How to simulate Fujifilm S5pro colors using any cameras? Use Lightroom and PerfeFilm

How to simulate Fujifilm S5pro colors using any cameras? Use Lightroom and PerfeFilm

Fujifilm FinePix S5pro is a professional digital APS-C camera launched by Fujifilm in 2007, which was the best camera for portraits and skin color. It became one of the wedding industry's dream cameras at the time, and was also the stepping stone for Fujifilm to develop its own DSLR and digital lenses system in the future. In this "old" Fujifilm APS-C camera, you can already see the basis of Fujifilm's film simulation, such as the camera body converting F1b color to simulate the Asita's positive film, F2 mode for simulating Velvia, and F1c for high-contrast fashion film and so on. The Fujifilm CCD color is one of the best for portrait and fashion photography, with soft contrast and fair skin tones that are even better than the current X series.

 

Fujifilm X-T4 Astia v.s. Fujifilm S5pro F1b 

As you can see from the picture, the X-T4's Asita mode has a darker skin tone, while the S5pro's F1b mode has a brighter and redder skin tone, and has a touch-up effect on blemishes such as under-eye bags and dull skin areas.
 
Unfortunately, Lightroom does not offer Camera Matching to simulate the color of Fujifilm S5pro using raw files. Is this classic portrait color drowned in the flood of time, completely disappeared?

 

Simulate Fujifilm S5pro colors

Is there a way that can simulate Fujifilm S5pro's native color modes in Lightroom? The answer is: Yes, by using PerfeFilm S5pro profiles, you can accurately restore Fujifilm S5pro colors in Lightroom, and enjoy the freedom and richness of Lightroom's photo processing. Users of other camera brands can also emulate the colors of S5pro with PerfeFilm. 

 

Fujifilm S5rpo v.s. Fujifilm X-T4 with S5pro body / PerfeFilm S5pro F2 profile

 

Test Environment

Cameras

  • In this article, we will use several APS-C cameras for testing, namely Fujifilm FinePix S5pro, Fujifilm X-T4, Nikon D7000, and each camera will be compared side by side using three different color conversions, namely:
    1. FujiFilm FinePix S5Pro + S5pro body / Hyper-Utility v3
    2. FujiFilm FinePix S5Pro  + PerfeFilm profile + Lightroom
    3. Different camera brands + PerfeFilm for cross-brand color comparison.

     

    Lenses

    • In order to make the camera's framing range, focal length and aperture consistent, we all use Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G lens for each camera. Because there is no original 85mm lens for Fujifilm X-T4, we are also using adapted Nikon 85mm/f1.8 G to do shooting.

      

    Basic settings

    • White balance is fixed in daylight mode, iso: 100, aperture shutter and exposure are the same. Color space : sRGB, Adobe RGB. 

     

    Fujifilm S5pro Color Processing and Color Space

    • The Fujifilm S5pro has color modes such as F1, F1a, F1b, F1c, F2, which are converted using the S5pro camera body, while the other modes: F3a, F3b, F3c, FujiChrome, Pro Negative, etc. must be converted using the desktop software Hyper-Utility v3 to convert. If you have a Fujifilm S5pro camera, you can test it to see that the colors are different while setting different color spaces in sRGB and aRGB. In order to keep the color conversion consistent, we use the S5pro camera body or Hyper-Utility v3 + sRGB/aRGB color space as the standard for conversion.

      

    Fujifilm S5pro F1b, sRGB v.s. aRGB

    The comparison between sRGB and aRGB shows that the S5Pro's colors in aRGB F1b are more saturated and brighter than in sRGB. aRGB also brings out the contours of the face in portraits. If you are using the PerfeFilm S5Pro color profile, we strongly recommend using the aRGB color space.

     
     

    Lightroom Settings

    • All comparing cameras use the same PerfeFilm color profiles and presets. Each camera has different exposure and saturation even with the same basic settings due to CMOS differences and different color temperature calculations. For calibrating the mismatch of those fundamental differences, we only adjusts the exposure, color temperature, and saturation to match colors in Lightroom, and not to adjust any single color settings.

     

     

    PerfeFilm S5pro Profiles Review

    F1b 

    Fujifilm S5rpo v.s. Fujifilm X-T4 with S5pro body / PerfeFilm S5pro F1b profile 

    Fuji F1b is said to simulate the color of Asita. Traditional Astia positives have medium contrast and soft skin tones. In this comparison, we can see that there is almost no difference in the skin color, orange color of the clothes, gradient of the background, and blue color of the denim shorts while using S5pro camera body conversion and PerfeFilm profiles. Fujifilm X-T4 using the PerfeFilm profile is also able to restore the color of the S5pro F1b very well, except for the orange color, which is slightly warmer.

     

    Pro Negative

    Fujifilm S5rpo v.s. Nikon D7000 with  HyperUtility / PerfeFilm S5pro Pro Negative profile 

    Pro Negative is a color negative film that simulates the Fujifilm Pro series and it is suitable for professional use in portrait or commercial photography. In ths comparison, the color tones between the PerfeFilm and the original camera are almost identical except for a slight difference in the color temperature in the background. When we use Nikon D7000 + PerfeFilm simulation, we can observe the color and skin tone of the totem on the pillar, and the color of the highlight background and shadows, which can almost perfectly restore the color of S5pro.

     

    F2

    Fujifilm S5rpo v.s. Fujifilm X-T4 with S5pro body / PerfeFilm S5pro F2 profile 

    F2 mode is the color mode of Fujifilm's Velvia positive film simulation. In this comparison, the Fujifilm X-T4 + PerfeFilm profile is able to restore the color accuracy and gradation of the S5pro F2 very well in high saturation color, and colors in shadows and dark areas are also quite correct.

     

    S5pro Color modes

    The following is a comparison of the S5pro's color modes for portrait photography. Generally speaking, F1 is suitable for low saturation portraits; F1b, F3b are suitable for soft portraits plus reddish tones on the skin; F1c, F3c are suitable for fashion portraits with high contrast; and Pro Negative is suitable for portrait mode with standard tones.

     

    Summary  

    I won't go into the other color modes, but in our testing of the PerfeFilm color profiles for S5pro did restore the color of the Fujifilm S5pro color very well, and it was also possible to get very close color simulations with other cameras. If you're interested in comparing, you can download the PerfeFilm free demo to play around with it, or support us by purchasing the bundles. If you're interested in testing PerfeFilm for Lightroom, you're welcome to share your test article or video with marketing@perfefilm.com and we'll share it with you on our PerfeFilm.com blog post if we think it's good.

     

     

    Recommended PerfeFilm profiles for S5pro + PerfeFilm Tones presets

     

    PerfeFilm's official and demo versions come with useful PerfeFilm Tones that allow you to quickly transform your photos into Fashion, Soft, Film, Landscape, Documentary ... etc. Here are some of the presets that can be used with the PerfeFilm for Sony profiles perfectly. More information on PerfeFilm Tones

     
     

    F1 color mode

    F1 has a lower saturation and contrast, and gives highlights and shadows softness in skin tones. Beginners in portrait photography can use S5pro F1 or F1b mode for your photos.

     

    F1b for high-key portrait

    F1b restores the softness and exposure latitude of Astia in highlight detail. The F1b color mode can be used to increase the exposure by one stop, giving the portrait a soft, detailed high-key portrait look.

     

    Pro Negative + Film Tone 

    Pro Negative still has a bit of a gap between the color of traditional negatives. Using the PerfeFilm Film Tone together can bring the Pro Negative mode closer to the color tone of a traditional negative.

    F2 + Landscape Tone 

    F2 mode provides smooth, high-saturation colors and high contrast in landscape photography, and works with PerfeFilm Landscape Tone to reduce contrast and increase color saturation in landscape photography.

     

    Share your raw files and be seen 

    If you have photos to share and like PerfeFilm to promote your website, feel free to upload your raw files by participating in our PerfeFilm Raw File Project.

     

    About Author

     

     Arron Hsiao

    Taiwan artist & photographer, founder of PerfeFilm.com. Love photography, travel & music. You can support him through his photography & art NFT:  OpenSea.io/ArronHsiao   Personal Website: ArronHsiao.com  IG@ArronHsiao
     

    Special Thanks to 

     

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