The brand-new Fujifilm X-T50 has a Film Dial! It’s their very first model with a Film Dial, actually. Turn the knob to give your photos a different analog aesthetic. The “films” are simply the various film simulations, which Fujifilm has been including in their cameras for a couple of decades now; originally there were only a few, but they’ve routinely added more over the years, and now there are 20 different film simulations to choose from. I really like the Film Dial, and I think it’s wonderful that Fujifilm has decided to make film simulations a prominent part of the X-T50 experience.

The Film Dial is great for exploration. Many photographers never venture outside of Provia/STD, or perhaps they try a few different options but end up sticking with just one, and they don’t really know what they’re missing out on with the other film simulations. Even though it is such an intrinsic part of the Fujifilm experience for many, you have to dig through the menu (or select the correct Fn shortcut) in order to change the film simulation. Now, it’s as easy as changing the shutter speed or aperture, and is placed in a prominent position of equal importance.

Fujifilm’s film simulations are good straight-out-of-the-box, but with some parameter adjustments, they can become great. To get the most out of the various film simulations, you need to make changes to the factory-default settings (a.k.a. use Film Simulation Recipes). However, the Film Dial becomes problematic when you do this because rarely do multiple film simulations look good with the same Recipe settings. Sometimes they do, such as with Kodak Portra 400 v2, Vintage Vibes, and Ferrania Solaris FG 400, which require the same exact settings (note: use Color Chrome FX Blue Off on X-Trans V), but three different film simulations: Classic Chrome, Classic Negative, and Eterna Bleach Bypass. Most of the time, however, whenever you use a different film sim than what the Recipe calls for, the results are less than spectacular, such as when Omar Gonzalez accidentally used Classic Chrome instead of Classic Negative with the Agfa Vista 100 Recipe.

Initially, I wasn’t sure how to best implement the Film Dial into my workflow. I figured that it makes the most sense if you have the Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipe programmed into one of the C1-C7 custom presets—turn the knob to NC and now you’ve got Vintage Vibes, and set Eterna Bleach Bypass to one of the three FS custom positions and you’ve got Ferrania Solaris FG 400. It’s like having two extra custom presets! While that in-and-of-itself is great, I wondered if I could come up with an even better strategy to get the most out of the Film Dial.

Before jumping into that, let’s talk a little about the Film Dial, which sits just above the words “X-T50” and in place of the Drive Dial that the X-T30 has (Drive is now a button like on the X100 and X-E series). There are 20 film simulations, and only 12 positions on the Film Dial, which means that some film sims got left out. There are eight “films” on the knob: Provia (STD), Velvia (V), Astia (S), Classic Chrome (CC), Reala Ace (RA), Classic Negative (NC), Nostalgic Neg. (NN), and Acros (A). Acros can be customized to +Y, +R, or +G, if you prefer one of those over standard Acros. For those keeping score, PRO Neg. Hi, PRO Neg. Std, Eterna, Eterna Bleach Bypass, Monochrome (including +Y, +R, and +G), and Sepia have all been left out.

Fujifilm does provide three customizable options (FS1, FS2, FS3), so you can add some of the left-out film sims back to the dial. Personally, I found Acros+Y, Acros+R, and Acros+G to be excellent contenders for this. If you don’t do much black-and-white photography, maybe PRO Neg. Std, Eterna, and Eterna Bleach Bypass could be good options. There’s also the “C” position on the knob, which is what you want the dial to be set to when using your C1-C7 custom presets. You can program a bonus 8th Recipe into the IQ Menu set; when you don’t have a C1-C7 selected (a.k.a. P, A, S, M, Off, or Nothing Selected, just depending on where you’re viewing it from), this bonus Recipe is activated, and you’ll want to use “C” for this, too. If this bonus Recipe is programmed with a film simulation that’s not otherwise on the Film Dial, you can have 12 (of the 20) film sims at your disposal.

That was all a little convoluted, so just to be clear: the “C” position simply disables the Film Dial; if the knob is set anything other than “C” it will use that film simulation, no matter what you may have otherwise programmed into your camera. There were several times that I forgot to check what the Film Dial was set to (not verifying that it was in the “C” position), and I accidentally used the wrong film simulation with my Recipe for some pictures, until I caught my mistake. It’s important to check the position of the Film Dial—make it a habit—when using the X-T50. Once you are used to how this all works, the camera is so much fun to use, and it feels like there are a massive number of Recipes available to you on the camera at any given time.

A couple other quick points that I want to make about the Film Dial is that it isn’t just for straight-out-of-camera JPEG photographers. Obviously those who use film simulations regularly are the most obvious beneficiaries of the new knob, but there are two other groups of people who might unexpectedly appreciate it. The first is those who shoot RAW but oftentimes apply a film simulation to their pictures in Lightroom or Capture One; now, you can know while your making your exposure what it will look like with a certain film simulation, instead of waiting until later while at your computer. Having a clearer vision of the finished picture at the moment the image has been snapped will only improve one’s photography. The other group is videographers who don’t (yet) realize that they can reduce or even eliminate color grading by using film simulations—the Film Dial works in video mode, too.

If you’re not sure what analog aesthetic a certain film simulation is replicating or how it behaves, pressing the Q-button while browsing via the Film Dial will provide you with a brief synopsis of each. I think these need to be taken with a small grain of salt, though, because a bit of liberty was taken by Fujifilm when writing some of them out. With that said, this is a good starting point for learning about the various options, if this is new to you.

The Film Dial only changes the film simulation. All of the other settings remain the same when you turn the knob. This is, of course, the problematic situation that I mentioned before. While contemplating a solution, I remembered the “different approach” that Anders Lindborg came up with a few years back, and how he was able to get good results when using the various film simulations with the same base settings. I wanted to try my hand at something similar: have one set of settings, which could be programmed into a C1-C7 slot or in the IQ Menu, and simply turning the Film Dial will produce good results no matter the film simulation that you’ve selected. In other words, I set out to create one Film Simulation Recipe that works well with all of the film simulations. It was definitely difficult to do, because (like I already said) one set of settings doesn’t often work well with multiple film simulations.

I desired these settings—this new Recipe—to be generically analog-like, and also versatile. Sunny, rainy, indoors, outdoors—whatever situation you find yourself in, and whatever subject you are photographing, this Recipe will produce good results. You just have to find the film sim that is most ideal for whatever it is that you are photographing, and how you want it to render—your own personal tastes and styles will largely dictate which one is most ideal for you, and the best way to find out is to give them a try. Turn the Film Dial until you get to the one that you want to use.

Just to be completely clear, the way this works is that you program the Recipe (that’s found below) into either a C1-C7 slot, or (as I did it) into the IQ Menu set. Then, when this Recipe is selected, simply rotate the Film Dial to choose the film simulation that you want to use. There are eight built-into-the-knob film sims, plus three custom, plus “C” (which is whatever you have programmed into the Recipe). My recommendation is to choose—for the programmed Recipe—a film sim that is not available on the knob (I chose Eterna). Carefully consider which three film simulations you want to custom set in addition to the standard eight; unfortunately, you cannot have all 20, but you can have most of them.

Only the Fujifilm X-T50 has a Film Dial, but all Fujifilm cameras have an Fn shortcut to the film simulation menu. If yours doesn’t, or you don’t like the specific button that it is set to, you can customize it yourself pretty easily. Even though your camera doesn’t have a Film Dial, you can do pretty much the same thing using an Fn button—the advantage you have is quick access to all of the film simulations and not just some, but the disadvantage is that it takes an extra step and isn’t as instinctive or obvious. Even though the technique in this article is specifically for the Fujifilm X-T50, you can do this on any Fujifilm camera; however, the Recipe below is intended for fifth-generation X-Trans cameras (as of this writing: X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, and X-T50), and not the older models, although you’re probably alright using it on some fourth-generation X-Trans cameras (X-T4, X-S10, X-E4 & X-T30 II), and newer GFX.

I’ve lumped all four Acros options into one category; ditto for Monochrome. That means, technically speaking, I have 14 Film Simulation Recipes below. You can use as many as 12 of them on your X-T50, so you’ll have to decide which ones (PRO Neg. Hi, PRO Neg. Std, Eterna, Eterna Bleach Bypass, Monochrome, or Sepia) you want available in addition to the standard eight (Provia, Velvia, Astia, Classic Chrome, Reala Ace, Classic Negative, Nostalgic Neg., and Acros).

It would be absurd to include all 14 versions of this Recipe in the Fuji X Weekly App; even adding eight to the App is too much, but (with hesitation) that’s what I’ve done. Hopefully it will make this approach discoverable, because I can imagine many X-T50 owners utilizing it, and maybe even some who have other cameras. This doesn’t take the place of C1-C7, but can be used in addition to it, basically giving you 19 different Film Simulation Recipes at your disposal, and, if you have Kodak Portra 400 v2 as one of the seven custom presets, you can actually have 21 Recipes! Additionally, you could choose three of these for use with the Film Simulation Bracket feature.

Film Simulation: Any (See Below)
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak 
White Balance: Auto White Priority, +2 Red & -4 Blue
Highlight: -1.5
Shadow: -1
Color: +3
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +1 (typically)

Additionally, for Acros and Monochrome, set Monochromatic Color to WC 0 & MG 0 (a.k.a. Off). Also, Color will be disabled for Acros, Monochrome, and Sepia.

Provia/STD — “Standard Film”

This “Standard Film” Recipe is bright, colorful, and slightly warm. Unintentionally, it’s more like actual Fujichrome Provia 100F slide film (especially if an 81B warming filter had been used) than the Provia film simulation with factory-default settings. It’s a good option for landscape photography, but some might find it to be a tad too vibrant for portraits. “Standard Film” is kind of similar to the Provia Slide Recipe, or perhaps a less warm KodaNeg VC.

Velvia/Vivid — “Velvia Film”

Velvia was the go-to film for vibrant landscape photography. If you want the colors to pop, this “Velvia Film” Recipe is what you want to use. There’s definitely some resemblance to Fujichrome Velvia 50 reversal film with a warming filter. This is a great option for landscapes; however, don’t use this Recipe for portraits, unless you want your subjects to look like they have a sunburn. Vibrant Velvia is probably the most similar Recipe, but this one is warmer and a little less punchy.

Astia/Soft — “Astia Summer”

Fujichrome Astia 100F was a lower-contrast, lower-saturation slide film with a slight red/purple hue that was specifically intended for portraits. Divergently, the Astia film simulation has high saturation that sits somewhere in-between Provia and Velvia, but with a flatter tonality (yet with deep blacks). I think the “Soft” description is in reference to the tonality. The film and the film simulation are significantly divergent from each other; Fujifilm has stated that the film simulation is the ideal of what the Astia film was intended to be, but wasn’t possible due to the limitations of the emulsion. This “Astia Summer” Recipe is more similar to Kodak Ektar 100 than Fujichrome Astia 100F, but is not a great match for either. It’s good for landscapes—especially when Velvia is too strong—but possibly too vibrant for portraits. The closest Recipe to this one is CineStill 400D v2, but it’s noticeably different.

Classic Chrome — “Kodak Film”

Classic Chrome has a distinct Kodak color palette, but Fujifilm won’t ever use the name of their long-time competitor. It’s more contrasty and less saturated than many of the other film simulations. Unsurprisingly, Classic Chrome is by far the most popular film simulation among those who use Film Simulation Recipes. This “Kodak Film” Recipe is by chance kinda-sorta similar to the (discontinued) Kodak Portra 160VC emulsion (but it’s certainly not a perfect match). This one is good for a lot of different subjects and situations, including portraits. With similarities to Reggie’s Portra, this Film Simulation Recipe will likely become the most popular of all of these.

Reala Ace — “Fujicolor PRO 160C Warm”

Reala Ace is Fujifilm’s newest film simulation. It’s purportedly based on Reala film, but it’s not a very close replication of that emulsion, which is in the Superia line, and more similar to Classic Negative. Instead, Reala Ace is nearer to the Fujicolor PRO 160 line, and shares similarities with PRO Neg. Std and PRO Neg. Hi. Reala Ace probably should have been named PRO Neg. C, since it is most similar to Fujicolor PRO 160C film. Of the three “PRO Neg.” film sims, Reala Ace is my personal favorite. Essentially, Fujifilm has “replaced” both PRO Neg. Hi and PRO Neg. Std with Reala Ace; yes, both of those film sims still exist, but Reala Ace is on the Film Dial instead. This Recipe is reminiscent of Fujicolor PRO 160C film used with a warming filter. It’s good for a lot of different subjects and situations, including portraits. The closest Film Simulation Recipe to “Fujicolor PRO 160C Warm” is PRO Negative 160C.

Classic Negative — “Superia Negative”

Classic Negative is closely modeled after Fujicolor Superia film, which Fujifilm introduced in 1998. It is one of the less saturated and most contrasty film simulations. Classic Negative has some unique color shifts, and behaves differently to under and over exposure, much like the emulsion. This “Superia Negative” Recipe isn’t modeled after any Superia film, but it does have a general Superia Xtra 400 vibe. It’s good for a lot of subjects and situations, especially in low-contrast light. The Film Simulation Recipe that is most similar to this is Superia Xtra 400. The picture above looks extremely similar to one that I saw as wall art inside of an AirBnB.

Nostalgic Neg. – “Nostalgic Film”

Nostalgic Neg. is the second most recent addition to the film simulation lineup. It’s modeled after American New Color images from the 1970’s. Nostalgic Neg. has a strong Kodak quality, particularly photographic prints from five decades ago. This is the warmest film sim, which means that “Nostalgic Film” is the warmest Recipe of this group. In my opinion, it might be slightly too vibrant and amber for portraits, but your milage may vary. If you want a retro rendering, the “Nostalgic Film” Recipe is your best bet from these 14. The closest Film Simulation Recipes to this are maybe Kodak Vericolor Warm and 1976 Kodak.

Acros, Acros+Y, Acros+R, Acros+G — “Neopan Negative”

Fujifilm introduced Neopan Acros black-and-white negative film back in 1952. Neopan Acros came in four versions: ISO 100, ISO 400, ISO 1600, plus an ISO 400 version for C41 development that was actually repackaged Ilford XP2 Super 400. Neopan Acros was briefly discontinued in 2018, and reintroduced in 2019 as Neopan Acros 100 II. Curiously, the new version is actually manufactured by Harman (the parent company of Ilford), although it behaves quite similarly to the original.

Typically, I prefer contrasty black-and-white pictures; however, this “Neopan Negative” Recipe is fairly low-contrast. It has to be used thoughtfully, or else the pictures will look slightly muddy. The Acros filter options (+Y, +R, +G) are your friend, and FS1, FS2, and FS3 are a great place to put them. This Recipe thrives on high-contrast scenes. For grainer pictures, use higher ISOs, as the Acros film sim has built-in Grain that increases with the ISO. If I could only pick one Acros option for the “Neopan Negative” Recipe, I’d go with Acros+R. There’s not really any Film Simulation Recipe that’s similar to this one, but perhaps B&W Superia is the closest.

That covers the “standard” eight film simulations found on the Fujifilm X-T50’s Film Dial. The above Film Simulation Recipes can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App. The six Recipes below can also be used, but you won’t find them in the App; however, if you have an X-T50, I recommend choosing one of them as the base, since their film sim is not on the Film Dial. Also, you can program up to three of them into the FS1, FS2, and FS3 positions if you’d like.

PRO Neg. Hi — “Fujicolor PRO Film”

This “Fujicolor PRO Film” Recipe is fairly similar to the Reala Ace version (called “Fujicolor PRO 160C Warm”) higher up in this article. You’ll find it to be a decent all-around option; however, I like Reala Ace more than PRO Neg. Hi. It’s a solid choice to serve the “base” film sim or for FS1, FS2, or FS3, but also slightly redundant. The Film Simulation Recipe that this one is most similar to is PRO Negative 160C.

PRO Neg. Std — “Fujicolor PRO 160S”

For pictures of people, this is my favorite of these Film Simulation Recipes—followed closely by the Classic Chrome (“Kodak Film”), Eterna (“Cinematic Film”), and Classic Negative (“Superia Negative”) options. PRO Neg. Std is nearly identical to PRO Neg. Hi, just lower-saturated and with less contrast. This “Fujicolor PRO 160S” Recipe is a strong contender for the “base” film sim or for FS1, FS2, or FS3. It’s not especially similar to any other Recipe, but perhaps Fujicolor Pro 160NS is the closest.

Eterna/Cinema — “Cinematic Film”

This “Cinematic Film” Recipe is the second lowest saturated and least contrasty of all the color options in this series. It has a lovely soft quality that is especially great for high-contrast scenes. It’s one of my personal favorites, and the one that I personally used for the base film simulation. Eterna is the name of Fujifilm’s line of motion picture films. The most similar Recipes to “Cinematic Film” are Indoor Angouleme, Timeless Negative, and Eterna Low-Contrast.

Eterna Bleach Bypass — “Reduced Bleach”

Eterna Bleach Bypass has the lowest saturation and highest contrast of all of the film simulations. Bleach bypass is a development technique where the bleach step is reduced or eliminated, resulting in a high-contrast, low-saturated image that almost appears like a B&W picture over a color picture. It can be used in still photography, but is more commonly found in motion pictures. Think Saving Private Ryan. This “Reduced Bleach” Recipe is somewhat similar to cinema film that has had the bleach step decreased (but not skipped). It’s a great option for results that are significantly different from the other options. The closest Recipe to this one is probably Ferrania Solaris FG 400, although it’s notably divergent.

Monochrome, Monochrome+Y, Monochrome+R, Monochrome+G — “Monochrome Film”

The Monochrome film simulation is simply Provia with the color turned off. It was the standard B&W film sim until the introduction of Acros on X-Trans III. Generally speaking, I like Acros much more than Monochrome, as Acros has more of an analog feel to it; however, Monochrome does have a slightly harsher tonality, so there are times that the Monochrome film simulation could be preferable. Similar to the “Neopan Negative” Recipe, this one thrives in high contrast light, and the filter options (+Y, +R, +G) are your friends. The only way to use all four Monochrome options are to have one as the base Recipe, then set the other three to FS1, FS2, and FS3. The Film Simulation Recipe that’s closest to the “Monochrome Film” Recipe is Ilford FP4 Plus 125.

Sepia — “Sepia Print”

Last and certainly least is Sepia. This film simulation has been around for a long time, but very few use it. If Fujifilm discontinued it, most probably wouldn’t even notice. Sepia is a darkroom technique where you bathe B&W prints in a chemical for archival and artistic purposes. Most commonly, Sepia baths are quick, and the toning subtle; however, the prints can be left in longer, resulting in a pronounced reddish/brown tone. This film simulation replicates that. For a more subtle effect, simply use either “Neopan Negative” or “Monochrome Film” with Monochromatic Color set to WC +2 MG -2. The only Film Simulation Recipe that is similar to this “Sepia Print” Recipe is Sepia. Most likely you’ll skip this one, but if you’re looking for something different, maybe give it a try.

Find the first eight of these Film Simulation Recipes and nearly 350 more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

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Fujifilm X-T50 in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T50 in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T50 in charcoal:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex

See also: Fujifilm X-T50 — The “Digital Film” Camera — But who is it for?