Just picked up an X100V last week for a street photography trip to Tokyo next month. Im super stressed about getting the colors right straight out of camera so I don't have to spend hours editing RAWs in my hotel room every night.
I've been browsing FujiXWeekly and Reddit for hours. Everyone keeps hyping up 'Classic Negative' and 'Portra 400' recipes, but half the samples look super muddy in shadows and others are way too orange for my taste. Some threads say Classic Chrome is better for overcast days while others swear by Astia. My anxiety is peaking because I leave in three weeks and haven't actually locked in a profile to trust.
What is the absolute best all-around film simulation recipe for street shooting in bright neon and city light conditions?
ngl, for Tokyo neon you just want Fujifilm X100V Classic Chrome with WB Auto R:1 B:-3. It handles highlights way better than Classic Neg without getting too orange.
idk why everyone stresses so much over these complicated recipes tbh. when I take my gear out for family trips or tinkering around town I just keep it simple. dealer wanted $400 for a local photography workshop to teach me custom color profiles but I did it for $0 just by testing stuff myself and saved me a ton. doing it yourself always beats paying someone else. if youre hitting up Tokyo for street stuff with lots of neon and night lights, watch out for these traps:
- dont use hyper-saturated recipes with jacked up shadow tone, you will literally clip all your highlights in the neon signs and look like a total amateur
- stop downloading twenty different custom slots before you leave, its just gonna give you analysis paralysis when you should be shooting
- avoid anything with excessive red shift built in, Tokyo already has enough warm lighting from signs without your camera turning everyones skin orange stick to a clean base like Classic Chrome or just tweak a standard Provia profile with a tiny bit of grain. trust me, keeping your setup streamlined is way cheaper on your time. my whole rig setup cost me practically nothing compared to what people waste on preset packs and my cost per year on software subscriptions is zero cause I avoid editing RAWs entirely. keep it basic and just shoot...
Like someone mentioned, picking recipes gets so overwhelming tbh. Here is where the thread is at so far:
- People are stressing way too hard over complex custom recipes instead of just shooting
- Classic Chrome with tuned white balance is getting some love for neon lights
- Highlight recovery matters way more than shadow tone when youre out in the city at night anyway speaking of Tokyo trips, it totally reminds me of when I flew out there back in 2018 with my old kit. Ended up getting completely lost in Shinjuku at 3 AM because my portable pocket wifi died and I refused to use a paper map like some kind of tourist. Walked like 15 miles that night until I stumbled into this tiny ramen shop that only had four seats and the chef played old jazz records the whole time. Man, the broth was insane... sorry kinda went off topic there
Yo, I totally feel your pain. I am literally in the exact same boat right now because I have a trip coming up soon and I have been doom-scrolling through FujiXWeekly for like three weeks straight. It is honestly so overwhelming, my anxiety is through the roof trying to pick just one profile to stick with. I feel like if I dont find the perfect look before I leave, I am gonna ruin all my shots and have major regrets. I definitely agree with the person who said to stop overthinking the custom stuff though. Like, sometimes I feel like I am just chasing a vibe that isnt even there. Lowkey, just focusing on basic exposure settings might be the move until I get comfortable. Idk if that helps, but at least you arent the only one stressing about this...
ngl I spent three days straight testing recipes in my backyard before my last trip and ended up doing this:
- shooting standard Provia - ignoring custom settings entirely
- eating three whole bags of spicy chips anyway lol
Like someone mentioned, this exact same question pops up like every single day on here tbh. Honestly just Google it or check YouTube, there are literally a million guides on this exact topic.
- Type 'tokyo street film recipes' into youtube
- Click the first video that isnt 45 minutes long
- Copy the settings and go outside lol theres a great video about this by that one fuji guy, just search for it and youll find it instantly...
Building on the earlier suggestion, I totally get why you're spiraling over this—I was doing the exact same thing last week before I realized I was just making myself miserable. I'm no expert, but I spent way too many hours reading through those exact same forums, and honestly, the best advice I found was to stop chasing the 'perfect' look and just pick something that feels like your style. If you want those neon lights in Tokyo to pop without getting that weird, muddy shadow look, maybe just stick to a base simulation that keeps the contrast a bit lower. I've been experimenting with just using a general film-look preset from a reputable software company—I won't name names, but just search for any well-known editing suite or mobile app—and honestly, you can't go wrong with just about any of their standard film-emulation profiles. I ended up creating a custom slot that just keeps the saturation moderate and the white balance slightly warm. It’s not perfect, but it takes the pressure off. My biggest tip? Don't overthink the technical side while you're actually there. If you end up needing to tweak the files later, that's fine too—you're in Tokyo, for crying out loud! Just enjoy the trip and stop worrying about having the 'definitive' recipe locked in before you even land. You'll figure it out once you see the light yourself.
> "dont use hyper-saturated recipes with jacked up shadow tone" Adding my two cents: just make sure you double-check your highlight recovery before walking into the neon districts so you dont fry your whites...
Nice, didn't know that
100% agree