Replicating Fujifilm JPG colors from raw files?

No, it is much more complicated than a LUT, but its a black box.

i am sure it is not just LUT and curves but still it probably is quite simple computationally wise.

1 Like

What makes you say that?

Because the processing power on cameras is quite limited, but i might be wrong.

1 Like

Yes, but the processor is tuned for image processing, it doesnā€™t use the same type of processor as your computer.

1 Like

Itā€™s weird because Iā€™ve never been a huge fan of Fujiā€™s colours (and Iā€™m a long-time Fuji shooter). Iā€™m certainly in the minority, though; some people consider them sublime (I know Iā€™m not colour blind, so maybe I just donā€™t have a soul :laughing:).

Do you mean colour rendition in general or specific film simulations? Because thereā€™s a world of difference between all the different film simulations with regard to colour. I find Velvia too gaudy, but I love Classic Neg for itā€™s combination of warm and cold tones, for example.

If you mean colour rendition in general, then I would probably say youā€™re in the minority, yes, because colour is one of the most praised aspects of Fujiā€™s ecosystem. But your opinion is the only thing thatā€™s important to you and your enjoyment of photography. What do you shoot?

The colour rendition in general.

Maybe I just canā€™t appreciate how good they are because Iā€™ve never used anything different? Maybe, if someone gave me a different camera, Iā€™d be saying ā€œOh my good Aunt Betty! These colours are awful! Gimme my Fuji back!ā€

Maybe I just canā€™t see it until itā€™s pointed out? Maybe itā€™s just not so important to me? (I shoot street and documentary photography). No idea. Maybe (and most likely) Iā€™m just plain weird.

I must admit Iā€™m not sure what people are referring to when they say the ā€œFuji coloursā€, because all raw files from every manufacturer are dull and not very colourful. So, they must be talking about the JPEGs, and then you have to talk about film simulations because every JPEG from a Fuji camera uses one. The default Provia is perhaps the truest representation of the Fuji colour look, but from my experience in Fuji communities, the favourite film sims are the ones like Classic Chrome, which give that old school cool film look.

For what itā€™s worth, I used to shoot Canon before getting a Fuji camera, and when I process my old Canon files, I notice a difference in the colours and how I have to decrease the red in the Canon files to get a more pleasing and accurate look. I donā€™t have to do this with my Fuji files. But Iā€™m not sure that really constitutes anything valuable in terms of colour rendition :slight_smile: So, youā€™re not weird at all!

4 Likes

Same here, colors from canon raw were always too red / magenta. Fuji raw seems more neutral.
But the Fuji jpeg Magic is very helpful - at least for me - if I want to create a consistent look for a bigger series of images. Something I could never recreate from raw images.

My reply is not very productive, but fuji film simulations are very complicated and I donā€™t think one can recreate them easily.

Have a read here to get an idea of their inner working: https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2020/08/18/fujifilm-film-simulations-definitive-guide

I donā€™t think we can recreate these simulations as a simple lut table.

That said, Iā€™m a total amateur so take this with a grain of salt! You already have several good answers here.

1 Like

Since Fujifilm themselves publish film simulation LUTs for their log video files, I think itā€™s safe to say that they can indeed be implemented as LUTs. Also note that Capture One and Lightroom and DxO, the three biggest commercial applications in raw editing, use (what amounts to) LUTs in their software to implement Fuji Film Simulations.

And lest we forget, Fuji implemented film simulations on the original X-Pro1, a woefully underpowered camera that surely didnā€™t have the processing power for some elaborate physical simulation.

Their marketing department has done a amazing job at creating a mystique around these fabled Film Simulations. In reality, they are fancy names for image presets like theyā€™re available in any other camera. (And to be frank, donā€™t look particularly like analog Provia or Astia much at all). Still, they provide a nice look, and are maybe more thoughtfully designed than others. I very much like them and use them every day.

But at least to the limit of my understanding, they do not contain any magic pixie dust.

8 Likes

there is also the free capture one express fuji version, that has some presets which are supposed to be the fuji ones, named the same etc, I donā€™t think theyā€™re as nice as the in-camera ones, mostly from that software I use the ā€œfilm high contrastā€ preset, it is the only program I have at the moment which will read the x-t5 lossy compressed rawā€™s

this is c1ā€™s ā€œeternaā€ preset with some edits to the colours, they have a simplified interface which I like, where you can choose, red, orange etc then tweak hue, saturation, and lightness

Thatā€™s an interesting perspective to hear. I did feel that there is more to it than simple presets, but again my experience with other Cameras is quite limited. Thanks.

Well, Iā€™d say the Film Simulations are special in that they strive not for correctness, but for a pleasing, film-like look. There are quite drastic hue distortions in some of them, which arenā€™t really realistic, but do lead to a beautiful image. This is what Fuji themselves call ā€œmemory colorā€, as opposed to realistic color.

And of course you have the choice between varying degrees of realism, with Provia being relatively neutral, and e.g. Velvia or Nostalgic Neg going into a more artistic direction.

Most other manufacturers instead strive for merely varying contrasts and saturations in their picture profiles, but leave hue alone for the most part. Notable exceptions are e.g. Ricohā€™s Positive/Negative Film modes, and Olympus had a few cool ones as well. And in their own communities, these are similarly revered as Fujiā€™s Film Simulations. (I personally like Ricohā€™s Negative Film particularly, not unlike Classic Chrome with warm shadows and a soft, desaturated Highlight rolloff).

8 Likes

In my personal tests I was never able to fully recreate the ooc results by using luts. At least not for video which is where I have the matching luts for.
So, my assumption is that the jpeg engine does something additional than just applying a lut.
Maybe someone has a more detailed insight to this topic?

one feature I read says thats the case, that itā€™s not just luts, another one said itā€™s luts, whatever it is the processing seems instant, whereas my panasonics take some seconds to create a new jpeg from a raw

The newer cameras have a ā€œcolor chromeā€ and ā€œclarityā€ effect, IIRC. These sound like spacial algorithms, which a LUT can not replicate. I have not experimented with these, yet, though, so I canā€™t say much more about them. Another possible gotcha could be the white balance implementation. If thereā€™s some sort of adaptive CAT involved, it might be nonlinear, too.

in capture 1 the clarity is like a diffuse and sharpen slider, the fuji menus have an explainer, I think the color chrome is extra colour in the shadows or something

1 Like

Yeah, and if the clarity slider is used, JPEGā€™s are no longer instant and do take a few seconds more, at least on the X100V. Afaik color chrome and chrome blue fx darken specific colors in the highlights.