FUJI X WEEKLY

White Boat at Nyhavn – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Copenhagen Negative People often ask me why I think Fujifilm Recipes have become so popular. The answer seems obvious: they produce beautiful pictures. That’s certainly part of it, but I don’t think that’s the whole story. After years of creating hundreds of Recipes and talking with photographers from around the world, I’ve come to believe that what we’re really drawn to isn’t just the look, it’s how Film Simulations and Recipes…

Nyhavn Red Boat – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Avalon Ace I just spent an absurd amount of money on a new camera: the Fujifilm GFX100RF. I’m writing this article to myself as much as I’m writing this to you, because it is so easy to believe that new gear will have a larger impact on photographic outcomes than it likely will. New cameras with the latest tech and highest specs will have some impact on our photos for sure, but probably a very small one. The next camera purchase is…

Ever since Fujifilm announced the GFX100RF back in April of last year, I’ve been saving up to purchase one. The desire for such a camera dates back 25+ years ago to my analog days, when I really wanted to shoot medium-format film. Cameras like the Contax 645, Pentax 645, and Fujica GS645 were all high on my list, but always just out of reach. In fact, in my early 20’s I sold my beloved Canon AE-1 with the intentions of using the profits (along with some other cash I had) to finally jump into…

Downtown Austin – Austin, TX – Fujifilm X-E5 – Classic Retro This Classic Retro Recipe began as an accident. The Fujifilm X-E5 has a Film Dial, but Classic Negative was excluded as a default option; however, you can set it (or any other Film Sim that was left off) to FS1-FS3, which is what I did. The X-E5 also has the option to program Recipes into FS1-FS3, and you can toggle the Recipes on and off. I was shooting with the Film Dial Recipe set, so I turned off the three Recipes set to FS1-FS3…

Let’s talk travel photography! I have two upcoming classes and photowalks this month: Austin on July 8th and Oklahoma City on July 25th. These will be centered around gear selection, tips, and Recipes for your summer outings. If you live in Texas or Oklahoma, I hope that you can make it to one of these two events. The Austin class and photowalk will be at Precision Camera & Video, located at 2438 W. Anderson Lane, on Wednesday, July 8th. The class will begin at 5 pm, afterwards—about 6:30 pm—we…

Tacoma Nights – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-T5 & 18mm f/1.4 – Vivid Velvia (modified) I have an upcoming project, and as part of that I want to create some Troy Paiva inspired night photos. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Troy creates nighttime photos of abandoned buildings, cars, airplanes, etc., illuminated by colored lights and the full moon (check out his Instagram). For this project, I want to do something similar for some of the pictures. I don’t have very much experience with this…

Red Boat in Nyhavn Canal – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Avalon Ace Last night I was scrolling Instagram when I saw a Reel that bothered me a bit. Maybe you saw it, too. It wasn’t from anyone I follow, just something the algorithm thought I would like. I would have much preferred to have been shown content from those I follow, but Meta kind of sucks and instead gives me things that I don’t really care for. The video in question was insulting, so I thought I would address it.…

Vintage Sunset – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Kodacolor Part 1: 5th-Gen, Part 1: 4th-Gen This is Part 3 of what will be a five-part series exploring Fujifilm Recipes for each generation of cameras. Beginning with the latest models, we will work our way back towards the older cameras. For each article, I will suggest seven Recipes to try. This is intended for those new to the whole Recipe thing, who haven’t tried them before (or perhaps only a few Recipes so far). The intention is to provide you…

Viltrox recently sent me a lens to try out: their brand-new AF 75mm f/1.8 EVO. This a portrait lens with a somewhat large maximum aperture. As a third-party (non-Fujinon) option, how good is it? Where does it fit within Fujifilm’s lineup? Is it worthwhile to buy? Those are the questions I will try to answer in this review. The first question I had is: what does EVO mean? Apparently, it is short for “Evolution of Essentials” and designates Viltrox’s mid-tier lineup. They call their low-budget…

Canal at Sunset – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Copenhagen Negative – XPan Over the weekend, PetaPixel published an article encouraging Fujifilm to make a digital XPan camera. Their idea was to make an X100VI-like camera with two 40mp sensors side-by-side, for 80mp 65:24 (XPan) aspect ratio pictures. If Fujifilm ever did that, I would buy it no questions asked. Within the first minute of the preorder opening, I’d purchase it. That would be a dream camera. But this isn’t Fujifilm’s…

Bike Bags – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm X-E5 – Provia Positive Someone told me, “When I want a Recipe for a certain look, I just ask AI to make it for me.” I’ve heard a similar sentiment a few times. In fact, there are a couple of website and apps that will do it for you. Just upload a picture, and AI will create a Recipe that supposedly matches the picture. ChatGPT and other AI programs can do it, too. But is it any good? It’s an easy test, actually. Use a photo that was made using a…

Fujifilm is presenting a number of summer seminars on travel lenses and travel photography across America. They’ve asked me to lead two of them: one in Austin, Texas, on July 8th, and one in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on July 25th. If you live in or near those two cities, mark your calendars now and be sure join in on the fun. The Austin class and photowalk will be at Precision Camera & Video, located at 2438 W. Anderson Lane, on Wednesday, July 8th. The class will begin at 5 pm, afterwards—about…

I wasn’t planning to write about this, but a few people reached out to me for my opinion, so I figured I might as well type out an article. Fujirumors shared some tidbits about the upcoming yet-to-be-announced Fujifilm X-T6, namely that it will have a 40mp sensor, 8K video, new battery, and new AI autofocus. Previously, Fujirumors reported that the camera will have “reworked dials” and a new Film Simulation (I discussed the potential new Film Sim here). And that’s all that’s been shared so far.…

Low Sun over Tetons – Grand Teton NP, WY – Fujifilm X-E4 – Ferrania Solaris FG 400 Among Fujifilm’s 20 Film Simulations, Eterna Bleach Bypass might be the second least popular, only ahead of Sepia. In my opinion, it is the most underrated and under-appreciated option. Introduced on the Fujifilm X-T4 in 2020, Eterna Bleach Bypass remains exclusive to newer-generation cameras, so those with older models don’t have it available to them. Of the recent Film Simulations—Reala Ace, Classic Negative,…

I wanted to give a real quick word about the Exposure Compensation found within each Fuji X Weekly Recipe. I get questions about this fairly regularly, and there seems to be some confusion. Let me give a short explanation of what is meant when a Recipe says (for example) Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically). The “typical exposure compensation” provided with each Recipe is intended to be a starting point and nothing more. It was never meant to be a rule, only general directions. For…

Yellow Rose – Litchfield Park, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – Pacific Blues Part 1: 5th-Gen This is Part 2 of what will be a five-part series exploring Fujifilm Recipes for each generation of cameras. Beginning with the latest models, we will work our way back towards the older cameras. For each article, I will suggest seven Recipes to try. This is intended for those new to the whole Recipe thing, who haven’t tried them before (or perhaps only a few Recipes so far). The intention is to provide you with a…

Sailboat at Nyhavn – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Vivid Velvia This is Part 1 of what will be a five-part series exploring Fujifilm Recipes for each generation of cameras. We will begin with the latest models, and work our way back towards the older cameras. For each article, I will suggest seven Recipes to try on your Fujifilm camera. This is intended for those new to the whole Recipe thing, who haven’t tried them before (or perhaps only a few Recipes so far). The intention is to…

Could this be the next Film Simulation? Fujifilm X-T50 + Pop Color Advanced Filter Fujifilm has become renown for their Film Simulations. On the latest X and GFX cameras, there are 20 Film Simulations: Provia, Velvia, Astia, Classic Chrome, Reala Ace, PRO Neg. Hi, PRO Neg. Std, Classic Negative, Nostalgic Negative, Eterna, Eterna Bleach Bypass, Acros, Acros +Ye, Acros +R, Acros +G, Monochrome, Monochrome +Ye, Monochrome +R, Monochrome +G, and Sepia. That’s a lot, but of course we always welcome…

Fujifilm just announced a new Fujikina event in New York City. The three-day event will take place October 16-18. Aside from the dates and city, no other information was included in this announcement. You can sign up to receive more information on Fujifilm’s website (click here). I’ve said this before a few times, but Fujikina events are sometimes adjacent to camera launches (typically, right after an X Summit), and sometimes they are not. For example, I was at Fujikina Copenhagen in May, and…

On June 11th, PetaPixel published a post entitled Photographers Are Tired of Big Cameras by Jaron Schneider, which had an intriguing premise but fell a bit flat on delivery. This article is my attempt to fix that. This is perhaps what Jaron should have said. While sitting at a train station in Osaka, Japan, Chris Niccolls stated, “I’m thinking of buying a new camera.” This might seem extremely innocuous, a common phrase uttered by most photographers as frequently as trains depart the Osaka…

Fujifilm X-E5 & Fujinon 23mm f/2.8 It’s been historically slow for Fujifilm so far in 2026, which makes it more difficult for Fujifilm-related bloggers to come up with interesting content to share with their readers. On the bright side, this can be a good opportunity to find and highlight things that might otherwise slip through the cracks and go unnoticed. That’s what this article is attempting to do. Nothing here is headline news, but hopefully there’s something that you’ll find intriguing or…

Sailboat at Nyhavn – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Vivid Velvia By moving the creative process from the computer to the camera, Fujifilm Recipes can effectively replace RAW editing for many photographers. Instead of spending hours adjusting curves and sliders after the fact, you make the aesthetic decisions before even pressing the shutter. The colors, contrast, grain, white balance, and overall mood become part of the act of photography itself. Some people—gatekeepers—insist that…

According to Fujifilm, using any non-licensed program (including Fujifilm’s own SDK) “to connect to, or control, any compatible Fujifilm camera, will void the camera’s limited product warranty.” I spoke with Fujifilm and confirmed this to be true. I was also told that they only give licenses to large corporations “like Adobe.” I bring this up because more and more, there are programs and apps that can connect to your Fujifilm camera, to remote control it or push Recipes to it, and so forth.…

I get a message or comment every now and again that’s really silly. Are you worried that so many photographers are leaving Fujifilm? It could be worded a little different. Maybe it’s, Fujifilm should be worried that so many are leaving. Or, I’m leaving the brand and I know many others who are, too. There are a lot of variants, but the sentiment is always the same. Someone is switching brands or threatening to do so, and that is newsworthy and everyone should pay attention because there is a…

If Fujifilm wanted to, they could do something really cool, that would be a massive sales success. The perfect time for them to do this is now, or really beginning two or three years ago and continuing at least a little while into the future; however, the ideal opportunity won’t last forever. Trends change, paradigms shift. Right now, though, is really good. What is this thing that Fujifilm should do? Alternative focal-length versions of the X100-series camera. Most famously, both Leica and…

Pop Color Diptych — Fujifilm X half There’s a feature on most Fujifilm cameras that few use—you might not be aware that it even exists—called Advanced Filters. Fujifilm introduced Advanced Filters in 2013 with the X100S and X20. With the exception of a few early models, your Fujifilm X-series camera has Advanced Filters (however, GFX models does not have it). Find Advanced Filters on the Drive Dial or Drive Menu (depending on the specifics of your model). For older cameras, Advanced Filters are…

We’re in uncharted waters. Fujifilm has never waited until beyond May to announce at least one X-series or GFX model. Typically, the first half of the year is busy, with at least one and oftentimes two new cameras. For example, last year Fujifilm announced the GFX100RF in March and the X half in May; in 2024, Fujifilm unveiled the X100VI in February and the GFX100S II in May; in 2018, Fujifilm had announced three cameras by the end of May: X-A5, X-H1, and X-T100. Twice, the first camera of the…

Baltic Sea – Greve, Denmark – Fujifilm X-T5 – Provia Positive Recipe About a month-and-a-half ago, Dan Allen sent a Recipe for me to try. It was based on Provia and was specifically intended for spring blossoms, so he called it Spring Provia. When I had the opportunity, I loaded it into my camera and tried it out. I didn’t get to use it a lot, but I did like the results. Fast forward to Fujikina Copenhagen. There was a Magnum exhibit that had a light table wall with hundreds of color…

White Boat at Nyhavn – Copenhagen, Denmark – Fujifilm GFX100RF – Copenhagen Negative Early this year Fujifilm asked if I would make a brand-new Film Simulation Recipe to be unveiled at Fujikina Copenhagen. I created three Recipes that I thought could be good candidates, but only one would be selected to be the very first Fujifilm Recipe to be introduced at a Fujikina event. I used all three extensively on an adventure through southern California, and, after reviewing the pictures, one emerged…

A few people have asked for my opinion on the newly announced Panasonic L10 compact zoom. The news came while I was traveling, so I didn’t pay any attention to it. After learning more about the camera, I really don’t have any strong opinions. But, since some of you asked, I will share my thoughts, which probably aren’t worth a whole lot, maybe not even two pennies. The first thing I noticed is that a lot of reviewers are comparing it to the Fujifilm X100VI. For example, Amateur Photographer…