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| Owners of cameras like the X-H2S will be getting a more flexible way to use the company’s famed Film Simulations. |
Fujifilm has made several of its well-regarded Film Simulation color modes available as standardized LUT (Look Up Table) files. While they were released as part of the release of the Eterna 55, the company’s new cinema camera, they can also be applied to footage from many other Fujifilm cameras.
Those cameras have long been able to apply film simulations to video at the time of recording, but doing so was a commitment; once they were baked in, they were part of the footage forever. (Which could be especially noticeable with the less subtle ones like the black and white Acros or super-saturated Velvia.) This meant you had to choose between getting the aesthetic or flexibility. With the LUTs, though, you can apply the Film Simulation looks to video shot using F-Log2 in post, letting you experiment with which one works best and giving you more latitude to tweak the looks if you choose.
Eterna can be an easier starting point for grading, but it’s not one of the company’s most popular looks
While this may be a benefit to Fujifilm users going forward, you probably won’t be able to go back and re-grade your footage with the LUTs unless you originally shot it using the F-Log2 mode, which records using a different gamma curve than the camera’s more output-ready recording modes. However, the company has done a good job bringing F-Log2 to most of its lineup; it’s available on most of the cameras released since the introduction of the X-H2, even including lower-end models like the X-T30 III and X-M5.
Fujifilm has previously provided a LUT that grades F-Log2 to look like its video-focused Eterna film simulation. While Eterna can provide an easier starting point for grading than untouched Log footage, it’s not one of the company’s most popular looks. The ones the company has released now, however, are. The film simulations newly released as LUTs are:
- Acros
- Astia
- Classic Chrome
- Classic Neg.
- Eterna Bleach Bypass
- Pro. Neg.
- Provia
- Reala Ace
- Velvia
The LUTs are also available for footage taken using the company’s wider gamut F-Log2C mode.
Fujifilm isn’t the only company that has brought LUTs to its consumer cameras thanks to work done by its cinema arm. Last year, Nikon released three LUTs designed to be comparable with ones created for its Red cinema cameras.
Stay tuned for some sample footage graded using the newly released LUTs. They’re available for free on Fujifilm’s website.
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After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview closed on 10 April 2023. This difficult decision was part of the annual operating plan review that parent company, Amazon, shared earlier this year.
Over the course of 25 years, DP Review built up a reputation as being one of the most informative places to go for information about that new camera or lens you’re after. DP Review began as an independent reviews site based in the UK in 1998, the brainchild of Philip and Joanna Askey, but it was eventually purchased by Amazon in 2007 and relocated over to Seattle in the USA in 2010.
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