Every Fujifilm recipe starts with a film simulation. People often treat it as the "look" itself, but it works more like the base stock. It sets the tone curve and how colours are rendered, and the recipe's other settings (white balance shift, highlight, shadow, colour, grain) push it towards a particular film. That's why a Kodak Portra recipe usually starts from Classic Chrome rather than Astia, even though Astia is the simulation Fujifilm pitches for portraits.
This guide covers what each simulation does on its own, which recipes on this site use it, and what to think about when you're choosing a base for your own recipe.
At a glance
| Simulation | Contrast | Saturation | Good for | Recipes here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provia | Medium | Medium | All-round, a neutral starting point | 0 |
| Velvia | High | Very high | Landscapes, foliage, sunsets | 1 |
| Astia | Low–medium | Medium | Portraits, soft light | 2 |
| Pro Neg. Std | Low | Low | Studio portraits, an editing-friendly base | 1 |
| Pro Neg. Hi | Medium | Medium–low | Portraits outdoors, negative-film looks | 3 |
| Classic Chrome | Medium–high | Low | Street, documentary, Kodak-style recipes | 8 |
| Classic Negative | High | Medium | Nostalgic everyday photos, Fujicolor looks | 9 |
| Eterna | Very low | Low | Cinematic, muted looks | 1 |
| Nostalgic Neg. | Medium | Medium, amber | Warm, 1970s-style colour | 0 |
| Reala Ace | Medium | Medium | Faithful colour with a slight film character | 0 |
| Acros | Medium–high | B&W | Black and white with fine tonality | 3 |
Contrast and saturation here describe each simulation at default settings (everything at 0). A recipe can move them a long way. Highlight and Shadow change contrast, and Color changes saturation.
The neutral group: Provia, Astia, Pro Neg.
Provia is Fujifilm's default and the most "correct" looking simulation. It's rarely the base of a named film recipe because it has very little character of its own, but that also makes it predictable. If you want to build a look from scratch with white balance and tone settings, Provia gets in the way the least.
Astia softens Provia. It has gentler contrast, slightly more saturated blues and greens, and kind, smooth skin tones. It's a good base for a soft, pastel, consumer-film feel.
Pro Neg. Std and Pro Neg. Hi come from Fujifilm's professional colour negative films. Std is the flattest colour simulation Fujifilm makes. Skin looks natural and highlights roll off gently, which is why it's popular for portraits you'll edit later. Hi adds contrast while keeping the same restrained colour, so it suits outdoor portraits and recipes imitating Fuji 400H or Pro 400H.
The documentary group: Classic Chrome and Classic Negative
Classic Chrome is the most-used base for recipes, and that includes this site. It mutes colours, especially reds and greens, and gives the image firm, slightly hard contrast with dense shadows. On its own it can look a bit cold and grey. Combine it with Auto or Daylight white balance pushed towards red and away from blue, and you get the warm, printed look of Kodak films, which is why Portra, Gold, Ultramax and Kodachrome recipes almost all start here.
Classic Negative is modelled on Fujicolor Superia, the everyday drugstore film. It's the most stylised colour simulation. Its colour shifts change with brightness: shadows go towards teal, highlights stay warm, and greens turn a slightly yellow-olive. Contrast is high and saturation is moderate. It's what gives recipes like Reggie's Superia their nostalgic, slightly off look. It isn't on X-Trans III cameras or the X-T3 and X-T30. See adapting recipes for alternatives.
The cinematic group: Eterna and Eterna Bleach Bypass
Eterna is based on Fujifilm's motion picture film. It's the flattest and least saturated colour simulation, with soft shadows and gentle highlight roll-off, so it suits moody, cinematic stills. Recipes usually build contrast back up with positive Shadow settings. Eterna Bleach Bypass imitates the darkroom technique of skipping the bleach step, giving high contrast with very low saturation, a harsh, gritty look that's great for drama and not much else.
The newer group: Nostalgic Neg. and Reala Ace
Nostalgic Neg. is on X-Trans V cameras. It adds amber to the highlights and opens up the shadows, giving the warm, faded colour of 1970s American colour photography. Because the warmth is in the simulation itself, recipes based on it don't need as strong a white balance shift.
Reala Ace is based on Fujicolor Reala, a film known for accurate colour. It sits between Provia and Pro Neg. Hi, with true colours, moderate contrast and a little more depth than Provia. It's a good neutral base on cameras that have it.
Black and white: Acros and Monochrome
Acros is Fujifilm's best black and white simulation. It has richer tonality than Monochrome and, at higher ISOs, its own fine grain-like texture. The filter variants imitate coloured lens filters used with black and white film. Ye slightly darkens blue skies, R (red) darkens skies dramatically and lightens skin and warm tones, and G (green) darkens skin a little and is traditionally used for portraits and foliage. Recipes imitating Tri-X or HP5 usually use Acros or Acros + R with positive Shadow for punch.
Monochrome is flatter and more neutral. It's a fine base if you want to build contrast entirely through Highlight and Shadow, and it's the only option on cameras older than the X-Pro2.
Choosing a base for your own recipe
- Start from the contrast you want, not the colour. White balance shift can change the colour a lot. Changing a simulation's built-in contrast character is much harder.
- Imitating a Kodak film? Start with Classic Chrome. A Fujicolor film? Start with Classic Negative or Pro Neg. Hi. Slide film? Start with Velvia or Provia.
- Change one thing at a time and shoot the same scene each time. Fujifilm's X RAW Studio, or the in-camera RAW conversion, let you re-render a single RAW file with different settings, which is the fastest way to compare.
Browse every recipe by its base on the browse page, or start with the most common bases here: Classic Chrome and Classic Negative.