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6 minute read
Make Your Own Film Simulation Recipe
Whether you’re building your own Film Simulation profile or inputting somebody else’s creation, there’s incredible depth to what can be achieved by adjusting the settings on your FUJIFILM X Series or GFX System camera
Contents
Image quality settings
Film Simulation recipes are community-created lists of settings that adjust a default Film Simulation to create characterful photographs straight out of camera. Here, we’ll go through the commonly listed settings you’ll find in a Film Simulation recipe and explain how to programme them into your camera.
Selecting a Film Simulation
To begin creating a custom setting, go to IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING and pick the slot you want to edit. Select EDIT/CHECK.
If your camera doesn’t have a Mode dial, you won’t be able to select a custom setting until you’ve created one. Do this by going to IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING, selecting CREATE NEW and then pressing OK. From there, select EDIT/CHECK.
Most Film Simulation recipes start by selecting a base Film Simulation from the IMAGE QUALITY menu (denoted by the ‘I.Q.’ symbol on the left panel). Go to FILM SIMULATION and choose from the options that come up.
Grain effect
GRAIN EFFECT adds a controlled level of noise to images, simulating the film grain pattern seen on analogue photos. You can choose from the roughness settings OFF, WEAK or STRONG, and set the grain size to SMALL or LARGE.
Color Chrome effect
The Color Chrome effect increases the range of tones visible in colours that normally appear highly saturated – such as reds, greens and yellows. You can turn the effect off, or set it to either WEAK or STRONG.
Color Chrome FX Blue
The COLOR CHROME FX BLUE setting has the same effect as Color Chrome effect, but only affects shades of blue. You have the same degree of control over this function as for Color Chrome effect.
White balance
Many Film Simulation recipes will suggest a specific white balance setting, which you can adjust by selecting WHITE BALANCE from the EDIT/CHECK menu. To input a precise figure in kelvins, select K. From there, you can input a custom figure to the nearest 10K.
Press MENU/OK again on your selected white balance setting to fine-tune the red and blue values.
Dynamic range
The DYNAMIC RANGE setting adds up to two stops of additional dynamic range to images. To access the 200% and 400% settings, you’ll need to use an ISO setting of at least one or two stops higher than your camera’s base ISO. For example, if your camera’s base ISO is 160 and you want to use the 400% setting, you’ll need to set the ISO to a minimum of 640.
Tone curve
Get more control over the rendering of highlights and shadows by adjusting the TONE CURVE. Choose higher values to make highlights and shadows appear harsher, and lower values to make them softer.
Colour
Increase or decrease the colour density of your images using the COLOR setting. For increased saturation, set higher values; for a desaturated look, set lower values.
Sharpness
Select SHARPNESS and pick a positive or negative value in order to sharpen or soften the outlines in your images.
High ISO NR
Reduce the noise in photos made at higher sensitivities using the HIGH ISO NR setting. Select a higher value to reduce noise and add smoothing to outlines or pick a lower value to leave outlines visible.
Exposure settings
Some Film Simulation recipes will specify exposure settings – such as AUTO ISO and exposure compensation. This is how to add these to your custom profiles.
ISO
To add an ISO setting to your custom profile, go to the SHOOTING SETTING submenu in the EDIT/CHECK screen (indicated by the camera icon on the left) and select ISO. If you want to programme in an AUTO ISO function, you can do so here, setting DEFAULT SENSITIVITY, MAX. SENSITIVITY and MIN. SHUTTER SPEED.
Exposure compensation
For Film Simulation recipes that suggest a specific setting for exposure compensation, you can set your Exposure Compensation dial to the recommended amount.
If your camera does not feature an Exposure Compensation dial on its top-plate, you can specify an exposure compensation setting for your custom profile. From the EDIT/CHECK menu, go to the bottom-most submenu on the left-hand side, then select EXP. COMPENSATION. From there, you can choose how many stops of compensation to add or subtract.
Custom settings
Fujifilm cameras are able to store custom settings – banks of specific camera option combinations that can be saved and recalled at a moment’s notice. All manner of settings can be specified, allowing users to access complex pre-programmed looks and functions quickly.
You can programme everything, from autofocus settings to shutter type and photometry mode, into your custom settings – but for a custom Film Simulation recipe, the emphasis is on the image quality and exposure settings.
Accessing custom settings
If your camera has a Mode dial, you can quickly select a custom setting by rotating to one of the C settings – C1, C2, etc.
If your camera doesn’t have a Mode dial, you won’t be able to select a custom setting until you’ve created one. Do this by going to MENU/OK > IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING, selecting CREATE NEW and then pressing OK.
NOTE: You can access this menu rapidly by opening the Q Menu and then holding down the Q button.
Once you’ve created some custom settings, you can select the one you want by going to MENU/OK > IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > SELECT CUSTOM SETTING.
On cameras that don’t have a Mode dial, you can also cycle through custom settings in the first slot of the default Q Menu (once they’ve been created).
Editing custom settings
To start editing your custom settings, go to IMAGE QUALITY SETTING > EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING, select a profile, then select EDIT/CHECK. This will present you with a list of camera settings that can be adjusted.
Example Recipe
To get you started, here is a Film Simulation recipe called Nostalgic Summer, created by X-Photographer Josh Edgoose in collaboration with Fujifilm. Josh is a street photographer who specialises in finding serendipitous flashes of colour in his surroundings.
He describes this recipe as “capturing the spirit of the 1990s – drawing inspiration from filmlike colours, classic movies and day trips to the seaside. With soft, warm tones, it’s perfect for golden hour, road trips or wandering around local markets. It’s designed to deliver a laid-back, nostalgic feel – straight out of camera.”
Nostalgic Summer Recipe
- Film Simulation: NOSTALGIC Neg. or ASTIA if using older models
- Dynamic Range: DR400
- Grain Effect: Weak, Large
- Color Chrome Effect: Weak
- Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak
- White Balance: 5600K; R: 0, B: -3
- Tone Curve: Highlight: -1.5, Shadow: -1
- Color: +3
- Sharpness: -1
- High ISO NR: 0
- Clarity: 0
- ISO: Auto, 500 to 6400
- Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1
