Select, Create and Enjoy! Use Fujifilm X Series for Digital Photos with the Five-Star Film Look

Fujifilm started making film for the photographic and movie industries in 1934, and its expertise lives on in its X Series cameras, which are winning over the hearts and minds of photographers and video makers across the globe. Its Film Simulation profiles have been a key selling feature on the brand’s digital cameras for many years and give creatives the opportunity to produce pictures with the authentic look and appeal of classic and modern Fujifilm films, and all without a computer. 

It all started in 2003 when the first, very basic version of the technology with three looks appeared in the FinePix F700 digital camera, and it took until 2009 for the FinePix F200EXR to come along with settings that including PROVIA, Velvia and ASTIA, three of company’s most renowned and best loved colour transparency films.

Giving your shots a great look without needing a computer or filters is a huge benefit of the Fujifilm’s Film Simulation modes. This was shot with an X-T50 XF18mm F2 R lens with PROVIA mode.

Since those early days, Fujifilm has continued to expand its Film Simulation collection with the notable arrivals of ACROS in the X-Pro2 in 2016, Classic Neg in the X-Pro3 of 2019 and ETERNA BLEACH BYPASS on the X-T4 which came out in 2020. 

The latest arrival is REALA ACE, a colour print film recipe, which made its X Series debut on the hugely successful Fujifilm X100VI premium compact camera. REALA ACE is now available on the X-T50 and owners of the X-H2S, X-H2, X-T5 and X-S20 can enjoy its unique charms too, thanks to recent firmware updates. With its realistic colour palette, soft highlights, rich shadows and punchy mid-tones, REALA ACE has a special character that suits most subjects and is sure to be a firm favourite.

Film Simulations: Fujifilm X-T50

The Fujifilm X-T50 is a talented mid-priced camera with the latest 40.2MP X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor and X-Processor 5 at its heart. It’s also Fujifilm’s first camera with a dedicated Film Simulation control which makes calling them into action easier and more intuitive than ever.

The control dial sits prominently on the camera’s top-plate so you can see what is selected at a glance. It has eight presets, three user-selectable settings and a C position. The eight presets are STD (PROVIA), V (Velvia), S (ASTIA), CC (Classic Chrome), RA (REALA ACE), NC (Classic Negative), NN (Nostalgic Neg), and A (ACROS). The last named has four options (Std, Ye, R and G) and a menu item lets you choose which filter effect you want to be active.

The FS custom settings let you choose three of the following styles: PRO Neg Hi, PRO Neg Std, ETERNA/CINEMA, ETERNA BLEACH BYPASS, Sepia and Monochrome with Std plus its three filter options.

The C setting lets you choose yet another Film Simulation mode so you can have 12 of the 20 picture styles available at your fingertips. What you can also do with the C setting is allocate it to any Film Simulation mode – including those with a preset position – and then dial in other parameters available in the camera menu. So, for example, Grain Effect and Color Chrome Effect can be brought in to further enhance the style’s default look.

Use the Film Simulation dial and a handy graphic appears on the monitor and EVF, making it clear what has been selected and there is the option of pushing the Q button for a more detailed run-down on what that mode offers. It makes using the Film Simulation modes really easy for less experienced photographers and a handy reminder for the more experienced.

Film Simulations: What’s the point?

With film, photographers chose different emulsions according to the look or effect they were after. Of course with film you had to get it right from the beginning because the options to fine-tune the results afterwards were limited.

Photographing digitally is entirely different and once you have the image in the computer you can edit images for as long as you can tolerate. 

Digital photographers have two format choices: Raw format, which is comparable to a digital negative and all the data from the sensor is saved within the file. Raw files need to be processed in a suitable software and there is enormous potential to adjust exposure, white-balance and colour. 

The second file option is JPEG. This is an 8-bit format so JPEGs are much smaller than Raw files and only essential data is recorded which includes any imaging parameters you have set in the camera such as clarity, white-balance and the Film Simulation setting. With JPEGs being so much smaller with less data saved, there is little editing headroom which is why getting JPEGs right in-camera is absolutely critical.

Taken on an X-T50 fitted with the XF18mm F2 R wide-angle prime. A more muted look was given by Classic Chrome Film Simulation mode.

More recent cameras including the Fujifilm X-T5 and X-T50 have another file option, that of HEIF (High-Efficiency Image Format). This format is like JPEG in that only essential data is saved and you must get it spot-on in-camera, but it’s 10-bit so capable of a wider colour rendition and smoother tonal gradation while a more efficient compression algorithm means smaller files. 

Film Simulation settings are applied to JPEGs and HEIFs, but not to Raws. If your Fujifilm camera is set to capture Raws only, you will see the image preview in the chosen Film Simulation style but this is not retained so even if the camera preview is in black & white, you will see the full colour version when the Raw is downloaded to the computer. 

Film Simulation settings can be applied to Raw files. You can do this with in-camera Raw processing or if you use Adobe Lightroom or Capture One software because the colour profiles are installed.

Film Simulations: Which styles to use?

The answer is simple: whatever you want. There are no rules so pick the setting to give the final result you have in your mind’s eye. 

The Film Simulation modes can be divided into two types. There are those that give a look reminiscent of the original colour film so this includes PROVIA, Velvia, ASTIA. ACROS and the two Pro Neg settings. The other settings such as Nostalgic Neg, Classic Chrome and ETERNA BLEACH BYPASS give an individual effect so you pick the setting that gives the atmosphere and mood you want to convey in your shots.

Choose the Fujifilm Film Simulation mode to match the scene and the mood you want to convey. Here the Velvia option was used for a rich evening sky.

There is no right or wrong here and it’s entirely up to you how you want your shots to look. If you enjoy bright, vibrant scenics try the Velvia setting but if your preference is for a more muted feel, then ASTIA or Classic Chrome might be more to your taste. For people pictures REALA ACE, Classic Neg or PRO Neg Std work really well and if you are feeling more adventurous, try ETERNA and ETERNA BLEACH BYPASS which were originally conceived as movie colour modes but are equally powerful for stills too. And of course, you should not forget the two black & white options, ACROS and Monochrome, which both have four filter settings, Std, Ye, R and G.

If you are unsure, use the Film Simulation Bracketing function where you pick three picture styles and the camera produces three variations almost instantly.

You can fine-tune the look of each Film Simulation setting for an even more individual effect by using settings in the camera’s menu. The three main ones to experiment with are Grain Effect, Color Chrome Effect and Color Chrome FX Blue.

Grain Effect has options of weak or strong and small or large and this is a great setting to use if you want a realistic filmic effect. The neutral, random patterning looks great for the right images.

Color Chrome Effect is handy for landscapes and nature photos or any subject featuring vibrant colours especially reds and yellows and adds greater vibrancy and depth. The two setting options are weak or strong.

The same settings are available in Color Chrome FX Blue. This menu option, as its name tells you, works with blues. If a scene featuring sky or the ocean looks too pale or lacking colour, this mode can give it a lift so the subject appears more blue. If the scene is already blue using this setting an make the hues even more vibrant.

Film Simulations: Summary

Fujifilm Film Simulation settings give your photographs a great look. Of course, rival camera brands have colour styles and art filters, but the Film Simulation settings, created with the benefit of Fujifilm’s film manufacturing experience, give a genuinely filmic look. 

If you haven’t explored the potential of the Film Simulation styles, now’s a great time to start, especially if you have a camera with the full 20 settings to work with. 

For more on Fujifilm Film Simulation modes, including details of what each style offers and comparison images click here.

For our test on the Fujifilm X-T50, click here.