The new Classic Negative film simulation that’s found on Fujifilm’s latest cameras is intended to mimic Fujicolor Superia. Fujifilm doesn’t state which version of the film it’s intended to resemble; Fujifilm simply says that it’s “modeled after” Superia with “Superia-like” colors. They did very well in creating it, as it is unmistakably Superia. To me, straight-out-of-the-box Classic Negative most closely resembles Superia 200, although it’s not an exact match (but pretty close). There were at least a dozen different versions of Superia made by Fujifilm beginning in 1998, and a couple are still available today. I believe that Classic Negative can be made to resemble many of these different films. I started with Fujicolor Superia 100.

Superia 100 is a daylight balanced color negative film that Fujifilm produced between 1998 and 2009. It replaced Fujicolor Super G Plus 100, which, honestly, didn’t look all that much different. Superia 100 had improved grain, sharpness, and more accurate color under florescent light. Under normal conditions, and without a close inspection, the two films looked quite similar. Superia was a “consumer” film that was widely found in drug and convenient stores. It was regularly used for family snapshots, but was also popular among photojournalists, as well as portrait and wedding photographers. Superia 100 was marketed as a “general use” low-ISO color film. Like the film, this Fujicolor Superia 100 film simulation recipe serves as a general use option.

I think many of you will really appreciate this film simulation recipe. It has fairly low contrast, but not too low, and produces very nice colors. It has a nostalgic quality to it, since the film that it’s based on was widely used for family snapshots in the 1990’s and 2000’s. You can use it for portraits or street photography or landscapes—really, it’s good for most situations. Unfortunately, as of this writing, this Fujicolor Superia 100 film simulation recipe is only compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V and X-T4 cameras. This recipe does use the new Clarity feature, and you should be aware that it slows down the camera considerably.

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

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this Fujicolor Superia 100 film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

See also: Film Simulation Recipes

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