A Fujifilm recipe is a list of in-camera settings that gives your JPEGs a look. It starts from one film simulation and changes about a dozen settings on top: dynamic range, white balance and its shift, highlight, shadow, colour, sharpness, noise reduction, clarity, grain and color chrome. The camera applies it to every frame. No editing.

Recipe vs preset

A Lightroom preset edits a photo after you take it, on a computer or phone. A recipe changes how the camera processes the picture while you take it. You see the look in the viewfinder and get a finished JPEG.

Your RAW files are untouched

Recipes apply to JPEG and HEIF. A RAW file stores the sensor data and only notes your settings, so shoot RAW + JPEG and you keep a clean file to edit later. JPEG vs RAW has the details.

Will it work on my camera?

That depends on the film simulation, and the film simulation depends on the sensor generation. Reala Ace and Nostalgic Neg. are X-Trans V only. Classic Negative starts with the X-Pro3; the X-T3 and X-T30 never got it. Bodies before the X-Pro3 also lack Clarity and Color chrome FX blue: skip those lines and the look stays close. Film simulations explained has the full table.

How to set one up

1. Press MENU, open IMAGE QUALITY SETTING, then EDIT/SAVE CUSTOM SETTING, and pick a slot from C1 to C7.
2. Choose EDIT/CHECK and enter each value from the recipe. Anything the recipe doesn't list goes to 0 or Off.
3. Rename the slot after the recipe, then switch to it from the Q menu.

The full walkthrough, with auto update and the white balance quirk on older bodies, is in how to load a recipe.

What a slot doesn't store

On bodies with ISO and exposure compensation dials, such as the X-T5 and X100VI, the dials set ISO and exposure, not the custom slot. When a recipe says "ISO up to 6400" or "+1/3 exposure", set that yourself. Dynamic range is stored, and DR200 and DR400 need a minimum ISO, which is why many recipes give one.

Ready to try one? Browse the recipes by film simulation, camera or sensor.