Why I Never Shoot RAW — FujiFilm Simulations, Recipes, and More!

August 6, 2024

What I never shoot RAW — FujiFilm's simulations are a unique way to craft images with distinct color science profiles. Here's how to make them.

Most FujiFilm simulation recipes are for Fujifilm X-Trans IV sensor cameras, predominantly in JPEG format. These amazing film simulation modes in Fujifilm cameras are a unique feature that we’ve wanted to dive into for a while now. They’re truly distinguished among all of the camera makers, offering a fun feature that other camera bodies simply can’t replicate. And while this topic is huge at heart, we simply wanted to offer you some fun tweaks and recipes to create based on our experience and knowledge.

What Are FujiFilm Simulations?

Fujifilm simulations are much different than most cameras’ “Scene Mode'' and creative filters; they’re one of the few in-camera image features I have found to be incredibly valuable as part of my creative process. Rather than dumbed-down filters, these film simulations become an integral part of the creative process that most creatives are now boasting. Doing exactly what their name implies, these simulations simulate the look of classic color or black-and-white negative films. Such simulations involve far more than simple tweaks of a slider in Photoshop or Lightroom; they require a rich, deep color science to achieve their effects.

While tweaking in post is the more favorable route among photographers, I really enjoy editing in the camera to achieve the perfect light and contrast before the image ever leaves my SD card. This not only simplifies my creative workflow but also ensures the perfect photograph at every capture.

Trust me when I say that the data of a Fujifilm JPEG file is incredible, it makes it so that I never want to shoot raw again. That’s how great it is. It’s quick, effective, and done extraordinarily.

So, what are recipes? While the FujiFilm simulations are a wonderful start, you can dive much deeper. This is where your creativity begins to blossom. These recipes are based upon simple adjustments to the film simulations chosen in the camera. This allows you to replicate a digital file to that of Kodak Portra 400, Kodachrome 64, etc. You’re able to adjust highlights, shadows, Grain effects, dynamic range, tone curves, and more.

Our friend and guest writer, Fuji X Weekly, has a library full of incredible looks and recipes to work with. Reminder: You don’t necessarily “download” these recipes; you take the adjustment information and input it to a specific Fujifilm simulation on your camera body. They have done an incredible job of creating specific looks to achieve through their blog or app. Shout out to them for inspiring us to create exceptional recipes for our photography!

How To Build Your Own Fujifilm Recipe:

Enough technical talk; let’s get to the fun part. Building your own recipe! Thanks to Fuji X Weekly for compiling a quick step-by-step guide:

Select “Image Quality Setting” in the shooting menu, then hit “Edit/Save Custom Setting” and press “Menu/Ok”.
Highlight a custom setting bank and press “Menu/Ok” to select.
Highlight “Edit” and press “Menu/Ok”. A list of shooting options will be displayed.
Highlight an item you wish to store in the custom settings bank and press “Menu/Ok”. Adjust settings for the selected item.
Press “Menu/Ok” to save changes to the selected and return to the menu list item. Adjust additional items as desired.
Pressing “Disp/Back'' in the menu item list displays a confirmation dialogue. Highlight “OK” and press “Menu/Ok” to save settings to the selected bank.

An Ode to Kodachrome (+ More Links to Recipes!)

Kodachrome is probably the most iconic photographic film ever made. It was legendary, and many people saw the world through its colors. Kodak produced Kodachrome film from 1935 through 2009, when it was suddenly discontinued, to the dismay of photographers around the world.

The Kodachrome name has been used for many different films over the years. The first Kodachrome product was a two-glass-plate color negative that was introduced in 1915. Like all other color photography methods of its time, the results weren’t particularly good, and the product was not especially successful.

In 1935, Kodak released its next Kodachrome product: a positive-color transparency film. This Kodachrome was the first film that produced reasonably accurate colors and, because of that, was the first commercially successful color film. It became the standard film for color photography for a couple of decades and was even Ansel Adams’ preferred choice for color work.

The December 1946 issue of Arizona Highways, the first all-color magazine in the world, featured Barry Goldwater’s Kodachrome images. While the most popular Kodachrome at this time was ISO 10, Kodak also produced an ISO 8 version and a Tungsten option in the 1940s.

Kodak made significant improvements to Kodachrome, and in 1961 released Kodachrome II. This film boasted more accurate colors, sharper images, finer grain, and a faster ISO of 25. While it was still somewhat similar to the previous Kodachrome, it was better in pretty much every way. A year later, Kodachrome-X was introduced with an ISO of 64, producing more saturation and increased contrast but grainier. Kodachrome for cinema had an ISO of 40 and would continue to be ISO 40 until 2009 when Kodak discontinued Kodachrome. There was a movement in the early 1970s to end Kodachrome because the process of development was very toxic. Kodachrome is actually a black-and-white film with color added during development, which you can imagine isn’t a simple procedure. Instead of discontinuing their most popular color film, Kodak made a new version that required a less-toxic (but still toxic) and less complicated (but still complicated) development process. This appeased those who wanted the film gone, but the new version of Kodachrome was not initially well-received by all photographers, some of whom liked the old version better. William Eggleston, for example, who used Kodachrome extensively in his early career, wasn’t a fan of the new version, and used other films instead.

In 1974, because of the new less-toxic development process, Kodachrome II was replaced by Kodachrome 25, and Kodachrome-X was replaced by Kodachrome 64. They also introduced Kodachrome 200, a high-ISO version. This generation of Kodachrome is what most people think of when they picture (pun intended) the film, gracing the pages of magazines like National Geographic. Due to Kodachrome’s sharpness, grain, color, contrast, and archival characteristics, it was a great all-around option that worked well in most circumstances. Steve McCurry, who is perhaps the best-known photographer to use this era of Kodachrome extensively, said of the film, “It has almost a poetic look with beautiful colors that were vibrant and true to what you were shooting”.

When Kodak discontinued Kodachrome in 2009, it shocked the photographic community. However, the deeper blow was that Kodak discontinued the chemicals required to develop it. Even if you had an old roll of the film (which I did), you couldn’t develop it, except as a black-and-white film from a specialty lab. By the end of 2010, the Kodachrome era was officially over for good.

Why Shooting JPEGs Is So Popular (& 10 Fujifilm Simulation Recipes!)

JPEGs are better than RAW, and here's why. Including 10 handcrafted Fujifilm film simulation recipes to make you second guess shooting analog.

Ritchie RoeschJun 17, 2024

I shot many rolls of Kodachrome 64, and a few rolls of Kodachrome 25. My favorite was Kodachrome 64 because it had more contrast and more saturated colors—while it was a little less true-to-life, it produced bolder pictures more like Paul Simon’s description. It was a sad day for me when Kodak discontinued it. At that time, I was just getting into digital photography; in retrospect I wish that I had paused on digital and exposed a few more rolls of Kodachrome, just for the joy of it.

Paul Simon shot his Kodachrome on a Nikon camera, and I shot mine on a well-used Canon AE-1. Even though the film is long gone, I now shoot “Kodachrome” on a Fujifilm X100V and an X-E4. Yes, Kodachrome lives, thanks to Fujifilm’s great JPEG output! I created a film simulation recipe that mimics Kodachrome 64. While it is not a 100% perfect match, considering the limited options and parameters that are available in-camera, it is surprisingly accurate to the film. It certainly attains the “memory color” that Fujifilm’s managers often talk about. Ah, the irony of achieving a Kodachrome look on a Fujifilm camera is not lost on me!

I’ve actually published over 150 film simulation recipes (which you can find at fujixweekly.com and on the Fuji X Weekly app) for Fujifilm cameras, many of which are based on film stocks. Using film simulation recipes, no matter the Fujifilm camera you have, allows you to get straight-out-of-camera pictures that appear as if they were post-processed—or, even better, shot on film instead of digital. This is obviously a big time-saver, but can also be more fun.

Whenever I go out to photograph, I always have at least one Fujifilm camera with me, loaded with seven film simulation recipes. My favorite color recipe is Kodak Portra 400 v2, and my favorite black-and-white recipe is Kodak Tri-X 400. Some recipes aren’t modeled after specific films, but produce an analog aesthetic anyway, such as my Xpro ’62 recipe, which has a vintage cross-processed look, and my Positive Film recipe, which is intended to mimic Saul Leiter’s style. I like to load a few of my favorite recipes into my camera before going out, and the remaining presets are often experimental recipes that I’m working on, as I’m always creating new ones.

Kodachrome 64 is one of those recipes I often find myself programming into my camera—that is if it isn’t already a C1-C7 preset from my last outing! It has the right amount of nostalgia, delivering those “nice bright colors” and “greens of summer” that “make you think all the world’s a sunny day.” I can’t help but think that if Paul Simon picked up a Fujifilm camera today to take a photograph, the Kodachrome 64 recipe would be his favorite, and perhaps he’d even write a song about it.