Dissection 17 - Those Custom Settings
A closer look.
Original Post: 25
So, this is a quick follow-up to the 25 post. As I wrote in that piece, a lot of it is still a work in progress, which is refreshing: after so many years with Fujifilm gear, it’s nice to sit down, review old habits, and just rethink.
Plus, it’s also a chance to revitalize my older cameras. I’d already started moving in this direction, but the pandemic really deepened my Gear Acquisition Syndrome fatigue—for obvious financial reasons, but also—and more importantly—at a quasi philosophical level. The X-Pro1 still takes fantastic pictures, and so does the X100. I could probably freeze the gear I currently own and be set for life, as long as it stays in working order. I’ve shot the latest cameras and they’re wonderful…but they don’t change the images I create. Not fundamentally and, frankly, not enough to matter.
Ok, let’s get to the images. This post was a huge melting pot: three cameras and three custom presets. I don’t think I’ve ever mixed so many elements on a single page. All the pictures were an almost instant reaction to Roetsch’s recipes: I spent an hour or so loading custom presets and then went to town. But as I was reviewing the images for this post, I realized that, despite those experimentations, I’d actually returned to the same two colour recipes, over and over again. I’m not sure what to make of this, but it does point to one crucial variable that we often treat as little more than an afterthought. More on that in a sec. Here’s a quick run through of the setups.
X-Pro3:
Unsurprisingly, I shot most of the images with this camera. The colour images all use Vintage Color V2with its native WB. They were then processed with a new style I’m still working on. I shot one BW image with the X-Pro3, using one of my own (new) presets: SAUL BW. It’s a less contrasty version of DAIDO that incorporates strong grain. I was shooting with the XF 35 mm f/2.
X100F:
The colour images all use Stephen Shore Kodacolor. But I then applied different styles to process them: PUSHED02 (mostly), and RUBICON on the others. The BW presets were my own: DAIDO and SAUL BW again.
X-Pro2:
Very similar setup to the X100F: Stephen Shore Kodacolor and DAIDO. But I changed the warm Shore WB on the colour image. This is the XF 35 mm f/1.4.
Before and After
Let’s look at SOOC and processed versions side by side (make sure you click to get the full image). I’ve doodled in the camera model for reference.
Series I
Series II
You’ll notice I cheated on some of these: I used the Shore recipe but converted to b/w.
Series III
That first image is the X-Pro2 shot on which I switched the WB.
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So what’s my takeaway so far? What’s that all-important variable? White balance. This isn’t a discovery, I’ve always used the WB Shift function when shooting JPEG, but it’s a renewed focus. We can accomplish so much in-camera by setting the right tone (literally) while we shoot. The fact that we can see it “live” means zero guesswork, too (1). And the impact of white balance on any film simulation is much more important than tweaking shadows and highlights, which we can so easily do in post. Colour+simulation= Fuji character. It’s what the engineers design for, I believe.
With this in mind, I’ve also added Colour Effect functions to all my custom colour presets, something I hadn’t really bothered with in the past. Those settings are usually subtle…until they’re not, and they suddenly help to reign in intense blues or reds.
I’m still on the fence regarding Clarity: it adds processing time, which results in a short blackout. And I’m not sure how much I like the results—sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. On the other hand, I’d dismissed Grain originally but I’m now warming up to it, especially Weak-Large which is nice and film-like on b/w images.
Obviously, shooting Raw+Fine resolves any dilemma regarding baked-in settings…but I like going all in with JPEG. I enjoy the irreversibility, I think. Which is why I’m still going to be careful with some of the more extreme settings.
I’ve also started experimenting with the idea of loading different “sets” of camera presets via Fujifilm X Acquire, but I’m still playing around. I’ll do a follow-up if it becomes clearer. Same goes for Fujifilm X Raw Studio. (2)
So that’s a look inside my recipe dive. I’m curious to hear about your experiences, so hit the comments below if you feel like sharing.
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This is the major difference between changing WB in the menus and using a dedicated fn button. With the button, the changes immediately appear in the EVF or LCD, and we can access WB Shift to alter the tint as we look at the scene.
I was excited to discover the app could load/unload presets with the X-Pro3. Then I plugged in my other cameras and 2-way communication was nowhere to be found. I still find the app a little strange.
