As a part of the Philadelphia photowalk that I co-led last month, I gave a presentation at Unique Photo on Fujifilm’s Film Simulations and my Film Simulation Recipes. While I was researching for that presentation, I came across a statement by Fujifilm where they dubbed the new Reala Ace film sim as “a negative for the new era.” That slogan—negative for the new era—caught my imagination, and made me consider what it might mean, and how that could translate into a Recipe aesthetic.
Fujifilm claims that the Reala Ace film simulation is modeled after the Reala Ace 100 color negative film, which was a variant of Fujicolor Superia Reala 100 that was only sold in Japan; however, I believe that is more marketing than reality. The emulsion that the Reala Ace film sim is the most similar to is Fujicolor PRO 160C. In my opinion, Fujifilm should have called it PRO Neg. C, as it is clearly in the same family as PRO Neg. Std and PRO Neg. Hi, and is not a Superia aesthetic, which is what the Classic Negative film simulation mimics. But, either way, the Reala Ace film simulation is quite nice, and definitely has a color negative film quality to it.
Prior to making this Fujicolor Film Recipe, I pulled out a photobox from my closet, and begin sorting through some of my prints from 15-20 years ago that I knew I had captured using a Fujicolor negative film. All of them were printed on Crystal Archive paper at Ritz camera. While I used those pictures to help create this Recipe, I didn’t try to closely copy any specific aesthetic, but was more just generally inspired by those prints. Later, I dug out the negatives (stored in a different box), and I was a little surprised by what films were actually used for those photos: Fujicolor PRO 160S, Fujicolor NPS 160, Fujicolor PRO 400H, Fujicolor Superia Reala 100, Fujicolor Superia 100, and Kodak Gold 100 (oops… I guess I got that one wrong).
I would describe this new Fujicolor Film Recipe as generally similar to a Fujicolor negative film printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. It’s true-to-life, and not particularly punchy. It definitely has the right feel for printed Fujicolor PRO 160S, although it’s not specifically closely modeled after that—it’s more of a happy accident than on purpose; however, it was inspired in part by that emulsion, so it shouldn’t be too surprising.
This Film Simulation Recipe is compatible with all fifth-generation Fujifilm X-series cameras, which (as of this writing) are the X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, and X-T50 cameras. You can also use it on the latest GFX models; however, it will render slightly different (try it anyway). For best results, use in sunny daylight; however, as you can see from the photos in this article, it can be used in a variety of light conditions. It is intended to be your Fujicolor “negative” for the new era.
Film Simulation: Reala Ace
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Strong, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Weak
Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak
White Balance: 5500K, -1 Red & -1 Blue
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -0.5
Color: -2
Sharpness: -1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Fujicolor Film” Film Simulation Recipe on a Fujifilm X100VI:
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Fujifilm X100VI in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X100VI in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
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