I hope the Why Shooting JPEGs Is So Popular article will achieve several different things. First, I want to reach Fujifilm photographers who have never heard of Fuji X Weekly and Film Simulation Recipes (yes, there are some), and perhaps they will find it all very fascinating and give one a try. Second, I want to reach those who shoot Fujifilm cameras and have heard of Recipes, but perhaps have been too apprehensive to actually use them, and maybe now they will. Third, I want to convince some who shoot Canikony and are frustrated with their current RAW workflow to buy a Fujifilm camera and give Recipes a try. Fourth, I want to explain to those who just don’t “get it” why more and more photographers are choosing to shoot JPEGs and not edit their images, because some of those who have never tried it just can’t fathom why anyone would. Fifth, I want to encourage those who do shoot with Film Simulation Recipes and some grumpy stranger on the internet tells them that they’re doing it wrong; there’s a movement within photography, and you’re a part of it, which is really an incredible thing when you think about it.
There might be more collaboration opportunities between Fuji X Weekly and Moment—this article was simply the next step in a growing partnership. I don’t know for sure what the future collabs might be, but we definitely tossed around several cool ideas. We’ll have to wait and see which ones happen and which don’t, and if other new opportunities arise. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy the article!
What’s the coolest online camera store? Moment! The Marketplace for Creatives. To say that it’s just a camera store is incorrect, because it’s an experience. Whether you are a beginner, a journeyman, or advanced photographer or videographer, there’s something on Moment’s website for you.
The point is, no matter your skill level—from first-camera beginner to seasoned pro—Moment has something for you. In fact, much more than I just shared above, so check out all of their courses, reviews, and experiences.
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Faded Film” – Canyonlands NP, UT
I know this sounds like a paid sponsored post, but I promise it’s not. I just think Moment is the coolest online camera store out there, and I wanted to say so—this is my website, so I’m allowed to do that. I do have a history with Moment. You might recall that back in 2021 I jointly wrote an article with them, Why I Never Shoot RAW — FujiFilm Simulations, Recipes, and More! Also back in 2021, Fuji X Weekly and Moment teamed up to give away some CineBloom filters. Anyway, even though I’m not getting paid to do so, I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce you to Moment just in case you’ve never visited their wonderful website, which is the marketplace for creatives.
This review of the Moment Tele 58mm cellphone lens is long overdue. When I started developing the RitchieCam iPhone camera app about a year ago, I figured it would be a good idea to get some external lenses for my iPhone 11, which would come in handy when needing to capture the example pictures. While there are a number of companies that offer lenses that can be attached to your cellphone, the Moment offerings stood out to me as the “better” option, so that’s what I chose.
To use Moment’s lenses, you must also use their phone case, because that’s how the lenses mount to your phone. They have a case for many phone makes and models, so there’s a good chance there’s one available for your device. The case is good quality, and has survived nearly a year of heavy use and abuse. I cannot tell you how many times that I’ve dropped my phone and thought it was done for, yet it survived unscathed, without even a scratch! While I’m sure there are cases that offer more protection, I’m pretty darn impressed with how good the Moment case has been.
One cool thing about the Moment case is that it has the “MagSafe” stuff built-in. I have this tripod-mount accessory that attaches to the case (via magnetism), which has come in handy a number of times. It’s a really good method to mount your cellphone to a tripod, if that’s something you do. There are a number of other accessories that you can buy that also use magnets to attach to your case, but the only one that I personally have used is that tripod accessory.
I had never used an external lens before with a cellphone, so I was definitely a novice when I started—I didn’t really realize how it all worked. On my iPhone 11 case, the lens mounts only over the main camera. The iPhone 11 has two rear facing cameras: 1x (26mm full-frame-equivalent) and 0.5x (13mm full-frame-equivalent). The Moment lenses cannot mount over the 13mm lens, only over the 26mm lens.
I have two Moment lenses: 18mm and 58mm. The Moment lenses are actually “conversion” lenses, and the millimeter numbers don’t actually mean anything. The 18mm is a 0.5x wide conversion lens, and the 58mm is a 2x tele conversion lens. Using the 18mm lens on the 26mm camera actually makes it 13mm, which is the same focal length of the second camera. In other words, the 18mm lens is pointless for the iPhone 11; however, I’m sure it makes sense for other cellphones. The 58mm lens makes the main camera 52mm, which is a very useful focal-length. The focal-length that these lenses will be on your cellphone depends on the focal-length of the cameras on your cellphone (either times by .5 for the 18mm lens or times by 2 for the 58mm lens). Clear as mud? I think if Moment had simply called the one lens 2x teleconverter and the other .5x wide-converter (instead of using millimeter numbers) it would save a lot of confusion. As you can imagine, the Moment Tele 58mm lens is the one that I used by far the most.
Initially I was disappointed by these lenses. I think my expectations were significantly askew. I figured that I’d be impressed by the image quality when using these lenses vs. not using them; however, the image quality will never be greater than that of the lens permanently attached to your cellphone. These lenses won’t improve on what the manufacturer installed on your device. Instead, what you get is either a longer or more wide-angle focal length without a loss in image quality. It’s much better to use the 58mm lens than “zoom by cropping” (a.k.a. digital zoom). The image quality produced by these lenses is determined mostly by the image quality produced by your phone.
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Instant Color 3” – Arches NP, UT
The reason to use the Moment Tele 58mm lens is to double the reach of your built-in cellphone lens without degrading the image quality (or, if it does degrade the image quality, it’s extraordinarily minimal and not really noticeable). That’s what this lens does, and it does it well. It doesn’t do much else, so keep your expectations in check.
When I carry the 58mm lens with me, I get three focal-length options on my iPhone 11: 13mm (using the 0.5x camera), 26mm (using the 1x camera without the Moment lens), and 52mm (using the 1x camera with the 58mm lens). Those are all excellent focal-lengths to have available. While I prefer to use my Fujifilm cameras over my cellphone, as Chase Jarvis coined, the best camera is the one you have with you, which is sometimes my cellphone. When I do use my cellphone for photography, I appreciate having the Moment Tele 58mm lens, because it affords me additional flexibility.
I said two paragraphs ago that this lens “doesn’t do much else” which isn’t completely true. There’s a small amount of pincushion distortion, which, when combined with the distortion in the iPhone 11 camera, can do some weird things to straight lines when photographing brick walls. The solution: don’t photograph brick walls. There’s also some interesting lens flare that shows up sometimes (see picture below), which I personally like, but maybe you won’t, depending on how you feel about lens flare. The Moment lens is also softer in the corners than the 1x iPhone camera.
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Faded Film” – Canyonlands NP, UT
The build quality of the Moment Tele 58mm lens is excellent, made of metal and glass. It has six elements in four groups, and the glass has multi-layered anti-reflective coating. It comes with a lens cap and carrying bag. The lens is small enough that you can easily take it with you, although when attached to the phone, it’s unlikely that the phone will fit into your pocket (unless you have particularly large pockets).
I have used the Moment Tele 58mm lens for nearly a year now. It’s not an essential cellphone accessory, but it’s certainly nice to have around. I found the lens and the Moment case (that you are required to have in order to use the lens)—plus the tripod-mount accessory—to be useful to me. If you do a lot of cellphone photography, you might want to take a closer look at these Moment products, and consider if they might be useful to you, too. Like a lot of things in the photography world, these products are not cheap, but if you think you’ll use them regularly, they might very well be worth the cost. The best place to find these products is on Moment’s website.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Moment Tele 58mm lens B&H Moment MagSafe Tripod Mount B&H
Gallery:
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Vintage Kodak” – Arches NP, UT
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Sunny Day” – Canyonlands NP, UT
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Instant Color 3” – Canyonlands NP, UT
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “Standard Film” – Canyonlands NP, UT
iPhone 11 + Moment 58mm – RitchieCam App – “B&W Fade” – Arches NP, UT
What is RitchieCam? It’s an easy-to-use streamlined camera app intended to bring one-step photography to the iPhone. You’ll find 18 analog-inspired filters so that you don’t have to edit your mobile pictures if you don’t want to. I think you will appreciate the app, yet it is designed for anyone and everyone with an iPhone, and not just photographers. You can read all about it at RitchieCam.com. The app is intended to be a useful free tool, yet for $9.99 (USD +Tax annually) you can unlock all of the filters and features for the best app experience.
There is a mistake in the article that I’d like to point out. Check out the image below:
Caption reads: “Using Kodachrome 64 Recipe.”
This picture was captured using real Kodachrome 64 film.
The picture above was supposed to be an example photograph of the actual film, which I captured over 20 years ago using real Kodachrome 64 film shot on a Canon AE-1 camera. So it is film, and not a film simulation. A couple other mistakes are found in the recipe itself: Dynamic Range should be DR200, and Noise Reduction should be -4. But, you know, it’s always alright to “season to taste” a recipe, so maybe that is how they prefer those settings.
I’m super happy to have been included in this writeup! I’m stoked that Moment found this recipe to be a valuable resource to the photography community—so valuable, in fact, that they were eager to share it with their customers on their website. Honestly, I’m flattered. Thank you, Moment!
Congratulations to these five winners! I know you will appreciate using the filters!
CineBloom diffusion filters are a great way to take the “digital edge” off of your photographs, giving them an analog-like feel. Diffusion filters have been popular in cinematography for awhile, and people are beginning to realize that they’re great for still photography, too. These filters pair especially well with my Film Simulation Recipes, and are a wonderful tool for the JPEG photographer.
I want to give a huge shout-out to Moment for teaming up with Fuji X Weekly to make this giveaway possible! They did it because they’re big fans of this website, Fujifilm cameras, film simulation recipes, and the Fujifilm community. Moment’s website (shopmoment.com) is definitely one of the better camera stores out there (yet, really, they are so very much more than just “a camera store”). If you’ve never visited Moment, be sure to do so—you can thank me later.
Even though the Fuji X Weekly Moment giveaway has ended, please continue to use the #fujixweeklymoment hashtag on Instagram. I love seeing your Fuji X Weekly moments, and I hope you continue sharing them!
Also, while I’m here, if you haven’t downloaded the Fuji X Weekly App, be sure to do so. It’s free, and available for both Android and Apple. If you are looking for a way to support Fuji X Weekly and all that I’m doing for the community plus unlock the best app experience, consider becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron (available in the app)!
The Fuji X Weekly moment CineBloom giveaway is in its final hours. There’s not much time, so I hope that you participated for a chance to win one of five Cinebloom diffusion filters. The full rules and details are found here. So far, there have been over 400 submissions! Check out the #fujixweeklymoment hashtag on Instagram to see them all.
I want to give a huge “Thank You” to Moment for teaming up with Fuji X Weekly to make this giveaway possible! They did it because they’re big fans of this website, Fujifilm cameras, film simulation recipes, and the Fujifilm community. Moment’s website (shopmoment.com) is definitely one of the better camera stores out there (yet, really, they are so very much more than just “a camera store”). If you’ve never visited Moment, be sure to do so—you can thank me later.
I hope to announce the five Cinebloom diffusion filter winners on Monday (September 6th), so stay tuned!
Also, while I’m here, if you haven’t downloaded the Fuji X Weekly App, be sure to do so. It’s free, and available for both Android and Apple. If you are looking for a way to support Fuji X Weekly and all that I’m doing for the community plus unlock the best app experience, consider becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron (available in the app)!
My favorite part of The Fuji X Weekly Moment giveaway is reading your great stories. For example, @snapsbybennettshared:
I love how the places at my dad’s have literally never changed since I was a kid. If you’re a Fuji shooter and haven’t used the Fuji X Weekly App yet… GO TRY IT OUT! Changed my whole look on my photography. Fujifilm XT3, 18-55mm, Portra 400 Sim.
Shot with Fujicolor Pro 160NS film simulation. I am loving the film simulation recipes from Fuji X Weekly. They add another level of creative control in camera that enhances my experience when shooting my Fujifilm X100F.
My Fuji X Weekly moment: Modeled a classic helmet this afternoon. Turn head right, left, up, that’s it…!!! In order for the color of this afternoon’s sun to get better, I’m using Fuji X Weekly’s Provia recipe in camera. A Provia standard color variation that is soft and suitable with the yellowish shine of the afternoon sun. No Grain in this recipe because it’s made for larger sensors. Whatever it is, the color looks cool on X-Trans III cameras. Find it on the Fuji X Weekly App!
This is my Fuji X Weekly moment. Captured on my Fujifilm X100V with the Fuji X Weekly Kodak Portra v2 film simulation recipe, which I found on the Fuji X Weekly App. Image is of my granddaughter Sutton gripping her Mimi’s finger. First time I used an X100V—instead of a professional DSLR or my new Canon EOS R5. Sutton was 2 days old, and I wanted to “focus” on my new granddaughter and not my camera settings. The X100V did the trick.
There are, of course, so many more (almost 400!)! I encourage you to take a look at all of the #fujixweeklymoment submissions, and to submit your own! The giveaway closes on Saturday (September 4th), which is only a couple days away, so don’t procrastinate. I look forward to seeing your pictures and reading more of your stories!
My favorite part of The Fuji X Weekly Moment giveaway is reading your great stories. For example, @thinkingrockphotographyshared:
This is the first time I’ve used a film simulation recipe and really noticed how much it looks like film. I didn’t grow up shooting film, but there is a box of Kodachrome slides in the closet, and this photo looks EXACTLY like I remember those slides looking.
This is my Fuji X Weekly moment, which was captured on my Fujifilm X-Pro3 with the Fuji X Weekly CineStill 800T film simulation recipe, which I found on the Fuji X Weekly App. What I love about film simulations is how easy they are to use which lets me shoot more and edit less since the straight out of camera picture is so good.
I recently picked up a cheap little Fujifilm X-T10 after discovering the amazing film simulations by Fuji X Weekly that just make taking great JPEGs SOOC so easy. I used to shoot entirely 100% in RAW but after spending weeks getting bogged down editing after a trip to Portugal, I wanted to spend more time behind the camera and less time behind the computer. So for this trip to Barcelona to visit my parents, I decided I would shoot almost the entire trip in JPEG. And I have no regrets! So, without further ado, here is the first Fuji X Weekly moment of my trip (shot using the Kodacolor simulation slightly adjusted to taste).
There are, of course, so many more! I encourage you to take a look at all of the #fujixweeklymoment submissions, and to submit your own! There is just one week before the giveaway closes, so don’t procrastinate. I look forward to seeing your pictures and reading more of your stories!
Which film simulation recipe is your favorite? What location did you last use it? How has it changed your photography? When is the Fuji X Weekly App most helpful to you? Share with me your Fuji X Weekly moment, and be entered to win a CineBloom diffusion filter (details below)!
Fuji X Weekly and Moment are teaming up to give away five CineBloom diffusion filters! Yes, that’s right—you could win one of five CineBloom filters!
CineBloom diffusion filters are a great way to take the “digital edge” off of your photographs, giving them an analog-like feel. Diffusion filters have been popular in cinematography for awhile, and people are beginning to realize that they’re great for still photography, too. These filters pair especially well with my Film Simulation Recipes, and are a wonderful tool for the JPEG photographer.
The Rules
These rules are pretty simple, but it is important that you follow each step.
First, if you don’t already, be sure to follow Fuji X Weekly and Moment on Instagram (here and here). This isn’t actually a requirement to win, but it would be great if you would do this (hey, we’re giving away free stuff!). While you’re at it, feel free to follow us on YouTube, too (here and here).
Next, on Instagram, share a picture that you’ve captured using a Fuji X Weekly film simulation recipe on your Fujifilm camera. Which recipe? Whichever one you want—there are over 150 to choose from! State in the post description that you used a Fuji X Weekly recipe and which recipe you used. It would be great if you could mention the Fuji X Weekly app, because I’m hoping to reach people who don’t yet know about recipes and the app. Maybe something like, “This is my Fuji X Weekly moment. Captured on my #Fujifilm #XPro2 with the @fujixweekly Kodachrome II film simulation recipe, which I found on the Fuji X Weekly App.” There are no rules for the exact wording, so don’t sweat it. Say what comes naturally to you, because I’d rather you say something authentic. Definitely let me know what your Fuji X Weekly moment is and why.
Third, tag a friend, especially if you think that friend might be interested in film simulation recipes or photography. If you don’t want to tag a friend, tag a photographer that you follow on Instagram. Or tag a famous photographer, such as @stevemccurryofficial, @petesouza, @chrisburkard, @seantuck, or someone else like that. Be sure to tag someone, or even several someones if you’d like.
Lastly—and this is highly important—use the hashtag #fujixweeklymoment when you post your picture. If you want, you can include this in the second-step statement (for example: “This is my #fujixweeklymoment.”). Then post your picture to Instagram!
That’s it! Well, sort of. There are actually several more rules, which you’ll find below.
The Fuji X Weekly Moment giveaway runs from from August 21, 2021 through September 4, 2021.
There will be five winners. Each winner will receive a code that can be redeemed from Moment for one CineBloom diffusion filter. Winners will be randomly selected (this is not a photography contest). Enter by using the #fujixweeklymoment hashtag on Instagram—each picture posted with that hashtag is one entry. You can enter up to five times; if you post more than five pictures, you’ll only be entered five times (but feel free to post as many pictures as you’d like!). Please keep the pictures family-friendly/safe-for-work. Each person can only win one prize. Winners will be announced between September 6th and 14th (hopefully on September 6th) and will be notified via an Instagram direct message (DM). Void where prohibited. By entering, you agree to all of these rules, Instagram’s policies, and all laws that may govern this giveaway. Fuji X Weekly and Moment are not responsible for any rule or law violations.
“Per Instagram rules, this promotion is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Instagram, Inc. By entering, entrants confirm that they are 13+ years of age, release Instagram of responsibility, and agree to Instagram’s terms of use.”
Don’t have the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App? Find it in the Google Play and Apple App Stores!
Be sure to share this article on your social media channels to help get the word out! Thank you, have fun, and good luck!
Moment has a live workshop on August 19th that’s all about Fujifilm! If you want learn more about your camera, this is a great opportunity. Four instructors over 4.5 hours will discuss things like Fujifilm camera features, best Fujinon lenses, best film simulation recipes for different situations, menu customization, and commercial, portrait, and street photography using Fujifilm gear.
This workshop is regularly priced at $149, but right now is only $99! I think this is a great opportunity for those who want to take their photography to the next level. I think you’ll get a lot out of it, especially if you’re fairly new to photography. If you aren’t doing anything else on August 19th, consider signing up (click here). By the way, I’m not sponsored by Moment, I’m just passing this along to you because I believe some of you will really appreciate it.
Moment has a live workshop on August 19th that’s all about Fujifilm! If you want to learn more about your camera, this is a great opportunity. Four instructors over 4.5 hours will discuss things like Fujifilm camera features, best Fujinon lenses, best film simulation recipes for different situations, menu customization, and commercial, portrait, and street photography using Fujifilm gear.
This workshop is regularly priced at $149, but right now is only $99! I think this is a great opportunity for those who want to take their photography to the next level. I think you’ll get a lot out of it, especially if you’re fairly new to photography. If you aren’t doing anything else on August 19th, consider signing up (click here). By the way, I’m not sponsored by Moment, I’m just passing this along to you because I believe some of you will really appreciate it.
