Sony Classic Negative | It Gets Even Better
Updated: Oct 11
Showcasing Sony Classic Negative Film Simulation Recipe - Best Picture Profile Settings
If you read my Last Article on Sony Classic Negative, you know I've replicated the Fuji Classic Negative for Sony Camera only using the Picture Profile Menu.
Accuracy is good, but not as close as I'd like it to be on this profile since we are limited by settings we can adjust inside the camera. I would say the overall accuracy is around 50-60%. It's decent, but not quite there yet, and I will try again to bring it closer if possible, but I believe we've hit the limits for the in-camera editing here.
To successfully copy this film simulation we need more complex tools like HSL (Hue Saturation Luma) to adjust each color individually, because the Classic Neg shifts and tweaks colors to the limits to render a quite unique kind of look, which can be copied only in higher end cinema cameras or in post processing software.
This is the first time I feel it's simply impossible to copy a certain look by at least 70-80%, and it brings up some frustration. That is because the Classic Negative is my absolute favorite film simulation from Fuji, and I wanted so badly to bring it to my Sony camera without any post process editing. But some things are not meant to be.
The Sony Classic Neg has an interesting Film Aesthetic, but it's different from Fuji's, unfortunately. :[
Check how nicely this profile renders skin tones, with de-saturated deep Greens and slight Blue shifting in the shadows. It's clear that this picture profile renders beautiful colors, but I would like to see if I can bring it even closer to the Fujifilm Classic Negative film simulation.
I always believe there is a solution to any problem, if only I try. That's probably how I ended up creating Sony Film Simulations, because I couldn't make myself believe sony colors suck. So I gave it a try, and after 1 year of testing I came with the Initial 8 Sony Film Simulations which ended being a success. Besides creating multiple Original Sony Film Simulations, I also replicated with High Accuracy multiple Fuji Film Simulations only by using the Picture Profile Settings.
To be honest with you, with the Sony Classic Negative I might be a little bit too optimistic, maybe because it was similar when replicating the Kodachrome 64. It was 2 months of continuous hell trying to push sony colors closer to the real Kodachrome 64, and finally it came out very nicely, but it took a hell of a work.
So I would like try again, and keep pushing those limits with Sony Picture Profiles.
Let's get started.
Sony Classic Negative Film Simulation Recipe Picture Profile -
Even in it's current form, Sony Classic Negative yields amazing images, but it's just a different beast compared to Fujifilm. So I went out and took some shots, experimenting with settings on color and picture profile menu to see how can I get Sony as close as possible to Fuji. Even If I don't succeed, I will give this picture profile a little twist to yield unique colors and make it an Original Sony Film Simulation, to have something we Sony users can be proud of.
The main problems replicating the original Classic Negative were related to the fact that Fujifilm recipe has some color shifting in the Shadows and Highlights, which can be easily added in Post processing or in Cinema Cameras, but inside mirrorless cameras we don't have the same options unfortunately. But at least if I can get it closer, or give it a little twist, to make it look outstanding and different from the Fuji, then I can lay my ear down knowing I am satisfied with the final look.
So I went out today to test the Sony Classic Negative Film Recipe in a real life situation and see how it can be improved.
All these were shot on the RX100 VI with Sony Classic Neg Film Simulation Recipe
The Sony RX100 VI is my new fav camera. Bought it for around 450$, an absolute steal deal. No regrets. Very capable camera with a 1 inch sensor and pocket sized body.
So fun to use.
It's amazing what kind of colors comes out of this Film Picture Profile, and remember this is shot on the RX100 VI which was released in 2019.
It's 2023 and Sony vastly improved their Color Science with newer released cameras.
Bellow you can check a Color Checker comparison between
Fujifilm Classic Neg vs Sony Classic Negative Film Recipe
As you can see from the Color Checker comparison between Sony vs Fujifilm Color, the main differences are the Greens being heavily desaturated and shifted towards Teal, while Yellows and Reds being Brought together very close in the Orange area.
There are also other slight differences, but if we can bring sony closer to these characteristics, the rest won't weight that much of a difference, because Reds green & Blues are the colors that you notice the most.
Interesting facts about our eyes.
The human eye can only see a part of the whole color spectrum available out there.
For example our eyes can see only of 60% of all greens, 30% of all blues, and only 10% of the Red spectrum. So our eyes can see a great range of green tones, but very little Reds.
Even tho our eyes can only see a limited range of the full available tonalities of Red, it's very sensitive to how natural skin tones should look like, an consequently on the Red colors.
That's why when looking at an image we instantly recognize when skin tones are not natural, even if we are not colorists.
Our brain know if it's not well balanced.
That's why I think matching the Reds and the Greens on this profile is most important, because the rest will be less noticeable.
So what is most important in getting a similar look, is to have Deep Desaturated Teal shifted Greens, and for the Reds to be slightly shifted towards orange.
I also shifted the Color filter gently towards magenta to give a little bit of that Pinkish tone in the highlights. Unfortunately that will also shift the overall Blues, but that is a compromise I can accept because it's not unpleasing, but rather giving it a more Nostalgic kind of a Look.
After playing a lot with the settings today, I came with Recipe that comes slightly closer to Fuji's Film Simulation in my eyes.
There still are clear differences, Sony being a little bit more on the magenta side in the shadows and the reds, and with less Pink shifting in the Highlights.
The limits I found in rendering this profile is that the red are not close enough to orange, blues should be closer to Teal/Cyan and Yellow are too accurate to real life, while Fuji's are heavily shifted towards Orange.
It's not possible to shift all these colors without post processing. So congrats Fuji on creating such a unique film simulation!
It's definitely my favorite.
As you can see in the image above,
Reds are shifted towards orange and greens are super deep and desaturated offering a contrasty and desaturated Film Look. Saturation can be easily adjusted in the picture Profile Menu by personal preferences, but the Classic Neg is more of a Low saturation Film Simulation by default.
Shots by the river using the High frame Rate of the RX100 VI
1000 frames per second, crazy how powerful this little camera is.
This profile renders subtle but Deep Colors and Tonalities,
Giving a Feeling of Nostalgia.
Some other Sony Film Simulations that have this bitter sweet feeling are
Blue Velvet- Cinestill 50D, Kodachrome 64 V2, Ektar 100 & Kodak Ultra Max 400
You can check All Film Simulation Recipes
The general rule is, the newer the camera model, the better the color.
So the main color correction that I've noticed between the a7III and the a7SIII are the Reds and the Blues.
In the newer Sony cameras Reds and Yellows have been shifted closer to orange, and the blues closer to Cyan, so if you are using one of the newer released models, you will get slightly better color inside the camera compared to the ones presented in this Blog.
Even tho we cannot replicate the Classic Negative look close enough to call it a success, I still like the images coming out of this film simulation, and I will keep it as part of the Sony film simulation collection.
How do you feel about this New Sony Classic Negative?
Let us know in the comments and what Film Simulation you'd like to see next.
:D
Explore All Sony Film Simulation Settings
I will leave you with some more samples of the New Classic Neg
Here is the best example of how the shadows are shifting towards Blues
From Orange bricks in the Highlights, they turn into Deep Pink/Reds in the shadows
I love it!
The RX100 VI has a 1 inch sensor so it's going to be very noisy, but i don't mind it, actually I am enjoying it much, because it give a film like texture. Check it out.
It's not bad at all. Obviously would be nice to have the option to adjust in camera the grain size and texture.
Please Sony, add this to your new cameras together with option adjustments for Hue vs Hue & Hue vs Sat. That would enable us to create more Complex Picture Profile and take Sony colors to the Next level.
A couple indoor shots. Inside pictures might be too warm looking, so you might want to lower your Temperature by 700-1500 Kelvin to balance out the ambient light.
It's definitely a very crunchy Sony Film Simulation but I see many users loving it after first couple tries.
How do you like the results?