***Correction: Note the new times. The show will now be at 9:00 AM Pacific, 12:00 noon Eastern.***
Wow, it’s been 11 months since the last episode of SOOC Live! Time sure does fly. It’s not for lack of trying that so much time has passed; our schedules just didn’t work out for most of 2025. But, as a holiday gift to you, Nathalie Boucry and I will be hosting a live broadcast on Monday, November 24th, at 9:00 AM Pacific Time, 12:00 noon PM Eastern. I really hope you can join us!
In this episode, we’ll be discussing one of Fujifilm’s most controversial features: the Film Dial. We’ll talk about the good and the bad, and—much more importantly—how to get the most out of it. If you own a Fujifilm X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, or X-T30 III, this is a must-watch episode; if you don’t own one of those models, but are curious about the Film Dial, be sure to tune in. I look forward to chatting with you live on November 24th!
In other news, I just released an update to the Fuji X Weekly App on Android, which fixes the bug that the app will crash when tilted vertical (landscape) on some operating system versions. It was a weird bug that I believe may have been introduced on version 14. Basically, some coding that worked flawlessly on earlier versions no longer worked on newer operating systems. Usually when a new OS update is released, it screws something up unexpectedly. Sometimes it’s a little thing that’s not a big deal; other times it’s a major problem. It took some serious troubleshooting to find and fix this particular issue. This was only for Android, and did not affect iPhones. A special “thank you” to those who reported the problem and helped troubleshoot it!
I’m also working on a fairly significant app update that hopefully will be ready next month sometime. I can’t give away the details yet, but I think many of you will really appreciate aspects of it. I’m constantly working on updates to the Fuji X Weekly, Ricoh Recipes, and RitchieCam apps (even though it may not always seem like it)—between the apps and this website, I stay really busy. I have a lot of various things in the air, which I can’t wait to share when the time is right—hopefully some will be sooner than later. Some things may not ever work out, that’s the way it goes sometimes and that’s ok. Anyway, if you have time on Monday, be sure to join Nathalie and I on YouTube, I’m really looking forward to chatting with you!
I just uploaded a brand-new video to YouTube. Some of you are probably unaware that there even is a Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel because I post so infrequently to it. This is only my second long-form video this year; last year I had two, and the year before that I uploaded three. Still, somehow, the channel has nearly 18,000 subscribers, and most of my videos top 10,000 views. I’d love to create a lot more long-form video content in the future, but it takes a lot of time that is just so hard to come by right now.
This video was filmed a few months ago. Initially I felt bad that it took so long to get it put together and finished, but then Preston Summorrowposted a video a week or so ago that was filmed back in July. If it was alright for him to have a large gap between start and finish, then it’s alright for me, too. I hope that you enjoy my video—I included it below.
I love infrared photography! It is so much fun. The results are just incredible. I have a handful of Infrared Film Simulation Recipes, and my personal favorite is Aerochrome v2. If you are interested in infrared photography, be sure to check back often to follow my personal journey. I know this is a niche genre that most people have a passing interest in at most, but even if you don’t care to try it yourself (or don’t have the opportunity to try it), maybe you’ll enjoy the photographs nonetheless.
My wife, Amanda, is the one who filmed and edited the video. She’s a lot better at it than I am, and she enjoys the process a lot more than I do. I think she did a great job! If you appreciate the video, be sure to leave a nice comment for Amanda. I know she would be encouraged by your gracious feedback.
The season finale of SOOC Live is just two days away! Join Nathalie Boucry and myself on December 12th at 9:00 AM Pacific Time (noon Eastern), as we finish off Season 4 with what will surely be an epic broadcast. This one will be especially fun, so you’ll want to tune in if you’re able. Since these shows are interactive, your participation makes them better. I hope to see you this Thursday!
For those who don’t know, SOOC Liveis a (sometimes) monthly live YouTube broadcast where Nathalie Boucry and I discuss Film Simulation Recipes, give tips and tricks for achieving the results you want straight-out-of-camera, talk Fujifilm news, and answer your questions. Basically, we’re trying to help you master your camera, with a focus on simplifying your photographic workflow. This is a community event, helping each other along our photographic journeys.
Below is the upcoming show, so you can easily find it on Thursday (here is the direct link, in case you need it):
It’s been awhile, but SOOC Live is back! Join Nathalie Boucry and myself on September 19th for Episode 5 of Season 4, as we catch you up on everything that’s been going on since out last show. As usual, we’re going to talk Fujifilm cameras, Film Simulation Recipes, and straight-out-of-camera photography, and more. It’s going to be a great time!
The last episode, Why We Love Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes, was way back in May. Simon Hügly made a special guest appearance. If you missed that broadcast when it was live, be sure to watch it now. While you’re at it, if you don’t follow the SOOC Live YouTube Channel, make sure that you subscribe and click the bell and all that stuff. Anyway, due to busy schedules, scheduling conflicts, major life events, illnesses, etc., we’ve not been able to broadcast all summer, but that’s about to change.
In just nine days, though, Nathalie and I will be live once again! Be sure to mark your calendar now so that you don’t miss the show, which will be on Thursday, September 19th, at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, 1:00 PM Eastern. I’ve imbedded the video below so that you can easily find it. It’s an interactive broadcast, so your participation is what makes it great. I hope to see you then!
Victor Ha – VP, Electronic Imaging & Optical Devices Divisions, Fujifilm North America
Victor Ha is the Vice President of the Electronic Imaging and Optical Devices Divisions of Fujifilm North America. I met him twice while I was in New York City in May. The first time, I accidentally crashed a Fujifilm lunch meeting (funny story…). I got to introduce myself and not much else. The second time was at a loud and crowded bar. We had a short conversation, but it was a bit difficult due to the environment. Mostly we discussed art and photography in general, and not anything specific about cameras or even Fujifilm. I hope to one day talk about Fujifilm gear with him, as I have a lot of ideas and feedback that I’d love to share; who knows, maybe that opportunity will present itself someday. Anyway, Victor is a really nice guy, and it was a pleasure to speak with him in person.
Victor Ha was recently on a live Adorama YouTube broadcast (Episode 28 of Coffee with Creators) with Seth Miranda (a.k.a. LastXWitness). This is the video that Fujirumors shared indicating that the X-T5’s AF bug would be fixed and Reala Ace would be given to all the fifth-generation X-Trans cameras by the end of June (yea!). Unfortunately, I’ve been really busy over the last week, and I didn’t have a chance to watch it. Someone reached out to me to ask if I’d seen it, stating that I was given a shoutout. I hadn’t, so I watched it. I’ve included the video below, in case you want to view it, too.
If you don’t want to see the whole thing (it’s over an hour long), simply skip ahead to the 6:52 mark. Victor gives a very kind shoutout to Fuji X Weekly and briefly mentions Film Simulation Recipes. Specifically, he brought up the Reala Ace Film Simulation Recipe that I used while in New York City. Actually, I used two. For anyone wondering, I believe the one that he may have been talking about in the video was the Fujicolor PRO 160C Warm Recipe that is a part of my Fujifilm X-T50 Film Dial strategy. The other Recipe that he could have been referring to is PRO Negative 160C. They’re both fairly similar, and can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App (available for Apple and Android). Once the firmware updates are released, which could be any day between now and the end of the week, Reala Ace will be available for the Fujifilm X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, and X-S20 cameras. If you have one of those cameras, soon you’ll be able to use those Recipes, too.
As you are probably aware, the Fujifilm X-T50 has a new Film Dial, which allows you to quickly and easily switch between different film simulations. It’s a contentious design feature, and I think a lot of people were surprised that I actually like it.
To be honest, I didn’t care for the Film Dial at first, as it initially seemed to be something that I’d never use. But after thinking about it and playing with it, I discovered a way to get the most out of the Film Dial, which I wrote about here. Now, I love the new knob!
Afterwards, I received a number of requests to demonstrate what the article stated. Some people are visual learners, and it can be difficult to fully grasp the meaning of something that’s written. A number of messages and comments asked, “Can you show me what you mean?” That’s the entire point of my new YouTube video, which I’ve included below.
If you are a visual learner and are interested in or curious about the new Fujifilm X-T50, definitely give the video a watch. I hope that it is helpful to some of you—if so, let me know! If you’d like more of this type of content in the future, let me know that, too.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Join myself and Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry live tomorrow as we discuss some must-have Film Simulation Recipes for your Fujifilm camera! It’s an interactive program, so your participation makes it better. Be sure to bring any questions that you might have about Recipes or Fujifilm cameras. The show begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, 1:00 PM Eastern. I hope to see you there!
The show will be broadcast on our SOOC Live YouTube page. You can get to it from the SOOC Live website, and I’ve also included it below, so that you can easily find it tomorrow. Also, in preparation for the episode, there’s a poll that will run during the show, which you can participate in right now if you’d like (click here).
Yes, I have a YouTube channel, but it’s a pretty minor footnote compared to everything else that is Fuji X Weekly. I’m a blogger. I’m an app developer (Sahand Nayebaziz deserves much of that credit, though). You could even make an argument that I’m a social media influencer, although that is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. I do, however, have a YouTube channel, and I do occasionally post videos—a whopping total of three last year. Technically speaking, I’m a YouTuber, but practically speaking, I’m a photography blogger who happens to have a small YouTube channel.
My definition of a YouTuber is someone who is successful at it. They post regularly, have some popularity, and earn a nice side-hustle income or even a full-time income from it. I fail at all three of those points. That doesn’t mean that it won’t ever happen, because it could. If I make a plan and work very hard at it, plus don’t give up, there’s a pretty good chance that I could find success. In time I could be a YouTuber, but right now I’m very far from it.
Making YouTube content is hard. It doesn’t have to be: strap on a GoPro and post the clips. That’s not my style, though. Many hours of recording and editing go into each minute of every video on the Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel. A two minute video might have taken eight hours or more to complete, start to finish. My wife, Amanda, does the vast majority of it. She’s busy raising our four children, and YouTube content is not at the top of her priority list. She very much enjoys doing it, though, and I’m always impressed at her skill and vision. I have a face for radio and a voice for print, yet she somehow manages to make it seem otherwise. It’s easy to understand why putting together quality videos is a near impossible task—hence, just three published in 2023—but Amanda does an amazing job, especially considering all of the challenges. She deserves a lot of credit.
I’m surprised by the success that the Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel has had: over 14,000 subscribers, and three videos that have topped 15,000 views. 14K subscribers puts the channel deep into the Top 10%! Supposedly, only about 9% of all YouTube channels have over 1,000 subscribers, and only about 2% top 10,000 subscribers. I’m only in the Top 2% because of the popularity of this website, and not because I’m prolific on YouTube. The percentage that tops 100K subscribers is about 0.3%, so Omar Gonzales, Serr, Pal2Tech, and many others like them, are in an elite category that not very many reach, and even less surpass. Only 0.03% YouTube channels have a million or more subscribers.
What’s interesting is that the top 0.8% most-watched YouTube videos (which are ones that have at least 100K views) account for about 83% of all views on the entire platform. The inverse of this is that 99.2% of all YouTube videos (ones under 100K views) only account for about 27% of all views. Most of the videos on YouTube don’t get many views—in fact, about 88.5% have less than 1,000 views. Only 8% have more than 1,000 views but less than 10,000 (which is where most of my videos are), and only about 3.5% have more than 10K views. The percentage of videos with 100K or more views is less than 1%.
If you’re not a big channel with 100K or more subscribers, you are playing in the shallow end of the pool. There are some smaller channels that manage to break the mold, and have some success with one or two or a few videos. For most people, they’re stuck with under 1,000 subscribers, and their videos will almost always get less than 1,000 views. I feel very fortunate to have somehow moved into the Top 2% for subscribers, with most of my videos in the Top 8% for views, and a few that climbed into the Top 3.5%. Even so, I’m very small potatoes. The Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel is still much too small for me to be considered a YouTuber. Maybe someday it will get there (although that’s not currently a goal of mine). I like seeing it grow, but I have no expectations that it will ever be in that Top 0.3%, which is where one needs to be in order to eke out a living at it. Those that are getting rich from YouTube—aside from Google—are an extremely tiny fraction of the users—probably about 35,000 people worldwide (there are about 115 million channels on the platform).
So I went on YouTube today, and found some videos from smaller channels that posted about Fujifilm and/or Film Simulation Recipes, and included them below. I hope that in some way this helps them grow their channels. I also hope that you enjoy their content. If this can facilitate you finding someone new to follow on YouTube, then this article was a success. At the very bottom I also included my latest YouTube video, in case you have yet to watch it. Right above it is the latest SOOC Live broadcast.
This Thursday’s SOOC Live broadcast will be postponed. It might be for just one week, or it might be longer. I’ll let you know as soon as I know for certain.
Life happens. Sometimes unexpected situations arise. Unfortunately, things have to be shuffled around, and this upcoming broadcast was what had to give. I apologize for any inconvenience, and I appreciate your understanding. Hopefully you won’t have to wait too much longer for the next episode.
Ever since the first trailer for Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City debuted back in March, the movie’s generated a lot of buzz. There’s also been a ton of interest in recreating Wes Anderson’s aesthetic and style. Now that Asteroid City is about to hit theaters across America (and presumably the world), there’s been a renewed interest in the Wes Anderson look.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to faithfully mimic an Asteroid City aesthetic straight-out-of-camera on Fujifilm models; however, you can get somewhat close, if you ok with compromises. My Vibrant Arizona Film Simulation Recipe is the closest you’re likely to get to an Asteroid City look without editing (in the article, I give some tips for getting even closer with a couple of quick edits). While it’s just not possible to achieve an orange/teal/pastel palette in-camera on Fujifilm models, the Vibrant Arizona Recipe does produce an unmistakable Wes Anderson vibe, which is definitely in-style right now.
Last month I visited Sedona, Arizona—the perfect location to use Vibrant Arizona! If there’s any place that just cries for this Film Simulation Recipe, it’s Red Rock Country. I loaded the Recipe into my Fujifilm X-T5, attached a TTArtisan 35mm f/0.95 lens, and walked around the iconic tourist town. My wife, Amanda, came along with her Fujifilm X-T4 (with a Fujinon 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens), and recorded some clips.
You can use Film Simulation Recipes for video in Fujifilm cameras to an extent, and avoid color grading. Some settings aren’t available, such as Grain, Color Chrome Effects, D-Range Priority, and Clarity, which means that Vibrant Arizona can’t really be used for video. Instead, in order to get the video clips to be similar to the photographs, we used these settings in Amanda’s X-T4:
Classic Chrome White Balance: 4350K, +6 Red & -8 Blue Dynamic Range: DR400 Color +4 Highlight: -2 Shadow: -2 Sharpness: -2 High ISO NR: -4
Of course, being influenced by Wes Anderson, Amanda shot and edited the video in a style inspired by his movies. I hope that you find it entertaining, and that it will inspire you to give the Vibrant Arizona Film Simulation Recipe a try on your Fujifilm camera. Also, be sure to follow my YouTube channel if you don’t already, and give the video a thumbs-up if you liked it.
You can find the Vibrant Arizona Recipe (and nearly 300 more!) in the Fuji X Weekly App. Download for free today (Android here, Apple here); consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support this website.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Recently I shared videos by Leigh and Raymond Photography, Andrew Goodcamera, and Mango Street that mention Fuji X Weekly and/or Film Simulation Recipes. That’s awesome! Those are pretty big names in the camera world. But if you look on YouTube, there are so many other photographers who are shooting with Recipes and making some wonderful content. They don’t (yet) have the large following of those well-established channels, but they deserve some love and recognition for what they are doing. That’s what this post is about. I want to share with you some of those videos that I found, which perhaps didn’t come up in your feed, but are worthwhile to watch.
Today is Wednesday, which is also sometimes called Hump Day because it is in the middle of the week. If today is a struggle and you are in need of inspiration and/or entertainment, this will surely help! Find a video or two (or more!) below that look interesting, and give it a watch. At the end, if you liked it, don’t forget to give it a thumbs up and consider subscribing to that person’s channel. Let them know that you appreciate their content!
I’m sure I missed several wonderful videos. If you published one recently that I didn’t include, or if you’ve seen one by someone else that should have been in this list, feel free to leave a link to it in the comments. The videos below are simply the ones that YouTube presented to me, and I appreciated them so I thought you might, too.
We’re two weeks away from kicking off SOOC Live Season 3! Join myself and Nathalie Boucry as we talk about Film Simulation Recipes, Fujifilm cameras, photography, and so much more. There will be quite a few changes to the show, which we’ll discuss in the initial episode, so you’ll want to tune in. We’ll be broadcasting live on February 9th at 9 AM Pacific Time, Noon Eastern Time, and we hope that you will join us. Mark your calendars now!
One big change is that SOOC Live has its own YouTube channel. All of the “old” episodes will be added there, but it is a work-in-progress and will take some time, so please excuse the construction. You’ll want to take a moment right now to subscribe to the SOOC Live channel, that way you’ll get notified of new broadcasts. Also, the Season 3 Kickoff episode has already been scheduled, so be sure to set the reminder. You know, hit the bell and smash the button and all that fun stuff.
If you haven’t uploaded your photos, don’t forget to do so soon (click here)! Which pictures should you share? Submit up to three of your favorite images captured with the Mystery Chrome Film Simulation Recipe (which was created live during the last episode of Season 2) and/or festive photographs captured over the holiday season with any Film Simulation Recipe. Be sure to include your name and the recipe used in the file name. All the pictures submitted will be included in a slide show, and some will be shown during the show. Everyone who submits a photo will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a 12-month Patron subscription to the Fuji X Weekly App. Please submit your pictures by February 7th.
If you haven’t visited the SOOC Live website, you’ll want to do so and bookmark it. It’s also a work-in-progress, and you’ll see a few changes and updates over the coming weeks and months.
There are some big things in store for SOOC Live Season 3! Come along for the ride and see where this journey takes us.
SOOC Season 02 Episode 03 will be live this Thursday! We’ll conclude our discussion of the Kodak Vision3 250D Film Simulation Recipe and introduce the next recipe-of-the-month: Fujicolor Superia 800 (the X-Trans III version). Tune in at 10:00 AM Pacific, 1:00 PM Eastern—be sure to show up 30 minutes early for the Pre-Show!
For those who don’t know, SOOC is a monthly live video series, with each episode focused on a different Film Simulation Recipe. It is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). SOOC is a fun and educational experience where we not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions and give tips and tricks. Basically, we’re trying to help you master your Fujifilm camera, with a focus on simplifying your photographic workflow.
If you missed the first two episodes of Season 02, you can watch them below.
SOOC was postponed two weeks, and I know many of you set aside time today to tune in, so I thought I’d fill the void by sharing some recent YouTube videos that show or discuss Film Simulation Recipes. I hope that you find these videos interesting or entertaining. If you do appreciate a certain video, give the creator a “thumbs-up” and follow to let them know!
While I’d passed this famous photographic landmark a handful of times, this was the first time that I’d actually stopped to take a look myself. It’s a part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and sits a little ways northeast of the Grand Canyon and just southwest of Lake Powell.
Despite visiting during the “off season” it was surprisingly crowded. There’s a small entrance fee, and it seems well maintained. A well-marked trail leads to an epic overlook of the Colorado River. The steep drop-off has railings at one spot but otherwise there’s nothing to keep visitors from falling except for good sense—it didn’t seem as though everyone was exercising good sense while I was there. The red rocks were dusted in red sand, making footing unsteady at times. Be careful if you should visit.
The reward is an incredibly amazing view! There’s a similarly amazing place in this region called Goosenecks State Park that’s much less crowded, which is briefly featured at the beginning of my Monument Valley video. If you have a chance to visit Horseshoe Bend or The Goosenecks, be sure to do so. Don’t wait until the seventh or eighth time passing by before finally getting out of the car and heading down the trail. It’s worth your time, and your photographic attention.
The reason why we—and by “we” I mean mostly Amanda—created this short film was to test the Pergear 50mm f/1.8 lens for video. I already published a review of the Pergear lens for still photography, but I thought this lens might be a good inexpensive option for cinema. I needed to put it to the test.
Amanda recorded A.M. Flight on her Fujifilm X-T4 with a Pergear 50mm f/1.8. All of it was handheld, no tripod or gimbal was used. The 50mm focal-length, which is 75mm full-frame equivalent, is telephoto, and camera shake is exaggerated because of this. The X-T4 has in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS)—the X-S10 and X-H1 are the only other two Fujifilm X cameras with IBIS—and even with the stabilization there’s still a fair amount of shakiness to the clips. We recommend the use of a tripod or gimbal to help reduce shake; if your camera doesn’t have IBIS, a tripod or gimbal is a must with this lens.
The Pergear 50mm f/1.8 is all manual, which means you’ll have to manually focus. A.M. Flight has a lot of fast movements in the film, and nailing focus manually proved to be very difficult; this lens might be better suited for projects that don’t have quickly moving objects. The focus ring is smooth, a positive for sure! The aperture ring is click-less, which is great for video because you can change the aperture while recording a clip, either increasing or decreasing the depth-of-field.
The f/1.8 aperture is fast, but the depth-of-field is shallow (making nailing focus even more difficult) and image quality isn’t the best when wide-open. It was nice to have f/1.8 as an option when filming in dark locations, but it’s definitely better to stop down a little (at least f/4 is you can) to maximize image quality whenever you can.
When light hits the lens just right, there’s something special about the results. There’s a particularly nice quality to some of the video clips, thanks to the Pergear lens. There’s a certain character that you just won’t find in most modern lenses; if that’s something you want in your video, this lens is for you.
The Pergear 50mm f/1.8 lens is challenging to use for video because it is all manual and because it doesn’t have any stabilization. Cameras with IBIS, like the Fujifilm X-T4, make it a little easier to use, and it’s possible to get away with not having a tripod or gimbal, but if you don’t have IBIS you’re going to want to do something to stabilize the clips. This lens is not the most ideal option for video, but if you are on a tight budget or want the special character that this lens can give you, it’s a good one to consider.
This review contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated a small amount if you make a purchase using my links. Amazon $79
If you don’t subscribe to the Fuji X Weekly YouTube Channel, be sure to do so, that way you don’t miss new content when it comes out. Also, as a reminder, Fuji X Weekly is on Instagram and Facebook, so be sure to follow me on social media. Thank you for coming to this blog, for sharing articles on your social media, for all the likes and comments, and for all your support! I appreciate all of you!
Photography vloggers and bloggers Leigh and Raymond of The Snap Chick (YouTube, Blog, Instagram) just published a video about Fuji X Weekly! Even better, I’m in it! Be sure to watch it if you have 10 minutes to spare. Maybe you can relate to their experience. I love hearing stories where this website (and also now the app) has a real impact on people’s photography. Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your story!
People are talking about this blog on YouTube! I recently searched Fuji X Weekly on YouTube, and I was shocked by all of the videos I found. Of course, there’s the official Fuji X Weekly YouTube channel, which you should follow if you don’t already, but I was pleasantly surprised by all of the other videos out there talking about film simulation recipes. There’s a ton! There are even a few videos that talk about the new Fuji X Weekly App! If you have some time and are looking for some good entertainment, browse through the YouTube videos below. If you know of any that I might have missed, share the link in the comments. Enjoy!
I had a great time shooting with Ryan! It was a good opportunity to talk cameras, recipes, photography, and more. I want to give a special “thank you” to Ryan for participating in this adventure, for allowing himself to be filmed, and for sharing his pictures in the video. Please check out his Instagram account, as his pictures are great!
Let me know in the comments what you think of the video. I appreciate the feedback!
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
