Reggie Ballesteros

Reggie’s Portra in X-Trans V Cameras

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

A Girl and Her Horse – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 – Reggie’s Portra

It’s been interesting to watch Reggie’s Portra Recipe grow in popularity over the years. It was created by Reggie Ballesteros (website, YouTube, Instagram), and I published it in the summer of 2022 with his permission. I’m not sure where it ranked in 2022, but it didn’t crack the Top 10. In 2023 it was the 9th most popular. It climbed to #3 in 2024. This year, Reggie’s Portra is the number one most popular Film Simulation Recipe on Fuji X Weekly, just edging out Kodachrome 64, which was the long-time reigning champion.

A few days ago, Reggie posted a video on YouTube explaining what changes, if any, he has made to the Recipe for use in 2025. When it was made, Reggie’s Portra was for X-Trans IV cameras, but now we’re well into the fifth-generation. So what adjustments did he make? I’ve included the video below, so that you can watch it for yourself.

Not trying to give away the answer, but the short of it is that Reggie doesn’t adjust anything. He uses the same exact Reggie’s Portra settings on fifth-generation models as he did on fourth-generation X-series cameras. He doesn’t make any adjustments whatsoever. The only change is the diffusion filter that he often uses.

On the Fuji X Weekly App, I’ve only included Reggie’s Portra as compatible with X-Trans IV models, specifically the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II (as well as the GFX100S). I didn’t include fifth-generation cameras (X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, and X-T30 III, as well as GFX100 II, GFX100S II, and GFX100RF) because, on those cameras, there are some aesthetic differences—the largest being how deeply the color blue is rendered on certain film simulations, including Classic Chrome. It’s quite similar, but not identical; however, there is a simple fix to get them to be more similar: reduce Color Chrome FX Blue by one.

Jon Dressed Up – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T4 – Reggie’s Portra – by Amanda Roesch

The difference between Color Chrome FX Blue Weak and Off is pretty subtle. If you’re not comparing photos side-by-side, you probably won’t even notice (even when directly comparing, you still might not see the difference immediately). It’s honestly not a big deal, but, if you’re trying to get Reggie’s Portra to most closely match the X-Trans IV results on a fifth-generation camera, then adjusting Color Chrome FX Blue from Weak to Off will do that. This is an adjustment that I make personally, and one that I recommend; however, there’s nothing wrong with not making that small change. Feel free to set Color Chrome FX Blue to Weak (as called for in the Recipe and as Reggie himself does it) or Off (as I do) on the Fujifilm X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, and X-T30 III cameras, as well as the GFX100 II, GFX100S II, and GFX100RF. Either way works.

People have asked me why I haven’t updated Reggie’s Portra in the App for X-Trans V cameras, and the answer is simple: it’s not my Recipe to make a change to. It belongs to Reggie Ballesteros, and I certainly didn’t want to step on his toes by modifying it. Now that he has clarified how he uses it on fifth-generation cameras, I have updated the App to reflect that. It now shows in the Fuji X Weekly App as compatible with the latest cameras. It won’t render exactly the same as on X-Trans IV, but pretty similar—not enough of a difference to be concerned about (only very subtly divergent). I want to close this out by giving a shoutout to Reggie. His Recipe is great—both my wife and I use it ourselves. It’s a real honor to have it available to you on Fuji X Weekly. If you’ve never tried it, well, it’s almost a right of passage at this point, so be sure to program it into your camera today.

Dodge – Boulder, CO – Fujifilm X100VI – Reggie’s Portra

Fujifilm X-Trans IV Film Simulation Recipe: Reggie’s Portra

Posted on by Ritchie Roesch

Dr Pepper Closed – Childress, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”

Reggie Ballesteros (website, YouTube, Instagram, Instagram), also known as Reggie B Photo, is an official Fujifilm X-Photographer based in San Fransisco, California. He shoots both film and digital, and on his Fujifilm cameras he likes to use both RAW and JPEG. For his JPEGs, Reggie developed a Film Simulation Recipe that’s a close match to the Kodak Portra 400 film that he shoots and has developed and scanned (on a Noritsu) at Richard Photo Lab. He was very kind to allow me to share his Portra recipe with you on this website and the Fuji X Weekly App. Thanks, Reggie!

Portra 400 was introduced by Kodak in 1998. It used to come in two varieties: “NC” (Neutral Color, which had less saturation) and “VC” (Vivid Color, which had more saturation). I shot a little of both Kodak Portra 400NC and Kodak Portra 400VC back in the day, and I preferred the more colorful version. The film was redesigned in 2006 to improve grain and scanning. It was again redesigned in 2010, with the NC and VC emulsions dropped, replaced by a new mid-saturation version (simply called Portra 400), with more improvements to scanning.

I’m Your Huckleberry – Ridgedale, MO – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”

As the name implies, Kodak Portra 400 is intended for portrait photography, but can be used for many other genres of photography. It’s similar to Portra 160, but with more contrast, saturation and grain. Believe it or not, ISO 400 was considered “high ISO” by many photographers back in the film days, and Portra 400 was one of the absolute best “high ISO” color films ever made. It’s still available today, and is very popular among film photographers.

When developing his Portra recipe, Reggie used the Kodak Portra 400 Film Simulation Recipe from this website as his starting point, and he tweaked it to more closely match his Portra scans and to better suit his photography. One film can have many different aesthetics, depending on how it’s shot, developed, scanned, and a whole host of other factors, so it’s great that Reggie made this alternative version, which might be closer to the exact look that you are after. Also, because this recipe uses Auto White Balance and doesn’t use Clarity, you might find that this one is more versatile than some other recipes. Oh, and take a look at the Kodak Portra 400 v2 and Kodak Portra 400 Warm recipes, which could potentially produce your desired aesthetic.

Pines – Lake Catherine SP, AR – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”

One special note: Reggie has a 5% CineBloom diffusion filter attached to his lens whenever he shoots with this particular recipe. I have been using my Fujifilm X100V as a monochrome-only camera, but because I, too, have a 5% CineBloom filter attached to it, I made an exception so that I could test this recipe on that camera with the diffusion filter. For the shots captured on my X-E4, I did not use a diffusion filter; however, I do like how the 5% CineBloom subtly affects the image, and I recommend pairing it with this recipe if you can.

This Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, & X-T30 II cameras. To use it on the X-T3 and X-T30, simply ignore Grain size and Color Chrome FX Blue, since your camera doesn’t have those options⁠—the results will be slightly different, but nearly identical. More than likely this recipe is compatible with GFX and X-Trans V, but I haven’t tested it to know for sure.

Abandoned Long John Silver’s – Elk City, OK – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”

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

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using “Reggie’s Portra” Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4 and Fujifilm X100V cameras:

Abandoned in Childress

Brick Building – Childress, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”
Interior Junk – Childress, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”
Inside Mess – Childress, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”
Glass Door – Childress, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”

A Walk in the Ozarks

Chapel – Ridgedale, MO – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”
Dark Clouds Over Lake – Ridgedale, MO – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”
Fishing Trail – Ridgedale, MO – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”
Ducks by a Pond – Ridgedale, MO – Fujifilm X100V – “Reggie’s Portra”

Cadillac Ranch

Classic Drivers – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”
Krylon – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”
Spray Artists – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”
Love Spray Paint – Amarillo, TX – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Reggie’s Portra”

Below is a video that Reggie made which illustrates his Portra recipe quite well (he notes that the Shadow setting is incorrect in the video⁠—it should say -1, not -2). Be sure to like and subscribe and all that stuff. Enjoy!

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
Fujifilm X-E4 Black    Amazon   B&H
Fujifilm X-E4 Silver   Amazon   B&H
CineBloom 5% Filter Amazon B&H

Find this film simulation recipes and over 200 more on the Fuji X Weekly — Film Recipes App!

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