X-Trans V

Everyday Classic Chrome

The one to leave in slot C1 and forget about.

Short answer

This recipe softens Classic Chrome’s heavy shadows and warms its cool cast just enough to work in any light. Set Shadow +1, Colour +2 and a white balance shift of R +1 / B −1, and it handles a whole day without touching it.

Camera settings

Film simulation Classic Chrome
Dynamic RangeDR200
Highlight-1
Shadow+1
Colour+2
Colour Chrome EffectStrong
Colour Chrome FX BlueWeak
White BalanceAuto
WB ShiftR +1 / B -1
Sharpness0
High ISO NR-2
Clarity+1
Grain EffectWeak, Small
ISOAuto up to 6400
Exposure Compensation0 to +1/3

Straight Classic Chrome is beautiful and slightly miserable: dense shadows, cool colour, dark corners. This version keeps the character and removes the parts that make you flinch when you open the files at home.

Why these numbers

Shadow +1 is the important one. Classic Chrome holds shadows hard, and in anything less than open sunlight that reads as blocked rather than moody. Lifting one step keeps the density and gives back the detail.

Colour +2 sounds like a lot on a muted simulation, and it is exactly right. Classic Chrome desaturates so much that adding two steps still lands well below PROVIA. What you get is colour that survives a screen instead of looking washed.

The R +1 / B −1 shift counters the cool cast. Skin stops looking grey indoors, which is the single most common complaint about this simulation.

How to shoot it

Leave ISO on auto up to 6400 and let the camera work. High ISO NR at −2 keeps texture instead of smearing it, and the grain setting covers what noise reduction would have hidden.

In very bright sun, drop exposure compensation to −1/3. In shade or on a grey day, push it to +1/3. That single dial is all this recipe needs to cover every situation you will meet.

Works on

Common questions

Will this work on my X-T4?

Not exactly. The X-T4 is X-Trans IV and does not have the same Colour Chrome FX Blue range. Set FX Blue to Off and the rest transfers closely.

Why DR200 instead of DR100?

DR200 protects highlights by underexposing the sensor a stop and lifting the midtones back. On a contrasty simulation that is the difference between a sky and a white patch.

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Last updated August 30, 2026