Fujifilm camera settings | FUJI X WEEKLY

Fujifilm X100V New Feature: HDR

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

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There’s a new feature on the Fujifilm X100V called HDR, which is an abbreviation for High Dynamic Range. You’ve probably heard of HDR photography. It was all the rage 10 years ago, but often looked terrible. Well, software has improved, and people are being more tasteful with their edits, and you likely see HDR pictures frequently and don’t even know it. I’ve never been a big fan of HDR photography, and I had very little interest in this new Fujifilm feature, but I thought that I’d try it anyway.

What is HDR? It’s the combination of a series of pictures, some overexposed and some underexposed, to maximize dynamic range. It prevents clipped highlights and blocked shadows. Fujifilm has other tools to deal with this: Highlight and Shadow adjustments, different Dynamic Range options, and D-Range Priority. HDR is now another option. You can select HDR 200, HDR 400, HDR 800 or HDR Plus.

Bright Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

On the X100V you have to go to the Drive menu to access HDR. One thing that I really appreciate about HDR on this camera is that you can select all of the different JPEG options except Dynamic Range (with HDR Plus you also cannot select Highlight, Shadow or Clarity). In other words, HDR becomes the Dynamic Range setting, and you still have everything else. You can also reprocess in-camera the RAW HDR file, but only as an HDR image. Cool!

Let’s take a closer look at the HDR options on the X100V, and also compare it to DR400 and D-Range Priority.

DR400

D-Range Priority Weak

D-Range Priority Strong

HDR 200

HDR 400

HDR 800

HDR Plus

The only pictures where the shadows appear significantly different are D-Range Priority Strong and HDR Plus. Otherwise shadows are similar, and HDR doesn’t seem to affect it much. However, highlights are greatly affected by the different HDR settings. In the pictures above, there’s a big difference in how the sun is rendered.

You might also notice some similarities between some of these different settings. Let’s compare a few:

DR400 vs. HDR 400

DR400

HDR 400

D-Range Priority Weak vs. HDR 200

D-Range Priority Weak

HDR 200

D-Range Priority Strong vs. HDR Plus

D-Range Priority Strong

HDR Plus

You might notice that D-Range Priority Weak and HDR 200 look very similar, as does DR400 and HDR 400, as well as D-Range Priority Strong and HDR Plus. Why? D-Range Priority Weak and HDR 200 are both based on DR200, so it makes sense that they would appear similar to each other. HDR 400 is based on DR400, so it’s logical that they would seem similar, as well. HDR 800 is like DR800 if such a thing existed. Both D-Range Priority Strong and HDR Plus are basically the same as HDR 800 with lighter shadows.

I don’t see a benefit to using HDR 200 or HDR 400, as you can achieve the same thing with your different Dynamic Range options. I did find HDR 800 useful for maximizing the dynamic range of the camera in harsh-light situations. HDR Plus isn’t really any different than using D-Range Priority Strong, so you might as well use the D-Range Priority setting if you really need it.

Here’s another example of the different HDR settings:

HDR 200

HDR 400

HDR 800

HDR Plus

The picture above illustrates when HDR Plus could be beneficial, but you might as well use D-Range Priority Strong instead. You could achieve the same thing as HDR 200 and HDR 400 by using the Dynamic Range settings. HDR 800 is the only one that you cannot mimic by using other settings, but the difference is pretty small between it and HDR 400.

HDR Examples

Light Flower – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Tiny Library – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Chopstix – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Jurassic Park – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Window Light on the Wall – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Lunch – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Health Parking – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – HDR 800

Back in the day, HDR photographs were notorious for halos and cartoonish renderings, but I didn’t find any of those issue on the X100V. The camera does a decent job of aligning hand-held shots. The new HDR feature far exceeded my expectations (which were admittedly pretty low). However, it turns out that HDR on the X100V is not especially useful. It also slows down the camera considerably as it captures a series of pictures and combines them. Besides that, it doesn’t always work well.

HDR Bloopers

How many legs?

An extra wheel and no driver!

If there’s anything more than very minor movements within the frame, you’ll get weird artifacts from the combination of pictures. Even if there’s no movement, but you are not very still when you capture the pictures, you can get blur from poor alignment. I had just as many busts as I had successes when using HDR because of alignment problems and artifacts from movement. Maybe there’s a way to artistically use this?

Conclusion

HDR was not a feature that I was especially excited about on the Fujifilm X100V, yet it turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. After playing around with it for a few days, I concluded that it’s not an especially useful tool. HDR 800 is the only selection that has a practical application, and the conditions have to be pretty extreme for it to be beneficial. While you can get good hand-held shots, you’re better off using a tripod, and don’t even think about using HDR if there’s anything more than very slow movement in the scene. While I think Fujifilm did a descent job in the programming, there’s plenty of room for improvement, and it’ll need to be made better before it’s a feature that will be used frequently. It’s good to have HDR as an option on the X100V, but I’m confident that I’ll rarely use it.

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[Not] My Fujifilm X100V Classic Negative Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Boy with a Bubble Gun – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

When the Fujifilm X-Pro3 came out late last year, which was the first camera with the new Classic Negative film simulation, I began to see some wonderful pictures that looked like they were captured using Superia film. Classic Negative is supposed to resemble Fujicolor Superia, most likely Superia 200, although Fujifilm doesn’t say. I believe there were more than 10 variants of Superia film made by Fujifilm, so it’s hard to know which version the film simulation was mostly modeled after. Whichever version of the film it’s intended to be, Classic Negative does a great job of mimicking it, because it definitely looks like Superia.

The Classic Negative look that was most intriguing to me was by Luis Costa, and I couldn’t wait for the day that I’d be able to try it for myself. Luis’ Classic Negative film simulation recipe, which can be found on his website, is nothing short of wonderful! It’s especially great for sunny days. It’s every bit as good as Luis made it look in his photographs. It’s programmed into the C1 slot on my Fujifilm X100V, and I doubt that it will move. It reminds me a lot of Superia X-Tra 400 with a warming filter, or maybe Superia 200 pushed one stop. Either way, it just looks good.

Warm Light on Reeds – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V

I did modify Luis Costa’s recipe slightly. Nothing big, but I added Color Chrome Effect and Clarity, and set Grain to Weak instead of Strong. It doesn’t change the look much at all. Feel free to turn off Color Chrome Effect and Clarity and set Grain to Strong if you’d like, which is Luis’ exact recipe. I want to thank Luis Costa for making and sharing his great Classic Negative recipe, and for allowing me to post it here. I encourage you to visit his website.

Because the Classic Negative film simulation changes look depending on how it’s exposed, you can get a couple different aesthetics with this recipe. I encourage you to increase exposure on some shots and decrease it on others (over and under exposing slightly), and see how it renders the picture. You might find that you prefer one look over the other, or that you prefer one in some situations and one in another. It’s fun to experiment with, and I invite you to do just that.

Classic Negative
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +1
Shadow: 0
Color: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: 0
Clarity: +2
Grain Effect: Weak, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Auto, +4 Red & -4 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Classic Negative film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

Red Rose Bush – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Flowers by the Fence – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Suburban Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Dragonfly – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Spring Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Girl in Evening Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Upside Down Wheelbarrow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Neighborhood Bubbles – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Suburbs Illuminated – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Boy in the Window Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Little Yellow Ball in the Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Lake Reeds – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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My Fujifilm X100V Kodachrome 64 Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Evening at a Pond – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V “Kodachrome 64”

The Fujifilm X100V has some new features, including Clarity and Color Chrome Effect Blue, that my X-T30 doesn’t have, despite sharing the same sensor. The more JPEG options that I have, the more accurately I can create in-camera looks. My hope is to revisit some of my film simulation recipes, and create what I hope are more accurate versions using the new features. The first one that I revamped is my Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe.

Many people love my Kodachrome 64 recipe, but not everyone. The biggest complaint that I’ve heard about it is that the reds aren’t vibrant enough. I don’t disagree with that, but there are always compromises when recreating looks in-camera because the tools available to me are limited. Of course, what Kodachrome 64 looks like depends on how you’re viewing it, whether projector, light table, scan, print, and how so. You can find some vastly different looking pictures that were captured on Kodachrome 64. For this revamped recipe, I spent some time studying the Kodachrome slides that I captured many years ago.

Red Lights & Rain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V “Kodachrome 64”

While I feel that this is an improved Kodachrome 64 recipe, it’s still not perfect. Those who disliked how reds were rendered on the old recipe will certainly like this one better, but is it 100% exactly like the film? No. I think +2 Color might be too much, but +1 Color doesn’t render reds and yellows vibrant enough. If you prefer +1 Color, feel free to do that instead. There’s a little less contrast with this new version. Both of the Color Chrome Effects, the lower Dynamic Range setting, and Clarity add contrast, so I changed Highlight and Shadow to compensate. The X-T4 has .5 Highlight and Shadow adjustments, and I would set Shadow to +0.5 if I were using these settings on that camera (I hope that Fujifilm updates the X100V and X-Pro3 to allow this, too). I think it would be acceptable to use +1 Shadow, but I felt that was a tad too much, so I set it to 0. Despite not being perfect, I do feel that this version is a little more accurate to actual Kodachrome 64 film.

If you have an X100V, X-Pro3 or X-T4, I invite you to try this new-and-improved Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe. Be sure to let me know what you think! Here are a couple pictures comparing the two versions of this recipes:

Original Kodachrome 64 recipe.

New Kodachrome 64 Recipe.

Original Kodachrome 64 recipe.

New Kodachrome 64 recipe.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: 0
Shadow: 0
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +1
Clarity: +3
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Daylight, +2 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this new Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

White Horse by a Stream – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Horses in the Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Curious Horse – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Country Tires – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Yellow Flowers, Blue Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Wishful Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Beer & Board – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Road Bicycling – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

All the World’s a Sunny Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Orders & Pickup – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Red, White & Blue Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Flag Up Close – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Reeds by the Water – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Evening Reeds – Farmington Bay, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Landscape Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Handlebar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Kodak Colors – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Half of an Orange – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Ground Beans – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Pallets – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

IHOP – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Cupcake – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Sitting on Concrete – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Spring Snow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Film Simulation Review: Changing Light, Part 2: Ilford HP5 Plus

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Clouds On Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Changing Light, Part 1: Velvia

I get asked sometimes how do I decide between color and black-and-white. I don’t remember where I heard this, but a long time ago somebody told me that if color is important to the scene then it should be a color picture, and if it’s not it should be black-and-white. Back then you had to make this decision before loading your camera with 24 or 36 exposures. Nowadays you can wait until after capturing the picture before deciding, although I find it best to choose before making the exposure.

Color pictures are (primarily) about three things: light, shadow and color. Black-and-white pictures are (primarily) about two things: light and shadow. It’s easy to see that if color isn’t an essential element to the picture, then it only serves as a distraction to light and shadow; however, that’s an oversimplified way of looking at it. There are many different color theories, and whether color is important or unimportant is highly subjective. One thing is for certain: black-and-white pictures are about light and shadow and those in-between grays.

Whenever I photograph in monochrome my mentality changes. They way that I look at the scene is different. When I photograph in color, I look for color. When I photograph in black-and-white, I look for tones. That’s why it’s important for me to decide before capturing the picture whether it will be color or not. For the pictures in this article, I decided that they needed to be monochrome. I chose my Ilford HP5 Plus film simulation recipe because I thought it would offer me the right amount of contrast. It’s not my most contrasty black-and-white recipe, but it has a good amount of contrast—not too much or too little. I think it was a great choice for these scenes.

I captured these pictures over the last several days from my house. I didn’t go anywhere. There were a lot of clouds and the light on the mountain was constantly changing. Oftentimes it was rather dull, but sometimes it was amazing! The camera I used was a Fujifilm X-T30. Most often I used a Fujinon 100-400mm lens, but occasionally I used a Fujinon 90mm. These longer focal lengths allowed me to “bring close” the mountain, making it appear as though I was in them, and not at a distance. Sometimes you don’t have to go anywhere to capture interesting pictures. That’s especially true if you have a great view where you are.

Wasatch with Snow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Dramatic Sky Ridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Silver Sky Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Clouds Over the Peak – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Clouds Around the Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Monochrome Mountain Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

White Cloud – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Cloud Reaching – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Clouds & Dark Ridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Lightly Snowing On Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Gray Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Obscurity – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain Rain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Rain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Monochrome Mountain Rain Shower – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain Downpour – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Monochrome Mountain Mist – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Francis Peak Rain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Monochrome Radar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Dark Hills – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Storm Over Dark Mountains – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain Storm – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Clouds on the Ridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Covered by Clouds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Film Simulation Review: Changing Light, Part 1: Velvia

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Wasatch Spring – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Over the last few days I’ve captured a number of pictures from my house of the nearby Wasatch Mountains. I’m very fortunate that I live so close to such a majestic and beautiful landscape. I can see it from my living room. I can sit on my patio and watch the light change and the seasons change on the mountains. It’s right there! I feel very lucky to witness this and be able to capture it with my camera.

It’s been between overcast and partly-cloudy lately, with conditions changing rapidly and dramatically. It’s gone from fairly uninteresting to amazing and back to mostly uninteresting in a matter of moments. This has repeated over and over. I’ve tried to keep an eye out for it, and tried to be quick enough to photograph it before it disappeared. That’s not always possible, and many times I wasn’t successful, but sometimes I was.

The film simulation recipe that I chose for these pictures is my Velvia recipe (I also used my Ilford HP5 Plus recipe, and those pictures are in Part 2). These settings are bold and vibrant, much like actual Velvia film. I really appreciate this film simulation recipe for landscape photography where I want colors to pop. The mountain is covered in the fresh green of spring, and these settings are the best for highlighting that. If I want vivid colors, my Velvia recipe is what I choose.

The gear that I used for these pictures is a Fujifilm X-T30 with a Fujinon 100-400mm lens attached to it. I like to use a tripod or monopod with the 100-400mm lens, but these pictures are all hand-held. If I had waited to attach a tripod to the lens, I would have missed many of these shots. The long telephoto lens allows me to bring the mountains up-close, like I travelled into the mountains to capture these pictures, yet I didn’t even leave home. It really is amazing that I was able to make these photographs without going anywhere.

Clearing Clouds Above the Ridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Cold Spring – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Francis Peak Veiled – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain Mist – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Spring Green Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain in May – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain Radar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Sliver of Illumination – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Spring Green Hill – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Wasatch Green – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Mountain Spring – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm

Changing Light, Part 2: Ilford HP5 Plus
See also: Film Simulation Reviews

Fujifilm X100V New Feature: Clarity

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

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The Fujifilm X100V has a new feature called Clarity. It actually first appeared on the X-Pro3, and it’s also on the new X-T4, but the X100V is the first camera that I’ve used with it. I’m always very happy whenever Fujifilm gives us new JPEG options, as it allows me to more accurately achieve the look that I’m after in-camera. I can create better film simulation recipes when I’m given more tools, and the X100V indeed has some new tools.

If you’ve ever done RAW processing, you’ve probably seen a Clarity tool within your software of choice. Maybe you use it all of the time, maybe you’ve never touched it. What exactly Clarity does with each software is slightly different, but the gist of it is that it increases mid-tone contrast, while (mostly) leaving the highlights and shadows untouched. This makes the image appear more contrasty while not blocking up shadows or blowing out highlights. Because Clarity often adds micro-contrast (contrast to fine lines), it can make an image appear to be sharper and more finely detailed than it actually is. Some software programs include sharpening within Clarity. Too much Clarity can often make a picture look unnatural and “over baked”.

I like the idea of having a Clarity option on my Fujifilm camera, but I was really unsure of how it would look. Is it actually a good tool? Does it produce pleasing results? Where should I set it on my camera?

In the manual Fujifilm states that Clarity increases or decreases “definition” while minimally altering highlights and shadows. The camera has the options of -5 to +5, with 0 being the default setting. Let’s take a look at some examples to see what exactly this new feature does to photographs.

Clarity -5

Clarity 0

Clarity +5

You can see from the photographs above that there’s a noticeable difference between Clarity set at -5, 0 and +5. There’s a significant contrast difference between the three pictures. Even highlights and shadows are affected. The first picture looks “soft” while the third picture boarders being “over-baked” with too much definition. Let’s take a closer look at some crops, and add -2 and +2 while we’re at it.

Clarity -5

Clarity -2

Clarity 0

Clarity +2

Clarity +5

When you look closely, you can appreciate using minus Clarity for softening skin. At -2 there’s a small difference, but by -5 there’s a big difference. The X100V has a new lens, and it’s sharper, especially when wide open. Some people (myself included) appreciated the softness of f/2 on the old X100 series lens for artistic effect, but the X100V is tack sharp across the board at all apertures. However, -5 Clarity will give a similar softness at any aperture as the old X100 lens does at f/2. Portrait photographers might especially appreciate selecting a minus Clarity option, and somewhere in the range of -2 to -5 seems to be nice.

On the other side, +5 Clarity is definitely too much for some circumstances, particularly portraits. Even +2 might be pushing it in this case, although the results are acceptable in my book. I find that minus Clarity is better when skin is involved, but you can use plus Clarity for more dramatic portraits, although I’d limit it to no higher than +3, unless you’re trying to accentuate something like wrinkled skin and a greying beard, in which case up to +5 might be acceptable. Outside of portraits, I like adding Clarity, and I find that +2 or +3 is a good range for me.

Here are some more examples:

Clarity -5

Clarity -3

Clarity 0

Clarity +3

Clarity +5

Clarity -5

Clarity -3

Clarity 0

Clarity +3

Clarity +5

The difference between -5 and +5 Clarity is pretty significant, but the in-between differences aren’t huge. It’s difficult to notice a plus or minus one difference. Going up or down two spots is a bit more obvious, although if you’re not closely comparing side-by-side examples you might not pick up on it. I think you’re perfectly fine selecting any of the Clarity options, but for portraits I’d consider using minus Clarity, unless you’re want a dramatic portrait look. For everything else adding a little Clarity helps the picture to pop more. I personally like Clarity set at +2.

Because Clarity adds contrast and does affect highlights and shadows, if you go higher than +3 Clarity, consider decreasing Highlight and Shadow by one to compensate. Also, if you go lower than -3 Clarity, consider increasing Highlight and Shadow by one to compensate. The X-T4 can do .5 Highlight and Shadow adjustments (please, Fujifilm, update the X100V to allow this, too), and that’s probably closer to what you need to compensate for the increased or decreased contrast due to selecting the far ends of Clarity. Just be aware that when you change the Clarity setting, you are changing the picture’s contrast.

+3 Clarity

Something that I need to point out is that when Clarity is set to anything other than 0, it takes the camera longer to save the file. Fujifilm actually recommends setting Clarity to 0 and adding it later by reprocessing the RAW files in-camera. If you need to shoot quickly, this might be a good option, but if you’re not in a hurry, I’d just set it to what you want it to be so that you don’t have to change it later. Yes, it does slow you down, but if you’re not in a hurry, it’s not a big deal.

In my opinion Fujifilm did a good job of implementing Clarity on the X100V. It’s a useful tool. Those who appreciated the softness of f/2 on the older models will appreciate using minus Clarity on the new model. Those who want to add just a little more punch to their pictures will like using plus Clarity. Each situation might benefit from a Clarity adjustment, and you’ll have to decide which setting is the best for the scene. Whether it’s adding or subtracting Clarity, this is a feature you’ll find me using often. Fujifilm’s inclusion of Clarity on the X100V is something that I’m extremely happy with.

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Ice Cream Trailer – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Vision3 250D”

A Fuji X Weekly reader asked me to create a film simulation recipe that mimics Kodak Vision3 250D motion picture film. Kodak introduced Vision3 250D in 2009. While it’s a color negative motion picture film, it can also be used for still photography. I’ve never used this film, but as I researched it, I came to realize that this one film can produce many different looks, depending on how it’s shot and developed. In fact, you can develop it using either the C-41 or ECN-2 process, and you can even develop it as black-and-white. You can push-process several stops. There’s a lot of latitude for over and under exposure.

As you can imagine, it would be impossible to create a film simulation recipe that mimics every possible look from this film, or even most. I focused in on one specific aesthetic, although I can’t say for sure how that aesthetic was achieved, and made a recipe that mimics it. I think I came pretty darn close. Perhaps more importantly, these settings look good. There’s a certain quality to the pictures made using this recipe that’s especially lovely. Some of you are really going to love these settings!

Flowers on a Tree Branch – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Vision3 250D”

Since Kodak Vision3 250D is a motion picture film, I had fun using this film simulation recipe in the 16:9 aspect ratio from time-to-time because it is a more cinematic shape. If you used the film for still photography, most likely the frame would be a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is what I chose for most of these pictures. You can choose any aspect ratio that you’d like. If you have an X-H1, which doesn’t have Color Chrome Effect but does have Eterna, you can still use this recipe, but the results will be slightly different.

Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR100
Highlight: +3
Shadow: +4
Color: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
White Balance: Fluorescent 1 (Daylight Fluorescent), -3 Red & -1 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

Below are all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30 camera:

Blue Bokeh – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Nighttime Fire Hydrant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Yellow Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Lights Strung Across The Road – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Forever the Perfect Accessory – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Artificial Light Rays – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Reserved Parking – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Grass by a Waterfall – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Three Ducks – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pond – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Tree & Purple Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Green Leaves & White Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Webs in the Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sky Reeds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Clouds & Roof – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Chopped Logs – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Fake Flower Decor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Shy & Uninterested – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sunglasses Indoors – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Boy in Evening Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Beans in the Grinder – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodak Portra 400 Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Around The Bend – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Portra 400”

Portra 400, which is a color negative film, was introduced by Kodak in 1998. It was redesign in 2006 and again in 2010. As the name implies, it’s intended for portrait photography, but can be used for many other types of photography. It’s similar to Portra 160, but with more contrast, saturation and grain. Believe it or not, ISO 400 was considered “high ISO” by many photographers back in the film days, and Portra 400 was one of the absolute best “high ISO” color films ever made. Like all films, results can vary greatly depending on how it’s shot, developed and printed or scanned, and even which version of the film you’re talking about. Interestingly, Kodak briefly made a black-and-white version of Portra 400!

I’ve been meaning to revisit Kodak Portra 400 for some time now. As you may know, I already have a Kodak Portra 400 recipe, which I created two years ago, but it requires a difficult-to-achieve custom white balance measurement. I was never really satisfied with that recipe, even though it can produce interesting results. I have been eager to create a new Portra 400 recipe, and, In fact, I’ve tried a couple of times, but without success.

Blue Sky Day – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Portra 400”

A Fuji X Weekly reader suggested to me that if I use my Kodak Portra 160 recipe, except increase Shadow, Highlight and Color by one, that should be pretty close to Portra 400. Indeed it is! I liked what I saw, but I played around with the settings more to see if I could improve on it. Turns out not much needed to be tweaked. I liked the results better with Color Chrome Effect set to Strong, but if you have an X-Trans III camera, which doesn’t have that feature, you can still use this recipe, but it will look slightly different. The only other change that I made was I set Grain to Strong.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -1
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
White Balance: Daylight, +4 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Portra 400 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

Mountain in the Evening Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Reeds To The Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Jensen Pond – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Water Beyond The Trees – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Paved Trail – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Spring Green & White – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Fries in the Sky – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Royal Lunch – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Evening Suburban Home – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Boy in the Striped Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Boy Sitting – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sunlight Through The Pink Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pink Tree Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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Film Simulation Review: Waiting With Fujicolor 100 Industrial

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Waiting Outside – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

My Fujicolor 100 Industrial film simulation recipe is very underrated. I don’t hear many people talk about it. This recipe doesn’t get nearly as many views as some of my other ones, perhaps because the film that it mimics isn’t especially well known. Make no mistake, this recipe is one of the best! If you’ve never tried it, I invite you to do so.

This particular film simulation recipe pairs well with urban scenes. It’s good for more than just that, but a downtown environment seems to be where this recipe does its best work. These photographs aren’t urban, but my Fujicolor 100 Industrial recipe was a good choice for this series.

Anytime can be a good time for photography. Take a camera with you wherever you go, and you’ll be surprised at the photographic opportunities that present themselves. This series of pictures was captured while waiting in line to get inside of Costco, and I was able to do this because I had my Fujifilm X-T30 with me, which had a Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens attached to it. With what’s going on in the world, there’s a line to even get inside of the store to shop. I used the wait as an opportunity to create some pictures. This is no special event. The lighting wasn’t extraordinary. It was unremarkable. Despite that, there were pictures worth capturing, images worth creating, even in an ordinary moment. Use the ordinary moments in life as photographic opportunities.

Architecture of Costco – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Green Tree & Roof – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Removing Gloves – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Pushing Baskets – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Distancing – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Guy in a Red Shirt – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Cart Man – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Red & Silver Carts – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodacolor II 126 Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Blooming Pink – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodacolor II 126”

A Fuji X Weekly reader asked me to recreate the look of some old family prints from the 1970’s that he found. After some investigating, it was determined that the pictures were captured on an Instamatic camera using 126 film (also called Kodapak). 126 film was basically 35mm film, except with a paper back and no sprockets (like 120 film), and in a cartridge that didn’t need to be rewound (similar to 110 film). It was intended for low-budget point-and-shoot cameras, and the cartridge made loading and unloading film easier. Basically, Instamatic was Kodak’s attempt to open up photography to the masses, as it required little to no skill or photographic background. It was very popular in the 1960’s and ’70’s, and became less popular in the 1980’s. A quirk of Instamatic cameras and 126 film is that it captured square pictures.

It’s unknown what film was used on the pictures in question, but most likely it was Kodacolor II, which was by far the most popular color 126 film during the time that these pictures were captured. Kodacolor is a name that Kodak gave to a number of different color negative films going back to the 1940’s. Kodacolor II was the very first C-41 process film. It was introduced in 1972 and discontinued in 1981, replaced by Kodacolor VR, which is the film that my Kodacolor film simulation recipe resembles. The prints likely have some fading and color shifts due to age, but they appeared to be in good condition overall.

Instamatic – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodacolor II 126”

This film simulation recipe, which I’ve called Kodacolor II 126, is a bit unusual in that it is supposed to mimic a look that came from cheap cameras. It calls for Image Quality to be set to Normal instead of Fine (I normally use Fine). The only other recipe that I’ve done this with is my Kodak Elite Chrome 200 Color Fade. I keep the ISO high on this recipe to make it look more grainy. While I’ve done that with several black-and-white recipes, this is the first time I’ve done it with color. This is also the only recipe that calls for the 1:1 aspect ratio, although feel free to use 3:2 or 16:9 if you’d like. These settings pair well with vintage lenses, and if you “miss” focus a little sometimes, well, that just makes it resemble Instamatic even more.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +3
Color: -4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Image Quality: Normal
Aspect Ratio: 1:1
White Balance: 6300K, +6 Red & +3 Blue
ISO: 3200 – 6400
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Kodacolor II 126” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

Polaroid Girl – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Lizard, Boy & Wall – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Boy in the Alley – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Two Cans – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Suburban House & Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Suburban Trees & Distant Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Tree Top & Mountain Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Suburban April – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Robot in the Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Heart & Soul – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Wreath & Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

White Paper – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Bowl on a Trike – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Hose & Elephant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Concrete Path – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Little Colorful Chair – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Summer Chair – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Day Dreaming – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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All About Aspect Ratios

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

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Your Fujifilm X camera has three aspect ratio options: 3:2, 16:9 and 1:1. You can see an example of each of those above. Have you ever wondered which one to use? Why these three? Why not others? Should you crop to a different aspect ratio? What do the numbers mean? I hope to answer these questions and more in this article!

Before moving on, I want to quickly discuss the aspect ratio numbers and what they mean. For instance, what does 3:2 stand for? It’s math, and it means that one side of the picture is 3 parts long (whatever the measure), and the other is two. It’s the shape of the image, and the shape matters when you print. A 3:2 image can be printed 4″ x 6″ without cropping, as well as 8″ x 12″, 12″ x 18″, 16″ x 24″ and 20″ x 30″. If you want to print at those sizes and don’t want to crop, the 3:2 aspect ratio is the right shape for you. The shape also matters for composition. What might look great with one aspect ratio might not with another. You will likely compose your pictures differently depending on the shape.

Let’s take a look at each of the three aspect ratios that Fujifilm gives you, plus some other common aspect ratios not found on your camera.

3:2

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The 3:2 aspect ratio is the native ratio on your Fujifilm X camera, and that’s because it’s the shape of the sensor. It’s the common aspect ratio of full-frame and APS-C sensor cameras, and it’s also the aspect ratio of 35mm film. The 3:2 aspect ratio is one of the most used, if not the most used, aspect ratios in digital photography. It’s a very familiar shape that most of us use every day, and it conveniently matches a number of different print sizes.

While the 3:2 aspect ratio is a very common shape, for some it’s too wide, and for others not wide enough. There are other shapes that might suite your photography better.

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16:9

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The 16:9 aspect ratio might seem cinematic, and that’s because it’s the shape of wide-screen televisions. When you watch your favorite TV show or movie at home, you likely view it in this aspect ratio. This is a common shape for video.

While mainly intended for video, the 16:9 aspect ratio can be used for still photography. The long, thin proportions are almost panoramic, and can be especially great for landscape photography. In order to create this shape, your camera crops a little off the top and bottom of the image and doesn’t use the whole sensor.

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1:1

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The 1:1 aspect ratio is square, but that doesn’t mean it’s lame. In fact, it’s the original shape of Instagram. The square picture has been around nearly as long as photography itself. There have been numerous cameras over the years that capture square images, including many 120 and 126 film cameras.

Magazine and newspaper editors used to prefer square pictures because they could crop them tall or wide, whatever would best fit the available space. On your Fujifilm X camera, some of the picture is cropped off the ends to make it square, so it doesn’t use the whole sensor.

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5:4

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The 5:4 aspect ratio is not found on your Fujifilm X camera. In fact, none of the rest are, only the first three. In order to get this shape, which is almost square, you’ll need to crop your picture using software.

This aspect ratio is from large format film, which commonly come in 4″ x 5″ or 8″ x 10″ sheets. You might note that this is the shape of 8″ x 10″ and 16″ x 20″ prints, which are common sizes. While it’s not unusual to print in this aspect ratio, it is a bit unusual to find a camera that captures it.

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4:3

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The 4:3 aspect ratio, which has its origins in medium format film, is very common. Most digital cameras with sensors larger than full frame or smaller than APS-C use this aspect ratio, including Fujifilm GFX. It’s not as wide as 3:2, but wider than 5:4. I wish that Fujifilm offered this as an option on their X-Trans models. Since they don’t, if you want to use the 4:3 aspect ratio you’ll have to crop using software. If you print poster-sized, you might make a 30″ x 40″ print; otherwise, the 4:3 aspect ratio will require some cropping to print common sizes.

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7:5

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The 7:5 aspect ratio is very uncommon. It’s a not-especially-popular large format film size. You can make 5″ x 7″ prints, too. Outside of that, this is a pretty much forgotten aspect ratio. With that said, it’s a nice in-between to the 3:2 and 4:3 ratios, which might make it a good option if you’re looking for something different.

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Your Fujifilm X camera has 3:2 as its standard aspect ratio, which is good because it won’t require cropping for many common print sizes. You also have the option of 16:9 if you want a wide picture, or 1:1 if you want a square picture, although the camera won’t use the whole sensor. Any other aspect ratio will require you to crop using software. You can make a picture any shape you want, but the more uncommon the aspect ratio, the more difficult it might be to print. Still, that shouldn’t stop you if that’s what you want to do. It can be tricky to discover what aspect ratio works best for your photography, so if you aren’t sure, I invite you to try different shapes until you find what you like best. You might find that you appreciate different shapes for different subjects or situations. There’s no one-size-fits-all aspect ratio, but the 3:2 aspect ratio is one-size-fits-most, which makes it ideal to have as the shape of your sensor.

[Not] My Fujifilm X-T30 Ilford Delta Push-Process Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Boy in a Chair with a Phone – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Ilford Delta Push-Process”

When I shot film, Ilford Delta was my go-to for black-and-white photography. Sure, I used other films, but Ilford Delta was what I most often loaded into my camera. For fine-grain, I used Delta 100. For situations other than bright daylight, or if I wanted more contrast and grittiness, I would choose Delta 400. For dim light, I would on a rare occasion use Delta 3200. Sometimes I would push-process the Delta 100 and Delta 400 a stop or two. I actually still have a couple rolls of Delta film sitting around, although I haven’t shot much film in the last few years. The last roll of Ilford Delta that I shot was Delta 3200.

Something that people might not be aware of is that Delta 3200 is actually not an ISO 3200 film, it’s actually rated at ISO 1000, but has “built-in” push-processing to ISO 3200 (labs know to increase the development time unless you specify otherwise). Ilford Delta films have a lot of latitude and flexibility. There’s a lot that one can do in the lab with any of the Ilford Delta films to customize the contrast and grain.

Fuji X Weekly reader K. Adam Christensen shared with me his film simulation recipe for Ilford Delta 3200, and I really like the way that his recipe looks. It’s a great black-and-white recipe! I made a couple of small tweaks to it, nothing big. Adam uses this recipe on his X100V, and he sets Grain to Large, which is an option on that camera, as well as the X-Pro3 and X-T4, but not on my X-T30. If I could set Grain to Large I would, as that would better mimic Delta 3200. Without it, perhaps these settings more resemble Delta 3200 shot and developed at ISO 1600. It reminds me of Delta 400 pushed one stop or maybe a stop and a half.

White House Beyond the Thistle – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Ilford Delta Push-Process”

I have the ISO on this recipe set at 12800, which makes it difficult (but not impossible) to use in daylight situations. It’s a little easier on X100 cameras that have a built-in neutral density filter. If you need to drop the ISO, you can go as low as ISO 3200 and still get good results, but for best results keep the ISO at 12800 as much as possible. All of the pictures in this article were shot at ISO 12800.

Monochrome (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: 0
Shadow: +3
Grain: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Toning: 0
Sharpening: -3
Noise Reduction: -4
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
ISO 12800

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Ilford Delta Push-Process film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

FED 5C & Industar 69 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Phone Numbers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl, Smile – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Broccoli – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Faux Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Glass Bottles with Stems – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Flowers Waiting to Pot – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Potted Tulip – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

White Tulips at Night – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Outdoor Shelf – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Dirty Feet – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Roller Skating – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Skates – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl Outdoor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Two Feet – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Chair Shadow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Blackberry Vine on Concrete – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Watering Plant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Wet Handlebar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Raindrops on a Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Kodak Gold 200 Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Crown Burger – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Gold 200”

I’ve been asked countless times to create a Kodak Gold film simulation recipe. I’ve tried several times to make one, but I couldn’t get it quite right. Last week I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw a picture that I thought at first glance was captured using my Portra 160 recipe. It’s not unusual to see pictures that were captured using my different recipes, as some of them have become quite popular. It was an interesting picture, so I took my time looking at it, and as I did I thought that there was just too much saturation, contrast and grain for it to be my Portra recipe, yet it was still very similar. When I read the description I realized that the picture was captured with actual Kodak Gold 200 film! At that moment I knew that I could create a Gold recipe simply by modifying the Portra recipe.

Kodak Gold, which was introduced in the late-1980’s and is still around today, is a general purpose color negative film. It was originally called Kodacolor VR-G, then Kodacolor Gold, and finally Gold. It replaced Kodacolor VR. While the film has been improved a few times over the years, it still looks pretty much the same today as it did in the 1980’s. The film is prone to color shifts, and results can vary significantly depending on how the picture was shot, developed and printed or scanned.

Flowing Farmington Creek – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Kodak Gold 200”

Even though this Kodak Gold film simulation recipe is very similar to my Portra recipe, it took many experiments to get it right. I tried different combinations of Highlight, Shadow and Color before settling on these settings. I adjusted the white balance shift several times before returning to the same shift as Portra 160. I feel that this recipe is a good facsimile to actual Gold film, although, like all recipes, it will never be exact, as it cannot account for all the variables. It’s pretty close, though, in my opinion. I want to give a special thank-you to Fuji X Weekly reader Piotr Skrzypek for creating the original Portra 160 recipe for X-Trans II, which allowed me to make one for X-Trans III & IV cameras, which in turn made this Kodak Gold 200 recipe possible. This recipe is compatible with X-Trans III & IV cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR-Auto
Highlight: -2
Shadow: +1
Color: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: Daylight, +4 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak Gold 200 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

Space Communication – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sky Traffic – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Little Grass Runner – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pear Tree Top – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Spring Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Tree Blossom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Backlit Pear Blossoms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pear Blossom Day – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Boy in Spring – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Branch & Sky – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pear Blossom Reflection – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Phragmites – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Easy Feelin’ – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl in the Backyard – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Stages of Tulip Blooms – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Crescent Tulips – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Floral Decor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Cheese – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Grill & Chill – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

No Door Dash in the Drive Thru – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Corner – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

KFC – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Everette Brown – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Outside 7-Eleven – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sunlight Through The Trees – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Tree Trunk Above the Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Boulder Above the Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Father & Son Fishing in Farmington Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Fishing in Farmington Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Staircase Down to the Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Flowing Creek – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Creek in the Woods – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Rocky Farmington Creek – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Winter is Nearly Over – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Red Car in Green Grass – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Bug in the Dirt – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Sunset on Burger Customer Parking – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

My Fujifilm X-T30 Cyanotype Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Ball Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Cyanotype”

Cyanotype is an early photographic process that produces blue prints. It was invented in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, and was popular in Victorian England. The chemicals needed are simple: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanid. It’s a contact process, so positives have to be placed right over the paper. Sunlight or UV light is required for the exposure. Cyanotypes are pretty simple, and anyone can do them at home.

I thought it would be fun to make a film simulation recipe to mimic cyanotype prints. Fujifilm X-Trans IV cameras have the ability to tone black-and-white pictures, either warm or cool. By toning the pictures blue, I was able to get in the neighborhood of cyanotype photography. Unfortunately, going all the way cool, which is -9 on toning, is only marginally blue enough to pass for cyanotype. Still, this was a fun experiment. If you are bored, why not give it a try yourself?

Blue Blossom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Cyanotype”

Acros
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +3
Shadow: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Toning: -9
White Balance: Auto
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Cyanotype” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

Orbit – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Caged Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Blue Bloom – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Succulent Blue – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Light Bulb Blues – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Stems – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Welcome – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Daffodil Blue – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Falling Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Post & Wire – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Threatening – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Growth in the Rocky Place – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Studying Blues – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Polaroid Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Red Benches & Post Office – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Polaroid”

I get asked frequently to create film simulation recipes for all sorts of different looks. Sometimes I’m successful, oftentimes I’m not. I received one such request recently that was a little unusual: the stills from the television series True Detective. The set photographer for this show is Michele K. Short. The show itself was shot using Kodak Vision3 50D and 500T film. Michele likely photographed the stills with her Leica M10-P, and edited them to look like analog pictures. Honestly, I have no idea what specific film they’re supposed to resemble, but I was able to pretty quickly create something that is in the ballpark of those stills.

I looked and looked at different films to figure out what this aesthetic might be close to. I didn’t find anything that I was satisfied with. There were a couple of films that I thought, “Well, you can make an argument, but it’s a stretch.” I decided that it most reminds me of Polaroid peal-apart film, perhaps 669. It’s not intended to resemble Polaroid, and perhaps it doesn’t do so very well, but I needed a name, and I wasn’t going to call this recipe “True Detective” so I went with “Polaroid” instead. Whether this does or doesn’t resemble Polaroid, I think you’ll find it produces interesting results. Some of you are going to really appreciate this film simulation recipe!

Abstract Architecture – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Polaroid”

You can get good results with this recipe when you over, under or correctly expose, but some of my favorite pictures were overexposed. There’s a lot of latitude with this recipe. It’s fun to play around with. It seems especially well suited for high contrast scenes, although it can still be used in mid and low contrast scenes. It’s compatible with all X-Trans IV cameras and the Fujifilm X-H1.

Eterna
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +4
Shadow: -2
Color: -2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpness: -1
Grain Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: Auto, +5 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Polaroid” recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

Red, White & View – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Storm Behind Rural Neighborhood – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Thistle Evening – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl Unsure on Path – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Dormant Branches & Half Moon – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Reeds & Mountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Evening Light at Francis Peak – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

House Roof – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

House – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Garage Rooftops – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Bicycle Boy – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Hooded Boy – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Joyful Girl – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Smile – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl with Curls – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Happily Running – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Paw Patrol – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Shoe on a Red Tricycle – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Wilting Flower – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Lots of Luck – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Lamp – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Leafy Indoor Decor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Lamp in Daylight – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Empty Ski Lift – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Trees & Lift – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pine Tree & Clouds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Snow At The Fuel Stop – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Unused Snow Bridge – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Park City’s Empty Street – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Downtown Park City, April 2020 – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Park City Buildings – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Flag U – Park City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Center Street Lamp – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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Classic Chrome for Those Who Don’t Have It (X-Trans I)

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

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One of these two pictures is Classic Chrome and one is PRO Neg. Std. Can you guess which is which?

Classic Chrome is probably the most popular film simulation created by Fujifilm. It is the most common starting point for my film simulation recipes. It was introduced by Fujifilm beginning with the X-Trans II sensor, so those who have X-Trans I cameras or older Bayer sensor cameras don’t have it as an option. The X100, X100S, X-E1 and X-Pro1 all lack Classic Chrome.

I’ve been asked many times how to replicate Classic Chrome for cameras that don’t have it. I figured it out! And it’s not what you might expect. It’s not the advice that I have been giving out over the years, which was based on Astia. I figured that Astia with the contrast turned up and color turned down would be close, but I was wrong. It’s difficult to get the contrast correct when using Astia, and with Color set to -2 it’s still much too vibrant. Turns out PRO Neg. Std is the film simulation required to mimic Classic Chrome. Shocked? I was. It was literally the last color film simulation that I tried.

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One of these two pictures is Classic Chrome and one is PRO Neg. Std. Can you guess which is which?

My experiments were conducted on my Fujifilm X-T1. Using Classic Chrome, I set Color, Highlight, Shadow and Sharpness at 0, Dynamic Range to DR100, Noise Reduction to -2, and White Balance to Auto with Red and Blue both set to 0. Then I tried to replicate that look using one of the other film simulations. I figured out how to get pretty darn close using the PRO Neg. Std film simulation.

There are some differences between actual Classic Chrome and these settings. This faux Classic Chrome is actually slightly more yellow. If there was a way to shift the white balance by fractions this could be made more accurate, as the actual shift should be closer to +0.3 Red and -0.6 Blue, but that’s not possible. You could set the white balance shift to 0 Red and 0 Blue if you prefer less yellow, and I think that’s a legitimate option, as I debated between that and this, but ultimately I went with the warmer white balance shift. There’s also slightly deeper shadows and more saturation with these settings than real Classic Chrome. I think +0.7 Shadow and Color would be more accurate, but +1 is as close as I could get. I found that setting Shadow and Color to 0 produced results that were further away from Classic Chrome, but that’s something you could consider. These settings are not perfect, but for those who don’t have Classic Chrome as an option, in my opinion this is as close as you’re going to get, which is actually pretty close.

PRO Neg. Std
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +1
Shadow: +1
Color: +1
Sharpness: 0
Noise Reduction: -2
White Balance: Auto, 0 Red & -1 Blue

What about the pictures above? The top one is the faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std and the bottom one is actual Classic Chrome. Did you guess correctly?

Below are example photographs, all straight-out-of-camera JPEGs from my Fujifilm X-T1, that compare faux Classic Chrome using PRO Neg. Std with Classic Chrome.