Classic Negative Film Simulation Recipe By Jean-Pascal Remon

Jamie Chance wrote a blog post about attempts by three photographers to recreate the Classic Negative look for Fujifilm X-Tran III sensors. Writing on Fujirumours, photographer Jean-Pascal Remon, offers his recipe to approximate the looks of Fujifilm’s new Classic Negative Film Simulation.

  • Dynamic Range: 400%
  • Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
  • Grain Effect: Strong
  • White Balance: Auto, R: -2 B: +4
  • Highlight Tone: 0
  • Shadow Tone: 0
  • Color: -1
  • Sharpness: -4
  • Noise Reduction: -4
  • Lens modulation optimizer: OFF

I'll see how this compares to the Classic Negative recipe Ritchie Roesch created for X-Trans III sensors. I haven't decided if I like Classic Negative but Ritchie's images are likely to convince me.

All images are SOOC JPEGs with minor perspective correction and cropping.

17 February, 2020 | Coffee | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/4.0 | ISO 800
17 February, 2020 | Seeing the Sourlands | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | f/4.0 | ISO 800

Chrome Eggleston

This past Thursday, I got my camera back from the Fujifilm repair centre in Edison. The shutter button had failed, and they had to replace the entire top plate.

I missed the camera, and while it was out for repair, I could feel what I can only describe as withdrawal. While the iPhone is capable of capturing excellent images, I missed the feel of the Fuji in my hands, putting the viewfinder to my eye, and the soft click of the shutter.

One thing I want to change is how I used the camera. I think I had developed a nervous tick of turning the camera on and off between bursts of photography, most likely trying to save the battery. I have four batteries so really I have enough for an entire day out in the cold taking photos. I’ll retrain myself to rely on the auto-shutoff feature.

Now that my camera is back, I want to test out a few film simulation recipes I discovered around the web. All of these are based on either Classic Chrome or ACROS. Three of them I especially want to try attempt to replicate the look of the new Fujifilm Simulation, Classic Negative, which debuted with the Fujifilm X-Pro3 and X100V.

First up is Chrome Eggleston which Peter Dareth Evans has documented on his web site. It's a bit "light" for my taste but Peter did advise that it was good for "dystopian brutalist architecture" and nostalgia. All images are SOOC JPEG and either cropped or perspective adjusted.

Origin: Based on William Eggleston's sombre but beautiful rich colourwork using the old Kodachrome.
Intent: Whenever I want a rich, warm and nostalgic feel, this is the one to go for. Also surprisingly good for dystopian brutalist architecture. A good all-rounder.
Film Simulation: Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: AUTO
Noise -3
Sharpness -1
Grain Effect: Off
Highlight Tone: +2
Shadow Tone: +2
Colour: -2

14 February, 2020|Tree nut|FujiFilm X-T2|XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR|f/5.6|ISO 200
14 February, 2020|Mailbox|FujiFilm X-T2|XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR|f/5.6|ISO 400
14 February, 2020|Trash can|FujiFilm X-T2|XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR|f/5.6|ISO 400
14 February, 2020|Suburban carriage|FujiFilm X-T2|XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR|f/5.6|ISO 400

Vintage Classic Chrome and Vintage Kodachrome Film Simulation Recipes by Ritchie Roesch

I have been shooting using the defaults on my Fujifilm X-T2 and getting good results. However, I want to shorten the path between the defaults, experimentation, and finding my own settings. I discovered Ritchie Roesch’s website via a Google search for “Classic Chrome Film Simulation Recipes”. Ritchie has created an incredible set of recipes for his XPro2 and X100F. I think these Chrome Film Simulation recipes are a good starting point for me to learn how these film simulations works, tweak them and find my own recipe.

I am using Ritchie's recipe with one modification. I am not a fan of film grain so I have set the grain setting to off for all of these. All of the images here were SOOC JPEGs.

X100F Vintage Kodachrome Film Simulation Recipe

Ritchie Roesch Kodachrome Recipe—FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, f/4.0

X100F Classic Chrome Film Simulation Recipe

Ritchie Roesch Classic Chrome Recipe—FujiFilm X-T2 + XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 16 mm, f/4.0