Astia film simulation recipe with a warm grainy retro look for X-Trans IV
So here’s a recipe that doesn’t replicate any film in particular, but has many of the qualities of a film. This is down to the use of Astia film simulation as the base to the recipe. It has a solid film-like feel, especially in the tone of the highlights, and is also a nice break from Classic Chrome and Classic Negative, which are quite distinctive in their styling.
The vintage part is an added mood, bringing warmth, grain and a gentle reduction in saturation. The result is a warm look, with the retro feel of images as they once were, but without being too much like any Kodachrome or Fujicolor style. I’ve become quite partial to it, using it as a general use recipe in all sorts of conditions.
This recipe also has a passing resemblence to Nostalgic Negative from the newest cameras, so if you want a recipe to fake it, this may be the one.
Vintage Astia Film Recipe
- Simulation: Astia/Soft
- Grain Effect: Strong, Small
- Colour Chrome Effect: Strong
- Colour Chrome Blue: Weak
- White Balance: Auto White Priority
- WB Shift: +5 Red, -5 Blue
- Dynamic Range: DR100
- Highlights: -1.0
- Shadows: -1.0
- Color: -2
- Sharpness: -2
- ISO Noise Reduction: -4
- Clarity: 0
- EV compensation: 0
Inspiration for this recipe came from two sources, E. Fung’s Vintage Look Classic Chrome and Øyvind Nordhagen’s work with Astia, which opened my eyes to this simulation as a base.
More Vintage Look Film Recipes
Our cameras don’t offer unlimited options in pursuit of a vintage look, but with the excellent film simulations, and shifts to white balance and other settings, we can generate looks that fit a vintage vibe or retro aesthetic.
I have a page of nostalgic film recipes, but here is a shorter list of some favourite vintage look recipes on this site and others.
- Astia Mellow – a differnt vintage inspired look, also with Astia
- Nostalgic Fujicolor – Classic Negative recipe like prints used to be
- Classic Gold – made to mimic aged and faded Kodak Gold
- Retrochrome – a 70s vibe using Classic Chrome
- Hipstamatic Ray Mk II – Creamy retro tones like Hipstamatic
And from other sites …
- Indian Summer – Rich nostalgic Classic Neg, by Captn Look
- Street Romance – creamy Eterna moods, from Captn Look
- Vintage Kodachrome – an aged classic, from FujiXWeekly
- Vintage Color – a beautiful aged look, from FujiXWeekly
- Nostalgic Negative – faking the new sim, by Joe D’Agostino
- New American Color – from the ‘King of Astia’, Øyvind Nordhagen
- Rich Almond – characterful Classic Chrome, by Chris Cuban
Film Recipes for Fujifilm Cameras 