Category Archives: Reviews and Recommendations

A Look at FUJIFILM’s CLASSIC Neg. Film Simulation

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One year ago this week, I posted my first video tutorial here YouTube. It was a detailed explanation of the Fuji film simulations and how you can use them to maximize your own creativity with your Fuji camera. That video has become my most watched tutorial, so if you haven’t seen it, you can find it here at this link. 

A few months after I made that video, Fuji added another film sim to the mix called CLASSIC Neg. It was introduced with the release of the X-Pro 3, and it’s now found inside the X-T4 and X100V as well. 

CLASSIC Neg quickly became one of my favorite film sims, and I’ve used it extensively on a wide variety of subject matter during the course of this year, so in this post, I’m going to give you a close look at CLASSIC Neg. and show you what you can do with it. 

Like most of their other film sims, CLASSIC Neg. was directly patterned after one of Fuji’s legacy films.

Built to replicate the look of the FUJICOLOR SUPERIA color print film introduced in the late 1990s, it’s designed to give you the look of consumer color negative film that was so prevalent in the decades before digital photography took over. That said, you can actually still buy SUPERA print film.

In a sense, CLASSIC Neg. is designed to look like snapshots of old, you know, back when we shot print film and got our pictures back from the lab in that little envelope. Or, depending on your age, maybe you don’t know. For millions of amateur shooters, that’s what photography was all about through much of our lives.

 

With CLASSIC Neg., Fujifilm digs into its 85+ year history with film and color, and gives us a unique, but familiar look. This new film sim taps into our color memories with a bold and unique expression that plays nicely with the already rich set of color choices we have on the X Series.

The color palette of CLASSIC Neg is interesting. It has a similar, strong tonality to CLASSIC CHROME, but with slightly richer “Fuji-style” colors that you see in PROVIA the PRO Neg. film sims. It also has whiter whites than most of the other film sims, even Velvia. To my eyes, the best way to describe it would be Pro Neg Hi with brighter highlights, slightly darker shadows and a little bit less saturation.

The overall effect is a slightly muted, but high contrast profile that, again, is reminiscent of glossy lab prints that so many of us grew up on. 

It might not seem so great at first. After all, it’s not as vivid as velvia and it’s got got that high contrast without those bold colors, but this gives CLASSIC NEG it a very representational look, and if you’ve watched a few of my video lesson on YouTube, then you’ve probably heard me talk about the notion of how the ideas of representation and abbreviation play in photography. 

In my mind, making powerful images isn’t about perfectly reproducing your subjects, it’s about creating a visual representation of your scene and abbreviating the strongest visual elements and ideas present. Instead of spoon feeding everything to your viewers, you make them work for it and try to imagine what you didn’t show in your picture. It’s that whole less is more concept. 

I find CLASSIC NEG to be a highly versatile film sim. It seems to work with just about every kind of subject and it produces a very cool and timeless look that holds a great deal of style. It works well in the sunshine and unlike a film sim like Velvia, it actually works quite well in the shade and under white, overcast skies.

Its qualities are accented in a wonderful way when you add the COLOR CHROME FX Blue effect, especially when you have any kind of blue tones in your image, either blue sky or open shade. 

In addition, it’s very customizable. I love dialing the shadow detail up and down to play around with the contrast, and also boosting or cutting the COLOR control, in order to make it even more bold or subdued, depending on the look you’re going for. 

A few weeks ago, I was out photographing at the Knik Glacier, and I took out my X100 to grab a few shots. As soon as I looked through the viewfinder, I was blown away by what I saw. When I looked at the image, I noticed that the camera had been set to Classic Neg, with -2 HL, -2 and +4 color with CCFX Blue Strong and the Grain setting to WEAK.

CLASSIC Neg. -2 Highlights, -2 Shadows, +4 Color.

 

I don’t even remember what I had been shooting, I was probably just messing around with the controls, but that’t what is was on, and it looked amazing. That’s that representational look I was talking about. This color isn’t 100% accurate, that doesn’t really matter to our eyes. Our brain sees beyond that, and in our minds, it just looks really cool.

That’s how well these color sims have been engineered. They’ve been crafted with such careful precision. Not every color recipe looks great, and you can imagine that certain color combinations might look pretty bad. The Fuji colors play so nicely with our brains and with the notion of memorized color, which is a concept I talked about in my last video about using bold and subdued colors in your photography.

CLASSIC NEG also look awesome in combination with the new CLARITY setting you have inside the Q menu. You can crank the clarity up to add nice, bold definition and harder edges to the photo, or you can can it deal it back to soften things up and reduce the overall contrast. Since the CLARITY control goes form +5 to -5, this gives you a lot of leeway for making fine tune adjustments to your image and coming up with unique looks.

Classic Neg, -1 Shadow, +5 Clarity

 

In fact, I’d say that CLASSIC NEG is one of the reason I’ve used my X100V so much this year. As much as I love my X-T3, it doesn’t have CLASSIC NEG, at least not yet. I’ll often take both cameras with me and use them side by side, keeping my X100V set to CLASSIC NEG.

Given that the X100V, X-Pro 3 and X-T3 all have the same internal processor, though, I don’t see any reason why CLASSIC Neg can’t be added the X-T3 and X-T30 in with a future firmware update. I haven’t heard anything from Fuji on this, but I’m going to remain hopeful.

If you do have an older Fuji and are thinking about upgrading, this might be one of the strongest reasons to upgrade to one of the three new models.

As you can see, I really love this new sim, it has a wonderfully rich and characteristic look, and it’s yet one more tool that we have to evoke and inspire different moods with our imagery.

So much of Fujifilm’s legacy is wrapped around film and color, and the film simulations are the extension of that rich heritage in the digital world. I just think that the film simulations are the lifeblood of the X Series cameras, and they foster such a unique style of creativity. They allow you to quickly choose a look that matches your mood and your own creative ideas for the scene, and quickly create an image that matches your own ideas and feelings in the moment. 

So, if you have an X100V, X-Pro 3 or X-T4, I encourage you to give the new Classic Neg a try. I think that once you become familiar with it’s visual characteristics, you’ll find it to be a pretty useful color profile for creating image that have a familiar sense of drama.

You can watch my video tutorial about CLASSIC Neg. here.

Velvia

CLASSIC Neg.

CLASSIC Neg. -2 Shadow Tone, +4 Color

Luminar 4.3 Adds New Camera Support and a Search Tool

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Skylum has released the version 4.3 update to Luminar 4, and with it comes a bread new Search Tool. In addition, they’ve added a number of performance upgrades, a better visual experience when using Looks, and support for some of the latest model cameras, including the Fujifilm X-T4 and X100V.

The new Search Tool is a long awaited feature that adds a totally new functionality to the program, and helps speed up your workflow by streamlining the way that you find your images in the Library.

Located in the Gallery View window, Luminar’s new Search Tool allows you to find images by name, folder, date or extension. (You can watch a quick demo of the search function here). This allows you to quickly locate single images, or batches of images.

You can’t search by caption or keyword yet, but I would imaging that’s coming. As with everything else, the Skylum engineers are moving in steps as they build out the program.

Instead of trying to add everything at once, which make potential problems much more difficult to diagnose, they add one or two new features at a time and improve functionality on a continuous basis. This keeps things much more simple and streamlined in the design process.

That said, even though Luminar’s new Search Tool isn’t quite as powerful as what we’re used to in many programs, it’s a good start, and something they can now build on.

Other Visual & Performance Improvements in v.4.3

In addition to the Search Tool, Luminar 4.3 opens RAW files even faster than before, and overall, the program has been optimized to use considerably less memory, so tools will be more responsive and operate more smoothly. This is especially true with the Crop tool, which has been tweaked for even better performance.

The Looks panel has been improved to give a much better viewing experience. Now, when you hover over a specific Look down in the Looks bar, instead of seeing the preview of that look on the tiny thumbnail, you’ll see the effect previewed on your main image. This will give you a much better idea of how each Look will affect your pictures. (See an example here.)

Luminar has also added support for the latest cameras, including the Fujifilm X-T4, X100V, XT-200, Nikon D780, Z50, Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, Sony A9 II and others from Olympus and Panasonic.

Click here to see all of the new performance enhancements and upgrades in Luminar v.4.3. It’s a free update if you’re already a Luminar 4 user.

If you’re not a Luminar 4 user, you can check out the program here, and if you decide to purchase it, use coupon code DANBAILEY to save $10. 

Fujifilm Announces the X-T4 with IBIS In-Body Stabilization

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Last night, Fujifilm announced the brand new X-T4, the new flagship camera in the X Series lineup. The obvious successor to the already awesome X-T3, the X-T4 adds the one thing that a lot of people have been pining for: IBIS, or In-Body Stabilization.

In a way, the X-T4 fills two roles. Not only does it improve on the X-T3’s impressive performance, it takes over for the discontinued X-H1 as a stabilized sensor camera. Using a series of magnets instead of springs, the X-T4’s IBIS allows for an even smaller footprint inside the camera, and improves accuracy up to 8 times better than what the X-H1 offered.

Designed for shooting extremely high quality stills and video, the X-T4 also solves the number one problem that many X Series users were facing, especially when shooting video or when using the camera in extreme cold:

It has a bigger battery. 👍

As X-H1 users noticed, the 5-Axis In-Body Stabilization uses more battery power, and with heavy video shooting, the NP-126S battery didn’t always last very long. Switch to 4K and battery life is even shorter.

The X-T4 uses a brand new NP-W235 battery, which is said to provide an average of around 400-600 shots per change, as opposed to the 300-400, which is typical for the NP-126. When shooting 4K video, the X-T4’s battery life is spec’d at 110 minutes, vs. 55 minutes for the X-T3.

Add in the new VG-XT4 Vertical Battery Grip, and you can get up to 1,700 frames per charge and dramatically increase your video shooting time. There’s also a Dual Battery Charger for the new NP-W235 batteries.

Main Camera Specs

On a base level, the X-T4 looks very similar to the X-T3 under the hood. It has the same Back Side Illuminated 26.1 MP APS-C X-Trans 4 CMOS sensor, and Fuji’s X Processor Pro image processing chip. So, image and video quality essentially remain the same.

Both cameras have a native ISO range between 160 and 12,800, and both cameras shoot Full HD, High Speed (Slow Motion) Full HD, and DCI/UHD 4K at up to 60p (59.94p) at up to 400Mbps, with a shutter range of 1/4 sec to 1/8,000 sec. In addition, the X-T4 allows you to choose ether MOV format or MP4 video format. This gives you even more flexibility for sharing/uploading your video files.

With its increased power, though, the X-T4 can shoot an impressive 15 frames per second when using the mechanical shutter. Compare that to the X-T3’s 11 fps max. Using the electronic shutter, both cameras can shoot at up to 30 fps, and both cameras use Fuji’s awesome PRE-SHOT ES setting.

Both the X-T4 and X-T3 have 100% phase detect pixel coverage on the sensor and use the same autofocus system.

However, with updated AF algorithms, the X-T4 now has even faster focus performance, better AF tracking, highly improved Face and Eye Detection AF, and higher sensitivity for acquiring and tracking subjects in low light. The X-T4’s AF system will focus down to -6.0EV, which is nearing the level of complete darkness.

New Features

The X-T3 contains a number of new features, some of which were first introduced into the X-Pro 3 late last year, like CLARITY, COLOR CHROME BLUE FX, and the HIGHLIGHT/SHADOW Tone Curve setting.

However the X-T4 takes it up a notch and offers the HIGHLIGHT and SHADOW Tone Curve controls with half stop adjustments. This give you even more flexibility for capturing your scenes exactly how you want them to look right inside the camera.

It also has three “Boost” modes that change the responsiveness LCD and EVF, depending on what you’re shooting.

  • Luminance Priority: Enhances the subject when shooting in low light
  • Resolution Priority: Allows you to see more of the fine details
  • Frame Rate Priority: Allows for smoother transitions, essential when shooting moving subjects

 

The X-T4 also features a brand new Film Simulation called “ETERNA Bleach Bypass.” Designed primarily for filmmakers, this new color profile produces a high-contrast look, while keeping the color saturation low.

ETERNA – Photo by Pål Laukli

ETERNA Bleach Bypass – Photo by Pål Laukli

 

Body Design

The X-T4 retains the same basic look and ergonomic functionality of the X-T3, with a few small tweaks, as you can see in the pictures below.

The old AF-L/AE-L buttons have been replaced by an AF-ON button, which I assume will also work as a Fn button. The Q Button has been moved up as well, and now there’s a simple “STILL and MOVIE” control on the color below the shutter speed dial.

The other big change is the new Vary-Angle LCD Touch Screen, which allows you to close the screen against the body for distraction-free shooting, or preventing it from being damaged, say if you’re scrambling on sketchy terrain or banging the camera around, which some of us do sometimes.

The X-T4 body is slightly bigger than the X-T3, but not by much. It also has a slightly larger grip, which will certainly appeal to many photographers. It’s not nearly as big as the X-H1 grip was, but it does offer a larger hand hold than the X-T3.

Overall

Fujifilm certainly jumped ahead of the usual X Series update schedule. It comes only a year and a half after the X-T3’s release, but with constantly improving technology and increasing competition and demands from shooters, I guess it’s not a surprise, especially with the demise of the short lived X-H1.

Obviously the X-H1 allowed Fujifilm to figure out the whole IBIS thing, but let’s face it, that camera was kind of an oddball in the lineup. If you loved your X-T2/3, then you probably didn’t like the body layout of the H1. It looks like Fuji finally decided to give people what they were asking for: a stabilized sensor X-T series camera.

So, here it is, through and through: A fully capable IBIS body that offers all the benefits of the stabilized sensor, but that faithfully retains the classic X Series design and ergonomics that we’ve all grown to love. In my mind, this is probably the best move they could make.

There’s no question, the X-T4 is the best, fastest and highest performing X Series camera ever made. Whether you shoot stills or video, this camera will get the job done for you in a big way.

For everyone who’s been waiting for this camera, you only have to wait a little bit longer. Official release date on the X-T4 is April 30, but of course, if you preorder, there’s always a chance it will arrive sooner. 

If you already have an X-T3, then there might not enough reasons to upgrade to the 4. I would say that if you’re a professional and you need the fastest, most capable system for high-end photography and video, then sure… get the X-T4 and either sell the 3 or keep it as a superbly awesome backup/second body.

Of course, having IBIS on the X-T4 can extend your shutter speed by up to 6.5 stops. This is a big concern if you love to use the Fuji primes, which don’t have OIS stabilization built into the lens. This can be a huge boon to anyone for shooting in lower light.

If you’re one of those people who are still using the X-T2, or even the X-T1, then this is probably your logical upgrade… unless you want to save a few hundred dollars and pick up the X-T3 on sale. (It’s currently $200 off, with a price of only $1,299. That’s quite a bit less than the X-T4, which has a $1,699 price tag.)

Either way, we’ve got to hand it to Fuji; they’ve really delivered with the X-T4. Even the trolls will have a hard time picking this one apart.

You can preorder the X-T4 here, and you can see Fuji’s official X-T4 site here. 

And you can watch this X-T4 preview video by my good friend Bryan Minear.

Finally, now that the X-T4 has officially been announced, I can get to work updating my X SERIES UNLIMITED eBook to match this, and also the X-Pro 3 and X100V. Man… what a great time this is to be a Fuji user!

First Look at the Brand New Fujifilm X100V

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Nine years ago, in February 2011, Fujifilm released the first generation X100. Being a brand new camera that was designed from the ground up in nearly every single way, the X100 was the very first model of the newly launched … Continue reading →

A Trio of Luminar 4 Tutorials – How I Use The Program

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After much anticipation, Luminar 4 has finally been released. In addition to getting an update to the user interface, Skylum has introduced some very powerful new processing tools, including AI Structure, AI Skin and AI Portrait Enhancer tools, and AI Sky Replacement. … Continue reading →

My First Look Review of the New Fujifilm X-Pro 3

Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog Posted on by

Anytime Fujifilm releases a new camera, we can look forward to many of the updated specs and features being populated into future models, and in many cases, with already current models via firmware updates. Just as the X-Pro 2 introduced … Continue reading →

A Look at the New AI Structure Tool Inside Luminar 4

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  Luminar 4 is right around the corner, and as I mentioned in my recent post, it’s coming with some brand new tools, including the much talked about AI Structure tool. In addition, Luminar 4 has reworked the user interface on … Continue reading →