Sepia is Fujifilm’s forgotten film simulation. Despite being included on every X camera since the original X100, very few people use it. Some photographers mock the Sepia film simulation, calling it gimmicky or amateurish. It’s even been the butt of jokes. There seems to be no love for it. I believe that the Sepia film simulation is misunderstood and underappreciated, and it deserves more respect.

You might be surprised to learn that actual sepia is a byproduct of cuttlefish, and it’s been a part of photography for over 150 years. Sepia is used for its archival properties. When black-and-white photographic prints are given a sepia bath, it stabilizes the silver, which slows the aging process. It also stains the paper, producing a brownish-red tone. The longer the paper sits in a sepia bath, the stronger the sepia tone will be. Some photographers would leave their prints in the bath for a long time, producing a pronounced tint. Many years ago when I printed my own black-and-white pictures in a darkroom, I would only give my pictures a quick dip in sepia, which would produce a very subtle warm tone. Sepia has both form and function in the photographic process.

The majority of black-and-white photographers used sepia, although many preferred a short bath for subtle effect; however, some wanted the full sepia aesthetic with it’s pronounced warm tones. There have been different eras in photography when a strong sepia stain was in vogue. You can change the emotion of a black-and-white photograph by toning it, so it’s no surprise that a warm tone would be popular. Even when it wasn’t popular, there were still some photographers who would purposefully use sepia for artistic effect.

Even though film photography is much less prevalent now, sepia is still being used today in analog black-and-white printing. It’s unnecessary in digital photography, but Fujifilm has provided an easy solution for simulating the effect: the Sepia film simulation. Specifically, it mimics the look of a black-and-white print that’s spent some time in a sepia bath. Some might call it “old timey” in appearance; yes, sepia has been used in photography for a very long time, yet it is still being used today. Maybe it’s not so gimmicky and amateurish after all.

You know that I love to create film simulation recipes that produce straight-out-of-camera results which mimic analog aesthetics. I have created many different color and black-and-white recipes for Fujifilm cameras, and in the process used all of the different film simulation options that Fujifilm provides on their cameras, except for one: Sepia. This is the first time that I’ve used the Sepia film simulation as the basis for a recipe. I love the feeling that these settings produce in an image; there’s a certain emotional response to Sepia that’s not found in the Acros or Monochrome film simulations. I invite you to try these settings for yourself, and perhaps you’ll discover a newfound respect for the lowly Sepia film simulation.

Sepia film simulation recipe for the X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4:

Sepia
Dynamic Range DR400
Highlight & Shadow: +3
Grain: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect & Color Chrome Effect Blue: Off
Clarity: +2
Sharpening: -2
Noise Reduction: -4

Example photographs:

Sepia film simulation recipe for X-Trans III plus X-T3 and X-T30 cameras:

Sepia
Dynamic Range: DR400
Highlight & Shadow: +3
Grain: Strong
Color Chrome: Off or N/A
Sharpening: -2
Noise Reduction: -4

Example photographs:

Sepia film simulation recipe for X-Trans I & II plus Bayer cameras:

Sepia
Dynamic Range DR200
Highlight & Shadow: +2
Sharpening: -1
Noise Reduction: -2

Example photographs:

See also:
Film Simulation Recipes
Review: Fujifilm X-T30
Review: Fujinon 35mm f/2
Review: Fujinon 90mm f/2
Asahi Super-Takumar 28mm f/3.5