Nikon Photographers - You Too Can Have Film Simulations
There are dozens of 3rd party Picture Controls that work on your camera.
Naturally, there’s a lot of chatter right now about the new Fujifilm X100VI that just started shipping and includes 20 film simulations. But Nikon photographers can tap a wealth of vintage looks themselves, that is, if they don’t mind going the unofficial route.
I’ve taken that very journey with my Nikon Zf - a perfect camera for these simulations - and everything has worked perfectly. If you’re interested, read on.
Nikon Picture Control Editor
This (none-Nikon affiliated) site run by Dmitrij Sosnovsenko features dozens of film simulations that you can load into your camera and tap via the Set Picture Control menu (Photo Shooting Menu > Set Picture Control). My Nikon Zf has 9 custom picture openings in addition to the Picture Controls that came with the camera.
From Dmitrij’s site, I’ve downloaded and added simulations for Tri-X, HP5, Fuji Astia, Fuji Velvia, Kodak Portra 160NC, and others. I can easily switch among them via the “i” button on the back of the Zf. And I can assign any of the black & white simulations to the B&W switch on the top deck of the camera.
There’s no charge for any of Dmitrij’s simulations, and they take only a few minutes to upload. Here’s a screen capture of his site.
When I first went to Nikon Picture Control Editor in Safari on my Mac, I received the warning: “This Connection Is Not Private.” Clearly, my web browser did not like this location. In such instances, I use Firefox, which doesn’t have any of my personal information stored there. I haven’t had any problems using the site, but you should know what to expect. (I’m neither recommending nor not-recommending experimenting with these 3rd party picture controls.)
There are instructions at the bottom of the page explaining how to install the files on your Nikon. Basically, you copy them onto an SD Card in a properly named folder, put the card in your camera, and then use Manage Picture Control in the Shooting Menu to add the simulations. Currently, I have HP5 assigned to my B&W switch on the Zf.
I’m having fun experimenting with the different looks, especially on a camera that I’m already crazy about. My takeaway… Who needs the X100VI after all? :-)
Derrick, thanks so much for this! I've downloaded his [16] B&W Contrast, [17] B&W XContrast, and [11] TMAX. They work great in my Z50 and Z5! I set my U1 to B+W on both cameras for better B+W composing. I think it was Nigel Danson who suggested this. It makes a big difference. Before I was just using the dishpan Monochrome, figuring I would eventually find some better Picture Controls. Well, that "eventually" was yesterday — big thanks for this!
Thanks for this. I've added nine Picture Controls to my D7500, including Try-X B&W. In ON1 Photo Raw 2024 the NEF test shot shows black and white in Browse, but reverts to colour in Develop. So jpeg only for B&W?