Photography blog | FUJI X WEEKLY

14 Frames: Cross Process in Salt Lake City

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Follow the Bird to Salt Lake* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

I recently took my Fujifilm X-H1 camera to downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, loaded with my Cross Process film simulation recipe, to do some creative urban photography. Attached to the camera was a Fujinon 18mm f/2 lens, which I find to be a good focal-length for cityscapes and street images.

For those who don’t know, cross-process is an analog technique where film is developed in chemistry intended for a different emulsion type. Most commonly, it is E6 slide film developed in C41 color negative chemistry, although it is certainly not limited to that. The results of cross-processing can vary wildly, but usually there’s a strong color shift, and an increase in contrast and grain. It’s a fun way to get bold pictures!

My Cross Process recipe isn’t intended to model any specific film, but is more of a generic cross-processed aesthetic; however, there are some similarities to Velvia, Provia, Sensia, Elite Chrome, and others. Considering that Fujifilm doesn’t have a “cross process” film simulation, the fact that this look can be achieved in-camera without the need for editing is really quite amazing! It’s an enjoyable recipe for unusual results.

For those following the SOOC live YouTube video series, Cross Process is the current recipe-of-the-month. Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry and I will be discussing this recipe, including showcasing your pictures captured with it. Be sure to tune-in this Thursday, December 9, at 9am Pacific Time, 12 PM Eastern! I hope to see you then!

In the meantime, this article is a photoessay of 14 photographs captured in downtown Salt Lake City with a Fujifilm X-H1 camera using the Cross Process film simulation recipe. Enjoy!

*1. Know Where It Goes* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Hotel & Crane Reflected* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Contrail* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Last Light on the Lofty Building* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Leaning* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Yield on Flashing* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Wreath Behind Glass* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Crane Reflection* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Trees in the City* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*A Corner Downtown* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Lift* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Escalator Collecting Leaves* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Caution: Tree* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

If You REALLY Want to be a Photographer, THIS Should be Your First Camera: The Fujifilm X100V (Video)

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

I share this video with you for three reasons: 1) it’s really good, 2) this website and the Fuji X Weekly App are mentioned in it, and 3) it’s definitely the coolest video that I’ve ever been highlighted in. So be sure to watch it! Also, big thanks to GxAce for the shout-out! You should check out his channel, for sure, because he has many intriguing videos.

You can read my review of the Fujifilm X100V here.

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

Fujifilm X100V Black Amazon B&H
Fujifilm X100V Silver Amazon B&H

Comparing Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipes To Film (Videos)

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

The Snap Chick YouTube channel recently published a video where they compare actual Kodak Tri-X 400 film with the Kodak Tri-X 400 film simulation recipe. It’s a very fascinating video! If you’re looking for something to do, give it a watch—it’s about 15 minutes long. Definitely worth your time.

While we’re on this topic, check out the two videos below, which compare actual Kodak Portra 400 film with my Kodak Portra 400 recipes (the top video is this Portra 400 recipe, and the second video is this Portra 400 recipe).

New Fujifilm X-Trans III App Patron Early-Access Film Simulation Recipe: Vintage Kodacolor

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Large Stone & Tall Grass* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Vintage Kodacolor”

The Fuji X Weekly App is free, yet becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron unlocks the best App experience! One benefit of being a Patron is you get early access to some new film simulation recipes. These early-access recipes will eventually become available free to everyone in time, including this new one. In fact, many early-access recipes have already been publicly published on this blog and the App, so now everyone can use them. Patrons help support Fuji X Weekly and, really, without them there would be no App. So I want to give a special “thank you” to all of the Patrons!

This new Patron early-access recipe is called Vintage Kodacolor. I was inspired by some old Kodacolor puzzles that I stumbled across (did you know that Kodak made jigsaw puzzles?). I’m not completely certain which Kodacolor film was used for these puzzles—possibly Kodacolor II—or how much the printing process affected the aesthetic, or even how much the colors have faded and shifted over time. Whatever the case, this recipe does a pretty good job emulating it, and produces a warm vintage-like aesthetic that’s easy to appreciate. There’s some similarities between this and my Kodacolor II 126 recipe. This “Vintage Kodacolor” recipe is fully compatible with all X-Trans III cameras, plus the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-T30. Those with newer X-Trans IV cameras can use it, too, but you’ll have to decide on Grain size.

If you are a Fuji X Weekly Patron, it’s available to you right now on the App!

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Vintage Kodacolor” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-H1:

*Vintage Phragmites* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Evening Reeds and Sky* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Three Brown Leaves* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Don’t Approach the Great Blue Heron* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Safe Zone* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Sunset Through The Grass* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Evening Light on the Wood* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Flowers No More* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Metal Door* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Cardboard Architect* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Holiday Horse Rider* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

Fujifilm X-H1 (X-Trans III) Film Simulation Recipe: Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Dusk Lamps* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten”

The Winter Solstice is fast approaching, and for those like me in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the nights are longer. I find this to be a good opportunity for after-sunset or pre-sunrise photography, but there aren’t very many film simulation recipes for X-Trans III cameras that are specifically intended for this situation—in fact, there’s only one: CineStill 800T (although several others will still do well enough). So I set out to create another night film simulation recipe, because it’s good to have choices.

Unlike the CineStill 800T recipe, I didn’t model this one after any specific film, although it has some fairly close similarities to Fujicolor NPL 160 Pro Tungsten color negative film, which Fujifilm produced from 2000 through 2004. NPL 160 was specifically made for long exposures under artificial light. While I didn’t intend to mimic that film, you wouldn’t know it based on just how close of a match it is. I never used NPL 160 myself, as it wasn’t available in 35mm format, but I did some research on it for this article. It was available in 120 film (also, 4×5 sheets), which could be captured in three ratios (depending on the camera), including square, but 3:2 wasn’t one of those options. You could use 3:2 like I did, or more accurately shoot in the 1:1 ratio, or crop after-the-fact to whatever shape you prefer.

*Blue Light Tree* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten”

This Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten recipe is compatible with all X-Trans III cameras, so if you have a Fujifilm X-Pro2, X100F, X-E3, X-T20, X-T20, or X-H1, this recipe is for you! It’s also compatible with the X-T3 and X-T30—simply set Color Chrome Effect to Off, and limit the maximum ISO to 6400. For those with newer X-Trans IV cameras, consider using Grain size Small and Clarity set to 0 or even -2. Those with a GFX 50S and GFX 50R can use this recipe, too, although it will look very slightly different. For night photography, I most commonly set exposure compensation to -1/3 or 0, and for daylight photography I most commonly set exposure compensation to +1/3 to +2/3.

PRO Neg. Std
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: -2
Shadow: 0
Color: -2
Sharpening: -1
Noise Reduction: -4
Grain: Weak
White Balance: Fluorescent 3, -6 Red & -3 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-H1:

*Sunset Afterglow on Building* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Waffled* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Christmas Tree Outside A Mall* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Lights Wrapped Around A Trunk* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Girl at a Lighted Fountain* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Survivor* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Headless Lampshade* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Stored Clothes* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Crowd Around the Tree* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*German Night* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Krampus* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Christkindlmarkt* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Carolers* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*ZCMI* – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

*Soaring Over a Neighborhood* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1

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

Help Fuji X Weekly

Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!

$2.00

Poll Results: Which Cameras Do You Have?

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

First, I want to give a big “Thank You” to everyone who participated in yesterday’s survey! To say that I’ve been overwhelmed (in a good way) with the response is an understatement. You all really came through in a big way, so thanks!

Which Fujifilm camera sensor generation do most of you have? I was really surprised by the results. Let’s dive in!

1. 51% of you own an X-Trans IV model
– 19% own either on X-T3 or X-T30
– 17% own an X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, or X-T30 II
– 15% own an X-Pro3 or X100V
2. 22% of you own an X-Trans III model
– The X-H1 represents 20% of all X-Trans III cameras (there were six models)
3. 13% of you own an X-Trans II model
– Nearly 1/4 of those are models without Classic Chrome
4. 7% of you own an X-Trans I model
5. 5% of you own a Bayer model
– About 2/3 have a 24 MP camera
6. 2% of you own a GFX model
– About 2/3 own a newer model

What can be learned from all this data? Well, it’s easy to draw conclusions, but not necessarily easy to draw the correct conclusions. I think it demonstrates that Fujifilm has been growing in popularity over the years. Also, those with “newer” models (say, X-Trans III and X-Trans IV) are more likely to use film simulation recipes than those with older models (or Bayer or GFX), possibly because there are more JPEG options; however, that’s kind of a tricky statement, because there are more recipes for X-Trans III and newer, and less for the other models. If there were more recipes, more people would likely use them. So there’s a bit of truth on both sides of that coin. I think the most surprising statistic is that nearly 1/5 of you own either an X-T3 or X-T30—Fujifilm sold those two models like hotcakes! I didn’t realize that so many of you had one of those two models.

If you are looking at this and thinking, I have a low-percentage model, so I guess there’s no hope for new recipes—don’t despair! I plan to make new recipes for as many camera models as I can. With that said, 41% of you own either an X-Trans III or X-T3 or X-T30 camera, and that large segment hasn’t received nearly enough new recipes over the last year. There have been just nine new recipes in the last 12 months for the X-T3 and X-T30, six of which are also compatible with X-Trans III. Of those, two are Patron early-access recipes on the Fuji X Weekly App. So I definitely need to do a better job in the coming year of creating new recipes for the X-T3, X-T30 and X-Trans III.

Whatever you Fujifilm camera is, I hope to publish more film simulation recipes for you, so be on the lookout for those in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Pal2Tech Film Simulation High-ISO Video

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

Pal2Tech posted a video today discussing the noise performance of various film simulations when using high-ISO photography on Fujifilm cameras. I like the videos from this channel, as they’re always entertaining and educational. I’ve learned several things myself, so I definitely recommend following him if you don’t already.

I wanted to mention this particular video (which you’ll find above) specifically because I think it misses the point on high-ISO photography. Or several points, really. I do still recommend watching it—I found it interesting, personally—and I appreciate the effort put into it. But I want to add my own commentary, so here we go!

The first point that’s missed is that Fujifilm’s digital noise doesn’t look like typical noise from digital cameras. Fujifilm’s programming makes it appear more organic, a little more film-grain-like, and much less hideous than that from other brands. So having some noise in an image isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Digital noise can actually be more than just “not bad” but can actually be a positive thing, and you might be missing out by avoiding it.

Which brings me to point two: in the digital age we’re too often striving for “perfect” images with its squeaky-clean aesthetics. In my article No Edit Photography: 7 Tips To Get The Film Look From Your Digital Photos, I stated, “Perfect pictures can be perfectly boring.” And, “Creativity is rarely born out of perfectionism.” Avoiding digital noise is ok, I suppose, but never at the expense of things that are more important.

Point number three (for those keeping track) is that digital noise (from Fujifilm cameras) can actually make your digital pictures appear less digital and more film-like (that’s tip six in that article I linked to in the last paragraph). In fact, my Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process film simulation recipe purposefully uses a minimum ISO of 25600, and it looks shockingly good when printed! If you’re striving for “perfection” and you are pixel-peeping at 300% magnification, noise might bother you a little. Otherwise, the “imperfection” of it can be incorporated beautifully into your art.

The simple takeaway is this: don’t be afraid to get a little noisy. Don’t worry so much about squeaky-clean pictures, but embrace the messiness of photography, and worry about the things that actually matter (like storytelling). Don’t be afraid to shoot at high-ISOs. Certainly if you are limiting yourself to below ISO 3200 for Acros, Classic Negative, and Eterna Bleach Bypass, you are missing out on some lovely pictures (you’ll find an example of each below). It’s ok to pixel-peep, but just know that nobody outside of some photographers care what an image looks like when inspected so closely, and most people who view your pictures won’t be impressed or unimpressed by how an image looks at that magnification, because they only care if the picture as a whole speaks to them in some way.

Fujifilm X-E4 – Eterna Bleach Bypass – ISO 5000

Fujifilm X-E4 – Classic Negative – ISO 5000

Poll: Which Fujifilm Camera Sensor Do You have?

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

I need your help!

I want to know what camera sensor generation is inside your Fujifilm camera. Why? Because I want to be more helpful to you, the Fuji X Weekly audience, when creating new film simulation recipes. I don’t currently have every sensor generation—right now, it’s GFX and Bayer that I don’t own (you never know when that changes), but, since I was gifted an X-H1, I now have every X-Trans option at my disposal. In the coming year I want to focus more on what is beneficial to you, and in order to do so I need to know what you own.

If you have a spare moment right now, help me out by taking the short survey below:

Thank you!

Let me know in the comments what your favorite Fujifilm model is that you own, and what Fujifilm model is the one you’d love to own someday but currently don’t. For me, the favorite model that I own is the X100V, and the one I’d love to own someday is the X-Pro3.

ISO — How High Can You Go?

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Dark Cloud Over The Dark Mountain* – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – “Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process” film simulation recipe — ISO 25600

When it comes to ISO, how high can you go? On your Fujifilm camera, how high is too high? 3200? 6400? 12800? 25600?

This article will explore the topic of high-ISO photography on Fujifilm X cameras. Can you bump it more than you think? Will it look good printed? How does it compare to film? Those are the questions that this post intends to answer.

Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available to everyone.

This all started by accident. Two accidents, actually. The first one was back in 2019 when I mistakenly chose ISO 51200 instead of Auto-3 ISO on my Fujifilm X-T30, which happily turned into the Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process film simulation recipe. The second accident was similar, and happened in July of this year. I have the front wheel of my Fujifilm X-E4 set to adjust the ISO (because the camera doesn’t have an ISO dial), and I mistakenly pushed it and unknowingly set the ISO to 51200! I snapped what I thought could be a wonderful picture while at an aquarium. A couple of minutes later I realized my mistake—and I initially panicked, because the opportunity came and went. Then I remembered the Ilford HP5 Plus Push Process recipe, which requires a minimum ISO of 25600, and I knew that I could RAW reprocess in-camera the picture with that recipe, which is what I did (except that I set Grain to Weak and Small instead of Strong). You can see the photograph below:

*Fujifilm X-E4 at ISO 51200 — click here for bigger*

The results, honestly, are pretty darn impressive. Seriously, this is ISO 51200! I remember back in the film days that ISO 400 was considered to be high-ISO—that’s what the “H” stands for in Fujicolor Pro 400H. ISO 3200 was crazy high, and only for extreme situations or the truly brave. The fact that I use ISO 3200 on any of my Fujifilm cameras—going back to X-Trans I—and don’t even think twice about it is a testament to the advancements of digital technology. It’s truly amazing! And it’s not uncommon to go even higher than that. But would my ISO 51200 picture look good enough when viewed larger than internet and social media sizes? Would it look good printed?

With color photography, on X-Trans I & II cameras, I like the results up to ISO 3200. On X-Trans III cameras I like the results all the way to ISO 12800. On X-Trans IV cameras I like the results up to ISO 6400. Black-and-white is another story, though. On X-Trans I & II I like the results up to ISO 6400. On X-Trans III & IV, you can max it out. While some digital cameras are known for their high-ISO performance, and ISO 51200 is no big deal, going that high on an APS-C sized sensor is nothing short of incredible! Fujifilm does not get enough press for just how miraculous this is.

Wanting to see how the aquarium picture would look printed, I sent it off to the lab. I also printed the Dark Cloud Over The Dark Mountain photo because it was captured at ISO 25600 and I was curious how it would compare to ISO 51200. For the fun of it, I also printed a picture captured on actual Ilford Delta 3200 film. I had the lab make 8″ x 12″ prints of all three images.

*Actual Ilford Delta 3200 film — click here for bigger*

I captured some images of the prints, which you’ll find below. It’s hard to tell anything by looking at them on the web, so I want to talk about them. First, all three pictures appear good printed at the 8″ x 12″ size. The lab seemed to print the aquarium picture a little darker than I had expected—by maybe 1/3 stop. That was disappointing, but otherwise the quality was good, and I wouldn’t have any issues displaying these on my wall. I think all three could have been printed larger. I suspected that 8″ x 12″ would be the largest that I’d want to print an ISO 51200 exposure before it would degrade, but after examining the print, I do believe it would look fine even larger, perhaps 12″ x 18″. The ISO 25600 exposure could probably do well printed at 16″ x 24″ and maybe larger.

The obvious thing about the ISO 3200 film picture is the size of the grain. It’s huge! This was 35mm film, so the grain from Ilford Delta 3200 in 120 format wouldn’t appear quite so large. This brings up a point about Fujifilm’s faux grain and the digital noise, which is a little film-grain-like on Fujifilm cameras, that I’d like to mention: the size of it is more like medium-format than 35mm. This isn’t universally true—low-ISO films often had extremely fine grain. Generally speaking, however, even with Grain set to Strong and Large at a high-ISO, it’s not going to be anywhere close to the size of 35mm ISO 3200 grain, and not ISO 1600, either, and maybe not even ISO 800. Medium-format film is much larger, so the magnification isn’t nearly so much when printed, and the grain appears finer, and a lot of times I think Fujifilm cameras produce a grain-look that’s more similar to that.

Let’s look at the prints!

Like I said, there’s not much that you can really tell by looking at these pictures of the prints. It’s something you have to view for yourself. If you’ve captured an ultra-high-ISO picture on your Fujifilm camera, try printing it, so that you can see for yourself the surprisingly good quality. I think you’ll be shocked at just how usable these supposedly unusable ISOs actually are.

And that’s the point of this article. Is ISO 51200 or even ISO 25600 ideal? No. If you are after optimal image quality, my advice is to keep the ISO at and below ISO 800. But if a little graininess doesn’t bother you, and you’re not planning on pixel-peeping or printing posters, the photographs captured at these ridiculously high ISOs are sufficiently good. In fact, their graininess and softness actually gives them a more analog-like feel.

While I made the mistake of accidentally shooting at ISO 51200, you might try using high-ISOs on purpose, especially for black-and-white photography. If you are not comfortable going as high as these pictures, start off with something higher than you normally go. For example, if ISO 1600 is your typical max, try ISO 3200. If ISO 3200 is your typical max, go to ISO 6400. And so on. How high can you go? The sky is the limit! Actually, ISO 51200 is the limit, because that’s as high as the camera will go, but you get the point.

I Was Gifted A Fujifilm X-H1!

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Fujifilm X-H1 w/Fujinon 35mm f/2 – captured with Fujifilm X-E4 w/Fujinon 90mm f/2 – Kodachrome 25 film simulation recipe*

I got a big holiday surprise in the mail yesterday: a fan of this website gifted me a used Fujifilm X-H1 camera! Whoa. And thank you so very much!

He wanted me to have it because he knew that I didn’t currently own any X-Trans III cameras. This was such a generous (and thoughtful) gift. It most certainly made my Christmas merry!

I have already put it to use. The picture below was captured this morning using a new vintage-like film simulation recipe that I’m working on. I have to test it out more and maybe tweak it a little, but if all goes well it should be published sometime this month, so be on the lookout for it.

*Early test shot on the X-H1 – upcoming X-Trans III Film Simulation Recipe*

What do you think? Do you like the look of this picture? Is this a recipe that you’re excited for? Let me know int he comments!

Fuji X Weekly App is One Year Old Today!

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

Happy birthday!

The Fuji X Weekly App originally launched on iOS one year ago today! Later, in the spring, it launched on Android. And, less than a week ago, an update was released that made it even better! There’s more coming, too, that will further improve the App. I’m always adding new film simulation recipes, and it’s approaching the 200 mark rather quickly.

It’s been an amazing 12 months!

The Fuji X Weekly App has been downloaded over 180,000 times! Now, some people might have the App on more than one device, or they switched devices and downloaded the App more than once. So I’m not sure how many individuals have downloaded it, but it is absolutely mind-blowing that it has been downloaded that many times! There are about 45,000 active users (meaning, individuals that have used the App at least once in the last month). By far, the vast majority of people use the free version, yet the best App experience is unlocked by becoming a Patron, so if you’re not a Patron, you’re missing out on some great features. Also, Patrons help support the App and other great things within the Fujifilm community. Without the support of Patrons there would be no App, so I want to give a big “Thank You” to all the Fuji X Weekly App subscribers!

If you own a Fujifilm camera, you should have the Fuji X Weekly App on your phone and/or tablet. If you don’t, download it for free today!

Fujifilm X-E4 Film Simulation Recipe: Kodachrome 25

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Autumn on Kodachrome* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Kodachrome 25”

The Kodachrome name has been used for many different films over the years. The first Kodachrome product was a two-glass-plate color negative that was introduced in 1915. Like all other color photography methods of its time, the results weren’t particularly good and the product not especially successful.

In 1935, Kodak released its next Kodachrome product: a positive color transparency film. This Kodachrome was the first film that produced reasonably accurate colors, and, because of that, was the first commercially successful color film. It became the standard film for color photography for a couple decades, and was even Ansel Adams’ preferred choice for color work. The December 1946 issue of Arizona Highways, which was the first all-color magazine in the world, featured Barry Goldwater’s Kodachrome images. While the most popular Kodachrome during this time was ISO 10, Kodak also produced an ISO 8 version, as well as a Tungsten option in the 1940s.

Kodak made significant improvements to Kodachrome, and in 1961 released Kodachrome II. This film boasted more accurate colors, sharper images, finer grain, and a faster ISO of 25. While it was still somewhat similar to the previous Kodachrome, it was better in pretty much every way. A year later Kodachrome-X was introduced, which had an ISO of 64, and produced more saturation and increased contrast, but was grainier.

*Golden Red Berries* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Kodachrome 25”

In 1974, because Kodak created a less-toxic development process, Kodachrome II was replaced by Kodachrome 25 and Kodachrome-X was replaced by Kodachrome 64. This generation of Kodachrome is what most people think of when they picture (pun intended) the film, gracing the pages of magazines like National Geographic. Due to Kodachrome’s sharpness, grain, color, contrast, and archival characteristics, it was a great all-around option that worked well in most circumstance. Steve McCurry, who is perhaps the best-known photographer to extensively use this era of Kodachrome, said of the film, “It has almost a poetic look with beautiful colors that were vibrant and true to what you were shooting.”

This film simulation recipe is intended to mimic Kodachrome 25 color transparency film. I was fortunate to shoot a few rolls of Kodachrome 25. It was a beautiful film, and probably the sharpest color film ever made, but its low ISO made it difficult to use. Kodachrome 64, which was still a low-ISO film, was about 1 2/3 stops faster. The major differences between the two Kodachrome emulsions is that the ISO 25 version was sharper and less grainy, while the ISO 64 version was more contrasty, vibrant and a hair warmer. Both were very similar, though, and it would be hard to spot the differences without a close inspection. Some people preferred the slightly more subtle tones and finer detail of Kodachrome 25, and some preferred the faintly punchier pictures rendered on Kodachrome 64. I liked Kodachrome 64 a little more, and so that’s what I most often used.

Below are a couple examples of this Kodachrome 25 recipe compared to my Kodachrome 64 recipe:

In the example below, I made massive crops so that you could more easily see the subtle differences in sharpness and grain between the two Kodachrome recipes. The differences in warmth are also more obvious. If the Kodachrome 25 recipe could have a .25 adjustment warmer, and if the Kodachrome 64 recipe could have a .25 adjustment cooler, it would likely be more accurate, but alas we’re limited by what Fujifilm gives us. In the case of this recipe, a Color Chrome FX Blue Medium would be a nice option, but it doesn’t exist.

When Kodak discontinued Kodachrome in 2009, it shocked the photographic community; however, the deeper blow was that Kodak discontinued the chemicals required to develop it. Even if you had an old roll of the film (which I did), you couldn’t develop it, except as a black-and-white film from a specialty lab. By the end of 2010, the Kodachrome era was officially over for good. Fortunately, if you have a Fujifilm camera, the spirit of Kodachrome still lives.

This Kodachrome 25 recipe is only compatible with the Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. You can modify this for the X-Pro3 and X100V by setting Highlight to 0 and Shadow to -1 instead of what it calls for—I don’t like it quite as much, but it’s pretty similar.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight: +0.5
Shadow: -0.5
Color: +1
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +3
Clarity: +3
Grain Effect: Off
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: Daylight, +2 Red & -4 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 1600
Exposure Compensation: 0 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this new Kodachrome 25 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:

*Pedestrian Bridge* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Empty Stairs* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Red Box* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Locked Fire Box* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Three Bike Boxes* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Trains Can’t Stop* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Ceiling Conduit* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Delivering Boxes* – Roy, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Josh in Shadow* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Orange Leaves* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Path Through A Fall Forest* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Golden Light on Mountain* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

*Last Light on Francis Peak* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4

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

Help Fuji X Weekly

$2.00

FXW Zine — Issue 01 — December 2021

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

Introducing the FXW Zine, a publication of Fuji X Weekly!

This new eZine is an extension of this website and a part of the Creative Collective. If you are a Creative Collective subscriber, then you can download the inaugural issue of FXW Zine right now (below).

What’s in the December issue? How big is it? There are four articles: Behind the Picture: The Story of Jacob’s Ladder, The Beauty of Grey, Perfectly Pine, and Photograph Before It’s Too Late. There are 17 photographs, including the cover image (above). This issue is 12 pages long cover-to-cover. I hope that you find it entertaining and inspiring. I plan on this being a monthly publication, but I don’t want to promise that in case I have to skip a month here and there, but it should be roughly a once-a-month thing.

If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective (learn more about it here), consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the brand-new FXW Zine.

Note: This was a Creative Collective article, but it is now available to everyone.

View and download Issue 01 of FXW Zine here:

FXW Zine December 2021 Download

New Patron Early-Access Film Simulation Recipe: Fujicolor Analog

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Cotton On* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – “Fujicolor Analog”

This new Patron early-access recipe is called Fujicolor Analog. I was asked to recreate the look of a certain photographer, and I noticed that a lot of their photographs had a Classic Negative aesthetic, so I thought it would be easy to mimic. It turns out that this person shoots a lot of film, including (but not limited to) Fujicolor C200 and various Superia emulsions, as well as digital (but not Fujifilm, as far as I can tell), using RNI and perhaps some other filters or presets. Nothing said what each picture had been captured with, so it became difficult to recreate. After a little frustration, I decided to select only pictures with a certain aesthetic to attempt to emulate. I believe these might have been captured on a Superia emulsion, but they might not have been—they might not even be film! I think I was able to create a pretty close facsimile to this person’s aesthetic… at least one of the many various (but still somewhat similar) looks that this photographer has.

One film can have many different looks, depending on how it was shot, developed, and printed or scanned. I do believe this “Fujicolor Analog” recipe mimics the aesthetic of a Fujifilm color negative film, but which exact film, and how handled, is uncertain. What is certain is that this is a very nice film simulation recipe that some of you will love! It’s compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II cameras.

If you are a Fuji X Weekly Patron, it’s available to you right now on the App!

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Fujicolor Analog” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

*Noble Fir* – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Pine Trunk* – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Burly Ladder* – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Red Lights* – Kaysville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Utah Reeds* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Pine in the Sky* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Withering Blooms* – Orem, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Peaks Above The Gap* – Orem, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Stop Spreading Germs* – Draper, UT – Fujifilm X100V

*Pharmacy Lift* – Centerville, UT – Fujifilm X100V

How To Navigate Fuji X Weekly

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

When I created the Fuji X Weekly website, I wanted it to be clean and simple. I took a minimalistic approach to its design. For awhile it was clean and simple, but as the website grew and things evolved over time, it became less and less so.

The Blog used to be the Homepage, but now they’re separate—while the Blog is still pretty minimalistic, the Homepage is fairly busy. The two screenshots below show the cluttered Homepage compared to the clean Blog. The original design philosophy still serves a purpose, but in many ways Fuji X Weekly has outgrown it. I will likely at some point revamp the design, which would be a lot of work, but for now it remains as it gets the job done.

Because the Homepage is so busy, it’s easy to overlook things on there. For example, you might have missed that the 10 most recent blog posts can be accessed from it. Or that if you keep scrolling down, there’s an option to “Follow by Email” or even search the website. Because the Blog is so clean, it’s easy to miss much of the available material. The point of this article is to shed some light on how to navigate this website so that you don’t miss anything. There’s much more content than many might realize.

Specifically, I want to talk about the Menus that some people might not even know exist. Before going into that, though, I want to mention that clicking on “Fuji X Weekly” over the camera (see the top picture in this article) will take you to the Homepage. No matter where you are, it’s easy to get back home. To the left and right of “Fuji X Weekly” at the top are what’s called Hamburger Menus. The top-left Hamburger Menu has three horizontal lines, and the top-right Hamburger Menu has four horizontal lines. The left menu will bring up a list of pages. The Homepage and the Blog are just two of 17 standalone pages on Fuji X Weekly. At the bottom is a search bar, which is helpful if you are searching for something specific. The right menu will bring up a list of recent blog posts, an archive of blog posts (you can browse through specific months, going all the way back to the beginning), and a search bar is on top. This is the easiest place to find specific articles, either by searching or browsing. The best way to think about it is: Pages are accessed via the left menu, Posts are accessed through the right menu.

Let’s talk briefly about those 17 standalone pages, accessed through the top-left menu.

The Homepage you already know. Next is About—there’s a short biography (and a link to an article that dives a little deeper into it), but most importantly there’s a “Contact Me” form, if you want to shoot me a message. Then there is the Blog, which, again, you already know. After that is the Creative Collective Corner, which is where you’ll find bonus articles for Creative Collective subscribers. Next is Development, which is simply a list of How-To and Photographic Advice type articles that I’ve published. The Film Simulation Recipes page is next. This is actually a redundant page that originally served a very different purpose. You see, for awhile all of the film simulation recipes were listed there, but then, as I made more-and-more, it just made more sense to separate them into different groups, and not all on one page. I didn’t want to delete the page because there were so many links to it. Now it serves as a launching platform (identical to what’s on the Homepage) to the different recipe groups. If you are not sure which sensor generation your camera has, there’s a list at the bottom of the page. After that is Film Simulation Reviews, which is a list of articles that demonstrate various recipes in different situations. Then there’s the Fuji X Weekly App page, which is everything you need to know about the App. The next six pages are where you’ll find all of the recipes: Bayer, GFX, X-Trans I, X-Trans II, X-Trans III, and X-Trans IV. After that is the Gear page, which is where you’ll find my camera and lens reviews. Next is SOOC Live, which is where you’ll find all of the SOOC episodes. Last but not least is the Video page, which is where you’ll find my YouTube videos.

All of that is accessed through that top-left menu!

The content in the top-right menu is more dynamic, and is always evolving as more articles are published. I want to mention one more time the search bar, which is such a great way to find things—especially if you are unsure where exactly it is located. If you can remember what the article was titled or about, the search feature can help you quickly find it.

Fuji X Weekly has been around for over four years, and I’ve published a lot of articles during that time. Most people come for the film simulation recipes, yet there’s lots of other great stuff to explore; however, it’s not always obvious what there is and where exactly it’s at on the website. The intention of this post is to help you find it. The top-left menu will take you to the various pages, the top-right menu will take you to various posts, and the “Fuji X Weekly” in-between will take you home.

FXW App: Filter by White Balance — How To Use This New Feature

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

The Fuji X Weekly App was updated just yesterday, and I want to discuss one of the new features that I think will be heavily used: Filter by White Balance! This feature is unlocked by becoming a Fuji X Weekly App Patron.

Filter by White Balance will be a game-changer for many of you. The most obvious use is for finding recipes that match the lighting conditions. Is it sunny? Find a recipe that uses the Daylight White Balance. Is it indoors in mixed lighting? Maybe Auto White Balance would be good. But there’s another way to use Filter by White Balance, which I’ll discuss below, that will make your Fujifilm experience even better!

If your Fujifilm camera is older than the X-Pro3, you cannot save White Balance Shift within the C1-C7 Custom Presets, and each time you change Presets, you have to remember to adjust the WB Shift. It can be a little annoying. However, for each White Balance type, the camera will remember one WB Shift, so if each of your C1-C7 presets uses a different White Balance type, when you switch Presets, you won’t have to adjust the WB Shift. Amazing!

Let’s take a more practical look at this. If you have a Fujifilm X-T3 (for example), we’ll Filter by Camera and select the camera. For the X-T3, you’ll have over 70 recipes to choose from!

Let’s select one recipe to be our C1 in the Custom Settings menu. We’re now going to Filter by White Balance, and tap Auto—there are nearly 40 recipes to choose from! If you find more than one that requires the same WB Shift—Classic Chrome and Velvia both use +1R & -1B, and Velvia v2 and Dramatic Monochrome both use 0R & 0B, just as a couple examples—you can actually use multiple recipes from this White Balance type, and potentially program more than just C1. For this example we’re going to pick just one, perhaps Eterna v3 (interestingly, Agfa Optima 200 shares this same shift, and could be used, too), to be our C1 preset.

For C2 we’re going to select Daylight. There are 12 options to choose from. Kodak Portra 160, Kodak Portra 400, and Kodak Gold 200 all share the same WB Shift, so, in theory, you could program all three of these into your Custom Settings presets. For this, let’s go with Kodak Tri-X 400 to be our C2.

Next, for C3, let’s select Kelvin. You have 15 to choose from. Let’s choose maybe Jeff Davenport Night.

For C4 we’ll go with the Fluorescent 1 White Balance. There are just two options, and we’ll select Kodak Vision3 250D.

It’s the same story for Fluorescent 2: there are only two options. We’ll choose Ektachrome E100G to be our C5 preset.

For C6 we’ll select Incandescent. There’s just one recipe: Eterna Bleach Bypass, so we’ll program that one in.

Lastly, we have C7, and for that we’ll select Shade. There are three options, and we’ll go with Porto 200.

Now we have our C1-C7 Custom Settings presets programmed! C1 is Eterna v3. C2 is Kodak Tri-X 400. C3 is Jeff Davenport Night. C4 is Kodak Vision3 250D. C5 is Ektachrome E100G. C6 is Eterna Bleach Bypass. And C7 is Porto 200. That’s a pretty good set! Since each preset uses a different White Balance type, you won’t have to adjust the WB Shift when you switch presets. For those White Balance types that don’t have very many options, such as Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, etc., if you didn’t like any of the choices, you could alternatively use two recipes that share both the same White Balance and WB Shift (such as the ones mentioned earlier).

You can come up with multiple combinations of these C1-C7 options, and keep track of them using the new colored Stars. Maybe use Green Stars for these seven recipes, and come up with another seven that can be used together and mark them with Blue Stars, and another seven that are marked with Purple Stars. Just an idea.

I hope this all makes sense. Filter by White Balance can be useful in more than one way. If your camera is older than the X-Pro3, this will make your Fujifilm experience more enjoyable, as you won’t have to remember to check the WB Shift each time you change presets. If you don’t have the Fuji X Weekly App, download it now. If you do have the App and it didn’t automatically update, be sure to visit the appropriate App Store and manually update it. If you are not a Fuji X Weekly App Patron, for the best App experience, consider becoming a Patron today!

Today Only: Fujifilm X-E3 On Sale at Amazon (Black Friday)

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

The silver Fujifilm X-E3 is on sale today-only as a Black Friday special on Amazon. Also, be sure to check out the current the Fujifilm deals (click here).

Fujifilm X-E3 (body only) $560
Fujifilm X-E3 w/18-55mm $799

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

Available Now: The Fuji X Weekly App Update!

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

The big Fuji X Weekly App update is available right now!

If your phone or tablet didn’t automatically update the App, be sure to manually update it right away. Depending on your device and how you have it configured, it’s possible that you might have to delete the App and reinstall, but most people shouldn’t have to do that in order to update it. Hopefully for most of you it happened automatically already, and you’re good to go. The App update is in both the Google Play Store for Android and the Apple App Store for iOS.

What’s in this “big” update? Plenty! Some of the things are for everyone, and some of the things are only for Fuji X Weekly App Patrons. Let’s talk about the improvements that are for everyone first, and then we will get to the good stuff that’s for Patrons.

View Sample Pictures Larger

This is a pretty straightforward improvement: tap on a picture to view larger, and tap again to return to normal size. One request that I’ve received many times is the ability to enlarge the sample pictures in each recipe. Now you can! Of course, you can view them even larger (and see more of them) on the website—there’s a link at the bottom of each recipe.

Sort by A-Z, Z-A, Newest-to-Oldest, & Oldest-to-Newest

Before this update, you could only sort the recipes either alphabetically A-Z or chronologically Newest-to-Oldest. Now I’ve added Z-A or Oldest-to-Newest as options. If you know the name of the recipe and it begins on or after the letter N, sorting Z-A might make it quicker to locate. Or if you know that a recipe you are looking for was published awhile ago, sorting Oldest-to-Newest might make more sense. This should make it a little easier and quicker to locate what you are searching for.

Now, to the good stuff!

All of the improvements mentioned below are available for Fuji X Weekly App Patrons. The best App experienced is reserved for Patrons, so if you are not one, consider subscribing today! Simply tap the Gear icon in the App, and then select Become a Patron.

Filter by White Balance or Dynamic Range

There are two new Filter options: White Balance and Dynamic Range. Some users will benefit from Filter by Dynamic Range, but Filter by White Balance is huge! If your Fujifilm camera is older than the X-Pro3, you cannot save White Balance Shift within C1-C7 Custom Presets, and each time you change Presets, you have to remember to adjust the WB Shift. It can be a little annoying. However, for each White Balance type, the camera will remember one WB Shift, so if each of your C1-C7 presets uses a different White Balance type, when you switch Presets, you won’t have to adjust the WB Shift. For many, this is a game-changer!

Favorite with Colored Stars

One really great upgrade is Favoriting with colored Stars. Before, when you tapped the Star to Favorite a recipe, it came in one color (yellow). But now you can choose between five different colors: yellow, red, green, blue, and purple. The benefit of this is that you can use colored Stars to organize recipes. Maybe yellow represents the recipes currently loaded into your camera, red represents the recipes you want to try next, and green represents the ones you tried in the past and really liked. Or maybe yellow is your favorite portrait recipes, green your favorite landscape recipes, and blue your favorite street recipes. Use the colored Stars to categorize the recipes however is meaningful to you. This is a great organizational tool, and, for some, this makes the App a significantly better experience.

Blank Recipe Cards

If you’ve ever created your own film simulation recipe, or if you’ve found some elsewhere that you like (perhaps on the Fuji X Weekly Community Recipes page, such as AstiAmore in the example above), you can now add them to your App! A new feature is blank recipe cards that you fill out. You can even add your own pictures from your camera roll! At some point down the road the idea is that you’ll be able to export, import, and share these custom recipes; however, that ability isn’t in this update—with any luck it will come before summer. Several of you have asked for blank recipe cards, and now you have them! This is a great new feature that many of you will really appreciate.

There’s one other thing that I want to mention: if you tap the Gear icon in the top-left of the App and look way down at the bottom, you will see Shop The Latest Fujifilm Gear. These are affiliate links to B&H and Amazon. If you are shopping for some new gear and you happen to think about it, I’ll be compensated a small amount if you make a purchase using my links. It’s a simple way to support Fuji X Weekly that doesn’t cost you anything.

Below are even more images of the new and improved Fuji X Weekly App!

I want to give a special thanks to Sahand Nayebaziz for all his hard work on this App update! Without him, not only would the App not be nearly as good as it is, but there wouldn’t be a Fuji X Weekly App at all. Thank you so much, Sahand!

Why I Love The Fujinon 35mm F/2

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Chair & Pillow* – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2 – “Ilford Delta Push Process“

The Fujinon 35mm f/2 was once my most-used lens. It was what you would typically see attached to my Fujifilm X-T30, or sometimes my Fujifilm X-T1. There’s a lot to love about this lens, but I don’t use it nearly as often as I once did, and it has absolutely nothing to do with image quality.

You can read my full review of the Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens here. I don’t want to rehash what I’ve already stated, but simply tell you why I love this lens (and also why I don’t use it much anymore).

The 35mm f/2 is a lovely little lens that’s super sharp, has nice bokeh, has a pretty good maximum aperture of f/2, is fast, small and lightweight. It captures wonderful pictures! There’s not much at all that can be said negatively about it. It’s a solid prime with a very useful focal length. It’s a great example of the Fujinon quality that Fujifilm has become known for, and I would recommend it to anyone.

If it’s all sunshine and lollipops, why don’t I use this lens much anymore? It has to do with the focal-length. Earlier this year I got the new Fujinon 27mm f/2.8, which has a full-frame-equivalent focal-length of 40.5mm—nearly “standard” (as the eyes see), and only barely wide-angle. The 35mm lens is 52.5mm full-frame-equivalent, which is also in the range of “standard,” but is a little telephoto. (For those wondering, roughly 30mm on a Fujifilm camera, or 45mm on full-frame, is neither telephoto nor wide-angle). So these two lenses—27mm f/2.8 and 35mm f/2—are similar and in many ways redundant. The 27mm lens isn’t necessarily “better” but it is my preference because I like the focal-length just a little more. They’re both excellent options, but I only need one.

I do still use the 35mm f/2 sometimes. If I want just a little more reach, or if I need a little larger maximum aperture (such as for low-light photography), the 35mm lens is the one to grab. However, the number one reason why I choose it over the 27mm is because my wife often has the 27mm lens on her camera, so the 35mm—being a close second pick—is what I use on my camera instead. Of course, I have many other lenses to choose from, so sometimes I use the opportunity to try something completely different. In any event, I would be a little sad parting ways with the Fujinon 35mm f/2, but it wouldn’t really change much for me.

If you are looking for a standard prime lens that’s not too big or expensive and just captures wonderful pictures, the Fujinon 35mm f/2 is one to strongly consider. I like the 27mm f/2.8 just a little better, but the new one (with the aperture ring) is tough to find at the moment, so if you are impatient, this is an excellent alternative. The 35mm f/2 is such a good lens that it just seems “wrong” to give it a silver medal instead of gold, but when there are multiple options that are exceptional, things like that happen. Beside, you might prefer it over the 27mm, because you like the focal-length or larger aperture better. Maybe the Fujinon 35mm f/2 would suit your photography just a bit better.

Even though I don’t use it much anymore, I still love the Fujinon 35mm f/2, and would be plenty happy if it were the only lens I owned.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.
Fujinon 35mm f/2 (Black) B&H Amazon
Fujinon 35mm f/2 (Silver) B&H Amazon