Monochrome film simulation

Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Classic Monochrome

*Signs, Poles & Wires* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Classic Monochrome”

For some reason, black-and-white film simulation recipes aren’t as popular as color, but Fujifilm cameras are capable of some great monochrome images straight-out-of-camera. This new “Classic Monochrome” recipe was made by Thomas Schwab (B&W Instagram), who has created several of the film simulation recipes on this website and collaborated on several others. He’s a friend of this blog, and I’m honored that he allows me to share his recipes here!

Thomas said that he started with one of the Ilford recipes, and this evolved from that. It’s called “Classic Monochrome” because it has a great old-school B&W print feel. The only change that I added was Toning, which is optional, but it seems to look nice with these settings. This recipe has quickly become one of my favorite black-and-white options! It’s most similar to Dramatic Monochrome, so if you like that recipe you’ll like this one, too. Thank you, Thomas!

*Suburban Garages* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Classic Monochrome”

This recipe is contrasty and clean. It reminds me of Agfapan 25 printed using a high-contrast filter (maybe a #4, or even split-filtered). It’s not intended to look like it, but that’s what it reminds me of. It does have a limited dynamic range, and it’s easy to clip highlights, so the exposure should be carefully considered, or perhaps try DR-Auto if you are concerned. It’s compatible (as of this writing) with the Fujifilm X100V, X-T4, X-Pro3 and X-S10 cameras.

Monochrome (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR100
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +2
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +1
Clarity: +4
Toning: WC +1, MG 0
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: Auto, 0 Red & 0 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +1/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Classic Monochrome film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

*Marks the Spot* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Main Line Trail* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Empty Box* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Empty Bench* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Joshua Biking* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Girl & Bike* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Horses & Ducks* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Country Road Bus* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*No Motor Vehicles* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Weed 1* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Weed 2* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Ice Abstract 1* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Ice Abstract 2* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

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Fujifilm X-M1 (X-Trans I) Film Simulation Recipe: Monochrome

Posted on October 7 by Ritchie Roesch

*Broken View* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

Fujifilm introduced the world to the X-Trans sensor in January of 2012 with the announcement of the X-Pro1 camera. Later that same year the X-E1 became the second camera with this new sensor, and a year later the X-M1 became the third and final camera to have the original X-Trans sensor. Even before the X-M1 was released, Fujifilm had begun selling cameras with the X-Trans II sensor, so the original sensor was already old news by the time the camera was released. It seems that, more-or-less, Fujifilm had some spare X-Trans I sensors laying around, so they put them inside of the X-A1, a Bayer sensor camera, and renamed it X-M1. There never was an X-M2.

Even though only three cameras have an X-Trans I sensor, I’ve had many requests for film simulation recipes that are compatible with the X-Pro1, X-E1 and X-M1. I used to own an X-E1 (two, actually), but I mostly shot RAW with it and never developed any film simulation recipes for it. Some X-Trans II and Bayer recipes are technically compatible, but produce slightly different results. I purchased a cheap, gently used X-M1 to create some recipes with, and this is the very first one!

*White Trees* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

The X-M1 only has one black-and-white option. There’s no B+Y, B+R and B+G. There’s just standard B, which is the abbreviation for the Monochrome film simulation. I wanted to create a B&W recipe that produces dramatic results, but the JPEG options are limited on this camera compared to the newer models, so I had to get creative with the white balance to get the look that I wanted. This recipe is intended for X-Trans I cameras, but those with Bayer and X-Trans II cameras can use it, too, but the results will be slightly different.

Monochrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +2 (Hard)
Shadow: +2 (Hard)
Sharpness: +1 (Medium-Hard)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
White Balance: Incandescent, -5 Red & +9 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs made using this Monochrome film simulation recipe on a Fujifilm X-M1:

*Old Phone* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Dark Chocolate* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Ice Cream Bowl* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Countertop* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Steel Deck* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Good Sam* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Tool Ghosts* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Timesaver* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Saw Table* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Abandoned Workshop* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Buy American* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Anchor Screw Drawer* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Open Drawers* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Indoor Hoop* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Window with Broken Glass* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

*Abandoned Garage* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-M1

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: Kodak T-Max 400

Posted on August 31 by Ritchie Roesch

*Tree Behind Bars* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak T-Max 400”

Kodak introduced T-Max black-and-white negative film back in 1986, and they dubbed it “the finest-grained black-and-white film in the world.” While it certainly has fine-grain, particularly the low-ISO version, I don’t know how accurate Kodak’s proclamation was. It’s available in ISO 100, 400 and 3200 variants. This film simulation recipe is intended to resemble the ISO 400 version.

T-Max 400 is a popular B&W film. I’ve used it, although it has been many, many years. Kodak updated the film in 2007 to be sharper and have finer grain; it’s the old version that I have personal experience with. With any film, but perhaps especially with black-and-white negative film, so much can be altered in the darkroom to customize the aesthetic, and one film can produce many different looks, so creating a recipe can be controversial because it might not look exactly like what someone thinks it should. Still, I hope that you will recognize this as T-Max-esque.

You might find that this recipe looks familiar. Actually, it began as Kodak Tri-X 400. Fuji X Weekly readers Thomas Schwab (who has helped with several recipes) and Anders Linborg (who invented the Tri-X recipe) worked together to modify that recipe into this one. I added a couple of small revisions, and now we have Kodak T-Max 400! It really was a group effort, but mostly Thomas and Anders. Thanks, guys!

*Night Clouds* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak T-Max 400”

This Kodak T-Max 400 film simulation recipe is intended for the Fujifilm X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4 cameras; however, with a couple small modifications, it can be used on any X-Trans III or IV camera. First, if your camera doesn’t have Clarity, consider using +1 Highlight and +4 Shadow instead, although you can certainly keep those settings as they are in the recipe below. If your camera doesn’t have the option for Grain size (only strength), set it to Strong. I used Toning on this recipe, which is completely optional, but on the X-T3 and X-T30, which has a different Toning menu, consider using +1 (warm). Back when I shot film I would often give my prints a quick Sepia bath, both for warmth and archival reasons, and the Toning option on your X-Trans IV camera does a good job of mimicking that.

One difference that you might notice between this recipe and Tri-X is ISO. On that recipe I suggest using ISO 1600 to 12800. I think for this recipe the best results are found between ISO 1600 and 3200, but anything from ISO 320 to 6400 looks good. I feel like ISO 12800 is a bit too much, but feel free to try it and see what you think.

Monochrome (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: 0
Shadow: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +2
Clarity: +3
Toning: WC +2, MG 0
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Off
White Balance: Daylight,+9 Red & -9 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Kodak T-Max 400 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

*Hanging Leaves Silhouette* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Light Through The Dark Forest* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Ghosts* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Tree Trunks & Ground Cover* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

Tree at Forest Edge – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Paved Forest Path* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*People Shadows* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Happy Jon* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Fish in the Net* – Hyrum Reservoir, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Tired Old Dock* – Hyrum Reservoir, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*A Boy & His Fishing Pole* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Lake Water* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Flower Photo* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Monochrome Wildflower* – North Salt Lake, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Photo by Thomas Schwab* – Husum, Germany – Fujifilm X100V

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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

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Film Simulation Review: Light & Shadow with Ilford Delta Push-Process

Posted on April 25 by Ritchie Roesch

Chair & Pillow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Photography is about light. Without light there are no photographs. Great photographs require great light. What “great light” is depends on the picture and circumstance, and what’s great for one image might not be for another. Great light can be found anytime of the day or night if one looks hard enough for it.

This series of pictures demonstrate the play of light and shadow in an image. It features instances of bright highlights and deep shadows together. It’s the contrast between illumination and the absence of it. I needed a dramatic film simulation recipe to capture these pictures. I knew that it would need to be black-and-white because these pictures aren’t about color, but light and shadow. Color would only be a distraction to the point. But which black-and-white film simulation recipe should I choose?

There are several options for dramatic black-and-white that I could have chosen, including Dramatic Monochrome, Monochrome Kodachrome, Agfa Scala, Ilford HP5 Plus, Ilford HP5 Push-Process, X100F Acros, X-T30 Acros, Acros Push-Process, and Tri-X Push-Process. Any of those recipes would have worked, but each would have produced a different result. Some have more contrast, some less. Some have a greater dynamic range and others a more narrow. Some are brighter, some darker. Some have more grain and other less. I could have picked any of them and gotten interesting results, but I went with Ilford Delta Push-Process instead, partially because I had been using it for other pictures during this time. It turns out it was a good choice, because it seems to have the right contrast, tones and grain for this series. Sometimes luck plays a role. What I know now is that the Ilford Delta Push-Process recipe is a great option for dramatic light situations like these, and I will choose it again for similar situations in the future. I captured these pictures on a Fujifilm X-T30 with a Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens attached to it.

Suburban Shadows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Seat Back Shadow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Chair Details – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Girl Ghost – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Sunlight on the Kitchen Floor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Don’t Step Into Darkness – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

[Not] My Fujifilm X-T30 Ilford Delta Push-Process Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on April 24 by Ritchie Roesch

Boy in a Chair with a Phone – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Ilford Delta Push-Process”

When I shot film, Ilford Delta was my go-to for black-and-white photography. Sure, I used other films, but Ilford Delta was what I most often loaded into my camera. For fine-grain, I used Delta 100. For situations other than bright daylight, or if I wanted more contrast and grittiness, I would choose Delta 400. For dim light, I would on a rare occasion use Delta 3200. Sometimes I would push-process the Delta 100 and Delta 400 a stop or two. I actually still have a couple rolls of Delta film sitting around, although I haven’t shot much film in the last few years. The last roll of Ilford Delta that I shot was Delta 3200.

Something that people might not be aware of is that Delta 3200 is actually not an ISO 3200 film, it’s actually rated at ISO 1000, but has “built-in” push-processing to ISO 3200 (labs know to increase the development time unless you specify otherwise). Ilford Delta films have a lot of latitude and flexibility. There’s a lot that one can do in the lab with any of the Ilford Delta films to customize the contrast and grain.

Fuji X Weekly reader K. Adam Christensen shared with me his film simulation recipe for Ilford Delta 3200, and I really like the way that his recipe looks. It’s a great black-and-white recipe! I made a couple of small tweaks to it, nothing big. Adam uses this recipe on his X100V, and he sets Grain to Large, which is an option on that camera, as well as the X-Pro3 and X-T4, but not on my X-T30. If I could set Grain to Large I would, as that would better mimic Delta 3200. Without it, perhaps these settings more resemble Delta 3200 shot and developed at ISO 1600. It reminds me of Delta 400 pushed one stop or maybe a stop and a half.

White House Beyond the Thistle – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 “Ilford Delta Push-Process”

I have the ISO on this recipe set at 12800, which makes it difficult (but not impossible) to use in daylight situations. It’s a little easier on X100 cameras that have a built-in neutral density filter. If you need to drop the ISO, you can go as low as ISO 3200 and still get good results, but for best results keep the ISO at 12800 as much as possible. All of the pictures in this article were shot at ISO 12800.

Monochrome (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: 0
Shadow: +3
Grain: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Off
Toning: 0
Sharpening: -3
Noise Reduction: -4
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
ISO 12800

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Ilford Delta Push-Process film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30:

FED 5C & Industar 69 – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Phone Numbers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl, Smile – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Broccoli – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Faux Leaves – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Glass Bottles with Stems – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Flowers Waiting to Pot – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Potted Tulip – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

White Tulips at Night – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Outdoor Shelf – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Dirty Feet – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Roller Skating – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Skates – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Girl Outdoor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Two Feet – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Chair Shadow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Blackberry Vine on Concrete – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Watering Plant – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Wet Handlebar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

Raindrops on a Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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Fujifilm X-T1 (X-Trans II) Faded Monochrome Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on March 9 by Ritchie Roesch

Partially Illuminated – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 “Faded Monochrome”

This is my Faded Monochrome recipe adapted for my Fujifilm X-T1. It will work on all X-Trans I & II and Bayer sensor cameras, just so long as it has a double-exposure mode (I think they all do, but I’m not 100% certain). You have to put the camera into double-exposure mode, capture the scene with the first exposure, and use the second exposure to photograph a medium-grey piece of paper (I used an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of construction paper). I prefer the second exposure to be out of focus. The first exposure should be slightly overexposed, perhaps by 1/3 to 2/3 stop, because the second exposure will decrease the contrast. The second exposure should be underexposed by at least 1 stop, and as many as 3 stops. How bright or dark the second exposure is will determine just how faded the picture will be. It requires some experimentation, but thankfully you get a real-time display of what the picture will look like and the opportunity for a do-over (simply select “Retry”). The look you get is similar to using a low-contrast filter when making black-and-white prints in the darkroom.

Monochrome
Dynamic Range: DR100
Highlight: +2 (High)
Shadow: +2 (High)
Sharpness: 0 (Medium)
Noise Reduction: -2 (Low)
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 3200

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Faded Monochrome recipe on my Fujifilm X-T1:

Thought – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Girl Shadow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Piano Hand – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Piano Fingers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Faded Lily – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Flowers Fading – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Bouquet – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Wheelbarrow Monochrome – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Gathering – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

Window Blinds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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My Fujifilm X-T30 Dramatic Monochrome Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on February 11 by Ritchie Roesch

The Obscurity of Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Dramatic Monochrome”

A couple of weeks ago when I was discussing the possibility of Fujifilm creating a black-and-white only camera, something that I came to learn by accident is that the Monochrome film simulation is pretty darn good. On X-Trans III & IV cameras, I have always used the Acros film simulation because it is beautiful and has a film-like quality to it. But there’s something about the “old-fashioned” Monochrome film simulation that’s nice, as well. I had never made a Monochrome film simulation for X-Trans III & IV cameras, so I set out to do so.

At first I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted, so I decided that the best starting point was to revisit the iconic photographs of the great photographers from the 1930’s, ’40’s and ’50’s—people like Ansel Adams, Andre Kertesz, Robert Doisneau, Weegee, Pual Strand, Elliott Erwitt and others. I realized that I was drawn to the high-contrast pictures that these photographers had created. I wanted to create a recipe that mimics that look in-camera. These settings, which I call Dramatic Monochrome, are what resulted from that.

Francis Peak – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Dramatic Monochrome”

For those with X-Trans III sensors, which don’t have the Color Chrome Effect, you’ll get similar results, but it won’t be quite as dramatic. The difference isn’t very big, so don’t worry about it. I would consider using +2 for Sharpness on X-Trans III instead of +3. On X-Trans IV cameras, you could give a +1 toning for a subtle warm look, such as what would happen if you gave a print a quick Sepia bath.

Monochrome (+Y, +R, +G)
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +4
Shadow: +4
Grain: Strong
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Toning: 0
Sharpening: +3
Noise Reduction: -4
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)
ISO: Auto up to ISO 12800

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Dramatic Monochrome film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-T30: