Provia Positive | FUJI X WEEKLY

5 Must-Try Provia Film Simulation Recipes

*Mercedes-Benz at Abandoned Motel* – Santa Rosa, NM – Fujifilm X-T5 – Provia Positive

Provia, which is found on every X and GFX camera, is Fujifilm’s standard Film Simulation. Each camera is default set to Provia out of the factory. It is named after Fujichrome Provia slide film, but it wasn’t actually intended to mimic that emulsion. Instead, Fujifilm designed Provia to produce pleasing colors, especially to those who come from a digital photography background (which is perhaps why those who learned photography on film don’t tend to appreciate it quite as much). “Feels like you are seeing reality” is how Fujifilm described it, which is to say that it’s relatively true-to-life. Fujifilm has also said that the Provia Film Simulation produces “vivid memories that will never fade.” While it is a good option for a wide variety of subjects and situations, Provia isn’t my personal favorite, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked. In fact, the Provia Positive Recipe has quickly become one of my favorites, and it’s been in a few of my camera’s C1-C7 Custom Setting presets for several months now. In my recent article, 3 Must-Try Fujifilm Recipes, I included Provia Positive, a testament to just how much I like that Recipe.

If you are not sure which Provia-based Recipes to try on your Fujifilm camera, I’ve got a few suggestions. There’s not a Recipe in this list for every model, but there’s an option for most here. I like each of these five, and can happily recommend them to you. So if you are looking for a good Provia Recipe, the Recipes below are one that you should try today!

1 – Provia Positive

*Boat Captain in Red* – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm X-E5 – Provia Positive

Provia Positive is one of my newer Fujifilm Recipes, published in May of this year. It was a collab between myself and Dan Allen. It’s colorful and highly versatile, and my personal favorite Provia-based Recipe. Use it anytime of the day or night. It’s great for most subjects and situations, especially travel photography. This Recipe is compatible with all fifth-generation cameras (X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, X-T30 III, GFX100 II, GFX100S II & GFX100RF), and many fourth-generation models (X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II & GFX100S).

2 – Provia Slide

Provia Slide is a Recipe for X-Trans III cameras (X-Pro2, X100F, X-T2, X-T20, X-X3 & X-H1), plus the X-T3 and X-T30 (by setting Color Chrome Effect to Off). It was my favorite Provia Recipe until May—it’s just really lovely.

3 – Fujichrome Sensia

*Hit* – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Fujichrome Sensia

The Fujichrome Sensia Recipe is an oldie but a goodie. Intended for the Fujifilm X-T3 and X-T30, plus X-Trans III cameras, it’s great for sunny daylight and especially sunset photography.

4 – Standard Provia

*Clearing Clouds Over Winter Ridge* – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro3 – Standard Provia

Intended to be a better look than default Provia, the Standard Provia Recipe is compatible with X-Trans IV (except the X-T3/X-T30) and X-Trans V cameras.

5 – Provia Summer

*Golden CVS* – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-S20 – Provia Summer – Photo by Jon Roesch

The Provia Summer Recipe produces a warm summer-like look, and works best in sunny daylight situations. This Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II, X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, X-T30 III, GFX100S, GFX100 II, GFX100S II, and GFX100RF.

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and hundreds more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

3 Must-Try Fujifilm Recipes

Posted on 9 Days Ago by Ritchie Roesch

*Yellow Bike, Yellow Wall* – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Provia Positive

I got back from Fujikina NYC yesterday. Apparently, it was the most-attended Fujifilm-specific event ever in the world! I got to meet a lot of you, and shake a lot of hands. I had some great conversations with many different photographers. One specific conversation was with Dan Bailey, who I’ve talked with before but never met in-person until a few days ago. He gave me a suggestion that I thought was great, and I want to share it with you right away.

You see, when people are new to Fujifilm cameras and Film Simulation Recipes, it’s difficult to know where to begin. There are over 400 Recipes on the Fuji X Weekly website and in the App, and figuring out which ones to use first can be overwhelming. Dan suggested that people should start with just three. Finding and programming seven Recipes can be a lot; however, a list of only three Recipes is a lot easier for the newcomer, and a great way to get your feet wet. After that, if you want to try others, you can add one or two (or up to four) more if you’d like.

*White Bridge Across Pond* – Charleston, SC – Fujifilm X-E4 – Pacific Blues

Dan’s idea is that there could be many different groups of three Recipes, with various styles or use-cases in mind. Maybe one could be for a 1970’s aesthetic. Perhaps another is for portrait photographers. Another could be for your summer vacation. The potential ideas are endless! I hope to make many of these lists, and organize them somewhere for easy access (I haven’t figured that part out yet). Thanks, Dan, for the wonderful suggestion!

This is the first set of three Recipes. If you are new to this whole Fujifilm Recipe thing and don’t know where to begin, the three below are a great starting point. Before we get to them, though, let me give you a brief guide on how to add them to your camera. You have to know how to program them before you can use them.

It’s not difficult to add Recipes to your Fujifilm camera, but it can be intimidating the first time or two. Pretty soon you’ll be comfortable with it, and adding them will seem easy. The slide above shows the quick steps. While in shooting mode (not playback), press Menu/OK, which opens the main menu. In the IQ set at the top, find and select Edit/Save Custom Setting—it’s usually on the third page. That will bring you to the screen seen in the picture above. Select one of the C1-C7 slots that you want to program the Recipe into, and enter the Recipe parameters (like Film Simulation, White Balance, Color, Highlight, etc., etc.). Save the Recipe, and don’t forget to give it a custom name so that you remember which one it is. There is a little variation between the models and generations, so your camera might look a little different.

The easier way is to send Recipes straight from the Fuji X Weekly App to your camera using the new App-to-Camera Recipe Transfer feature. Be sure to click the link in the last sentence for a how-to guide and to learn more about it. This feature makes the process really quick and simple. You can easily locate the three Recipes below in the App by using the search tool.

Now, to the Fujifilm Recipes! If you have a fifth-generation camera or a fourth-generation model (except the X-T3 and X-T30), these are must-try Recipes for those unsure which ones to use. Specifically, if you have a Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, X-T30 II, X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, X-T30 III, GFX100S, GFX100 II, GFX100S II, or GFX100RF, this set is for you!

For this specific list, I wanted one Recipe that’s colorful and versatile, one that is more stylistic and color-negative-like, and one for black-and-white photography. I also wanted it to be compatible with the largest number of cameras. Some future lists might be for smaller groups of models, but for this first one I wanted to maximize compatibility. Without any further delay, here are three must-try Fujifilm Recipes:

Provia Positive

Provia Positive is one of my newer Fujifilm Recipes, published in May of this year. It was a collab between myself and Dan Allen. It’s colorful and highly versatile, and my personal favorite Provia-based Recipe. Use it anytime of the day or night. It’s great for most subjects and situations, especially travel photography. Provia Positive has a vaguely slide film look. It’s a great option for the C1 slot in your Custom Setting presets. I’ve been using this Recipe a lot lately.

Pacific Blues

Pacific Blues is bold yet classic. It’s intended for a sunny summer day at the beach, but it works in a variety of situations, including fog. While not modeled after a specific film, it unquestionably has a negative film like aesthetic. It’s one of my all-time favorite Recipes. There’s a version for fourth-generation models, and a version for fifth-generation cameras—make sure you pick the correct version for your camera.

Kodak Tri-X 400

In my opinion, there’s not a better B&W Recipe than Kodak Tri-X 400. If you love monochromatic images, this is a must-try. Created by Anders Lindborg, it’s a true honor to have it available to you on Fuji X Weekly. This is probably my top favorite Recipe for Fujifilm cameras.

This set of three offers a good introduction to the world of Fuji X Weekly Recipes. If you are new to all this and aren’t sure where to begin, give these a try. You might love them all and keep them in your camera, or you might only appreciate one or two—that’s ok, with over 400 to choose from, there’s bound to be a few that match your style.

Find these Film Simulation Recipes and many more on the Fuji X Weekly App! Consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience and to support Fuji X Weekly.

AI Can’t Match the Aesthetic Correctly

Posted on June 29 by Ritchie Roesch

*Bike Bags* – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm X-E5 – Provia Positive

Someone told me, “When I want a Recipe for a certain look, I just ask AI to make it for me.” I’ve heard a similar sentiment a few times. In fact, there are a couple of website and apps that will do it for you. Just upload a picture, and AI will create a Recipe that supposedly matches the picture. ChatGPT and other AI programs can do it, too. But is it any good?

It’s an easy test, actually. Use a photo that was made using a Recipe, and see if it comes up with the same or similar settings. If not, then it doesn’t do a good job. Test it again using a photo made using that same Recipe, and see if it gives you the same or similar settings as the first time. If it doesn’t, then it’s inconsistent and can’t be trusted. In order for AI to be a useful tool for this, it needs to be both accurate and consistent; if neither are true, it’s not a good tool.

If you upload a photo to AI and ask it to create a Fujifilm Recipe, you hope that it’s going to produce reasonably similar results to the photo you uploaded. If not, then what’s the point? You might as well just use random settings, or let darts or dice determine what to program into your camera. Someone once told me that AI is better than a complete novice, but not as good as an expert. I think there’s a lot of truth to that, but when it comes to creating Recipes, AI might actually be worse than the novice.

For example, I uploaded the image at the top, Bike Bags, which was made using my Provia Positive Recipe, and asked ChatGPT to make a Recipe from that photo. You can see my chat with AI below:

I noticed two things immediately. First, it has a lot of similarities to Reggie’s Portra. Certainly not 100% (and for sure it’s not as good), but there some obvious parallels. Second, it says to use base ISO 160 and also DR200; since the Dynamic Range settings are ISO dependent, you can’t use DR200 at ISO 160. A minor grievance, but it illustrates that AI isn’t fully versed in Fujifilm settings. This is how Provia Positive compares to AI’s “Nordic Harbor” (a.k.a. Reggie’s Portra tweak):

The results are pretty divergent. You might like the AI version (it’s basically Reggie’s Portra with a slight green cast), but you can’t say that it’s a good facsimile of the Recipe it’s suppose to look like. Using the same account, I started a new chat and asked ChatGPT again to make a Recipe using the same photo, but I worded the question slightly different. It basically gave the same Recipe but with four changes: Reala Ace instead of Classic Chrome, Color 0 instead of +1, Shadow -2 instead of -1, and WB Shift +1 Red & -3 Blue instead of -2 Red & -4 Blue. Let’s take a look:

ChatGPT’s Reala Ace version of its “Nordic Harbor” Recipe

After this, I used a separate ChatGPT account and repeated step one precisely, and got even different results (this time it suggested Velvia). I then tried using different photos made with the same Provia Positive Recipe, and each time it gave me a different Recipe, and none were very close to my Recipe. Between the two accounts, I asked ChatGPT to make a Recipe based on a Provia Positive photo a total of 10 times. Even if it had given an accurate result once (which it didn’t), how could you trust it with divergent suggestions each time? How could you ever know which one would be most correct?

ChatGPT’s third attempt, this time with Velvia

I then tried other AI programs and apps, and repeated the test. Interestingly enough, on my first attempt with Claude, it gave a Reggie’s Portra like Recipe (just like ChatGPT), but with an even stronger green cast than ChatGPT’s iteration. Gemini also chose Classic Chrome on the first attempt, but played it safe and didn’t venture very far from factory-defaults. After 10 tries with these other AI apps and programs, plus the 10 I did with ChatGPT, I had a total of 20 results. Three things shocked me. First, Classic Chrome was chosen nine times, far more than any other film simulations. I assume this is because Classic Chrome is by far the most popular film sim for those who use Recipes, and that’s influencing AI’s answers. Second, Provia wasn’t picked even once. Not one time did AI choose the correct film simulation—not Provia, the “standard” option. Even on the programs specifically intended for making Fujifilm Recipes from photos, it got it wrong. If I had picked at complete random, most likely I would have chosen Provia at least one time (there are 20 film sims, and I made 20 attempts, but nine of them are monochromatic and not color). Third, one time Acros was given for the film simulation. One of the AI’s thought that Acros—a B&W film simulation—was the most correct! Wow.

This article is already way too long, so let me wrap this up. Yes, AI can make a Recipe that is based on a photo that you upload to it. Anytime you ask AI to do something, it will give you an answer. But is that answer any good? When it comes to Fujifilm Recipes, probably not. First, as you can see above, AI couldn’t figure it out. It also gave a different answer each time, and sometimes very nonsensical ones. Both the inaccuracies and inconsistencies are major red flags, and demonstrate that it’s not a trustworthy source for this particular task. It’ll probably get there someday, but it’s not there today. This is a very easy test, one that you can do yourself. If you ever wonder if any AI program or app can make a Recipe that matches the aesthetic of a picture that you upload to it, simply use an image that you already know the parameters of; if it can’t match it—or at least be in the general ballpark of it—then it’s not a good resource. You might actually be better off throwing darts, rolling dice, or picking the settings out of a hat at random.