Film Simulation | FUJI X WEEKLY

The Connection Between Fuji X Weekly & the New Fujifilm X100VI

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

Fuji X Weekly is intrinsically connected to the brand-new Fujifilm X100VI.

Let me explain.

This goes back about a year-and-a-half ago, when the Fujifilm X100V famously and suddenly became an instant hit, two-and-a-half years after its release. I later discovered that I played a significant role in that. You see, social media influencers on TikTok and Instagram began using the X100V, and when they shared their pictures, it caused a spike in interest in the camera, which led to an explosion in demand. As it turns out, those social media influencers were using my Film Simulation Recipes, and it was the film-like straight-out-of-camera pictures that ultimately caused the buzz.

*Autumn in a Mountain Meadow* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 100

Last Christmas Eve I pointed out that a number of camera stores mentioned Fuji X Weekly and my Recipes. I concluded that they were doing so because Film Simulation Recipes sell Fujifilm cameras. Many camera retailers recognize this, and so they encourage new and potential customers to check out this website.

Yesterday evening I finally had a chance to view most of the articles and videos about the upcoming Fujifilm X100VI. I caught the X Summit when it was live at 10:30 PM my time, then in the morning did a live broadcast with Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry discussing the event and the new camera. Then I had all sorts of things going on, and finally found some time in the late afternoon to write an article about the new camera. It wasn’t until later that I could finally take a look at what others were saying, particularly those who had early-access to the camera.

A lot of people are surprised that Fujifilm doesn’t send me their new models. This website is one of the most popular for Fujifilm (2.4 million visitors in 2023), and (as I already said) Film Simulation Recipes do more to sell Fujifilm cameras—directly or indirectly—than probably almost anyone. I pay for my gear myself, except for a few inexpensive third-party lenses that were sent to me free of charge. Fujifilm gifted me a coffee mug three or four years ago, which I still use occasionally. If I’m being completely honest, it is a little disheartening when I see others who seemingly do less for Fujifilm get the goodies; however, I never imagined that all of this would go anywhere near as far as it has (and it seems to be still growing!), so I’m just thankful to be on this ride, whatever it does or doesn’t have in store for me. If that means not getting early-access to the latest models like others did, that’s perfectly ok with me. It’s better to be grateful for what you do have than be envious of what you don’t.

*Golden Light in Abandoned House* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Reala 100

As I was going through the content posted about the new camera, something caught my attention. In a number of videos, there were mentions of—or even a focus on—the JPEGs produced by the X100VI. They talked about film simulations, no need for editing (or maybe only lightly editing), and even film-like results. I didn’t catch any specific mentions of Fuji X Weekly or Film Simulation Recipes, but many hints towards it. But, in the articles, there were indeed some direct mentions, and even links to this website. The Verge said, “Ask any Fujifilm shooter, and they’ll tell you one of the company’s core strengths is JPEG processing: there are entire websites devoted to tweaking these film sims and getting the best possible straight-out-of-camera results.” They included a link to Fuji X Weekly. That’s huge! Moment stated, “If you’re interested in creating custom film recipes using film simulations, you can easily do so with the Fuji X Weekly App or by visiting the Fuji X Weekly website.” Jonas Rask wrote, “…the community that revolves around making your own custom looks from Film Simulations has exploded in popularity, largely due to the popularity of sites such as FujiXweekly.com.”

There’s a seemingly universal understanding that many of those who have already ordered (or who plan to order) the Fujifilm X100VI will be shooting straight-out-of-camera JPEGs with it. Film Simulation Recipes will be such a big part of the experience of the new camera. Even those who aren’t all that familiar with Recipes (yet) are well aware of film simulations and Fujifilm’s out-of-camera output. It’s this ability to get film-like results without the need to edit that is a big driver of all the preorders that apparently are greatly exceeding Fujifilm’s expectations. If you wanted to buy the X100VI, I hope that you ordered it quickly after preorders opened, otherwise you might have to wait a little while. I’m “sorry, not-sorry” for any role that I may have played in that. Joking aside, I hope you enjoy your new camera, for all of those who took the plunge. For those who didn’t, let’s not forget how awesome our cameras are.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100VI in black: Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex
Fujifilm X100VI in silver: Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex

Find over 300 Film Simulation Recipes in the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Agfa Ultra 100 v2 — Fujifilm X-T5 (X-Trans V) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Yellow Blossoms Along a Fence* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Agfa Ultra 100 v2

Ultra 100 was a short lived color negative film made by Agfa from 2003 to 2005. After its discontinuation it gained a cult-like following; unsurprisingly, I’ve been asked many times to replicate the aesthetic for Fujifilm cameras. The supply of this emulsion has been getting smaller and smaller, and before long it will likely be completely gone. Nowadays, a digital approximation will be your best bet to achieve an Agfa Ultra 100 look.

Two years ago I published an Agfa Ultra 100 Film Simulation Recipe, using Classic Negative as the base. I said of it, “I’m actually not fully satisfied with this Recipe. I think sometimes it’s pretty spot-on, and I think other times it is significantly off.” Two years later, having just re-reviewed a lot of Agfa Ultra 100 photographs in preparation for this article, I completely agree with that assessment: some of the pictures captured with my Agfa Ultra 100 Recipe look extremely similar to some pictures I found captured with the film stock, while others don’t look especially alike. That shouldn’t be too surprising because one film can produce many different looks based on a host of factors, including how shot, developed, printed and/or scanned.

*Vibrant Spring* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Agfa Ultra 100 v2

I recently received an email from a film photographer who has been shooting with Agfa Ultra 100 for many years. He purchased a large supply of the film back in 2007, and has kept it in his freezer ever since. With his supply now running low, he began to look for alternatives, and in the process stumbled upon Fuji X Weekly. Unfortunately, my Agfa Ultra 100 Film Simulation Recipe wasn’t a good match for his pictures, so he reached out to me to see if it would be possible to better replicate his photographs. He sent me some samples, and I noticed right away that it was dissimilar from my Recipe. His pictures had a distinct Nostalgic Neg. vibe, so I thought I could probably recreate the aesthetic using that film simulation.

His Agfa Ultra 100 pictures were captured with Pantax MZ-S 35mm SLR, overexposed slightly to compensate for the film being expired, developed by MPix, and scanned on a Noritsu. No post-processing was done, other than whatever corrections the lab may have made while scanning. The resulting pictures looked different than my Recipe, and also different from most of the photographs captured with the film that I found online. In particular, his photographs were significantly warmer and a tad more vibrant than my original Recipe. After a few days of tweaking, I feel like I got really close to the specific aesthetic of his pictures. He only sent me a handful of images to examine, so it’s based on a small sampling; however, this new Recipe seems like a pretty good match overall.

*Maricopa Trail* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Agfa Ultra 100 v2

My new Agfa Ultra 100 v2 Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with fifth-generation X-Trans cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, and X100VI cameras. Those with newer GFX cameras that have the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation can use it, too; however, it will render slightly different (try it anyway). While this Recipe is intended for sunny daylight situations, it does surprisingly well in a variety of light scenarios.

Film Simulation: Nostalgic Neg.
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Weak, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak
White Balance: 5800K, -3 Red & -3 Blue
Highlight:+1.5
Shadow: +1
Color: +3
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Agfa Ultra 100 v2 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:

*Empty Shell Station* – Glendale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Dusk Lamp* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Corner House at Dusk* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Groceries & Meat* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Joshua in Window Light* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Fake Orchid* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Curtains & Blinds* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Bright Buzz People Happen* – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sunset from a Parking Garage* – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sunset Reflected in a Pond* – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Golden Suburbia* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Roofline & Lens Flare* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Bougainvillea Green* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Yellow Desert Flowers* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sharp Spikes* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*American* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Red Stripe* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Repurposed Fire Hydrant* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Bell Tower* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Fish Fan* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Girl on the Green Grass* – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Pavement, Grass & Shadows* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Roofscape* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Open Window* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Broken Home* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Home in Ruins* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Mitsubishi* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Monroe Ave Sidewalk* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

Comparison:

*Original Agfa Ultra 100 Film Simulation Recipe*

*New Agfa Ultra 100 v2 Film Simulation Recipe*

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment

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.

Kodak Portra 800 v3 — Fujifilm X-T5 (X-Trans V) & X-E4 (X-Trans IV) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*South Rim Sunrise* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 800 v3

My wife recently challenged me to create a Film Simulation Recipe that mimics the aesthetic of Kodak Portra 800 film that Peter McKinnon has been sharing on Instagram and YouTube. I’m really drawn to his analog photography—I think they’re some of his best photographs. While there were plenty of examples of his Portra 800 to examine, I found it to be a difficult endeavor to replicate on my Fujifilm cameras.

As I’ve said many times, one film can produce many different looks based on a whole host of factors: how shot (film format, lens, exposure, filters, light, etc.), how developed (push/pull, brand of chemicals, freshness of chemicals, timing, temperature and pH of the water, etc.), how printed (paper, chemicals, timing, filters, etc.) and/or how scanned (brand of scanner, correction profiles, post-editing, etc.). Even within one photographer’s collection of one specific emulsion, there can be some noticeable variances. In the specific case of Peter McKinnon and his Kodak Portra 800, there is indeed significant divergences in the exact look of different pictures.

*Mineral Stains on a Dry Fountain* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Kodak Portra 800 v3

Before I get any deeper into this, let me give a brief history of Kodak Portra 800 and my Film Simulation Recipes that mimic this film. Kodak introduced Portra 800 in 1998 at the same time as Portra 160 and Portra 400. Portra 160 and Portra 400 both originally came in a “VC” (vivid color) and “NC” (neutral color) versions, which were later merged into in-between emulsions that still exists today; however, Portra 800 only ever came in one variety. I don’t know if it is true, but I read that Portra 800 was based on the older Vericolor/Vision2 technology, while Portra 160 and Portra 400 were based on T-Grain/Vision3 advancements. In any event, all of these films have been tweaked and updated by Kodak several times over the years. While it has become increasingly expensive, all three ISO versions of Portra are still being manufactured today by Kodak. In fact, the current version of Lomography 800 is supposedly repacked Portra 800 (although it might be a run that didn’t pass quality control).

My original Kodak Portra 800 Film Simulation Recipe was a joint venture between myself and Thomas Schwab based on “memory color” (as Fujifilm likes to put it) of the film. The next version, Kodak Portra 800 v2, was created entirely by Thomas Schwab after he shot a roll of the film and his Fujifilm X-Pro3 camera side-by-side. This new third version was created by me after carefully examining Peter McKinnon’s pictures of Kodak Portra 800 film.

*Pink Girl on a Green Slide* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 800 v3

I divided Peter’s Portra 800 pictures into seven groups. Each group contained photos that seemed similar in overall aesthetics to each other. The commonality within each group tended to be (for the most part) the lighting condition that the film was shot in (although it was not universally so). I picked one group, and tried to replicate the look of it as closely as possible using the options available on my Fujifilm X-T5 (or should I say my Kodak Retina camera?), choosing similar light and colors for my pictures. Once I was satisfied that I was close, I used those settings to create images similar to the photographs in the other groups; however, this is where it fell apart. One Recipe was not able to replicate multiple aesthetics from the same film, which is not surprising. I made a bunch of small modifications until I had one Film Simulation Recipe that was a fairly faithful facsimile to multiple groups of Peter’s Portra 800 pictures. I say “fairly faithful” because compromises had to be made in order to match multiple groups. These settings are in the ballpark of four of the seven groups (and most similar to just two), and not especially close to the other three, unfortunately. This is not a 100% faithful recreation of any of his picture aesthetics, but in being less faithful to one specific look, I was better able to replicate the film examples overall.

This new Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe is intended for fifth-generation Fujifilm X-Trans cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20 (yes, the X-S20), and the upcoming X100VI. To make this Recipe compatible with some X-Trans IV models—specifically, the X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II—I simply set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak instead of Off, since X-Trans V cameras render blue more deeply on some film simulations. For those with the X-Pro3 or X100V, consider setting Shadow to 0 instead of 0.5. I do think that the original Kodak Portra 800 Recipe, as well as Kodak Portra 400 v2, are not very far off from Peter’s pictures, and could be good alternatives.

*Minolta* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Portra 800 v3

The Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe is great for both golden-hour and midday light. While it is intended for sunny daylight conditions, it does pretty well in shade, too. It’s alright for overcast days, depending on the specific cloud cover conditions. It’s great for natural-light indoors, and surprisingly decent for nighttime photography, but I’d avoid it for artificial light scenarios with warm bulbs. This Recipe is fairly versatile, despite it’s warm Kodak-like colors. In the right light, it can look pretty darn close to some of the Kodak Portra 800 scans that Peter McKinnon has been sharing on his social media channels. Interestingly, there’s also similarities to some of the Kodak Portra 400 images in Kyle McDougall’s An American Mile series. I have a feeling that this will quickly become a favorite option for many of you—personally, I really love this one!

Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off (X-Trans V); Weak (X-Trans IV)
White Balance: 6600K, -1 Red & -3 Blue
Highlight: -2
Shadow: -0.5
Color: +3
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -3
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*Morning Lightbulbs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Read Leaves on a Block Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Rounded Light on an Circular Table* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Orange Tables and Leaf* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Main Street Market* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Sunny Suburbia* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Ready for an Adventure* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Rainy Day Rose Blossom* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:

*Sunrise Beyond Grandeur Point* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Dead Tree at the Rim’s Edge* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Golden Sunset inside the Grand Canyon* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Morning at the Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Maricopa Point at Midday* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Canyon Ridge in Golden Light* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sunrise over icy South Rim Trail* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Bright Angel Trail from Above* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Too Close to the Icy Ledge* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Lookout Studio* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Grand Canyon Railway 237* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Williams Flyer* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*American Painted Horse* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Swift Trailer* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Blue Barrel, Red Bricks* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Raindrop on a Lightbulb* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Raindrops of Fall Leaves* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Hanging Lightbulbs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Fingers as Carrots* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sitting Siblings* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Minolta & Film Book* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Camera, Books* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Busy Parking Lot* – Goodyear, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Window Paperclip* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Window Light* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Hanging Plastic Golfballs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Blossoming Trumpet Flower* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Hazy Tree Leaves* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Desert Spring* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Hill behind Yellow* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Go Right* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

Comparison:

*Kodak Portra 800 Film Simulation Recipe*

*Kodak Portra 800 v2 Film Simulation Recipe*

*This new Kodak Portra 800 v3 Film Simulation Recipe*

*Kodak Portra 400 v2 Film Simulation Recipe*

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment

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.

Vintage Eterna — Fujifilm X-Trans V, X-Trans IV, & X-H1 Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Cactus Spikes* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Vintage Eterna Recipe

The premise of this Film Simulation Recipe was simple: what would my Vintage Kodachrome Recipe look like if I used Eterna instead of Classic Chrome? As it turns out, it looks alright; however, after I made a few more modifications, it looks much better!

The Vintage Eterna Film Simulation Recipe is actually three Recipes: one for the X-H1, X-T3, and X-T30, another for the other X-Trans IV models (X-Pro3 and newer), and one for X-Trans V cameras. I initially created this on my Fujifilm X-E4, but then I wanted a version for my X-H1, so I made a recipe compatible with that camera, and also used it on my X-T30. Later, I made a small modification for use on my X-T5, since X-Trans V cameras render blue more deeply on some film simulations. If you have an X-H1 or any X-Trans IV or V camera, you can use the Vintage Eterna Recipe—just find the version below that’s compatible with your model.

*Bougainville Branch Blossom* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1 – Vintage Eterna Recipe

While this Recipe wasn’t modeled after any specific emulsion, it definitely has a vintage film vibe. It’s vaguely reminiscent of color photographs from the 1950’s or ’60’s shot on Kodak film. It also has a bit of a cinematic quality to it. I don’t think this will be anyone’s favorite Recipe for everyday photography, but I suspect that some of you will love it for occasional use when retro results are desired. It pairs well with vintage glass or cheap third-party lenses with character.

This was a Fuji X Weekly App Patron Early-Access Recipe, but it has been replaced by a different Early-Access Recipe, so now everyone can use it! One perk of being an App Patron subscriber is that you get early access to some new Film Simulation Recipes, including the one that replaced this Recipe.

*Rainy Day in the Neighborhood* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Vintage Eterna Recipe

Vintage Eterna for the Fujifilm X-H1, X-T3, & X-T30

Film Simulation: Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR100
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off or N/A
White Balance: Auto, +2 Red & -5 Blue
Highlight: +3
Shadow: -1
Color: +2
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to 0 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Vintage Eterna Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-H1 and Fujifilm X-T30:

*Cloud Above Roof* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Summer Blossoms* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Sky Vines* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Backlit Leaves of Summer* – Fujifilm X-H1

*Hummingbird Feeder* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Golden Trumpets* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Yellow Trumpet Flower* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Red Trumpet Flower* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-H1

*Garden Wall Light* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Vintage Eterna for Fujifilm X-Trans IV

Film Simulation: Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR100
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Strong
White Balance: Auto, +2 Red & -5 Blue
Highlight: +3
Shadow: -1
Color: +2
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to 0 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Vintage Eterna Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*Labyrinth* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Sky Dome* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Little Desert Berries* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Saguaro & Storm* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Birdie Footprints* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Distant Downtown* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Sky Rays* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Saguaro Silhouette* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Purple Plant* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

Vintage Eterna for Fujifilm X-Trans V

Film Simulation: Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR100
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak
White Balance: Auto, +2 Red & -5 Blue
Highlight: +3
Shadow: -1
Color: +2
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to 0 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Vintage Eterna Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:

*Sunset Light on the North Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Covered Horse* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*See Fingers as Carrots* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Buckets* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Wet Bougainvillea Flower* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Wet Lightbulb* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sunlit Yellow Bloom* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and over 300 more in the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Kodak Emulsion — Fujifilm X100V (X-Trans IV) FXW App Patron Early-Access Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Blooms by the Pavilion* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Emulsion Recipe

I love this new Kodak Emulsion Film Simulation Recipe, even though it was a happy accident. I was trying to replicate the aesthetic of some Kodak ColorPlus 200 film scans that someone shared with me, but I was unsuccessful; however, in the process of failing, I discovered these settings, which are absolutely great!

Even though this Recipe doesn’t accurately mimic any specific emulsion (as far as I’m aware), it still looks very analog-like, and highly reminiscent of a few different Kodak negative stocks. I bet you could convince some people that you actually shot with film, and not a modern digital camera. While I used my Fujifilm X100V to capture these pictures, if I were to choose an interchangeable-lens model paired with vintage glass, I’m certain it would be even more convincing.

This Kodak Emulsion Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with all “newer” X-Trans IV cameras (X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II), but not the X-T3 or X-T30. Technically it is compatible with X-Trans V models, but, because X-Trans V renders blue more deeply on some film simulations, it will look slightly different (try it anyway!). I’m sure that you can also use this Recipe on newer GFX cameras; however, I don’t have any personal experience with that, and I’m sure it will render slightly different (again, give it a try, as you might like it).

*Fallen Giant* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Emulsion Recipe

This Kodak Emulsion Film Simulation Recipe is an 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 that 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!

If you are a Fuji X Weekly Patron, it’s available to you right now on the App!

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Emulsion Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

*Autumn Sun* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Autumn Tree Leaves on a Shrub* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Minolta SLR* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Homework* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Flash On

*Vines Along a Shaded Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Sunlit Table & Chairs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Potted Flowers & Pavilion* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Flowers at a Neighborhood Park* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Palm Tree & White Building* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Hanging Lightbulbs* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Flag in the Wind* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Bougainvillea Branch on a Bright Day* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Yellow Wildflowers in the Desert* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Yellow Flowers Blooming* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Tall Saguaro Behind Dead Tree* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Reaching Saguaro Fingers* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Damaged Saguaro* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*A Desert Landscape* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Dirt Road After Rain* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

Expired ECN-2 100T — Fujifilm X-Trans IV & X-Trans V Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Palm Trunk & Arches* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Expired ECN-2 100T”

Eastman Color Negative II 100T, which was also known as ECN-2 Type 5247/7247, was a 100 ASA Tungsten-balanced motion picture film made by Kodak between 1974 and 1983 (although, apparently, it could still be found and was used into the early 1990’s). A lot of iconic movies used this emulsion for at least some shots, including Star Wars, Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and many more. This Film Simulation Recipe is intended to mimic the aesthetic of this film stock that’s long-expired and developed in C41 chemistry after having the Remjet layer removed. In other words, this recipe isn’t intended to look like the film as it’s seen in the movies, but expired film that’s been developed in C41 chemistry instead of the ECN-2 process.

Tungsten film was intended for use in artificial light; for use in daylight, a Color Correction filter would be attached to the lens to adjust the white balance. This “Expired ECN-2 100T” Recipe does not replicate the use of Color Correction filters, and is more like shooting without it. The results can be quite unusual, especially in daylight. But if you are looking for something unusual, maybe this Film Simulation Recipe is for you. I don’t think it will be anyone’s go-to option, but for occasional use, if you want a lomo-like look, give this one a try. Also, it’s pretty decent for nighttime. This Recipe produces a green or yellow cast (depending on the light) when used at night, and a strong teal-ish cast when used in daylight.

*Truck Tire* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Expired ECN-2 100T”

The Expired ECN-2 100T Film Simulation Recipe was a Fuji X Weekly App Patron Early-Access Recipe; however, it has been replaced by a different Early-Access Recipe, so now everyone can use it. It is compatible with the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras, plus fifth-generation models, which are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20 (yes, the X-S20), and the upcoming X100VI, by selected Color Chrome FX Blue Weak (instead of Strong). I believe it will also work on newer GFX cameras, although I have not tried it myself.

Film Simulation: Eterna Bleach Bypass
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Strong — Weak for X-Trans V
White Balance: 6000K, -9 Red & -6 Blue
Highlight: +0.5
Shadow: -1
Color: +1
Sharpness: -3
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -4
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Expired ECN-2 100T Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*Saguaro Green* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Stop, All Ways* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Truck Mirror* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lightning McQueen’s Home* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Texting & Walking* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Bougainvillea Over Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Backlit Bougainvillea & Lens Flare* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Light Pink Blooms* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Sunlit Trumpets* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Shaded Hummingbird Feeder* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Sidewalk Chalk & Red Bucket* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Red Soccer Ball* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Friendly Skeleton* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Kodak Instamatic Camera* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Expired ECN-2 100T Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:

*Night Board* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Empty at Night* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Flag and Lights* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Plant at Night* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Closed Door* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Bokeh Behind Chainlink* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Lamp & Gated Patio* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*A-Team* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Blue Barrel* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Mailbox, Maybe* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Unlit hanging Bulbs* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*No Teasing* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Patriotic Equine* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 300 more in the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

1971 Kodak — A Fujifilm X-T5 (X-Trans V) FXW App Patron Early-Access Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*View of the North Rim from the South* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1971 Kodak

I was flipping through the pages of a photo album that my grandma had put together a long time ago, when I saw something interesting. Most of the pictures in this book were captured before I was born, and some when I was very young. I came across a group of color prints that all looked similar. They were warm—very yellowish—with fairly subdued colors, kind of flat-looking, yet with a decent amount of contrast. Blown-out highlights was a commonality among many (but not all) of the prints. A month and year were printed on the border, along with a red fox. Kodak is faintly visible on the back of the paper.

I was very intrigued by the aesthetic of these photographs. There was an obvious resemblance to my 1970’s Summer Film Simulation Recipe, although not quite identical. So I set out to recreate it with my Fujifilm X-T5.

*Grand Dome* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – 1971 Kodak

From the clues, I determined that the film was most likely Kodacolor-X, which was a popular color negative film from that era. It required the C-22 development process, which was a predecessor to C-41. The prints likely are a bit discolored and faded due to age, and probably looked slightly different when they were newly made. Many of them were square, and those were likely shot on a Kodak Instamatic camera and on 126 format film; the rectangular pictures are from 35mm film. Most of the prints were developed in 1971, although some had dates in 1972 printed on the border. The red fox indicates that it was developed at Fox Photo, which at the time was a popular one-hour photo lab. Interestingly, in the iconic mall scene in Back to the Future, it’s a Fox Photo that get’s destroyed by the VW van.

I made a scan of one of the prints, and it really messed up the look. I did my best to correct it to closely match the print, and I did get pretty close; however, it’s not 100% identical. I didn’t use this scan, but the prints themselves, to create the 1971 Kodak Film Simulation Recipe. I think you can still get a pretty good idea of what the prints look like from the scan.

*A scan of one of the prints from 1971.*
*The kid on the right with the trombone is my dad when he was 15.*

The aesthetic that the 1971 Kodak Recipe produces is very similar to Kodacolor-X film printed on Kodak paper in the early-1970’s, and viewed today after aging. The most similar Recipe to this is 1970’s Summer, and I’ve included a comparison at the bottom so that you can see the difference. This Recipe is compatible with fifth-generation X-Trans cameras from Fujifilm, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20 (yes, the X-S20), as well as the upcoming X100VI. I’m sure that you can use it on the latest GFX models, too; however, I don’t have any personal experience with that, and it’s likely to render slightly different (try it anyway). This Recipe pairs very well with vintage glass (or inexpensive third-party lenses with character), and is best for sunny daylight scenarios.

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! If you are an App Patron, be sure to look for this new Recipe in the App!

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this 1971 Kodak Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:

*BM&LP RR 6001* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Standing at the edge of the Canyon* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Four Kids at the Canyon* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Golden Sunlight in the Canyon* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Garden Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Last of Autumn* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Backlit Backyard Leaves* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Leaf Pile* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Autumn Tree and Grey Sky* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Construction* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Old Saguaro Reaching High* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Pinyon Pine at the South Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Lookout Store Sign* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Swift* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*No Teasing the Horses* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

Comparison:

Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 300 more in the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

McCurry Kodachrome — A Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Morning at the South Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – McCurry Kodachrome

I received an email from Anders Lindborg back in November, and the subject line read, “The Last Roll.” Anders explained to me that himself and John Sevigny had co-created a Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe based on Steve McCurry’s last roll of Kodachrome film, which was (as you likely know) famously developed on July 12, 2010, at Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas.

Over the last several years, Anders has made a number of Film Simulation Recipes that have been published on Fuji X Weekly, including Kodak Tri-X 400, Ilford FP4 Plus 125, Ilford HP5 Plus 400, Ilford Pan F Plus 50, Kodak Gold v2, seven Fujicolor Pro 160NS Recipes, and seven Fujicolor Pro 400H Recipes. Anders and John collaboratively made the Kodak T-Max P3200 Recipe. They had intended to share this new Recipe with everyone, but were waiting until after the finishing touches were complete on a book that John was intending to publish. Sadly, before that happened, John Sevigny died on November 9th, after suffering a massive stroke.

Writing this article has been difficult for me, because of John’s passing. But I hope that this is somehow honoring to him. He was an extraordinarily knowledgable photographer who was always eager to help. It’s a humble privilege for me to share with all of you this Recipe that Anders and John co-created.

*Orange Pot, Tables & Leaf* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30 – McCurry Kodachrome

“The goal was to create a recipe that both looked and behaved like Kodachrome 64,” Anders wrote. “It should also be based on science, not just trying to look like the real thing during very special conditions. Our starting reference were the photos taken by Steve McCurry on the quite-famous last roll of Kodachrome project. We also studied every little detail of the documentary to find out the exact conditions for how the photos were made. Even that was not enough, so we started to hunt down every single Kodachrome 64 photo we could possibly find. Luck was on our side, as we managed to locate a whole bunch that were actually developed by Dwayne’s Photo.”

Anders continued, “After about eight months of testing every single scenario we could come up with, using similar lighting equipment that was used for the last roll project, we started to feel like we had done all that was possible with the given tools. Everything matched our reference photos, and we both got stunning results with every test we made, but we still decided to test it for just a bit longer to make sure we actually had captured the true spirit of this film. John also travelled parts of the USA and South America, shooting nothing but this recipe for color work.”

Kodachrome was first introduced in 1935, and was discontinued in 2009. There are three distinct eras of the film, and Kodachrome 64, which was introduced in 1974, was in the third and final era. Kodachrome was actually a black-and-white film, and the color dyes were added during the development process. Because of this, it is probably the most difficult film to scan, and, if not properly color corrected, will often have a pronounced blue cast. Even a scan that is carefully corrected can lean slightly blue compared to the slide being projected or viewed on a light table. McCurry’s “last roll” slides were scanned by Richard Jackson, who was regarded as a leading expert on Kodachrome scanning.

*Kodachrome 64 slides on a light table* – Fujifilm X100V – McCurry Kodachrome

There are some differences between this McCurry Kodachrome Recipe and my Kodachrome 64 Recipe, but there are also a lot of similarities. My Recipe is more like Kodachrome as viewed via a slide projector or light table, while the McCurry Kodachrome Recipe is more like quality scans of the film. There’s a comparison of the two Recipes at the very bottom of this article.

Like the actual film, this McCurry Kodachrome Recipe has a narrow dynamic range, and must be carefully exposed. Pay extra attention to the highlights, because they can clip easily. Also, try to keep the ISO as low as practical. I used this Recipe with the ISO all the way to 6400, and it was fine, but for best results that better match the film, don’t go above ISO 1600. McCurry Kodachrome is fully compatible with all X-Trans IV models—including the X-T3 and X-T30; for X-Trans V, blues will render slightly more deeply, so the results will be just a tad different, but feel free to try anyway.

Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR100
Grain Effect: Weak, Small — Weak for X-T3/X-T30
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off — N/A for X-T3/X-T30
White Balance: 5900K, -1 Red & +4 Blue
Highlight: 0
Shadow: 0
Color: +2
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -2
Clarity: 0 — N/A for X-T3/X-T30
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 1600
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +1/3 (typically)

Example photos, all camera made JPEGs using this McCurry Kodachrome Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

*Siblings Playing Video Games* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Little Palms in a Pot* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Promenade* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Broken Haircut Chair* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Bougainvillea Below Window* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Bougainvillea & Stucco* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Blossom Along Sidewalk* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Sunny Day Along Suburban Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Palm Trunk & Palm Shadow* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Rainbows on Sunny Day* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Walkway Chair* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Block Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

*Primetime Vannin’* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30

Example photos, all camera made JPEGs using this McCurry Kodachrome Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

*Red Scion* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Colorful Shoes* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Jon Dressed Up* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*It’s a Dreary Day in the Neighborhood* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Old Chair Swing* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Glass Maker* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V

*Joshua Playing Air Hockey* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Red Blanket* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Winter Morning at the Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Canyon Behind Trees* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Tree & Canyon* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Cold Canyon* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*The Big, Giant Hole in the Ground* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Moon over Dilapidated Barn* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V

*Roofline & Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Suburban Skies* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Growing Bougainvillea* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Bougainvillea & Cinder Block Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Pops of Yellow* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Golden Hour Girl* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Backyard Sunset* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Suburban Desert Sunset* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Sunset Over Desert Brush* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Golden Coast Blossoms* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V

Comparison:

*Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe (Fujifilm X-E4)*

*McCurry Kodachrome Film Simulation Recipe (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.

White Balance & Film Simulation Recipe Versatility

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

Which Film Simulation Recipes are the most versatile? What makes a particular Recipe especially versatile, anyway? What does White Balance have to do with any of it? These are questions that I get asked pretty regularly, so I thought I would answer them today.

Let’s start with White Balance, including White Balance Shift. In the analog days, with a few exceptions, film was either Daylight-balanced or Tungsten-balanced. Daylight-balanced film, as you can imagine, was intended for use in sunny daytime scenarios, with a Kelvin temperature around 5500-5600K. Tungsten film was intended for artificial light scenarios, with a Kelvin temperature around 3200K. Because film was made for one of two specific light situations, you had three basic options for use outside of those scenarios: 1) accept the results for what they are, 2) use Color Correction Filters to adjust the Kelvin temperature to more closely match the light, or 3) use lighting equipment to artificially make the light match the film.

*Fujifilm X100V — Fujicolor NPS 160 Pulled*

Digital cameras have a large number of White Balance options, which, when combined with WB fine-tuning (Fujifilm calls it WB Shift), can match the precise light that you are photographing in. If the White Balance is exactly correct for the light, things that are pure white in real life will appear pure white in the photograph, no color tint. But, just because the White Balance is technically correct, doesn’t mean that it is artistically correct. Nobody said that the White Balance must always be spot-on accurate—maybe you don’t want it to be, for aesthetic reasons. In fact, in the film days, it was quite common for the Kelvin temperature to be a mismatch for the light, at least a little. Kodak—the most popular film maker—was known for making emulsions with a warm color cast. In other words, achieving a perfectly accurate White Balance, which wasn’t particularly common until somewhat recently, might not be desirable. However, in the digital age with Auto White Balance, we’re often used to having a highly accurate White Balance in our photographs, and seeing it not spot-on accurate can perhaps be a bit unnerving, especially if it is pretty far off.

Many of the Fuji X Weekly Film Simulation Recipes are facsimiles of actual film stocks, and often that means using a fixed White Balance. Unless you have Color Correction Filters or are artificially lighting the scene to match the White Balance (both of which are unlikely), if the scene’s light is a mismatch for the Recipe, you can get undesirable results sometimes (just like with film). My best advice is to use a Film Simulation Recipe that is a match for the scene. For example, Fluorescent Night might be a better choice for nighttime photography than 1970’s Summer, since the former is more like Tungsten-balanced and the latter is more like Daylight-balanced. Sometimes the best Recipe for a particular light situation might be obvious, and other times it might not be, and trial-and-error is necessary to figure it out—my Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series is intended to help out with this.

Not all of the Recipes use a fixed White Balance; instead, some call for Auto White Balance. Newer Fujifilm cameras actually have three AWB options: Auto White Priority, Auto, and Auto Ambience Priority. White Priority leans cooler in artificial light than standard Auto, while Ambience Priority leans a little warmer in artificial light. All three AWB options are intended to produce reasonably accurate White Balances in all light situations. Because of this, Recipes that use AWB tend to be a lot more versatile than Recipes with a fixed White Balance, since you can use them in all sorts of light situations, and not just one. This is much less film-like, but perhaps can be equated to carrying a bunch of different Color Correction Filters with you all of the time. The easiest way to find my Film Simulation Recipes that use AWB is to Filter By White Balance (available to App Patrons) in the Fuji X Weekly App.

White Balance and WB Shift are probably the largest factor in determining the versatility of a particular Recipe, but it’s far from the only factor. Film Simulation, Dynamic Range, Highlight and Shadow, Color, etc., all play a role. One Recipe that uses AWB might be more versatile than another that also uses AWB, and some Recipes that use a fixed White Balance can be surprisingly versatile. However, what one person likes might be different from another, since each person has their own unique tastes. I might like a particular Recipe for a specific scenario, but you might dislike it for that exact same situation.

The pictures in this article were all captured with Film Simulation Recipes that use AWB and that I find to be especially versatile. Use them anytime of the day or night, in any light situation, and for any subject. If you want a versatile option to program into your Fujifilm camera, those are ones to consider. But they are far from the only versatile Recipes, and they might not be the best, either. If one of them stands out to you, I definitely invite you to try it.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T5 in black:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:  Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X100V in black: Amazon   B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X100V in silver: Amazon B&H  Moment

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Five Fun Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm Cameras

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Empty Diner* – Reno, NV – Fujifilm X100V – Xpro ’62

There are certain Film Simulation Recipes that are great for regular use. Maybe they’re not completely versatile, and cannot be used effectively in all situations, but they’re good for a lot of photographs. There are other Recipes that are good only for certain instances, such as night photography. There are also some Film Simulation Recipes that I would categorize as fun. They’re not necessarily intended to be used often, they’re not necessarily versatile, and they’re not necessarily even meant for specific scenarios. They’re just for fun, when you want results that are a little different.

While I have included five of these fun Recipes below, I have published a lot more than just five of them. These are ones that I have personally used within the last couple of weeks. I thought if I used them and appreciated the results, perhaps you would like to try them, too. Overall, there are probably a couple dozen Recipes (maybe even more than that) that could be included in this category. Perhaps it’s unfair to say that these are the only fun ones, because in my opinion all of the Recipes are fun, but these are just for fun, if that makes sense.

The five fun Recipes below are not in any particular order. I invite you to try them today!

LomoChrome Metropolis

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Fujicolor C200 v2 — Fujifilm X100V (X-Trans IV) FXW App Patron Early-Access Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Cold Morning at the South Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor C200 v2

The original Fujicolor C200 Film Simulation Recipe is great! This isn’t intended to replace that Recipe—there’s no need to replace it, since it’s excellent—but instead provide an alternative option for those looking for something slightly different. One film can produce many different looks, depending on a host of factors, including how it was shot, developed, and printed or scanned. In this case, a Fuji X Weekly reader wanted a Recipe that more closely matched his particular Fujicolor C200 scans. Oh, and it needed to be compatible with the Fujifilm X100V and X-Pro3, which the original version is not.

Fujifilm introduced Fujicolor C200 in 1990 as a low-budget, consumer-grade color negative film. I’ve shot a few rolls of it over the years, although it was never my go-to option. Fujifilm gave it a small refresh in 2017. Sadly, in late 2021, Fujifilm began selling rebranded Kodak Gold 200 as Fujicolor C200. Even though C200 is a cheap color film, it has a cult-like following, and many people enjoy its aesthetic and choose it over more expensive emulsions.

*Bougainvillea Peeking over Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor C200 v2

This Fujicolor C200 v2 Film Simulation Recipe is an App Patron Early-Access Recipe. If you are a Fuji X Weekly App Patron, you have access to it right now. If not, no worries, as it will eventually be made available to everyone, once it is replaced by a new Early-Access Recipe. With the exception of the X-T3 and X-T30, it is fully compatible with X-Trans IV cameras: X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II. For fifth generation models, simply set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak instead of Strong.

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Fujicolor C200 v2 Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X100V and Fujifilm X-E4:

*Main Street* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Dim Light & Neon Reflections* – Tempe, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Coffee Shop Christmas Tree* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Backlit Potted Palm* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Afternoon Jo* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Sitting on a Backyard Bench* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Swinging Seat* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Potted Blossoms* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Artificial Flowers* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

AC – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*The Grinch that Stole a Golf Cart* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Autumn Path* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Autumn Canopy* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Bird on a Cross* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Icy Morning at the Rim* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Canyon Between the Pines* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

*Morning Shadows* – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100V

Comparison:

*Original Fujicolor C200 Film Simulation Recipe (Fujifilm X-E4)*

*This new Fujicolor C200 v2 Film Simulation Recipe (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.

Vintage Print — Fujifilm X-E4 (X-Trans IV) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Bell Tower* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Vintage Print Recipe

This Film Simulation Recipe began when my wife suggested that I should try to emulate a certain look that she had found. I wasn’t successful, but in my efforts I discovered these settings, which I thought looked interesting nonetheless. They remind me of vintage color prints—not from any specific film or process, but just my “memory color” (as Fujifilm puts it) of some old prints that I’ve seen in the past. It has almost a classic magazine quality to it, or even a bit of a post-card resemblance. Whatever it may or may not look like, it definitely has a vintage-like aesthetic that some of you might really appreciate.

Most of these pictures were captured using manual vintage lenses, including—actually, mainly—a Helios 44-2. I also used a 5% CineBloom or 10% CineBloom filter with about half of them. I did this to help achieve an analog aesthetic. The use of vintage glass and diffusion filters aren’t required for this recipe, but you are certainly welcome to do so if you want—I think they help a little to take the digital edge off of the pictures.

*Suburban Saguaro* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Vintage Print Recipe

This Vintage Print Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. For use on fifth-generation models, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak (instead of Strong), because those cameras render blue more deeply on certain film simulations. Those with newer GFX cameras can use it, too; however, it will render slightly differently. This was a Fuji X Weekly App Patron Early-Access Recipe, but has been replaced by a different Recipe, so now it’s available to everyone.

Film Simulation: Classic Negative
Dynamic Range: DR200
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Strong
White Balance: Daylight, +3 Red & -6 Blue
Highlight: +2
Shadow: -2
Color: -4
Sharpness: -4
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -4
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to +1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Vintage Print” Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*Pops of Bougainvillea Red* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Growing Bougainvillea* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Joshua at a Stucco Wall* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Big Storm Looming in the Background* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lake, House* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Jon is Happy* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Labyrinth Church* – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Saguaro & Dust* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Twin Saguaros* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Saguaro as Seen Through a Saguaro* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Teddy Bear Cholla* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Desert Spikes* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Desert Barrel* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Trumpets Down* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Bright Bougainvillea* – 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.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 6: X-Trans I

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Sunset Branch* – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro1 – Color Analog

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3/X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II

I frequently get asked: which seven Film Simulation Recipes should I program into my camera first? I’ve published over 300 on this website and in the Fuji X Weekly App, and the choices can become overwhelming. I’ve attempted to help out with this dilemma several times, including the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series, Try These 3 Film Simulation Recipes No Matter Your Fujifilm Camera, The 10 Best Film Simulation Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly App, Top 25 Most Popular Film Simulation Recipes of 2023, and many others. My hope is that these types of articles help you to find some good Recipes to try, in case you’re not sure where to begin or what to use. This post is Part 6 of the series, and the final installment.

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans I cameras, which are the X-Pro1, X-E1, and X-M1 (the X-M1 doesn’t have the PRO Neg. Hi and PRO Neg. Std film sims, so it is a bit more limited; it doesn’t have C1-C7, either). 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.

*Arched Window* – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro1 – Kodachrome I

A couple of important side notes here. First, 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. Also, X-Trans I models cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. Since X-Trans I was excluded from the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? series, I decided to take WB Shift into account for this article, and choose Recipes with a variety of WB types. This will make the user experience more enjoyable, but it does exclude some Recipes that might be preferable over others, since I’m avoiding multiple Recipes with the same WB type. For the 7th Recipe, use Daylight/Fine instead of Auto; by doing so, you’ll still get a similar result, and, since the two Daylight WB Recipes share the same WB Shift, you’ll be good to go.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans I camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome II — Auto WB

Kodachrome II

C2 — Punchy Velvia — Daylight/Fine WB

Punchy Velvia

C3 — Color Negative Film — Kelvin WB

Color Negative Film

C4 — Superia Xtra 400 — Shade WB

Superia Xtra 400

C5 — Vivid Color — Fluorescent 1 WB

Vivid Color

C6 — Provia — Incandescent WB

Provia

C7 — Sepia — *Use Daylight/Fine WB (instead of Auto)*

Sepia

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 5: X-Trans II

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Purple Mountains* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1 – Classic Kodak Chrome

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3/X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 6 — X-Trans I

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for X-Trans II cameras, which are the X100S, X100T, X-T1, X-T10, X-E2, X-E2s, X70, X20, X30, XQ1, and XQ2. A few of the older models—X100S, X20, and XQ1—don’t have Classic Chrome, so I have a set of Recipes at the bottom that exclude the Classic Chrome film simulation. To complicate it more, I don’t believe that either of the XQ models have PRO Neg. Hi or PRO Neg. Std (but they also don’t have C1-C7). 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.

*Indoor Tree* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T1 – Provia Negative

A couple of important side notes here. First, 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? article for a more comprehensive group of options for various use cases. Also, X-Trans II models cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. The suggestions below do not take this into account; however, the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article does, so be sure to read it.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans II camera first:

C1 — Classic Kodak Chrome

Classic Kodak Chrome

C2 — Kodachrome II

Kodachrome II

C3 — Kodak Portra 160

Kodak Portra 160

C5 — Ektachrome 100SW

Ektachrome 100SW

C5 — Pro Film

Pro Film

C6 — CineStill 800T

CineStill 800T

C7 — Monochrome Red

Monochrome Red

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-Trans II camera first (without Classic Chrome):

C1 — Porto 200

Porto 200

C2 — Color Negative Film

C3 — Astia

C4 — Eterna

C5 — Pro Film

C6 — CineStill 800T

CineStill 800T

C7 — Monochrome Red

Monochrome Red

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 3: X-T3 & X-T30

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Vintage Sunset* – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Kodacolor

Part 1 — X-Trans V, Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II, Part 6 — X-Trans I

The list of Film Simulation Recipes below are my “Essential 7” for the X-T3 and X-T30. Fujifilm left these two models on an island (didn’t give them the same JPEG options as the other X-Trans IV models), so that’s why they get their own article. 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.

*Evening at Monument Valley* – Monument Valley, AZ – Fujifilm X-T30 – Velvia

A couple of important side notes here. First, 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? article for a more comprehensive group of options for various use cases. Also, the X-T3 and X-T30 cannot save a White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets. You can only save one WB Shift per White Balance type, which means you’ll have to remember to adjust the WB Shift each time you change Recipes. The suggestions below do not take this into account; however, the Which Film Simulation Recipe, When? article does, so be sure to read it.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to program into your X-T3 or X-T30 camera first:

C1 — Kodachrome 64

Kodachrome 64

C2 — Kodak Portra 400 v2

Kodak Portra 400 v2

C3 — Kodak Gold 200

Kodak Gold 200

C4 — Kodacolor

Kodacolor

C5 — Fujicolor 100 Industrial

Fujicolor 100 Industrial

C6 — Velvia v2

Velvia v2

C7 — Dramatic Monochrome

Dramatic Monochrome

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

The Essential 7 Film Simulation Recipes to Program Into Your Fujifilm Camera First — Part 1: X-Trans V

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Golden Aspen* – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Gold 200

Part 2 — X-Trans IV, Part 3 — X-T3 & X-T30, Part 4 — X-Trans III, Part 5 — X-Trans II, Part 6 — X-Trans I

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:

C1 — Kodachrome 64

Kodachrome 64

C2 — Kodak Portra 400 v2

Kodak Portra 400 v2

C3 — Vibrant Arizona

Vibrant Arizona

C4 — Pacific Blues

Pacific Blues

C5 — 1970’s Summer

1970’s Summer

C6 — Reala Ace

Reala Ace

C7 — Kodak Tri-X 400

Kodak Tri-X 400

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

Film Simulation Recipes Sell Fujifilm Cameras

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

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.

Back in January, Moment (“the world’s largest marketplace for creators”) had asked me if I would be willing to write an article for their website about Film Simulation Recipes, and in February they published my story Why Shooting JPEGs Is So Popular (& 10 Fujifilm Simulation Recipes). This was a follow-up to an article that (back in 2021) I contributed to called Why I Never Shoot RAW—Fujifilm Simulations, Recipes, and More!—I made my portion of that article a standalone piece on Fuji X Weekly entitled History & Poetry of Kodachrome. Moment told me that both of those articles are very popular, and are some of the most viewed on their website.

*Pacific Poppies* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – Pacific Blues Recipe

B&H (“the people who know your gear best”) briefly mentioned Fuji X Weekly and Film Simulation Recipes back in 2021, in an article called Your Guide to FUJIFILM Film Simulations by Todd Vorenkamp. Last year, Vistek (“Canada’s camera store”) mentioned this website and Recipes in their YouTube video Zen & The Art of Fujifilm Film Simulations | The deep science of matching to film stocks.

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.

How to Create Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on December 21, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Gift Giving* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Ilford FP4 Plus 125

Anders Lindborg has created or co-created a number of Film Simulation Recipes found on Fuji X Weekly, including my personal favorite: Kodak Tri-X 400. Some others are Kodak T-Max P3200, Kodak T-Max 400, Ilford FP4 Plus 125, Ilford HP5 Plus 400, Ilford Pan F Plus 50, Kodak Gold v2, seven Fujicolor Pro 160NS Recipes, and seven Fujicolor Pro 400H Recipes. He also made an important D-Range Priority discovery. Oh, and more are coming soon!

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!”

Answer to the Question: Why Do My Photos of Famous Places Look Bad?

Posted on December 20, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Sentinel & Merced* – Yosemite NP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Vintage Color

PetaPixel recently published an article entitled Why Do My Photos of Famous Places Look Bad? by Jeremy Gray. It’s basically a rehashing of an article by The Guardian entitled Why do photographs of beautiful scenery never do it justice? I don’t want to go into the details of those articles; instead, I’m going to simply answer the question.

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.

*Low Sun over Tetons* – Grand Teton NP, WY – Fujifilm X-E4 – Ferrania Solaris FG 400

“‘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?”

“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.

Kodak Vision3 250D v2 — Fujifilm X-T5 (X-Trans V) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Layers of Urban Construction* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Vision3 250D v2

Recently, I published my adaptation of the Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe, which is for X-T3 and X-T30 cameras, for use on the “newer” X-Trans IV models, which are the X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II. This is one of my personal favorite Recipes—if you have a compatible camera, you should definitely give it a try! Unfortunately, for 5th-generation models—currently, the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20 (yes, the X-S20!)—it will look slightly differently (but try it anyway), because blue renders more deeply on some film simulations.

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.

*Pots & Arches* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – Kodak Vision3 250D v2

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

*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

*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

*No Left Turn* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Holiday Guitarist* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Cranes & Palms* – 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

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment

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