Kodacolor recipe | FUJI X WEEKLY

Film Simulation Recipes for an ’80’s Look

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

*Captured with a Fujifilm X-T30 using the Kodacolor Recipe*

I was asked how to get an ’80’s look from Fujifilm cameras, similar to my articles explaining how to get a ’90’s look (here and here). Well, it’s actually quite easy! I have several Film Simulation Recipes that mimic a 1980’s aesthetic. Simply program one (or more) of those Recipes into your Fujifilm camera, and you’re good to go.

First, I want to share with you some pictures that I recently captured on my Fujifilm X-T30 using the Kodacolor Recipe, which is my favorite for replicating an ’80’s vibe. Take a look!

Using vintage lenses from the 1980’s, or perhaps inexpensive third-party lenses with character, will help with the overall aesthetic. For the pictures above, I used a TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8, which has strong vignetting when used wide open. Basically, you don’t want a clean digital image; some technical flaws are preferred, I think.

Below are my Top 7 Film Simulation Recipe suggestions for a 1980’s look. I’m sure there are others that could suffice, too, but these are the ones that I recommend the most.

Kodacolor

This Recipe produces a distinct 1980’s Kodak color negative film rendering. Great for sunny daylight photography. Compatible with X-Trans III cameras, plus the X-T3 and X-T30. Click here for X-Trans II. There are also a couple other versions (here and here). To use this Recipe on “newer” X-Trans IV cameras, simply set Grain size to Small, Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0. This is my top suggestion for a 1980’s look.

Kodacolor VR

This Kodacolor VR Recipe is similar to the Kodacolor Recipe above, but a little different—it is more reminiscent of slightly expired Kodacolor VR film. It also has a distinct 1980’s vibe. Compatible with X-Trans III cameras, plus the X-T3 and X-T30. For use on “newer” X-Trans IV cameras, simply set Grain size to Small, Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0.

Kodak Gold 200

Reminiscent of the quintessential Kodak color negative film, which was first introduced in the late-1980’s. This Recipe is great for sunny daylight photography. Compatible with X-Trans V cameras; for X-Trans IV (except the X-T3/X-T30), set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak. For X-Trans III cameras, plus the X-T3 and X-T30, click here.

Kodachrome 64

Kodachrome 64, which mimics the unmistakable colors of the iconic slide film, is perfect for sunny daylight photography. This is the X-Trans V version; for X-Trans IV (except for the X-T3/X-T30) click here, for the X-T3 and X-T30 click here, and for X-Trans II click here. Kodachrome 64 was introduced in 1974 and discontinued in 2009, so it isn’t strictly a 1980’s aesthetic, but definitely falls within the era.

Emulsion ’86

The aesthetic of the Emulsion ’86 Recipe is reminiscent of some pictures from the Expo ’86 World’s Fair. This Recipe is for X-Trans V cameras.

Fujicolor Super HG

Fujicolor Super HG was a color negative film introduced by Fujifilm in the 1980’s. While it was never as popular as Kodak’s stocks, it still has a distinct ’80’s vibe. Best for sunny daylight conditions, although it can do well in other situations, too. This Recipe is compatible with X-Trans IV cameras (except the X-T3/X-T30); for use on X-Trans V, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak.

Fujicolor Super HG v2

Similar to Fujicolor Super HG (“v1”), this version offers more versatility, and is great for nighttime and artificial light situations; however, I think v1 has a bit stronger ’80’s aesthetic. This is the X-Trans V version, for X-Trans IV (except the X-T3, X-T30, X100V & X-Pro3) click here.

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App!

Using my Fujifilm X-T30 for the first time in a long time

Posted on June 14, 2024 by Ritchie Roesch

The last time that I used my Fujifilm X-T30 was in early December. Yesterday was the first instance I had made any pictures with it in over six months, the longest time in-between use. Once it was my most-used camera; there was a time when I really, really liked the X-T30.

I purchased my Fujifilm X-T30 brand-new in 2019, right when it was announced in February. I used it extensively for about 15 months, until my wife gave me an X100V for my birthday. I still regularly photographed with it for awhile (although not nearly as much as before the X100V), until I purchased a Fujifilm X-E4 in March of 2021. Ever since then, my X-T30 has mostly sat on the shelf collecting dust. Every now-and-then I still capture some images with it. At first it was once every few weeks, then once every couple of months—the time gap has been growing longer and longer. Finally, it surpassed six months.

You might think that it’s time to sell it. If I’m not using the camera, perhaps someone else could. I’m sure there are people contemplating a used X-T30 right now. But I kind of want to hold onto it awhile longer. I have a lot of memories with the camera. In fact, just today my wife was showing me some family pictures from 2019 and early 2020, and in a number of them I have an X-T30 in my hands or around my neck. Maybe I should consider parting ways with it, but I’m not ready to do so just yet.

Especially after yesterday. I dusted the camera off, attached a TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 lens, loaded it with my Kodacolor Recipe, and captured a bunch of pictures—I’ve included four of those images above. It was so much fun! My kids enjoyed being photographed, too. I’m not a portrait photographer, but I sometimes pretend to be one. The X-T30 is a great little camera, and I particularly appreciate the diminutive size and weight of it. The Kodacolor Recipe is one of my favorites, especially for a 1980’s vibe.

While I’d prefer a Fujifilm X-T30 II or especially a Fujifilm X-T50, the X-T30—the original one from 2019—is still very good. Just because some new camera comes along that’s “better” doesn’t mean that the camera you own and use is somehow not good. The Fujifilm X-T30 is still worth owning and using in 2024, and will be for awhile to come. I definitely need to use it more often than I have recently, and not allow so much time to go by in-between picking it up.

Fujifilm X-Trans III + X-T3 & X-T30 Film Simulation Recipe: Kodacolor VR

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Ritchie Roesch

*Inside City Creek* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Kodacolor VR”

This Film Simulation Recipe was an experiment. I started out with my Fujicolor 100 Industrial recipe, but instead of using a cool White Balance with a warm White Balance Shift, I did the opposite: I used a warm White Balance with a cool shift. After many adjustments to various settings, this ended up not resembling the Fujicolor 100 Industrial recipe much at all, but it does have a great vintage print-film aesthetic that I really like.

I wasn’t sure at first which film this recipe most closely resembled (since it wasn’t intended to mimic any specific film), although it seemed to have some similarities to Kodacolor VR. I already have a Kodacolor recipe (plus a variant of it), which does a great job at mimicking Kodacolor VR; this recipe and that one look somewhat similar, but definitely different. Then I ran across some pictures that looked very similar to the ones you see in this article, and it turned out that they were shot on Kodacolor VR film that had expired. So I think this recipe, while it does resemble Kodacolor VR, as well as ColorPlus 200 (which is a direct descendant of that film), it most closely looks like Kodacolor VR that’s been stored a little past its expiration date. Of course, one film can have many different looks, depending on how it was shot, developed, scanned and/or printed, and (in this case) stored, so this recipe serves as a nice alternative to my original Kodacolor recipe.

*Leaning Tower* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Kodacolor VR”

This “Kodacolor VR” recipe was originally a Patron Early-Access Recipe, but is now available to everyone! If you are a Fuji X Weekly App Patron, there is a new Early-Access Recipe that replaced this one, so be sure to look for that. This recipe is compatible with Fujifilm X-Trans III and X-T3 and X-T30 cameras. For those with newer X-Trans IV cameras, set Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, Clarity to 0 (or perhaps -2), and I’d suggest Grain size Large, but use Small if you prefer.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +1
Color: +2
Sharpness: -1
Noise Reduction: -4
Grain: Weak
Color Chrome Effect: Off
White Balance: 10000K, -7 Red & +8 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

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

*Summer Reeds* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Corner Through Leaves* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Stones & Glass Ceiling* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Glass* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Building a Building* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Small Spaces Between* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Twilight Telephone Poles* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Stoneground* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Goes for Gold* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Night Parking* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Doki Doki* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Escalators* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Downtown Buildings* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Coming Train* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Trax* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Waiting on the Platform* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Glass & Sky* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

*Tall Downtown Buildings* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Find this Film Simulation Recipe and over 200 more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

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