Kodak Portra | FUJI X WEEKLY

Comparing 6 Kodak Portra Film Simulation Recipes

*Sunset Photography* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Portra 400 v2

Some of the absolute most popular Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras are those that mimic Kodak Portra film. I have a number of Recipes that are modeled after Portra, and with so many choices it can be difficult to know which ones to program into your camera. I thought I’d take this opportunity to compare six of them, with the hopes that it will help you decide. There are actually several more Portra-inspired Recipes than the six here, but I chose to compare these because they’re all X-Trans IV Recipes compatible with my Fujifilm X100V, the camera I used to capture them on a recent trip to the California coast.

Kodak introduced the Portra line in 1998, with two ISO 160 versions, two ISO 400 versions, and an ISO 800 emulsion (plus a short-lived ISO 100 Tungsten film, for those keeping score). Portra saw a couple of updates by Kodak, and in 2010 the two ISO 160 versions were merged into one, as well as the two ISO 400 versions. The film has become iconic, with its warm yet natural colors. As the name implies, it was meant for portrait photography, but is popular for many genres.

*Laguna Coast* – Laguna Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Portra 400 v2

One film can produce all sorts of various looks, depending on a host of factors, including how it was shot, developed, printed and/or scanned. The Kodak Portra 400 and the Kodak Portra 400 v2 Recipes are very similar, but they were modeled after two different photographer’s Portra film pictures, and so their rendering varies just a little. Kodak Portra 400 leans a little more towards red-orange, while Kodak Portra 400 v2 leans a little more towards yellow-green. Kodak Portra 400 Warm, which is a modification of both Kodak Portra 400 Recipes, is intended to better replicate the results of Alex MacDougall’s Portra-Style presets. To create Reggie’s Portra, Reggie Ballesteros modified my Kodak Portra 400 Recipe to better suit his style. Because it uses Auto White Balance and a slightly more neutral WB Shift, it is much better than the others in artificial light situations; also, because it has Clarity set to 0, it is the best option for fast photography (Clarity set to anything other than 0 causes a short “storing” pause). Kodak Portra 800 is the grainiest of these Recipes. To create Kodak Portra 800 v2, which is the least vivid of these six, Thomas Schwab captured side-by-side images with a Fujifilm X-Pro3 and an analog camera loaded with Portra 800 film.

While each of these Portra-inspired Film Simulations Recipes are different—some only slightly so, others more significantly so—they all produce a distinct Portra-like aesthetic. Looking at the results, it’s easy to understand why these are popular options! Because they are a little different from each other, you can find the one that most closely matches your style. Or you can choose different ones for various scenarios. Perhaps you prefer something like Kodak Portra 400 for sunsets, Kodak Portra 400 Warm for midday light, Kodak Portra 800 v2 for soft portraits, and Reggie’s Portra for indoor pictures. If you’ve never tried any of these Recipes, be sure to pick at least one to program into your camera today!

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Kodak Portra 400

Kodak Portra 400 v2

Kodak Portra 400 Warm

Reggie’s Portra

Kodak Portra 800

Kodak Portra 800 v2

Kodak Portra 400 v2 — Fujifilm X-T5 (X-Trans V) Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on December 16 by Ritchie Roesch

*Swath of Red* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “Kodak Portra 400 v2”

This is a simple update to the Kodak Portra 400 v2 Film Simulation Recipe, which was originally made for X-Trans IV cameras. I discovered that a slight tweak is needed for X-Trans V models, because the new sensor renders blues just a little deeper on some film simulations, including Classic Chrome. For this recipe, simply setting Color Chrome FX Blue from Weak to Off makes it compatible with (as of this writing) the Fujifilm X-T5, X-H2, and X-H2S.

Kodak Portra 400 is a popular professional-grade color negative film introduced in 1998. There’s been a number of revisions and improvements to the emulsion over the years, so the Portra that’s available today is slightly different than the original Portra from roughly 25 years ago. As the name suggests, it’s intended for portraitures, but is also a popular option for many other genres of photography. One film can have several different aesthetics depending on many factors, and this particular Film Simulation Recipe is modeled after the Kodak Portra 400 pictures from a specific photographer. It’s one of my absolute favorite recipes for daylight and especially golden hour photography, and it does pretty well in several other light conditions; however, it’s probably not the best option for indoor artificial light, unless you want especially warm pictures.

Succulent Stories – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 – “Kodak Portra 400 v2”

This Kodak Portra 400 v2 Film Simulation Recipe is intended for Fujifilm X-Trans V models. It’s compatible with newer GFX cameras too, but will likely render slightly different. If you have an X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, or X-T30 II, try the Kodak Portra 400 v2 recipe for those models (click here). If you have an X-T3 or X-T30, try the version for those cameras (click here).

Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: 5200K, +1 Red & -6 Blue
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: 0
Shadow: -2
Color: +2
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “Kodak Portra 400 v2” Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:

*Christmas Angel* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Nativity* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Happy Holidays* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Changing Seasons* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Leaves on the Concrete* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Lighted Cupola* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Sisters* – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Brothers* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*December Fog* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Multi-Arm Saguaro* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Saguaro Mist* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Wall Cage* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Super Star* – Glendale. AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*I Believe* – Avondale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Standing in the Sun* – Avondale, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Untidy Palm* – Palo Verde, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Misty Desert Hills* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*It Was All Yellow* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Small Pop of Color* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Clouds & Brown Trees* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

*Golden Neighborhood* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5

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

Fujifilm X-T5 in black: Amazon B&H
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver: Amazon B&H

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Fujifilm X100V & Kodak Portra 400

Posted on September 29 by Ritchie Roesch

Six months ago I turned my Fujifilm X100V into a monochrome-only camera, and just shot black-and-white Film Simulation Recipes with it, which was a lot of fun! I hope that someday Fujifilm makes a B&W-only model. Recently I started shooting color pictures on my X100V again, and the first three color recipes I programmed into the camera were Kodak Portra 400—three different versions of it!

My very first Kodak Portra 400 recipe is for Fujifilm X-Trans III cameras, which I published in May of 2018. It requires a hard-to-explain-and-get-right custom white balance measurement. I have had some luck in the past getting it “right” and at times not-so-much luck. I think this time I was able to get it pretty close but not exactly correct. I made three different attempts (using the three custom white balance slots), and went with the best of the three; however, I think the white balance should be slightly warmer than it is. It’s a tricky thing, and I wish it was more easily repeatable. To use this recipe on my X100V I set Grain size to Small, Color Chrome Effect to Off, Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0.

The next Kodak Portra 400 recipe is for the Fiujifilm X-T3 and X-T30, which I published in May of 2020. This one is easier to program (and probably more accurate to the film) than the X-Trans III version. To use it on my X100V I set Grain size to Small, Color Chrome FX Blue to Off, and Clarity to 0.

*Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Portra 400” (X-T3/X-T30 version)*

The third Kodak Portra 400 recipe is for the “newer” X-Trans IV cameras, including the X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras, which I published in June of 2020. Of the three versions, this one is probably the most “accurate” to actual Portra 400 film, but it is extremely similar to the X-T3/X-T30 recipe—only very subtly different.

One film can produce a variety of looks depending on a whole host of factors, including (among other things) how it was shot, developed, and scanned—even the pH balance and temperature of the water can affect it. It’s not possible for one recipe replicate all possible aesthetics. Also, different Fujifilm cameras have different JPEG options, and different sensor generations have slight variances in rendering; even though one recipe might be more “accurate” to the film, it’s certainly not always so—the variables are pretty significant. What’s more important than accuracy is finding the recipe that works best for you and your photography.

I’ve published many other Portra recipes, including Kodak Portra 160 (X-Trans II), Kodak Portra 160 (X-T3/X-T30), Kodak Portra 400 v2 (X-T3/X-T30), Kodak Portra 400 v2 (X-Pro3 & newer), Kodak Portra 400 Warm (X-Pro3 & newer), Reggie’s Portra (X-Pro3 & newer), Portra-Style (X-Pro3 & newer), Kodak Portra 800 (X-Pro3 & newer), Kodak Portra 800 v2 (X-pro3 & newer), and Portra v2 (X-Trans II). There are others recipes that aren’t necessarily modeled specifically after Portra film, but have a Portra-like aesthetic nonetheless, such as Bright Summer, Bright Kodak, Jon’s Classic Chrome, and Classic Kodak Chrome. There are plenty to choose from!

Let’s take a look at some photographs that I captured with the three Kodak Portra 400 Film Simulation Recipes on my Fujifilm X100V.

Kodak Portra 400 (original recipe, for X-Trans III)

Kodak Portra 400 (2nd recipe, for X-T3/X-T30)

Kodak Portra 400 (3rd recipe, for X-Pro3 & newer X-Trans IV)

Comparison

*“Kodak Portra 400” (X-Trans III version)*

*“Kodak Portra 400” (X-T3/X-T30 version)*

*“Kodak Portra 400” (X-Pro3 & newer version)*

I hope that seeing these three Kodak Portra 400 Film Simulation Recipes together helps you decide which to try. Maybe one stands out more to you than the others. Perhaps the camera you own is more of a determining factor than the recipe itself. I personally like all three of them, and have enjoyed shooting with them on my (no-longer-B&W-only) X100V.

Also, as a reminder, these three Kodak Portra 400 recipes are the current SOOC recipes-of-the-month. Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry and I will conclude our discussion of these recipes in the next broadcast (be sure to watch the last episode if you missed it!), which will be live on October 20th. Upload your images (click here) captured with one (or more) of these Kodak Portra 400 recipes by October 18th to be included in the next show. I hope to see you then!

Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe: Kodak Portra 800 v2

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Flower in a Tree* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Kodak Portra 800 v2”

This Kodak Portra 800 v2 recipe is beautiful! It was created by Thomas Schwab, who has made several film simulation recipes published on this website, including Superia Xtra 400, Urban Vintage Chrome, Kodachrome II, Classic Monochrome, B&W Superia, and Monochrome Kodachrome. Thomas has also collaborated on other recipes, playing an important role in getting them right, including Kodak Portra 800, Kodak Ektar 100, Kodachrome 1, Kodak Portra 400, and Kodak T-Max 400. This new Kodak Portra 800 v2 recipe might be his best one yet!

Kodak introduced Portra 800 in 1998. The Portra line has seen a number of revisions and updates over the years, but I couldn’t find any information if the current Portra 800 film is the exact same emulsion from 1998, or if it’s gone through some changes over the years like the ISO 400 and 160 versions. Portra 800 is one of the best options for high-ISO color photography, but I’ve never shot it myself.

*Traffic Cone* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Kodak Portra 800 v2”

Thomas compared images side-by-side captured with actual Kodak Portra 800 film with images captured with his Fujifilm X-Pro3, making numerous adjustments in X RAW Studio, to achieve this nearly-identical picture aesthetic. He put in a lot of work, and it shows! Thank you, Thomas, for creating this great recipe and for your willingness to share! You’ll find some of Thomas Schwab’s pictures below. This Kodak Portra 800 film simulation recipe is currently compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, and X-E4 cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: 0
Shadow: -2
Color: -4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Clarity: -5
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: Daylight, +3 Red & -6 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: -2/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this new Kodak Portra 800 v2 film simulation recipe:

Thomas Schwab

Ritchie Roesch

*Treetop Sky* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Colorful Trees* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Tree Over Creek* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Log & Flowers* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Log & Trail* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Urban Landscape* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*McTrash* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Lobby* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Buckle* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Urban Flower Pot* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Blooms in the City* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

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Fujifilm X-Trans II Film Simulation Recipe: Portra v2

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Joshua & Joy at a Creek* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – “Portra v2” – Photo by Jon Roesch

I’ve been wanting to create a Kodak Portra 400 film simulation recipe for Fujifilm X-Trans II cameras for a long time now. I’ve had a Portra 160 recipe on this website for awhile, but I’ve never created a Portra 400 recipe for this sensor. I’ve actually created five different Portra 400 recipes for X-Trans III and IV cameras, but those don’t work on X-Trans II. I made a guess on my Fujifilm X-T1 on what might be a good Portra 400 recipe, handed the camera to my son, Jon, and let him capture some pictures with it. You might remember that Jon created his own Classic Chrome recipe; this time I made the recipe, but I let him capture the pictures.

You might be wondering why I didn’t call this recipe “Portra 400” but named it “Portra v2” instead. While I believe that this recipe is similar to Portra 400, I do plan to create a more accurate recipe. Actually, that was my intentions with these pictures: reprocess the RAW files in-camera to refine the Portra look; however, as I reviewed the pictures, I liked the aesthetic created by these settings, so I decided to keep this as its own recipe. I will still work on a different Portra 400 recipe for X-Trans II.

*Trees* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – “Portra v2” – Photo by Jon Roesch

One film can have many different aesthetics, depending on how it’s shot, developed, scanned or printed, and this is especially true with Kodak Portra 400. Portra can have many different looks. This recipe does resemble one of those aesthetics, but it definitely doesn’t resemble all of the aesthetics, or even the most common. If you do like Portra, I’m confident that you’ll appreciate these settings, which is compatible with all X-Trans II cameras that have the Classic Chrome film simulation.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1 (Medium-Low)
Shadow: -1 (Medium-Low)
Color: +2 (High)
Sharpness: -1 (Medium-Low)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
White Balance: Daylight/Fine, +4 Red & -4 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 3200
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured by Jon on my Fujifilm X-T1 using this Portra v2 film simulation recipe:

*Water* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Fence Tree* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Trees & Lake* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Creek in the Woods* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Trees & Leaves* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Moss on a Log* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Grass* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*Bridge* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

*My Friend* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – Photo by Jon Roesch

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Comparing Portra Film Simulation Recipes to Kyle McDougall’s Lightroom Presets

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Kyle McDougall is a great photographer who shoots film and also Fujifilm X cameras. He recently created and shared some free Lightroom presets for creating a Portra look with your Fujifilm files. Fuji X Weekly reader Ryan, who you might remember from the Hugh’s RV video, shot some pictures with his Fujifilm X100V using different Portra film simulation recipes from this website, and he also applied Kyle’s presets to some RAW files in Lightroom. He sent me the pictures, and graciously allowed me to share them with you. Thank you, Ryan!

The film simulation recipes that Ryan used are Portra 160, Portra 400, Portra 400 v2 (currently available to Fuji X Weekly Patrons on the Fuji X Weekly iOS app), and Portra 800. The two Kyle McDougall presets are Kodak Portra Style Neutral and Kodak Portra Style Warm. Kyle mentions that his presets aren’t intended to strictly mimic Portra film, but are his preference to how he likes his Fujifilm photographs to look based on his experience shooting the film. Portra can have many different looks, not only because there are different stocks that share the name, but also because how it’s shot, developed, and printed or scanned can greatly affect the exact aesthetic.

Let’s look at some pictures!

As you can see, there are some pretty significant differences between each recipe and Kyle McDougall’s Lightroom presets. Kyle’s presets create a bright picture with a strong yellow color cast. Portra can certainly be that way, particularly if overexposed. My first thought is that my Bright Summer (a.k.a. “Preetra 400”) recipe is probably the closest to Kyle’s Portra Style. My second thought is that I need to create a recipe that’s a closer match to Kyle’s presets!

Ryan explained, “At the beginning of this project I got kind of discouraged as the weather was transitioning into fall and was gray and dismal here on the west side of the Cascade’s. Sunlit scenes are what I had in mind. But I did my best to work with what I had, which helped my creativity, and one of those creative positives would be the fall colors that I tried to utilize. I loaded the recipes into my X100V, and when I saw an opportunity to take some images, I would take a pic, change to the next recipe, snap, load the next recipe, etc. In my camera, C2 is Portra 400 v2, C4 is Portra 400, C5 is Portra 160, and C6 is Portra 800. I found that when composing the shot, that exposing +2/3 is what I liked, so I tried exposing that way for all the images, though I can’t remember if I hit it the same every time, but did my best to keep the exposure the same between and for each image taken in a session, trying to keep things uniform. It was neat to see the differences between the different recipes. From what I understand, the different Portra films are unique in their own way. I’d say that the Portra 400 v2 was closest to Kyle’s preset. By the way, that recipe and Portra 160 are my favorites!”

Below are a couple comparisons of the Kodak Portra 400 v2 recipe and Kyle McDougall’s Kodak Portra Style Neutral preset.

Here are a couple comparisons of the Portra 160 and Portra 400 v2 recipes:

Thank you again, Ryan, for doing this project and sharing the results! It’s very fascinating, and I’m sure helpful to the Fuji X Weekly community. It’s helpful to me personally!

If you appreciated this article, let myself and Ryan know by leaving a comment!

Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Kodak Portra 800

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

*November Cherries* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Portra 800”

There are some good online resources that are helpful when creating film simulation recipes for films that I’ve never used, which I did consult, but that’s not how these settings came about. You see, there’s a new version of my Portra 400 recipe (which I know you’ll love) that’s coming soon, and this recipe is a variant of that. Thomas Schwab, who I’ve collaborated with on a number of different recipes (including Portra 400), and who has actually shot Portra 800, helped me out with this one. Thanks, Thomas!

*Cabela’s Boy* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Portra 800”

I know that many of will love this Kodak Portra 800 film simulation recipe! It’s really nice, and has a good film-like aesthetic. Does it faithfully resemble real Portra 800? I think it does, but film can look different depending on how it’s shot, developed, scanned or printed, and this recipe won’t mimic every aspect of the film. Even so, I think this one will be quite popular, and many of you will use it regularly. It’s only compatible (as of this writing) with the Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3, X-T4 and X-S10 cameras.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +1
Shadow: 0
Color: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: -2
Clarity: -4
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Weak
White Balance: 5200K, +1 Red & -5 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this new Kodak Portra 800 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

*Brown Tree Leaves* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Small Shrub – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Backyard Tree Leaves* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Yellow House* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Suburban Mailboxes* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Red Fire Hydrant* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Suburban Peek* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Evening Commute* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Smith’s* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Drug* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Suburban Dusk* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Parked Car in the Dark* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Tunnel Bench* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Night Mall Architecture* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Empty Sidewalk at Night* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Christmas Decor Display* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Succulent & Globe* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Jon Wearing Cabela’s Hat* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Potted Plant on End Table* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Accidental Exposure* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Sunlight Through a Tree* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Film Simulation Review: Kodak Portra 400 – New vs. Original

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

New Kodak Portra 400

Original Kodak Portra 400

I have two different Kodak Portra 400 film simulation recipes. I created the original Portra 400 recipe two years ago on my old Fujifilm X100F. I created the new Portra 400 recipe just recently on my Fujifilm X-T30. Which one is better? Which should you use? How do they compare?

The original recipe requires a hard-to-achieve custom white balance measurement, and for that reason I never really liked it. Yes, it looks good, but to get the recipe right requires a vague setting. Some people, in lieu of the custom white balance measurement, use auto-white-balance, which is a fair way to deal with the issue. On my X-T30 I don’t think I have the custom white balance quite right, but it was as close as I could get at the time that I took the measurement. The original Portra 400 recipe is one of the most frustrating recipes I’ve created, but it also produces great results sometimes.

The new Portra 400 recipe is a little more accurate to the film, in my opinion. Of course, with film, depending on how it’s shot, developed, printed or scanned, results can vary greatly. While I think the new version is more accurate, that’s not to say that the original version isn’t accurate. It’s just a little different look. In this post are examples of pictures captured with both recipes side-by-side.

Which one is the better Kodak Portra 400 recipe? The new version is easier to program, overall a little more accurate to the film, and in many situations I like it better; however, sometimes I prefer the original Portra 400 recipe. I can’t tell you which one is better for you, but I can tell you for me, I like the new recipe better, yet I see that the original version has its place and shouldn’t be discarded. That’s just my tastes, and yours might be different. Hopefully seeing the two recipes next to each other provides you with some clarity on which to choose.

New Kodak Portra 400

Original Kodak Portra 400

New Kodak Portra 400

Original Kodak Portra 400

New Kodak Portra 400

Original Kodak Portra 400

New Kodak Portra 400

Original Kodak Portra 400

New Kodak Portra 400

Original Kodak Portra 400

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: