The Fuji X Files

One of the major arguments for shooting Jpegs instead of RAW is that the 'look' you want is already baked into the file and you don't need to post-process the image. The whole SOOC (straight out of camera) movement has become very popular with the rise of Fuji film simulations and custom 'recipes'. I'm having a blast shooting with my custom film recipes on the Fuji X-E2 - but does this really mean that I'm only showing images SOOC? Is there no post-processing involved at all? And if there is, how much can you do on 'only' a Jpeg? Well, to answer the first question - No, I'm not just showing images SOOC. I do still process my Jpegs to get the final image. Some admittedly more than others. I thought it might be worthwhile looking at a few recent examples, where I have done a reasonable amount of post-processing work on a Jpeg, and discuss why. Original image. E100SW recipe SOOC On a recent trip to Rapahoe Beach to try out my Acros film recipe (post...

I'm quickly getting through the custom film simulations that I have programmed into the seven slots on my Fujifilm X-E2. And so far, so good. Recently on this blog, I've covered my Kodak Ektachrome E100SW recipe in the prime C1 slot, Fuji Acros recipe in C2, Kodak Gold 200 recipe in C7, and my Fuji Velvia film simulation in the C5 slot. That leaves just three to go; two more colour and one monochrome film simulation. Greymouth River. Fuji X-E2 with XC16-50mm + polariser. f/8 @ 1/70th, ISO 200. Agfa Optima In this post I want to look at the film recipe I have programmed into slot C3 - Agfa Optima 200. Agfa Optima 200 was a professional print film produced by Agfa from 1996 to 2005, and was their sharp, fine-grained print film with natural colours and pleasing skin tones. To be honest I never shot a lot of Agfa colour film, but I did shoot a lot of their black and white film back in the day as they were a supplier to school darkrooms across the country. So why do I have an A...

If you're playing along at home (and thanks if you are btw), then you will know that the first three film simulation modes I've recently programmed on my X-E2 have all been colour. The X-E2 has space for seven custom simulations (often referred to as film 'recipes'), and most Fuji shooters use them to replicate particular film stocks. In my C5 setting I have a punchy Velvia recipe that I wrote about here . In pride-of-place in the C1 setting, and the colour profile I'll probably use the most, I have a Kodak E100SW simulation outlined here . And in the C7 setting, a good all-rounder colour recipe that will also get a lot of use - Kodak Gold 200 shown here . That's a lot of colour - and I've still got two to go. But what about Black and White? Rapahoe morning light. Fuji X-E2. f11@ 1/3rd sec, ISO 200. Polariser/Grad filter. Acros recipe Of course I haven't forgotten monochrome. Two of the seven custom settings have monochrome film stocks programmed. If my...

There's an old saying that goes "Make hay while the sun shines". Here on the South Island's West Coast (sometimes jokingly referred to as the 'Wet' Coast), you have to take that saying to heart and make photographs while the sun shines! The long-range forecast for the coming week (as I write this) is not looking great. Rain, with the chance of rain, interrupted by the occasional downpour of rain. So yeah, not good. Yes, I know, rain makes for great moody landscape photos. But I'm sorry, it's just not me. I can't really understand looking outside at the pouring rain and thinking "great - time to go and take photos"!? For a start, my gear isn't weather-sealed, so that's not good. But even when I did have weather-sealed camera gear, the last thing I really wanted to be doing with it was slogging around in the wet, constantly struggling to keep the front lens element clear of rain (not to mention my own glasses), just so I could catc...

I'm in to my second week of shooting on Jpeg-only using film simulations SOOC (straight out of camera), and so far, so good. This week it was the turn of the film simulation that I have programmed into the prime slot (C1) on my Fujifilm X-E2. What's the recipe that deserves this prime location? None other than Kodak Ektachrome E100SW. To be honest, it's not a film stock I've actually shot a lot of, since processing slide film here in New Zealand is a costly business. I've basically chosen it because I liked the look of the images that accompanied this recipe on Richie Roesch's Fuji X Weekly site.  Tiphead Sunset, Cobden.  f/8 @ 1/250th, ISO 400. Ektachrome E100SW film simulation For my 'main' recipe, I wanted something that had some vibrancy, but not as intense as the Velvia recipe. On Kodak's own technical data sheet it describes E100SW as "producing warm, saturated colors (the SW stands for saturated warm)" . They also claim it is "w...

Is it just me, or is anyone else excited by the 'new' Fujinon 35mm f2 XC lens? Because I am. Very excited. And I'm thinking this may well be the next lens for my X-E2. For a couple of reasons. Firstly, I am a fan of the 50mm (53mm on the Fuji to be exact) 'normal' focal length. I grew up, photographically speaking, with a 50mm f1.8 lens of some description attached to my film camera. And have carried that through to my digital photography. The 'nifty fifty' fast prime lens has always found a home in my gear bag - and why not? They are fast, light, sharp and affordable (more on that soon) prime lenses with excellent IQ and versatility. When I was shooting weddings, the 50mm f1.8 (either Canon or Nikon depending on what system I was shooting at the time) was my 'go-to' bride-getting-ready lens, for its low-light performance and decent bokeh. Granted that was usually on APS-C sensor cameras (although I started with the Canon 5D full-frame), so the effec...

There's not a lot I don't like about my Fujifilm X-E2. The size, weight, form factor, ergonomics and IQ are all fantastic, and I adore the range-finderesque style of shooting (which is a complete surprise to me). There are, however, a couple of features (or lack of in one case) that I am not all that crazy about. First, which I wrote about last post, is the X-E2's inability to set individual white balance shifts for each custom film setting. To be fair, this isn't just an X-E2 issue, and was only recently fixed with the X-Pro 3 and X100V. Still, I wish the X-E2 had this ability. Second, due to its X-Trans II sensor, the X-E2 doesn't have the Acros film simulation, and nor does it have any Grain setting for the film recipes. If I am going to stick to shooting in Jpeg-only going forwards (which remains to be seen), these are two settings I would dearly love to have. As much as I adore the X-E2 in most other respects, these omissions have me seriously co...

It's my first week of shooting in Jpeg-only with custom film simulations on my Fujifilm X-E2, and I've already completely rearranged my recipes! Cobden Lagoon, early evening . X-E2 with 16-50mm XC. f/8 @ 1/20th, ISO 3200. Velvia recipe In my last post I explained how I've set up the seven custom slots to allow for white balance adjustments for each film recipe. This relies on heavy use of similar film stocks that use the same WB channel adjustments. Mostly, this meant using Kodak film recipes. But when I took a series of test images (again, see last post), I came away feeling that there wasn't enough variance in the final results. All the images looked a bit too similar.  So, I decided to start from scratch, and have now programmed in a whole new set of recipes that are hopefully going to give me a bit more variance between 'looks'. I've kept the first two film simulations from my previous set (Kodak Ektachrome 100SW and Fuji Acros), and have add...

In my last post I discussed 'going 100% Jpeg'. This may sound scary to some photographers for who shooting Raw is almost a religion (and yes, that was me too). It's really only been made possible - for me at least - by shooting with the Fuji custom film simulations (or recipes). Fujifilm expects you to play around with film simulations and create your own - that's what their X-Raw Studio software is all about. Unfortunately, my X-E2 is not compatible with X-Raw Studio (I presume it only works for X-Trans III sensors and above?). Fortunately, others have done the hard work for me already, and there are a plethora of film simulations on-line to choose from (check out the amazing Fuji X Weekly blog). All sorts of parameters can be tweaked to create a 'look' you're after; from highlight and shadow tone, to sharpness and colour - and even grain and clarity on the latest Fuji camera models (alas, again, not my X-E2!) To get the very best out of these ...