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3 (More) Nikon Z Film Simulation Recipes

When the Nikon Zfc was announced in 2021, I preordered it, and waited a long time for it to come. When it finally arrived, I pulled the Zfc out of the box and began to use it, and I was quickly disappointed. I said that it was most similar to the Fujifilm X-T200, yet significantly bigger, heavier, and more expensive. Still, I put the camera through its paces, and even created 11 Nikon Z Film Simulation Recipes using the Zfc. Then the camera went back into its box, and I strongly considered selling it.

After months and months of none-use, and after moving to a different state, I decided to give the Zfc one more try, but with a significant modification: I ditched the lousy Nikkor 28mm lens in favor of the TTArtisan 35mm f/1.4. Why? Because the TTArtisan lens has an aperture ring, and the Nikkor doesn’t. The TTArtisan lens is better optically than the Nikkor, too—I’m much happier with this setup.

Right now I’m working on my full-review of the TTArtisan 35mm f/1.4 lens, and that means using it. Initially on my Zfc I was using the recipes that I had already created, but then I decided to make a few new ones—I guess I couldn’t help myself. If you add these three to the 11 others, I now have 14 Film Simulation Recipes for Nikon Z cameras!

Obviously, I made these JPEG recipes on the Zfc, so it will render differently on the full-frame models, but I’m not sure exactly how differently, as I’ve never used a full-frame Z camera. The reports have been positive, though, so I assume that they work well, including on the more expensive bodies—I just have no first-hand experience.

For those who might not know what “Film Simulation Recipes” are, they’re JPEG camera settings that allow you to achieve various looks (mostly analog-inspired) straight-out-of-camera, no editing needed. It can save you a lot of time by simplifying your workflow, and it can make the process of creating photographs more enjoyable.

Vintage Teal

Vintage mood with a deep-teal cast.

Picture Control: Sepia
Effect Level: 40
Quick Sharp: 0.00
Sharpening: +1.00
Mid-Range Sharpening: +2.00
Clarity: -2.00
Contrast: +1.00
Filter Effects: Red
Toning: 7.00
Active D-Lighting: High
High ISO NR: Low
White Balance: Cloudy
WB Adjust: A1.0 G4.0
ISO: up to 3200

Redscale

Similar to Kodak Gold with the film spooled backwards (redscale).

Picture Control: Red
Effect Level: 50
Quick Sharp: 0.00
Sharpening: -1.00
Mid-Range Sharpening: 0.00
Clarity: -1.00
Contrast: +2.00
Filter Effects: Green
Toning: 6.00
Active D-Lighting: Normal
High ISO NR: Low
White Balance: Day White Fluorescent
WB Adjust: B2.0 G4.0
ISO: up to 3200

Bright Negative

Reminiscent of brightly exposed color negative film.

Picture Control: Melancholic
Effect Level: 100
Quick Sharp: 0.00
Sharpening: 0.00
Mid-Range Sharpening: +1.00
Clarity: -1.00
Contrast: +3.00
Saturation: +3.00
Active D-Lighting: High
High ISO NR: Low
White Balance: Daylight Fluorescent
WB Adjust: A6.0 G6.0
ISO: up to 3200

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

Nikon Zfc — Amazon — B&H
TTArtisans 35mm f/1.4 — Amazon — B&H

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Reminder: SOOC Episode 02 This Thursday!

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

As a reminder, Episode 02 of the live interactive video series SOOC will be this Thursday, August 12, at 11 AM MST (10 AM Pacific, 1 PM Eastern)!

SOOC is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). It is a monthly live video series, and each episode focuses on a different film simulation recipe. It’s a fun and educational experience where we will not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions. This is an interactive program, which means that we need your participation! Mark your calendar and be sure to tune in!

I’m really looking forward to Episode 02. Among other things, we’ll take a look at your pictures captured with the Kodachrome II film simulation recipe, and discuss the Fujicolor C200 recipe! I really hope you’ll tune in!

If you missed Episode 01, you’ll find it below:

Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe: Super HG Astia (Part 3 of 3)

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Cacti Wall* – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Super HG Astia”

When Thomas Schwab shared with me his Fujicolor Super HG film simulation recipe, he also sent me an alternative recipe that uses Astia instead of Classic Negative. I gave it a try and thought that it worked quite well for landscape photography, particularly in sunny conditions. It can produce interesting results indoors or on cloudy days, but I think it really shines in sunshine. It’s called “Super HG Astia” because it is a modification of the Super HG recipe, but with Astia.

This “Super HG Astia” recipe wasn’t intended to mimic any particular film; however, it does have some resemblance to Fujichrome Provia 100F. For whatever reason, Fujifilm programmed the Provia film simulation to look more like Astia film, and the Astia film simulation to look more like Provia film, although neither are an exact match. This recipe brings the Astia film simulation closer to resembling Provia film (albeit unintentionally). It’s definitely not a perfect facsimile, but it does nonetheless produce a very nice Fuji color-reversal film aesthetic.

*Green Pines* – McCall, ID – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Super HG Astia”

This recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, and X-E4 cameras. I accidentally used Large grain for some of my pictures, and the results were fine, but Small grain is better in my opinion—feel free to use whichever Grain size you’d prefer. For the X-T3 and X-T30, you can use this recipe by ignoring Grain size, Clarity and Color Chrome FX Blue—the results will be slightly different, but pretty close. For X-Trans III cameras, you’ll have to additionally ignore Color Chrome Effect; again, the results will be a little different but still very similar. If you’ve got an X-Trans III or newer camera, I invite you to try this recipe. I want to give a special “Thank you!” to Thomas for creating and sharing this recipe!

Astia
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +2
Shadow: +1
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -1
Clarity: +2
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: Fluorescent 2, -3 Red & -1 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Super HG Astia film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*Blue Dumpsters* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*This Sucker’s Electrical* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Gas Pipe* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Ms Pac-Man* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Missing Boxer* – Phoenix, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Watching A Two-Screen Movie* – Scottsdale, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lake Harbor* – McCall, ID – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lake Payette* – McCall, ID – Fujifilm X-E4

Part 1 – Fujicolor Super HG Film Simulation Recipe
Part 2 -Fujicolor Super HG v2 Film Simulation Recipe

Find these film simulation recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

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Best Fujifilm Film Simulations

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

DPReview listed their Top 5 Best Fujifilm Film Simulations in the video above. I think it’s great that they’re highlighting Fujifilm’s great JPEG options and give light to some of the film simulations. While I’m sure that they made adjustments to the stock settings, I feel like they haven’t discovered the joy of film simulation recipes, and are mostly using the stock settings. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, because out-of-the-box the different film simulations are great, but with some tweaking you can achieve all sorts of different looks. I think it’s something that they’d really appreciate, if they only knew.

I went on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App (available for iOS and Android) and filtered by Camera and Film Simulation. If you are a Patron on the App, you can filter the recipes by camera model or sensor, and by film simulation or color/b&w—the best app experience is reserved for Patrons. For this experiment, I chose the Fujifilm X100F and Classic Chrome. There are 15 different options, each with a different aesthetic (Vintage Kodachrome didn’t fit on the screenshot list). Those are just the X-Trans III recipes that use Color Chrome. If you don’t filter by camera or sensor, there are 45 recipes that use Classic Chrome (and over 150 total recipes)!

I know in the video they say that Classic Chrome is “gross” but perhaps it’s only because they haven’t used the right film simulation recipe. It could be that one of those 45 mentioned above produces a look that they’d love.

I don’t want to rehash DPReview’s video, so instead I will list some of my personal favorite recipes, organized by Film Simulation (they’re not ranked), which you’ll find below. There are so many to choose from, and narrowing it down is a tough task, so obviously not all of my favorites made the list. There are so many Classic Chrome and Classic Negative options that I love, so those two were especially difficult to decide what to include below. Hopefully you’ll find this this exercise helpful, or at least fun, and maybe discover a new recipe to try.

Provia

Provia 400

Cross Process

Color Negative Film

Velvia

Velvia v2

The Rockwell

Vivid Color

Astia

Astia

Superia Xtra 400

Redscale

*Corner Trunk* – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Rescale”

Classic Chrome

Kodak Portra 400 v2

Kodachrome 64

Golden Negative

PRO Neg. Hi

Jeff Davenport Night

Fujicolor Pro 400H

PRO Neg. Hi

PRO Neg. Std

Fujicolor 100 Industrial

CineStill 800T

Fujicolor Superia 800

Eterna

Kodak Vision3 250D

Vintage Color

Polaroid

Eterna Bleach Bypass

LomoChrome Metropolis

Ektachrome 320T

Grizzly Ride

Classic Negative

Xpro ’62

Positive Film

Vintage Vibes

Acros

Kodak Tri-X 400

Agfa Scala

Black & White Infrared

Monochrome

Ilford Ortho Plus 80

Dramatic Monochrome

Kodak T-Max 400

Sepia

Sepia

Now it’s your turn! Which of these film simulation recipes do you like best? Which recipes that I didn’t include are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!

Find these film simulation recipes and many more in the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

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Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe: Creamy Color

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Dark Sunset over Salt Lake* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Creamy Color”

There are some film simulation recipes that just have a special look—the “it factor”—and this “Creamy Color” recipe is definitely one of those! I didn’t make it; this one was created by Immanuel Sander, who also created the Nature Neon recipe. Immanuel was kind enough to allow me to publish his recipe on the Fuji X Weekly blog, and he also gave me permission to include some of his wonderful photographs in this article. Thank you, Immanuel, for creating and sharing this recipe! I encourage you to follow him Instagram.

Immanuel created a great YouTube video for this recipe that you should watch. It’s very inspirational—well done!

“It’s a rather emotional recipe for me,” Immanuel explained. “The recipe works very well in bad weather and dreary colors. Foggy weather or rainy days are perfect for such silent pictures.” I think it also works well around sunset and on partly-cloudy days. The results from this Creamy Color film simulation recipe can be fantastic! Because this recipe requires Classic Negative, Clarity and Color Chrome FX Blue, it’s only compatible with the Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3, X-T4, X-S10 and the upcoming X-E4.

Classic Negative
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +4
Color: -4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -4
Clarity: -5
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: 8700K, +4 Red & +6 Blue
ISO: up to ISO 5000
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured with this Creamy Color film simulation recipe:

Immanuel Sander

Ritchie Roesch

*Last Light on a Pine* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Suburban Winter* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Creamy Color”

*Winter Sky Over Warehouse* – Uintah, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Riverdale* – Unitah, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Dodge Truck* – Weber Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Weber River* – Weber Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Pet Area* – Weber Canyon, UT -Fujifilm X100V

*Winter Bison* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Coyot*e *Photography* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Cold Stone* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Reflection in the Puddle* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Wasatch Front From Across the Lake* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Approaching Storm* – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X100V

My Fujifilm X-T30 “Bleach Bypass” Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Instamatic Morning – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Bleach Bypass”

The upcoming Fujifilm X-T4 will have a new film simulation: Bleach Bypass. This new film simulation might eventually come to other X-Trans IV cameras, such as the X-T30, X-T3, X-Pro3 and X100V, but it might not, as Fujifilm has yet to add Classic Negative to the X-T3 and X-T30. It would certainly be nice if Fujifilm gave those of us with “older” X-Trans IV cameras the new film simulations. Even if they never do, you are in luck, as I have created a film simulation recipe to mimic the look of bleach bypass!

Bleach bypass is a darkroom technique where you skip or limit the bleach during development of color film, which causes it to retain the silver. Results will vary greatly depending on the film used and exactly how you develop it, but generally speaking what you get with bleach bypass is a high-contrast, low-saturation, grainy picture that appears as if a black-and-white and color picture were combined together. This technique is more common for motion picture film than still photography, but some people do bleach bypass with C-41 film.

I experimented with the techniques that I used for this film simulation back in June of last year. Much came out of those experiments, including both the Faded Color and Faded Monochrome film simulation recipes, as well as in-camera texturing. I created something similar to this recipe, but gave up on it before completing it. Last week Fuji X Weekly reader James Clinich reached out to me to share some experiments he had been doing, which turned out to be very similar to what I had done back in June. This rekindled my interest, and with inspiration drawn from James, I made this “Bleach Bypass” film simulation recipe.

Car’s 3 & 4 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Bleach Bypass”

This film simulation recipe requires the use of the double exposure feature of your camera. You will need a tripod, and there can’t be any movement in the scene. You have to make two identical exposures, one in color and one in black-and-white. After the first exposure is made, you must change the film simulation before making the second exposure. You can have both sets of settings programmed into the custom menu as separate presets, and toggle between them, or just change the film simulation, making sure that the tone is set correctly when making the Acros exposure. It’s a bit tricky and limited, but the results are nice. If you don’t want to do double exposures, but want something that will produce similar results to this recipe, try my Dramatic Classic Chrome recipe except set color to -4. That’s about as close as you can get. Otherwise, if you want to create a bleach bypass look in-camera, this recipe is your best option.

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

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

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

Pillows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Window Robot – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Illuminated Faux Flowers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Pronto! – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Touch of Green – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Rooftops & Mountaintops – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Tracks Under The Bridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Do Not Cross Tracks – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Locked Box & Escape Route – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Empty Walking Bridge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Kodachrome vs. Ektachrome – A Film Simulation Showdown

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

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I have two very similar film simulation recipes that both produce results quite close to their namesake slide films: Kodachrome II and Ektachrome 100SW. Even though the settings are nearly the same, the looks that they produce are quite different. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of the old “Kodachrome vs. Ektachrome” debate from the days of film. There were people who preferred one over the other for various reasons. Kodachrome was more iconic. Ektachrome had more variations. Despite the fact that they were both color transparencies made by the same company, I could probably write a long article about the differences between the two films, but this blog is about Fujifilm X cameras and not Kodak film stocks.

What I wanted to do here is compare the two film simulation recipes side by side. I will show them both, and you can decide which is best for you. It’s kind of a revival of the old debate, but with a modern twist. Kodachrome or Ektachrome? You get to decide which is the better film simulation recipe!

Take a look at the pictures below:

Welcome to Ogden – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 “Kodachrome II”

Winter Mountain – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 “Ektachrome 100SW”

Desert Juniper – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F “Kodachrome II”

Juniper – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F “Ektachrome 100SW”

Pueblo de Taos – Taos, NM – Fujifilm X-Pro2 “Kodachrome II”

View From Mount Carmel Tunnel – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F “Ektachrome 100SW”

Kodak Transparencies – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 “Kodachrome II”

Kodak Transparencies – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 “Ektachrome 100SW”

What I like about the Kodachrome II recipe is that it produces a vintage color look that reminds me of the images found on the pages of old magazines, such as National Geographic and Arizona Highways. As I look through my grandparent’s old slide collection (which I have at home), I can see this look in their old photographs from 50 or so years ago. It’s such a fantastic recipe for Fujifilm X cameras, and I just love it!

What I like about the Ektachrome 100SW recipe is that it produces a color look that reminds me of some images that I have captured with the actual film. The film was good for western landscapes or any situation where you needed some color saturation with a warm color cast. It wasn’t around for very long because it was only marginally commercially successful, but it was one of the better variations of Ektachrome film in my opinion.

What do you think, Kodachrome or Ektachrome? Let me know in the comments which film simulation recipe you like best!

Fujifilm Acros Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Taos Tourist – Taos, NM – Fujifilm X100F “Agfa Scala”

Acros is one of the most popular film simulations available on Fujifilm X-Trans cameras. It looks incredibly similar to the black-and-white film that it was named after. In fact, in my opinion, it produces the most film-like results of any settings on any camera! It’s easy to see the draw to the analog-esque results produced by the Acros film simulation.

I love Acros and I have used it as the base for a bunch of different film simulation recipes. It’s possible to achieve a number of different interesting looks straight out of camera by adjusting the settings. I plan to create even more film simulation recipes using Acros in the coming months. As I do, I will add them to this article.

Below you will find all of my different film simulation recipes that I have created that use Acros. If you haven’t tried them all, I personally invite you to do so and see which are your favorites! My personal favorite is Tri-X Push-Process, but they each have their own usefulness and charm. Let me know in the comments which recipe you like most!

Even though the different recipes say X100F and X-Pro2, they are completely compatible with any Fujifilm X-Trans III or IV camera. For example, you don’t have to use the X100F recipes exclusively on the X100F. You can use any of my recipes on any X-Trans III camera.

Original Acros

Acros Push-Process

Agfa Scala

Ilford HP5 Plus

Tri-X Push Process

Fujifilm Classic Chrome Film Simulation Recipes

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Classic Chrome is one of the most popular film simulations available on Fujifilm X-Trans cameras. It produces a look similar to quintessential Kodak color transparency films like Kodachrome and Ektachrome, which graced the pages of publications like National Geographic and Arizona Highways for many years. With all things vintage being in style, there is a huge draw to the analog-esque results produced by the Classic Chrome film simulation.

I love Classic Chrome and I have used it as the base for a bunch of different film simulation recipes. It’s possible to achieve a number of different interesting looks straight out of camera by adjusting the settings. Honestly, I think that I’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. I plan to create even more film simulation recipes using Classic Chrome in the coming months. As I do, I will add them to this article.

Below you will find all of my different film simulation recipes that I have created that use Classic Chrome. If you haven’t tried them all, I personally invite you to do so and see which are your favorites! My personal favorite is Kodachrome II, but they each have their own usefulness and charm. Let me know in the comments which recipe you like most!

Even though the different recipes say X100F, X-Pro2, and X-T20, they are completely compatible with any Fujifilm X-Trans III or IV camera. For example, you don’t have to use the X100F recipes exclusively on the X100F. You can use any of my recipes on any X-Trans III camera.

My original Classic Chrome recipe.

My dramatic Classic Chrome recipe.

My Vintage Kodachrome recipe.

My Kodachrome II recipe.

My Vintage Agfacolor recipe.

My Kodak Portra recipe.