Small Clouds Above the Roof – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30 – Pro Neg Recipe
This Film Simulation Recipe is one that I’ve been working on and have had programmed into my Fujifilm X-T30 for some time now. It’s been through a lot of iterations, with small tweaks here and there over the last several months, before I landed on the final settings. The idea was to create a generic Kodak-ish color negative film aesthetic, perhaps something similar to ColorPlus 200 or Pro Image 100. While I did look at both of those emulsions a number of times during the development of this Recipe, I didn’t set out to strictly emulate either of them. I think there can be similarities at times to those two film stocks, but generally speaking this Recipe isn’t a replication of either. I hope that makes sense. I do think it does a good job at producing a generic color negative film aesthetic that is by-and-large Kodak-like, with occasional similarities to both ColorPlus 200 and Pro Image 100.
Pro Neg is a Fuji X Weekly App Patron Early-Access Recipe. The Fuji X Weekly App is free, yet becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron unlocks the best App experience! One benefit of being a Patron is you get early access to some new Film Simulation Recipes. These Early-Access Recipes will eventually become available free to everyone in time, including this new one. Patrons help support Fuji X Weekly and, really, without them there would be no App. So I want to give a special “thank you” to all of the Patrons!
Beautiful Bougainvillea Blooms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30 – Pro Neg Recipe
This Pro Neg Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-T3 & X-T30, plus all X-Trans III cameras, which are the X-Pro2, X100F, X-E3, X-T2, X-T20, and X-H1. For newer cameras, you’ll have to decide on a Grain size (Small or Large), set Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0. This Recipe can also be used on the “older” GFX models (50R and 50S), but will render slightly differently.
Find the Pro Neg Recipe in the Fuji X Weekly App! If you are a Fuji X Weekly App Patron, it’s available to you right now.
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Pro Neg Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:
Empty Schoolyard – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Backyard Wall View – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Hidden Triangle – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Gila River Hat – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Tree by Field 4 – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Bougainvillea Petals – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Little Cloud Between the Trees – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Twin Palms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Palm Behind Bougainvillea Blossoms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Suburban Colors – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Bougainvillea in the Sky – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Basketball Hoop at Dusk – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Hoop & Tree – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Court Cycle – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Dusk Saguaro – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
One Fallen, One Standing – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Window Reflection – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Yellow Trumpet – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
Backyard Rose Blossom – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30
I get asked sometimes a very fair question: why use Film Simulation Recipes when Fujifilm’s factory-default film simulations are just so darn good?
Fujifilm has, in my opinion, the best JPEG output of any brand. Their film simulations are significantly influenced by Fujifilm’s vast experience with analog film, and it should not surprise anyone that they look good without any modifications. However, Fujifilm does provide a number of tools to customize and fine-tune the straight-out-of-camera results, which I believe makes them even better.
For those who don’t know, Film Simulation Recipes are settings for Fujifilm cameras that produce certain aesthetics, often modeled after classic film emulsions. I have published over 300 of them, which you can find on this website and the Fuji X Weekly App. Recipes are intended to be shot as JPEGs (or RAW+JPEG, if you prefer), and produce out-of-camera pictures that don’t require any editing, or perhaps minimal post-processing if you like. They appear as though they were edited, or even film-like. This saves a lot of time, hassle, and possibly money. It opens up photography to those who don’t know how to RAW edit, or don’t have the desire to learn, or maybe don’t even have access to editing software. This also makes photography more enjoyable to folks (like me) who have RAW-edited for years but don’t care much for it, and would rather be doing other things (like capturing more pictures!).
Golden Light in Abandoned House – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Reala 100
Many photographers who own a Fujifilm camera never dive into the menu to adjust the JPEG parameters. They keep it on Provia/STD and at factory defaults, which is 0, Off, or Auto. Or maybe they try the other film simulations, but they still keep everything else set to the default settings. It’s completely understandable. The results are already good, and, besides, the options can seem overwhelming and confusing. Film Simulation Recipes, which takes the guesswork out of the various options, improve upon the standard film sims, but also provide some variety. If you only ever use the default options, you are limited to (for example) a maximum of 10 looks for color photography (11 if you have the latest GFX model with Reala Ace), but there are over 300 Film Simulation Recipes, so (depending on your camera model) you could have hundreds to choose from. You can find the Recipes that produce aesthetics that best match your style and taste.
This is in no way intended to put down factory-default film simulations, or those who use them. My intention is to simply compare a default film sim photograph with a Film Simulation Recipe. Maybe you like the non-Recipe picture better, and that’s ok if you do. There are so many other Recipes to choose from, and I bet at least one would produce a look that you like more than the default film sim—for example, there are 80 Recipes in the Fuji X Weekly App that use Classic Chrome, so if you don’t like the Recipe I chose for this article, there are 79 others that could possibly be a better match for you.
Some Film Simulation Recipes are drastically divergent from the default film simulations, and some are only subtly altered. Many are intended for certain light situations (sunny daylight or artificial light, for example), while Auto White Balance is the factory standard. There’s no one single “right” Recipe or even a perfect film simulation. What matters is finding what works best for you and your photography. That could be a collection of Film Simulation Recipes, it could be a default film sim, or it might be shooting RAW and editing with the software of your choice, or any combination thereof or something different entirely. There’s no right or wrong way. For me, it’s shooting straight-out-of-camera JPEGs using Film Simulation Recipes.
Below are examples of factory-default film simulations compared to Film Simulation Recipes.
Find these Film Simulation Recipes and about 300 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.
Yellow Aspen Forest – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 160 v2 – DR-P Auto
Fujifilm introduced a feature called D-Range Priority (abbreviated DR-P) on the Fujifilm X-T3 in late-2018. Except that’s not entirely true, as the history of DR-P goes back much further than that. You see, Fujifilm EXR cameras, which were before X-Trans and utilized pixel-binning, also had something called D-Range Priority. Oh, and on their Frontier scanners, Fujifilm had something nearly identical to DR-P called Hypertone. The origins of DR-P seem to be found somewhere in the 1990’s.
My first camera that had D-Range Priority—a Fujifilm X-T30—arrived at my doorstep in early-2019, but I haven’t utilized the feature all that much, only sparingly. I get questions about it fairly regularly, particularly after I publish a Film Simulation Recipe that uses it, so I thought I’d take a moment and explain what DR-P is, plus how, when, and why to use it.
Let’s go back to Fujifilm’s Frontier scanners, which were common in photo labs in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Fujifilm modeled their film simulations—at least in part—after scans of films with corrections applied. Those scans were likely from Frontier scanners, and one of the corrections that Fujifilm recommended was Hypertone set to Auto. One limitation of digital camera sensors compared to color negative film is dynamic range. Negative film often has a larger dynamic range than digital cameras (especially in the early days of digital). Film tends to be more forgiving to overexposure (highlights), where digital tends to be more forgiving to underexposure (shadows). Hypertone was a software trick to maximize dynamic range so that it would digitally render more similarly to printed film on Fujicolor paper. D-Range Priority is a trick to achieve a dynamic range more similar to Frontier film scans that had Hypertone enabled.
Which answers the question of why to use it. D-Range Priority maximizes dynamic range, so as to keep highlights and shadows in check, but especially highlights. It’s more difficult to blow out highlights when you use DR-P. If you want to have the greatest dynamic range so as to avoid clipped highlights and blocked-up shadows, this is your best tool.
A few notes. First, like the regular Dynamic Range options (you know, DR100, DR200, DR400, and DR-Auto), D-Range Priority is ISO dependent. In this regard, DR-P Weak is like using DR200, and DR-P Strong is like using DR400. D-Range Priority is used in lieu of the Dynamic Range settings, so you cannot choose (for example) both DR200 and DR-P Weak simultaneously, only one or the other. Also, D-Range Priority disables the Tone Curve, so you cannot select a Highlight and Shadow setting. When enabled, DR-P is the Tone Curve. Interestingly, DR400 with both Highlight and Shadow set to -2 produces similar results to DR-P Weak. DR-P Auto chooses DR-P Weak almost always, and only selects DR-P Strong when there is a very bright light source, like shooting directly at the sun. D-Range Priority Strong produces a very low-contrast image, while DR-P Weak is a little less flat, but is still low-contrast.
To choose D-Range Priority, within the IQ section of the camera’s main Menu find D-Range Priority and select Auto, Strong, or Weak. Normally, D-Range Priority is set to Off. You only enable it when you want to use it. You can also choose D-Range Priority within Edit/Save Custom Presets, and have it enabled on any of your C1-C7 (or C1-C4, depending on your model) options.
To answer the when to use D-Range Priority question, it’s important to remember what DR-P does: produce a low-contrast picture that maximizes dynamic range to protect shadows and especially highlights. If you want punchy pictures, DR-P is not what you want to use (although in high contrast situations, you might still get dramatic results). If you want light pictures that might more closely resemble film scans (particularly from Frontier scanners), then DR-P is an option that you’ll want to consider.
While D-Range Priority is a fairly recent addition to X-Trans cameras—first introduced on X-Trans IV models—it turns out to have a much longer history. For years I assumed that D-Range Priority was for emergency use in extreme situations only, so I pretty much ignored it. I have since warmed up to DR-P, and I use it much more often than I used to. I still feel it’s probably not an option to utilize all of the time, but in the right situations or for a certain look, it works really well.
At the very moment that I was finishing up my Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation Recipe for X-Trans IV cameras, Thomas Schwab, who has created or co-created a number of Recipes on this website, sent me a modification that he made of the “old” Kodak Portra 160 Recipe (for X-Trans III plus the X-T3 & X-T30 cameras) to make it compatible with X-Trans V models. Clear as mud? Let me retry. This new Kodak Portra 160 v2 Recipe was modified by Thomas from the Kodak Portra 160 Recipe published in 2020 so as to be compatible with X-Trans V cameras. Plus he gave it a tune-up. Excitedly, I programmed this new version into my Fujifilm X-T5; however, I had several other projects going on, so it took a little time to get this one out. Thomas Schwab did a great job of updating the old version, and the results speak for themselves. I want to give Thomas a special “thank you” for his work and willingness to share!
Kodak introduced the Portra line in 1998, with two ISO 160 versions, two ISO 400 versions, and an ISO 800 emulsion (plus a short-lived ISO 100 Tungsten film, for those keeping score). Portra saw a couple of updates by Kodak, and in late-2010 the two ISO 160 versions were merged into one, as well as the two ISO 400 versions. Originally, Kodak Portra 160 came in “NC” (neutral color) and “VC” (vivid color) versions; Portra 160 NC was more popular for portraits and Portra 160 VC was more popular for landscapes. When Kodak merged the two, it fell kind of in-between the two emulsions—more vibrant than NC but less than VC. This Film Simulation Recipe is more similar to the merged Portra 160 that Kodak introduced in 2010. The film has become iconic, with its warm yet natural colors. As the name implies, it was meant for portrait photography, but is popular for many genres.
Shell Gas Station – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 160 v2 Recipe
This Kodak Portra 160 v2 Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with fifth-generation X-Trans cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2, X-H2s, X-T5, and X-S20 (yes, the X-S20). With one modification—setting Color Chrome FX Blue to Strong instead of Weak—this Recipe is also compatible with most fourth-generation X-Trans cameras: X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4 & X-T30 II. This can also be used on newer GFX models, but it will render slightly different (try it anyway).
Film Simulation: Classic Chrome Grain Effect: Weak, Small Color Chrome Effect: Weak Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak White Balance: Daylight, +4 Red & -5 Blue Dynamic Range: D-Range Priority (DR-P) Auto Color: 0 Sharpness: -1 High ISO NR: -4 Clarity: -2 ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Portra 160 v2 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
Smokey Sunset – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Mountainous Contemplations – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Siblings – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Backlit Boy in Autumn – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Jonathan Using RitchieCam – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Golden Hour, Golden Trees – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Deer in the Meadow – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Yellow Aspen Tree Tops – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Yellow Aspens behind Green Pine – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Leaves & Needles – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Autumn Joy – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Bougainvillea Pink – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Endless Blue & Palms – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Dusk in the Suburbs – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Frisbee Golf – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Yard Palm – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Palm Behind Bougainvillea – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
Two-Trunked Saguaro – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5
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No Cigarettes – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodachrome 64 Recipe
I get asked fairly regularly which Film Simulation Recipes are the most popular. For me, this is a fascinating topic, but it’s definitely hard to know definitively. While I get a glimpse on social media, my best gauge is the Fuji X Weekly website statistics; specifically, which Recipe articles are viewed the most. I don’t collect any data on the Fuji X Weekly App, so that’s no help—although, if I did, it would likely offer the most accurate picture; however, it would still be impossible to know which Recipes people programmed into their Fujifilm cameras, or how often they use each. Perhaps a survey would be particularly useful, yet even it has its limitations. While certainly a flawed method, page-view website statics offer the best glimpse at which Film Simulation Recipes are the most popular, so that’s what I’m using for this article. These are simply the Top 25 most-viewed Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly website.
There’s a lot that can be gleaned from this exercise, but also a grain of salt must be consumed, too. For example, Vibrant Arizona actually has four Recipes in that article (two versions of two), so it would certainly rank lower if it only had one; also, it was published near the end of April, so it has a time disadvantage, as do all of the other Recipes published after January 1st. But, setting those limitations aside, there are still some fascinating trends to be explored. Some of these rankings are quite surprising to me, and others are not surprising at all.
Classic Chrome is the king of film simulations. The five most popular Fuji X Weekly Recipes all use Classic Chrome, as do 21 of the Top 25. Second place, which is Classic Negative with two, is a very distant second. Acros and PRO Neg. Std have one each. The other film simulations don’t even chart on this list. For those who use Film Simulation Recipes, Classic Chrome is clearly the film sim of choice for most.
Not surprisingly, Recipes with Kodak brand names are the most popular. 13 have Kodak in the name, eight have Portra in the name, and five have Kodachrome in the name. Kodak was the most popular film brand, so it should be expected that Film Simulation Recipes that mimic those emulsions would also be popular. What is surprising to me is that none with Fujifilm, Fujicolor, Superia, Provia, Velvia, etc., in the Recipe name made this list, as some of those are my personal favorites.
10 of these Recipes use a Kelvin White Balance, eight use Auto White Balance, six use Daylight, and one uses a Custom White Balance measurement. Almost all of them are warm, at least a little. Only one B&W Recipe made this list, which isn’t a shock to me because the color Recipes are typically far more popular than monochrome. Only one Recipe specifically intended for night photography made this list, and I’m actually a little surprised by which one and how high it ranks. 10 Recipes use DR200, nine use DR400, five use DR-Auto, and one uses D-Range Priority Strong.
Most people who use Recipes do so on X-Trans IV cameras, specifically the X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II models. Of the Top 25 Recipes, 16 of them are for those specific X-Trans IV cameras, including each of the Top 3. Six are for X-Trans III cameras plus the X-T3 and X-T30, two are for X-Trans V, and one is for X-Trans II (the very last one). But it’s a little more convoluted than that, because some Recipes (Vibrant Arizona and Kodak Tri-X 400 for sure, and probably others) are being used on X-Trans V cameras. Some of the X-Trans III plus X-T3 and X-T30 Recipes are likely being used on X-Trans IV and X-Trans V models to some extent. The majority of X-Trans V Recipes are at a disadvantage because they were published after January 1st, and there are only four fifth-generation X-Trans models anyway. I think the biggest takeaway is that the majority of people who shoot with Film Simulation Recipes in 2023 are doing so on X-Trans III and newer cameras, and X-Trans IV is the largest group within that. Recipes are not as popular on EXR, X-Trans I, X-Trans II, Bayer, and GFX models, although there are certainly many who do use them.
There are some rankings that surprise me. Vibrant Arizona is the only one published in 2023 to make the Top 25, although the fact that there are actually four Recipes in that article certainly affect its page-views. The X-Trans III version of Kodak Portra 400 requires a hard-to-get-right custom White Balance measurement, so it’s always surprising to me that so many use it. Kodak Portra 400 Warm and Bright Summer are especially warm, and their use case is more narrow than the others. If you had asked me what the second-most popular Recipe that uses the Classic Negative film sim, I would not have guessed Kodak Max 800, yet here it is! The X-Trans III version of Kodachrome II was ranked #7 last year, the X-Trans IV version of Kodachome II was ranked #8, Nostalgic Negative was #9, and Kodak Ektar 100 was #10, so those have fallen significantly, now ranked #12, #19, #24, & #16, respectively. I’m a little surprised that Classic Kodak Chrome is the most popular X-Trans II Recipe.
Anyway, I’ve held you up long enough. Let’s get to the list!
Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes of 2023 (…so far)
There are over 300 Film Simulation Recipes on this website and the Fuji X Weekly App. Having so many options to choose from is great, because no matter your style there’s bound to be at least one that you love, and different Recipes are sometimes best in specific situations. The only problem with having all these options is that sometimes it’s hard to know which ones to choose. There can be a paralysis of choice, or, at the very least, it can seem overwhelming.
But not to worry, I’m here to help! Over the last year I’ve been publishing articles to help with this specific problem—to be a guide of sorts through the many Recipes. There’s no comprehensive list (nor should there be, I think) of when to use each option, because whether or not a particular Recipe is great for a specific scenario is subjective. I might like one, but you might dislike it. However, I can provide some direction—something that I have been attempting to do over the last 12 months.
The problem with my method, though, is that it’s easy for my articles on this subject to get lost in the shuffle. So I thought it would be helpful to round them up, and put them into one place. That’s the intention of this article.
First up is my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series. If you only open one article, that’s the one to choose. I think it’s probably the most helpful out of all of them in this post. You might appreciate many of the others, too, so I would encourage you to click on more than one article to read, especially if the number of Film Simulation Recipes feels overwhelming to you, or you’re just not sure where to begin. I hope this helps with that, and you’ll have a little more confidence choosing some to program into your camera.
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Help Support Fuji X Weekly!
Nobody pays me to write the content found on the Fuji X Weekly blog. There’s a real cost to running this website. I also put a lot of my own time into writing the posts. If you’ve found something on Fuji X Weekly helpful to you and you’d like to give back, this is a good place to do it. You can donate to this blog using PayPal by clicking below. I appreciate it! Thank you for your support! Please do not feel obligated to give, but do so only if you want to.
Luxury Among Palms – Laguna Hills, CA – Fujifilm X-T5 – Reala Ace Recipe
Today’s SOOC Livebroadcast was wonderful. Thank you to everyone who tuned in and participated—you all make it great!
We discusses the new Reala Ace film simulation, and talked at length about my Reala Ace Film Simulation Recipe. The Reala Ace Recipe is for X-Trans V cameras, and not everyone has one of those cameras, and even if you do, you might prefer a different option, so Nathalie Boucry and I offered three similar Recipes as alternatives. Specifically, we suggested Fujicolor Reala 100, Fujicolor Superia 100, and Fujicolor 100 Industrial. Watch the video below to learn more.
There are two Fujicolor Reala 100 Recipes—one for X-Trans IV (excluding the X-T3 and X-T30), and one for X-Trans V. Likewise, there are two Fujicolor Superia 100 Recipes—one for X-Trans IV (excluding the X-T3 and X-T30), and one for X-Trans V. The Fujicolor 100 Industrial Recipe is just for the X-T3 and X-T30; however, simply ignore Color Chrome Effect to use it on X-Trans III (it will look very similar, and only slightly different), or for newer cameras, set Grain size to Small, Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0.
While you are here, the long-overdue Viewers’ Images slideshow from the previous broadcast was finally published. You can watch it below. There are some really great pictures by you all, so you’ll definitely want to take a look. Thanks to everyone who submitted photographs!
