As I wrote recently, I had bought my dream camera (X-Pro3) and then returned it. It did not live up to my expectations. But what it did have was the Classic Negative film simulation – and that I do miss on my X-T2. There is just something about the colors of that simulation that really pleases me.
Luckily though, all is not lost. There is a very talented person who has recreated the Classic Negative film simulation for use in Capture One on top of fuji Raw-files. And to my eyes it looks extremely close to the real deal. So while I really want the look straight out of camera, it is not like I cannot get the look at all. It just adds a few extra steps for my photography flow.
Under normal circumstances, my entire photography-flow is handled on Ubuntu, using Rapid Photo Downloader to transfer the images from the SD-card, digiKam to tag and manage the photos and finally Darktable to edit and export them.
In order to use the Classic Negative simulation that Seim has created (https://seimeffects.com/tag/classic-negative/) I have to leave “Linux-land” and boot into Windows. From here I can import RAF-files from the SD-card, apply the simulation on import in Capture One and then export jpegs to a network-folder. Then I once again restart into Ubuntu and follow the flow above only downloading from the network-folder instead of from the SD-card.
So it is far from straight-out-of-camera, but it works.
Here are a number of images from a recent motorcycle trip, which all have had the Classic Negative film simulation applied to RAW-files in Capture One.
In camera I actually shot all these with the Kodachrome II recipe, which I really liked. I started by importing the jpegs and really liked the look of Kodachrome II. But once I made the edits in Capture One with the Classic Negative simulation, then there was no doubt. I liked those even better!
In some ways it makes me happy that I can make these images with the X-T2. But on the other hand, one of the reasons for choosing Fujifilm is the awesome jpegs and this workflow does not really support that use case.
Looking at them once again has me looking at X-E4’s. But this time as a side-kick to the X-T2. Perhaps I would like it more if my expectations are lower. I really liked the fact that paired with the 27mm F2.8 it fits in a large pocket. Looking at some of the images I took with the X-E4 before returning it, proves that the image quality is there.
But can I live without all the buttons of the X-T2 that makes it easier to switch between settings? And can I have it as a side-piece to my older X-T2. In which cases would I reach for the X-T2 instead of the X-E4? When it rains, perhaps?