Film Simulation Settings

DR200 Film Simulation Recipes

I thought it might be interesting to separate my film simulation recipes by Dynamic Range setting. There are a ton of different ways that one could organize these, so I thought it might be helpful to somebody to see them in various arrangements. Maybe you’ll see a recipe that you haven’t considered using before, or maybe a certain setting will stand out to you that never crossed your mind before. I don’t really know, but you never know, so I’m just going to do it. For this post I’m separating the film simulation recipes by DR setting. Below are all of my recipes that use DR200:

Eterna Low-Contrast

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Elite Chrome 200 Color Fade

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“Warm Contrast”

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Urban Vintage Chrome

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Redscale

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Velvia

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Astia

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Classic Chrome

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Vintage Kodachrome

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PRO Neg. Hi

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Fujicolor Superia 800

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CineStill 800T

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Cross Process

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Kodachrome II

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Kodak Ektachrome 100SW

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Fujicolor Pro 400H

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Acros

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Acros Push-Process

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Ilford HP5 Plus

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Tri-X Push-Process

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DR400 Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on 12 Hours Ago by Ritchie Roesch

I thought it might be interesting to separate my film simulation recipes by Dynamic Range setting. There are a ton of different ways that one could organize these, so I thought it might be helpful to somebody to see them in various arrangements. Maybe you’ll see one that you haven’t considered using before, or maybe a certain setting will stand out to you that never crossed your mind before. I don’t really know, but you never know, so I’m just going to do it. To start with, I’m separating the film simulation recipes by DR setting. Below are all of my recipes that use DR400:

Kodachrome 64

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Kodacolor

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Fujicolor 100 Industrial

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“Eterna”

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Kodak Portra 400

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Aged Color

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Acros

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Video: Street Photography with a Fujifilm X-T30 & Eterna

Posted on 1 Day Ago by Ritchie Roesch

Take a look at Street Photography with a Fujifilm X-T30 & Eterna, which is the latest video from Fuji X Weekly! Last Sunday I shared with you the first video that Amanda and I worked on together, which featured footage and photographs captured using my Kodacolor film simulation recipe. This new video features footage and photographs captured using my Eterna film simulation recipe. The point of this video series is to demonstrate different film simulation recipes for video and still photography, but in a way that’s hopefully entertaining and perhaps even inspirational.

Unlike the last video, which had Amanda behind the video camera, I captured all of the footage for this one. While I was doing it, I did my best to think, “How would Amanda record this shot?” I didn’t do a particularly good job, though, but I did record a lot of content in hopes that there would be something usable. I employed my Fujifilm X-T30 with a Rokinon 12mm lens for both the video and stills. Amanda took all of it into editing software and somehow made this great video. Honestly, I don’t know how she did it. She really did an incredible job!

If you haven’t done so already, please visit the Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel. I invite you to subscribe. Feel free to like, comment and share. Over the coming weeks and months you can expect more video content to be added, thanks to the talents of my wonderful wife, Amanda.

If you are interested in purchasing the gear used for this video, you’ll find my affiliate links below. If you make a purchase using my links I will be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T30 (Body Only) B&H Amazon
Fujifilm X-T30 w/15-45mm lens B&H Amazon
Fujifilm X-T30 w/18-55mm lens B&H Amazon
Rokinon 12mm f/2 B&H Amazon

Fuji X Weekly Featured on Fujirumors

Posted on 2 Days Ago by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm Blog Fujirumors

Did any of you see this? Yesterday, Fujirumors featured Fuji X Weekly on their website! Specifically, Fujirumors shared my film simulation recipes! I didn’t expect that. It was such a nice surprise, and I’m quite appreciative. I’m happy to make these settings more well-known to the Fujifilm community, and hopefully some people find them useful for their own pictures. It really is my pleasure to be helpful to the community at large, as many people within the photography continuum have been helpful to me over the years.

If you found yourself on Fuji X Weekly because of the Fujirumors article, I want to welcome you, and encourage you to look around. There’s a lot more here than just film simulation recipes, although the camera settings are the hallmark of this photography blog. There are other articles that might be beneficial to you, so be sure to check them out. Also, I will be publishing more film simulation recipes in the coming weeks and months, so please follow Fuji X Weekly (look in the bottom right corner) so that you don’t miss out on it.

Fujirumors is a great website that I regularly visit. It’s a great place to see what’s upcoming and to know what’s currently happening with regards to Fujifilm products. If you don’t already follow them, I would encourage you to take a look at their website. In case you missed it, here are some of the websites of Fuji X Weekly readers, which I also encourage you to visit if you haven’t done so already.

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

Posted on 27 Days Ago by Ritchie Roesch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

American Joe – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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

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

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

Peek – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 Film Simulation Recipes So Far This Year

Posted on September 14 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujicolor

As I was reviewing my different film simulation recipes, I realized that I have posted 15 different ones so far in 2019. That’s quite a few! I bet I made close to 25 more that were “failures” and were never shared on this blog. I have several in the works right now, and I hope at least a couple of them will be successful, and will be published in the coming weeks or months. I also have some crazy ideas that I want to try out, and maybe a recipe or two will come out of that, we’ll see.

More of these recipes are based on Classic Chrome than any other film simulation, which is probably because it’s my favorite for color. Eterna and Acros, which are also great film simulations, are tied for second most. PRO Neg. Std has two. Provia, Velvia and Astia have one each, while PRO Neg. Hi doesn’t have any. I would like to do more with those, so maybe I will come up with something soon. I also think Acros is overdue for a new recipe.

Which of these film simulation recipes that I posted in 2019 are your favorite? Which one would you like to try but have yet to do so? Let me know in the comments!

Provia:

Agfa Optima

Velvia:

Velvia

Astia:

Redscale

Classic Chrome:

Kodachrome 64
Kodacolor
Vintage Urban
Faded Color

PRO Neg. Std:

Warm Contrast
Fujicolor Industrial

Eterna:

Eterna
Expired Eterna
Low Contrast Eterna

Acros:

Agfa APX 400
Ilford HP5 Plus Push-Process
Faded Monochrome

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

Posted on August 24 by Ritchie Roesch

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

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

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

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

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

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

Example photographs using this film simulation recipe:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Not] My Fujifilm X-T30 “Warm Contrast” Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on August 24 by Ritchie Roesch

Flower Pots – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Warm Contrast”

Fuji X Weekly reader Manuel Sechi recently contacted me regarding some camera settings that he was working on. He was trying to replicate the look of the “Warm Contrast” preset in Lightroom. He felt that he was close but was hoping that I might help refine the settings to get a little closer. He showed me some of his pictures where he had applied the preset, which was helpful as I don’t use Lightroom. I tried out his settings and indeed they looked very close to the photographs that he shared. I made some small adjustments to refine it to what I thought might be a closer match to the preset, although not having the preset at my disposable was admittedly a challenge, and I can only hope that I made the recipe better and not worse.

While I call this film simulation recipe “Warm Contrast” due to its intended replication, it’s not particularly warm nor especially high in contrast. It seems to work best in mid-contrast situations, and when the light is already a bit on the warm side. When it works, though, it looks really good. I can see why Manuel was interested in creating it. I’m sure some of you will appreciate these settings, and I’m eager to share them with you.

August Wasatch – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Warm Contrast”

Thank you, Manuel, for sharing your settings, and allowing me the opportunity to tweak them. While I put “Fujifilm X-T30” in the title, this recipe can be used on any X-Trans III or IV camera. In low-contrast situations, going +4 on Shadow and +2 on Highlight might produce better results. In cooler light, -1 Red and -5 Blue might prove to be better. As always, don’t be afraid to season this film simulation recipe to taste.

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

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using these settings on my Fujifilm X-T30:

Fighting Flamingos – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Duck In A Stream – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Rural Stream – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Bee On A Pink Flower – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Bee At Work – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Kids on a Bridge – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Confident Direction – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Leaves of Various Colors – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Looking Bird – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Yarn Owl – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Green Mountain Majesty – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sloping Ridges – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Canvas Sky – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

American Fair – Salt Lake City, Utah – Fujifilm X-T30

My Fujifilm X-T30 Eterna Low-Contrast Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on August 16 by Ritchie Roesch

Gap of Light – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Eterna Low-Contrast”

After choosing my Eterna film simulation recipe for the Film Simulation Challenge, I thought it might be interesting to attempt a low-contrast Eterna recipe. I wanted to replicating the look of low-cost color negative film, but I didn’t have any specific film in mind, and didn’t do any of my typical film research. What I did do was play with the settings until I found something that I thought might look good. Even though Eterna is supposed to look cinematic, I’ve found it to be a great starting point for color negative aesthetics, and in the case of this recipe, it sometimes roughly resembles Fujifilm C200 and it sometimes (oftentimes?) doesn’t.

I almost didn’t share this recipe. I do sometimes create film simulation recipes that I don’t share, usually because I’m not happy with the results. There’s something not right about it, so I keep it to myself, and either shelve it or attempt to improve it. I was really on the fence with this one. On one hand it can sometimes produce really lovely results, and on the other hand it can be too flat and boring. It seems to require strong light and bright colors, and it makes something beautiful and soft out of it. Even outside of those parameters it can occasionally render a picture quite nice, but often it just delivers a boring rendition. It’s for those times where it might be the just-right recipe that I decided to share it, and hopefully it will be useful to some of you.

Stock Photography – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Eterna Low-Contrast”

Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -2
Shadow: -1
Color: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
White Balance: 5900K, -3 Red & +3 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using my Eterna Low-Contrast film simulation recipe on a Fujifilm X-T30:

Red – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sunset In The City – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Vintage & Antique – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Been Better – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

No Trespassing – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Everyone Has A Cross To Bear – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Joe Shortino – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

The Good Stuff – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Shopping Cart Line – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Cart – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Fishing For A Laugh – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sitting In The Evening Light – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Jo Cool – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Kitchen Towel Roll – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

R Is For Roesch – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Too Many Coffee Beans – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

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

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

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

Cottonwood Tree Leaf – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Kodachrome Compared

Posted on August 3 by Ritchie Roesch

I have made film simulation recipes for all three major eras of Kodachrome film. The first recipe is called Vintage Kodachrome, which simulates the look of pre-1960’s Kodachrome. The next recipe is Kodachrome II, which mimics the look of 1960’s through mid-1970’s era of the film. The latest recipe is Kodachrome 64, which resembles the final version of the film, from 1974 through 2009.

You might wonder how these settings, which all share the Kodachrome name, compare to each other. Well, I made multiple versions of the same images to see. I wanted to place them against each other to observe their differences. It’s interesting to see how they render the same scene differently. Vintage Kodachrome is the most dissimilar. Kodachrome II and Kodachrome 64 sometimes look very similar (much like the real film), and sometimes there’s an obvious difference. One reason why they might be noticeably different is because the Kodachrome II recipe uses auto-white-balance while the Kodachrome 64 recipe doesn’t. You could use warming or cooling filters in conjunction with the Kodachrome 64 recipe (much like the real film) in order to better control the white balance. I sometimes did this back when I shot actual Kodachrome, but I haven’t tried it with the recipe.

I surprised myself in that I prefer the Kodachrome 64 versions more often than the Kodachrome II. I have said many times that Kodachrome II is one of my all-time favorite recipes, but I think I might prefer the new version just slightly more. It’s a close call, though, and in certain situations Kodachrome II would probably be the better choice. Which recipe do you prefer? Which version of Kodachrome is the winner in this comparison?