Fujifilm Recipe Settings Reference
A quick reference for what each in-camera setting does. Useful context for designing recipes.
Film Simulations
| Simulation | Character | Introduced |
|---|---|---|
| PROVIA/Standard | Neutral, balanced default | all bodies |
| Velvia/Vivid | High saturation and contrast slide film. Landscapes | all bodies |
| ASTIA/Soft | Saturated color but soft contrast. Flattering skin | all bodies |
| Classic Chrome | Muted, documentary-magazine color. Desaturated blues | X-Trans II era onward |
| PRO Neg. Hi | Portrait negative with a bit more contrast | all X-Trans |
| PRO Neg. Std | Softest color negative. Studio portrait work | all X-Trans |
| CLASSIC Neg. | Consumer-negative look (Superia-like). Strong color separation, cyan skies | X-Trans IV onward |
| Nostalgic Neg. | Amber warmth, soft highlights, rich shadows. 1970s "New Color" album look | X-Trans V + late GFX |
| ETERNA/Cinema | Very low saturation and contrast. Motion-picture stock | X-H1 onward (X-Trans IV standard) |
| ETERNA Bleach Bypass | Desaturated + high contrast. Silver-retention effect | X-T4 generation onward |
| REALA ACE | Faithful color with hard tonality. Balanced everyday film | X100VI / GFX100 II era onward |
| ACROS (+Ye/R/G) | Fine-grain, rich B&W. Filter variants shift gray rendering | X-Trans III onward |
| Monochrome (+Ye/R/G) | Simpler, flatter B&W | all bodies |
| Sepia | Toned monochrome | all bodies |
B&W filter effects: +Ye slightly darkens skies and lifts warm tones, +R strongly darkens skies/boosts contrast, +G darkens skin slightly and lightens foliage (good for male portraits).
Tone & color controls
-
Highlight / Shadow tone (-2 to +4): negative = softer/lifted, positive = harder/deeper. X-Trans IV/V allow half steps.
-
Color (-4 to +4): saturation. No effect on B&W sims.
- Sharpness (-4 to +4): negative values look more film-like.
- Noise Reduction (-4 to +4): most recipes run -4. High NR looks plasticky.
-
Clarity (-5 to +5, X-Trans IV/V and GFX): midtone micro-contrast. Negative values give a soft "hazy film" glow. Costs a beat of write time.
-
Grain Effect: strength (Weak/Strong) and, on X-Trans IV/V, size (Small/Large). Large + Strong reads as pushed high-ISO film.
-
Color Chrome Effect (Weak/Strong): deepens tonality in highly saturated colors (reds/oranges especially). Prevents saturated areas from blocking up.
-
Color Chrome FX Blue (Weak/Strong, X-Trans IV/V): same idea, blues only - deepens skies without touching the rest of the palette.
Dynamic range
- DR100: full contrast, base ISO available.
-
DR200: protects one stop of highlights. Requires ISO 320+ (X-Trans IV/V) or ISO 400+ (older).
-
DR400: protects two stops. Requires ISO 640+ / ISO 800+.
- Use DR400 for scenes with bright skies or when the recipe lifts shadows. DR100 when you want dense contrast and clean base-ISO files.
White balance shift
The strongest color-grading lever in a recipe. Applied on a 19×19 grid:
- R axis (+9 warm/magenta ↔ -9 cool/green-cyan)
- B axis (+9 blue ↔ -9 yellow/amber)
Common moves: R+4 B-5 = warm vintage. R-2 B+3 = cool cinematic.
R+2 B-3 = gentle golden warmth. Large B- values drive the "aged photo"
amber cast.
Note: WB shift is global, one shift set per WB type on most bodies, so switching between recipes means re-entering the shift (newer bodies store shifts per custom slot).
Exposure habits
-
Negative-film looks (PRO Neg., CLASSIC Neg., Nostalgic Neg.) typically like +1/3 to +1 EV of overexposure.
-
Slide looks (Velvia, Classic Chrome as chrome) prefer 0 to -2/3 EV to hold highlights and keep density.
-
B&W with strong shadow tone often meters best at -1/3 EV.
Recipes that put this to work
This page explains how the controls behave. The bank applies it: every recipe published in full, each value traced back to the datasheet it came from.