Fujifilm Film Simulations in Lightroom, on Any Camera

Fujifilm got a lot right. Their cameras really are fantastic tools, and wonderful companions in everyday life. I remember how much I wanted the first X100 back then, and when the X-Pro came out I was a fan of the concept. It took years before I finally owned a Fujifilm camera. Today I've moved past my Fuji X phase, at least for now, but I miss the film simulations every day.

That's the whole reason Classic X exists. For the André who dreamed of an X100, and for today's André who wishes his Nikon Z6 had Classic Chrome or Acros. And for you, if you shoot Canon, Olympus, Leica, Sony or Panasonic, or if you use an early Fuji X model. The simulations can't go into the camera, but they can go into Lightroom.

What a film simulation is

A film simulation is a color profile inside the camera. It decides how the camera renders color, contrast and tone, and each one is inspired by a Fuji film stock. Acros is a high-contrast black and white. Classic Chrome is a muted palette that many people compare to slide film. Classic Neg is a cinematic negative look, often compared to Fuji Superia. Velvia, Provia and Astia are the slide film simulations, from saturated to natural.

Here's the catch: they only exist in Fujifilm cameras and in Fuji's own software. Open a Fuji raw file in Lightroom and Adobe applies its own profiles, so the result can differ from what the camera showed you.

Two ways to get the look

Adobe offers camera-matching profiles for Fuji raw files. They get you close to the in-camera look, on Fuji cameras only.

For every other camera there's Classic X Film Simulations, four profiles for Lightroom:

• Classic X Acros, built around the high-contrast aesthetic Acros is known for.
• Classic X Chrome, a vibrant but subdued palette in the spirit of a Kodachrome-like slide look.
• Classic X Neg, influenced by the Superia color style.
• Classic X Nostalgic Neg, an emotional, narrative look with a hint of classic allure.

They work in Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw.

What to expect

No profile turns a Nikon file into a Fuji file. Sensors, raw data and in-camera processing are different. What a good profile does is move the color toward the character of the simulation: the contrast of Acros, the muted palette of Chrome, the cinematic feel of Neg. It's a look you can use, and it's not a copy.

Shoot raw and get exposure and white balance right first. A profile gives you a starting color rendering, it doesn't fix a badly exposed frame.

If you want the film itself

The simulations are inspired by film. The stocks themselves, Fuji 400H, Velvia, Provia, Astia and Superia, are part of The Classic Film Presets 2021. If you want to try a Fuji look for €5 first, there's the Almost Free Fuji 400H Preset. And if you wonder how to choose between all of this, I wrote down how I'd do it in "How to choose film presets for Lightroom".