A recipe is just a list of image quality settings. You could dial them in by hand every time you change looks, but you'd spend more time in menus than shooting. Every Fujifilm X camera since the X-Trans III generation has sevencustom settings slots, C1 to C7, and each one can hold a complete recipe. Load your favourites once, and switching from a warm Portra look to a contrasty black and white takes two button presses.
Menu names below are from current X-Trans IV and V firmware. Older cameras use the same structure with slightly different wording. If something doesn't match, check your camera's manual onFujifilm's manual site.
Before you start
- Check the recipe matches your camera. If it uses Clarity, Color Chrome FX Blue, a grain size or a film simulation your camera doesn't have, read how to adapt a recipe for older cameras first.
- Set the file format to JPEG or RAW + JPEG. Recipes only change the JPEG. A RAW file opened in Lightroom or Capture One won't show the look.
- Turn off Auto Update Custom Setting (in the I.Q. menu on most X-Trans IV and V bodies). When it's on, any setting you change while a C slot is active gets written back into that slot, so one quick change to white balance on a sunny afternoon permanently alters your recipe.
Saving a recipe step by step
- Press MENU and open the I.Q. (Image Quality Setting) tab.
- Choose EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING.
- Pick an empty slot, for example C1, and select EDIT/CHECK.
- Work down the list and set each value from the recipe: film simulation, grain effect, Color Chrome Effect, Color Chrome FX Blue, white balance (including the red and blue shift), dynamic range, highlight, shadow, color, sharpness, high ISO noise reduction and clarity.
- Press BACK. The camera asks whether to save. Confirm with OK.
- Choose EDIT CUSTOM NAME and give the slot the recipe's name. A slot called "Kodak Gold" is a lot easier to find later than "C4". Older cameras don't have this option, so write your slot list down instead.
There's a shortcut: SAVE CURRENT SETTINGS copies whatever the camera is set to right now into the slot. It's handy if you've been tweaking a recipe while shooting and want to keep the result.
White balance shift is the step people miss
Recipes give white balance as something like "Auto, +2 Red & -4 Blue". The shift isn't a separate menu item. Select the white balance mode (Auto, Daylight, a Kelvin value), then press right on the d-pad or turn the rear dial to open the shift grid, and move the dot to the given red and blue values. If a recipe looks noticeably colder or greener than the examples, the WB shift is the first thing to check.
What custom settings don't store
Custom settings slots store image quality settings, not exposure. A few values printed in most recipes have to be set separately:
- Exposure compensation. Recipes often give a typical range such as "+1/3 to +1". That's a starting point you set with the exposure compensation dial or your assigned control while shooting.
- ISO. "Auto, up to ISO 6400" means setting up one of the camera's Auto ISO presets (shooting menu, ISO AUTO SETTING) with a maximum of 6400, and putting the ISO dial on A on cameras that have one.
- Dynamic range has an ISO floor. DR200 and DR400 only work above a minimum ISO. If the camera greys out DR400, your ISO is too low. See the lighting guide for the numbers.
Switching recipes in the field
The quickest route on most cameras is the Q menu. The custom setting tile is usually top left. Select it and scroll through C1–C7 with the rear dial, and the viewfinder preview updates as you go, so you can compare recipes on the scene in front of you. You can also go through I.Q. → SELECT CUSTOM SETTING, but that takes longer.
Some bodies offer more. The X-H2, X-H2S and X-S20 have C positions on the mode dial, and the X-T50 and X-M5 have film simulation dials with FS positions you can link to your own settings. These dial positions can store more than image quality, so check your manual for exactly what each one saves.
A sensible way to fill seven slots
Seven slots fill up fast if you load whatever's popular this week. Instead, cover the situations you actually shoot in:
| Slot | Purpose | Example from this site |
|---|---|---|
| C1 | Everyday colour, Auto WB | Reggie's Portra |
| C2 | Punchy, saturated sunny days | Kodak Ultramax 400 |
| C3 | Classic Negative look | Reggie's Superia |
| C4 | Soft, warm portraits | Portra 400 |
| C5 | Night and artificial light | CineStill 800T |
| C6 | Black and white | Tri-X 400 |
| C7 | Whatever you're testing this month | Anything from the full list |
The point is variety in light handling, not just colour. Two warm Classic Chrome recipes with Auto WB will look nearly the same, while a fixed-WB recipe and a black and white recipe give you real options when the light changes.
Troubleshooting
- My slot keeps changing. Auto Update Custom Setting is on. Turn it off and re-save the slot.
- Photos don't look like the examples. Check the WB shift, check that you're viewing the JPEG and not a RAW preview, and check exposure. Most film-look recipes are meant to be shot slightly bright.
- A setting is missing from the list. Your camera doesn't support it. Follow theadaptation guide.
- I want to try a recipe on photos I've already taken. If you shot RAW, use the camera's in-camera RAW conversion (playback → RAW conversion) or Fujifilm X RAW Studio on a computer, and apply the recipe settings there.