Using the Fujifilm X100VI's Film Simulations and Built-in ND Filter Together
Twenty film simulations and a built-in ND filter are two of the X100VI's most talked-about features, but understanding how to actually combine them well, rather than just switching modes somewhat randomly, is what turns them from a gimmick into a genuine creative tool.
Matching a simulation to your actual subject, not just personal taste
Classic Chrome, with its muted, slightly desaturated look, suits documentary and street photography particularly well, while Velvia's punchy saturation works better for landscapes and vibrant color scenes. Rather than picking a single favorite simulation and applying it universally, matching the simulation to the specific character of a scene produces noticeably more considered results.
Using the ND filter to unlock wide-aperture daylight shooting
The built-in 4-stop ND filter exists specifically to let you shoot at f/2 in bright daylight without overexposing, since without it, bright sun forces you toward smaller apertures just to keep exposure in range. Enabling the ND filter specifically when you want shallow depth of field outdoors, rather than leaving it on constantly, gives you the flexibility to choose your aperture based on the shot rather than the available light.
Combining Acros with the ND filter for daytime black and white work
The Acros simulation, Fujifilm's dedicated black and white profile with genuinely excellent tonal rendering, pairs particularly well with the ND filter for daytime portrait work where you want both the wide-aperture look and the specific black and white character this simulation provides, a combination that would be impossible to achieve without the ND filter in bright conditions.
Setting up a custom preset for your most common shooting scenario
Rather than manually selecting a film simulation and ND setting every time, saving a custom preset combining your preferred simulation, ND filter state, and other settings like white balance and grain effect intensity, lets you switch instantly between your most common shooting configurations without menu-diving mid-session.
Using Grain Effect deliberately, not as a default
The Grain Effect setting, which simulates the texture of physical film, is easy to overuse once you discover it. Reserving heavier grain settings for images where the texture genuinely adds to the mood, rather than applying it universally, keeps the effect feeling intentional rather than like an unremovable filter slapped onto every shot.
Shooting RAW alongside JPEG for genuine flexibility
Even with film simulations producing strong JPEG results straight out of camera, shooting RAW simultaneously preserves the option to apply a different simulation after the fact using Fujifilm's in-camera RAW conversion tool, or process the file entirely differently in external software if a shot doesn't end up matching your in-the-moment simulation choice.
A specific combination for golden hour portraits
For portrait work during golden hour specifically, a combination of the Classic Neg simulation, moderate ND filter engagement to allow a wide aperture without overexposure, and a warm white balance adjustment produces results that many photographers describe as needing minimal further editing, letting the in-camera processing do most of the creative work.
Building familiarity through deliberate practice
Rather than switching simulations shot to shot experimentally during an actual session, spending a dedicated practice outing testing how each simulation renders the same scene under consistent lighting builds a genuine, reliable understanding of which options suit which situations, knowledge that pays off during real shooting when there's no time for trial and error.
The film simulations and ND filter are individually well-regarded features, but using them together deliberately, matched to your subject and lighting, is where this camera's particular character really comes through.
Understanding the difference between simulations and generic filters
It's worth understanding that Fujifilm's film simulations are fundamentally different from Instagram-style filters applied after the fact, since they're built into the camera's actual color science and processing pipeline, affecting how the sensor data is rendered from the start rather than layered on top of a neutral image afterward. This is part of why experienced users describe the results as feeling more considered and less artificial than typical filter effects.
Creating and sharing custom simulation recipes
A broader community practice has emerged around sharing custom film simulation "recipes," specific combinations of a base simulation plus adjusted white balance, highlight and shadow tone, and grain settings, designed to replicate the look of specific classic film stocks. Experimenting with a few well-documented community recipes, rather than starting entirely from scratch, is a practical way to explore the depth of what these simulations can do beyond the default presets.
Adjusting expectations for RAW-first workflows
For photographers who primarily shoot RAW and edit extensively afterward, spending significant time exploring film simulations may feel less immediately relevant, since much of that creative control happens in post-processing software instead. Even so, many RAW-focused photographers still use a specific simulation for their live histogram and preview reference, since it affects how exposure and color appear in the viewfinder and rear screen while shooting, independent of what the final RAW file ultimately becomes in editing.
