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Writer's pictureVeres Deni Alex

⛱️ Best Sony Picture Profiles, Custom Settings| Comparing All Sony Film Simulations

Summer comes with a couple surprises.


For those who might be discovering these custom Sony Picture Profiles for the first time, they're designed to give you authentic film-like looks directly in your Sony camera. Sooo - scroll down to find the best Sony Picture Profiles for you!


Want to test the waters? Check out the 8 free film simulations for Sony cameras!


I wanted to bring a new update to the custom Sony Picture Profiles before the season starts, so everybody can enjoy the improved recipes, and not only that - I've also added 15 new film simulations to the bundle, making them a total of 66!


Comparing the custom profiles - a behind-the-scenes look


I've been working on this update for the past half year, carefully testing each film recipe to see what can be improved to bring them even closer to an authentic film look. Most film recipes received at least small adjustments, while some had a complete makeover, and after reviewing the photos on the big screen some of them will expect even further updates in the future.


Like always, I chose a location which encompasses a full range of colors, for a clear understanding on how these recipes react in a real world situation.


I've been working on this update for the past 6 months, carefully testing each film recipe to see what can be improved to bring them even closer to an authentic film look. While most recipes received minor tweaks, some underwent complete transformations. Aaand after reviewing the results on a large screen, I've identified areas for future improvements in certain profiles.

 

How to Access Your Download Link


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Important Note: All Future Updates Included


Once you purchase the custom picture profile pack, you'll automatically receive all future updates at no additional cost. This ensures you always have access to the latest improvements and new film recipes as they're developed.

 

As with previous updates, I chose a location rich in color variety to demonstrate how these recipes perform in real-world conditions. The comparison shoot lasted nearly four hours, so you'll notice subtle changes in lighting throughout the samples.


Skin tones are great in spite of the green cast given by the grass surrounding the model. It's May, so the greens are still pretty lush and vibrant at this point, soon to be dusted off by the warmth and draft of the summer. I honestly enjoyed the results showcased in the last comparison much more. Those seemed nicer to my eyes because the light was softer in autumn and there was a yellow-amber cast from the dry grass in the woods. That being said, this particular scenario is not necessarily a bad thing, as it's showcases how well these film simulations handle colors and dynamic range even in harsh situations.


So without further ado, let's see the results. At the time of publishing this article, there are a total of 66 Sony film recipes.


Table of contents




Best Sony Picture Profiles - a real-life comparison of the updated simulations


Sony a6700 - with 16-55mm f2.8 G lens - SEL1655G

All shots are SOOC, shot in HEIF 4:2:2, then exported at web size for faster loading.


Sony Standard 5500K Sunny & Cloudy on a shade




Vektro 100 Film Recipe

Sony picture profile Vektroo 100 for landscape street photography

Senova Light Film recipe

soft portrait picture profile settings

Fuji400H Picture Profile

fuji 400h film recipe for sony cameras, picture profiles for great portraits

Did you know you can try this one for free? Check out the 8 free film simulations for Sony cameras!


EvPro+ Picture Profile


Ektar 100 Picture Profile

authentic ektar 100 film simulation recipe great for landscape portraits street photography

kodak gold has beautiful golden skintones with soft tonalities great for portrait, travel, landscape and pretty much any kind of photography

Kodak Portra 800

the absolute best portrait picture profile for sony cameras, beautiful soft contrast and highly saturated colors giving a amazing candy look for any skin tones

Kodak Portra 160

kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe for sony cameras

Leicachrome Picture Profile

replicating leica colors on sony cameras

Sony Eterna

fujifilm eterna on sony cameras

Fuji Eterna Picture Profile

fuji eterna film simulations on sony cameras

Classic Chrome Picture Profile

classic chrome film emulation for sony cameras, one of the most beloved film simulations for any type of photography

Astia

soft and subtle astia film simulations great for portraits travel and leisure photography

Velvia pro

Sony Provia

Acros XY

Acros XR

Acros XG

fujifilm fortia film simulation recipe
classic negative film simulations for sony cameras

Nostalgic Neg

nostalgic neg film simulation

Oktar

sony pictur eprofile for landscapes

Zero Mute

best HLG picture profile settings for sony cameras

ProColor

CineStill 50D / Blue Velvet

Cinestill 800T Picture Profile

cinestill 800T film recipe for sony cameras

Cinestill X

cinestill x film simulation, sony jpeg recipe shooting portraits

Kodak T-Max 100

Ilford Delta 3200

KosmoPan

Chroma Fade

Kodak Tri-X 1600

kodak tri-x 1600 film simulations

Kodak Tri-X 400

NeoMax

Ilford HP5

Midred Infra

infrared film simulation

DreamNeg

using agfa precisa film simulation in nature and for portrait photography

RedScale Ultra

Zetra 100

best nostalgic film simulation recipes, zetra 100

Rose Spectra

sony portrait jpeg recipes

Asteroid City

asteroid city film simulation recipe

Ayon 200

artistic film simulation recipes

Phoenix Harman

Phoenix Harman film recipe has punchy colors and bold character and it's great for street photography, creative portraits, landscape shots, or anything that needs bold look straight out of camera

Phenomena

Phenomena film simulation

Crimson

Acidnom

Acidnom is a magical film simulation recipe which will give your images a highly vibrant and saturated colors that resemble pictures coming from a fantasy world or movie

Estra 500

best portrait film simulation, amazing portrait film recipe

Arista EDU

Arista EDU film simulation recipe

X-Tar

the deepest black and white film simulation you can find on the internet, nothing beats the X-tar film simulation whenit comes to deep monochromatic contrast and three dimensional depth, a film recipe great for street photography documentary or fo creative punchy portraits

Magic Spice

Amarelo 30D

GAF 500

Vespera - Night

best night time picture profiles for sony cameras

Veniliqum - Night

custom sony picture profiles for night time

Gold Luxe - Night

custom sony picture profiles for night time

FAQs


What Are Sony Picture Profiles?

Sony Picture Profiles are pre-configured settings available in Sony cameras - mainly used for videos to control the color, contrast, sharpness, and gamma of the footage. These profiles allow you to achieve different looks straight out of the camera or provide a starting point for further color grading in post-production. But you can also use them to create your custom picture profile presets. Check out this explanation of the Picture Profile menu & learn how to create your own!


Why doesn’t anyone use Picture Profiles for stills?

Well, for starters, Sony doesn't really market them as being suitable for photography. So that might be one reason why. But it's also because the workflow of using these Picture Profiles to create in-camera cinematic looks isn't exactly intuitive, there's quite a steep a learning curve, and up until recently, you could barely find any information online about creating these looks using the Picture Profile menu. However, once you get the hang of it, you'll find them super flexible.


Do Sony picture profiles affect RAW photos?

To a certain degree. Some settings will be transferred on to the raw file, but most are not. Lightroom or Capture One will try to interpret settings like the Kelvin, Color Filter, and the Gamma used. But all the other settings will be lost in the translation, and it won't be near a match when comparing to the in-camera JPG file.

 

The biggest difference can be seen in the Gamma options. S-log, HLG and Cine gammas will alter the raw file, changing the way editing software interpret the brightness captured.


Use the Film Presets for a quick and easy workflow

If you also want to shoot RAW and get the look of the in-camera film emulation - for a professional project for example, I'm in the process of updating the film presets for Lightroom and Capture One. All you have to do is select the preset and choose the film emulation you shot with, and it will bring your RAW closer to the in-camera look. No tedious color grading required.


Worth mentioning these recipes were calibrated on the Sony a6700, and like any presets, might render different colors on different cameras. That is because each camera has its own color science. Most differences will be seen when using these film presets with older cameras. That is perfectly normal as Sony kept improving the color science throughout the years. It is not possible for a preset to take all the cameras and match them all in the same color mapping. That has to be done manually, which in most cases is not a big deal. These presets were created to closely match the Sony a6700 raw files to the in camera film simulation. This camera model shares virtually the same color science as other newly release models, like the Sony a7C II, a7CR, ZV-E10, A7RV, a9, a1 and so on. The ones which will be seeing most differences, are the older Sony models. a7III, a7C, a7SIII, a7RIII and so on.

P.S - these are not LUTs, but photo presets - meaning they are fully flexible, and pack the power to adjust multiple parameters for a truly seamless, film-like final image. And by playing around with the variants, you'll get a more refined look.


My favorite Sony Picture Profile?

Well, this is a continuously changing answer - but at the moment I'm obsessed with the Ayon 200, Kodachrome, Fortia, and Kodak Gold for color recipes. As far as black and white recipes go, my current picks are - the Kodak Tri-x 1600, Cinestill X, X-Tarr, and Chromafade.


Shoot More. Edit Less

Hope this comparison helps you understand the differences between all my custom Sony Picture Profiles!


Use this guide in tandem with the official Sony Film Simulation Chart to pinpoint the perfect look for your project. Whether you're after the moody tones of Tri-X or the vibrant punch of Velvia, you'll know exactly which Sony Picture Profile to reach for.




Sony Film Simulation Tutorials

Here is a playlist with short form content showcasing the basic workflow.

Check it out!




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