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17 Comments

  1. Fran Velasco
    December 14, 2021 @ 3:26 pm

    Thanks for sharing your journey! I’ve enjoyed the article and now I have a couple questions:

    1. This is the most awesome usage of the Portra 400 recipe hands down I’ve seen. The pictures have even better tones than the ones in the Fuji Weekly website. Any tips? I have an X-E3, so same sensor as the X-Pro2, can’t wait to hear from you!

    2. Does C1 really apply the settings from the recipe to the RAW file? Highlights, shadows, sharpness, WB… I can only apply the camera profile (Velvia, Astia…) in Lightroom, so maybe C1 would be a better option if it indeed does that to the RAW file.

    Thank you, Guillaume! Keep shooting!!

    Reply

    • Guillaume
      December 16, 2021 @ 10:32 am

      Hey there !
      I am sorry for the quite late reply, I’ve been having issues to load the comment and had to reach the owners of the magazine, who suggested that I open the article in another browers and Eureka, it worked !
      So now I can answer,

      1. Thanks ! So much ! For those kind words.
      I found myself twitching more and more the white balance, sometimes going a bit colder than it’s written in the recipe. The two keys, I’d say, is to really pick the simulation depending on the situation. I use Portra under softer light, grey-ish days, it works better. And Kodachrome under harsh light / golden hours. Also I try to always aim at the blues with both, and Portra for greens, Kodachrome for warmer colors.
      Now I kinda miss the Kodachrome blues on the X-Trans IV sensor, I think they looked better than on the III sensor. But what I’d say, to get better tones, is to use those recipes how they are not supposed to be used… I mean, it’s suppose to replicate film, so you pick your recipe, and then shoot. When I used to shoot jpg (yeah this has changed too..), I picked my subject, and then chose the recipe.

      2. C1 doesn’t apply all the settings by itself, but there’s a way to cheat. You can actually parameter how you want to import your RAWs (or jpg if you import jpg in C1), and have some kind of an auto output setting when you import your files. I had created a few, depending on the recipe, but with those two it’s quite easy : contrasty, and warm white balance.
      This meant the files were imported with the film profile used by Fuji (C1 replicates them, but I think Lightroom does it too) and the contrast, the WB, etc… It’s like a preset, applied directly when importing the files, which felt like it was imported “as is”.
      However, I think it’s quite a weird process, and I’ve moved passed that, as now I only shoot Classic Chrome RAW, and then tweak everything I want in post.

      Sorry if this isn’t clear, I’m not a real tech guy, but I hoped it was useful. Have a nice day !

      Reply

      • Fran Velasco
        December 16, 2021 @ 10:51 am

        Thank you so much for the answers! I’ll play a little bit more with the settings to finally nail that Portra 400 look.

        Have a nice day!!

        Reply

  2. Uwe Matzke
    December 14, 2021 @ 8:15 pm

    Hello Guillaume,
    very interesting article. Thank you. I also use Capture One. Where do you set so that the settings are also written into the RAW file? That would also interest me very much. Good luck for the future.
    Uwe Matzke (Germany)

    Reply

    • Guillaume
      December 16, 2021 @ 10:36 am

      Hey there Uwe (I’m curious on how would you pronunce that, as a non German ? Ouveh for a French nitwit like me ?)

      Thanks for your kind words. I’ve replied just earlier to Fran Velasco on a quite related question, so here’s what I wrote to him (sorry; it’s definitely copy paste)

      C1 doesn’t apply all the settings by itself, but there’s a way to cheat. You can actually parameter how you want to import your RAWs (or jpg if you import jpg in C1), and have some kind of an auto output setting when you import your files. I had created a few, depending on the recipe, but with those two it’s quite easy : contrasty, and warm white balance.
      This meant the files were imported with the film profile used by Fuji (C1 replicates them, but I think Lightroom does it too) and the contrast, the WB, etc… It’s like a preset, applied directly when importing the files, which felt like it was imported “as is”.
      However, I think it’s quite a weird process, and I’ve moved passed that, as now I only shoot Classic Chrome RAW, and then tweak everything I want in post.

      I don’t use that anymore since I moved to C1 Pro, but I guess you can still find it in the importation settings

      Sorry for not being a straight and useful answer guy ahah…
      Hope to see more from you ! Wish you the very best.

      Reply

      • Uwe Matzke
        December 16, 2021 @ 1:00 pm

        Hello Guillaume,
        many thanks for the answer. I’ll try it.
        I always wish good light.
        If necessary, excuse the english (google translate)
        Uwe

        Reply

        • Guillaume
          December 16, 2021 @ 1:22 pm

          Don’t worry about your English, mate !

          It’s hard to find good light, and it’s genuinely the biggest pain as a photographer (and also the biggest joy !)
          I recently find myself more and more confronted to this issue : how to shoot under “grey” light, when the sky is grey, with no shadows anywhere… If you have any answer, don’t hesitate to reach me by mail !

          Also for good light, I recommand this book : Michael Freeman – Capturing Light

          Reply

  3. Alex
    December 15, 2021 @ 12:04 am

    Beautiful pictures and beautiful writing. I enjoyed every detail. Talking about detail…I‘m French yet I‘m replying to you in English.

    Reply

    • Guillaume
      December 16, 2021 @ 10:38 am

      Et bien merci beaucoup Alex ! Moi je ne vais pas dans le détail… alors je réponds en Français !

      Have a nice day 😉 (je mixe..)

      Reply

  4. Doug
    December 16, 2021 @ 3:46 am

    I’m like you, when not actually shooting, i catch myself staring at my X-Pro3! 2 questions: what strap is that in the product shot of your equipment, and how do you like the Kamlan 50 1.1?

    Reply

    • Guillaume
      December 16, 2021 @ 10:48 am

      Yeah those cameras are just… wow ! I bought an X-H1 as a second body, and now I just think of going dual X-Pro 2 instead.. This will be another story ahah.

      If you meant the strap on the X-Pro 2, it’s made by Simplr. Beautifully made, light and solid, I quite like it !
      The other, on the Pentax, I can’t remember that well.. Bought it on etsy, from Greece, I think.

      And the KamLan.. oh my oh my. It’s such a nice lens ! I just got it at the time I wrote that article, so there’s actually no pictures taken with it ahah… But it’s really nice ! Heavy and beefy, it feels solid in hand. The aperture isn’t clicked, but damp enough not to move that easily. I’ve started portrait shooting since I have it, and when you can master your manual focus, it really is good. That 1.1 aperture means some really nice shallow depth of field, and the bokeh is amazing. What I love the most about this lens is it’s flaring. When you don’t use the hood, it flares like crazy, but when you understand and master it, it’s amazing. It gets a purple-ish color, and I love how it renders. There’s some on my instagram, but I kinda intend to write another article focused on flare and how I use and like it. It’s sharp enough for what I do with it, but I’m not that much of a sharpness-crazy guy.
      Although I would say that this lens is quite heavy, and on an X-Pro, I don’t use it that much without the grip (on the picture).
      Also note that I have the Mark II version, and apparently the Mark I isn’t really that good, and some say it’s even pretty bad. I haven’t used it, so I can’t really say… but my word would be to go with the II, directly !

      Thanks again for reading, and taking the time to comment ! Wish you the very best

      Reply

      • Guillaume
        December 16, 2021 @ 10:49 am

        Oh I can add some pics soooo…

        Reply

        • Guillaume
          December 16, 2021 @ 10:50 am

          Here you go

          Reply

        • Abdul Mannan
          December 18, 2021 @ 5:56 am

          Very good writings on Fuji film and is is also a true story. It natural that one will fall in love when once seen the beauty of it, the more one goes in depth will explore more specially playing with colours, light and depth of shadows.

          Reply

          • Guillaume
            December 18, 2021 @ 5:16 pm

            I totally agree with you ! It’s been such a nice and rich adventure so far

  5. rafael slovinscki
    December 23, 2021 @ 10:31 am

    Thanks for sharing!! 👏 👏👏

    Reply

  6. Gordon Ovenshine
    June 26, 2024 @ 9:43 pm

    Great pics. There are lots of Kodachrome 64’s around. Do you recall the settings for yours?

    Gordon

    Reply

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