Fujifilm Brings Reala Ace Film Simulation to Four More Cameras

Jun 27, 2024

A modern Fujifilm X-T5 mirrorless camera is displayed next to a roll of Reala Ace film. The film's packaging features a green, black, yellow, and white design with "REALA ACE" text. The background has a soft gradient of green and yellow hues.

Fujifilm has new firmware updates for four X Series cameras, bringing its Reala Ace film simulation to the X-H2, X-H2S, X-T5, and X-S20 models.

Reala Ace was introduced to the Fujifilm lineup when it launched alongside the Fujifilm GFX 100 II. It has since been included on the X100VI, GFX 100S II, and X-T50 cameras, all of which were released after the GFX 100 II arrived in late 2023.

Fujifilm considers Reala Ace an “all-around” film simulation, promising slightly muted colors, harder-than-average highlight tones, and softer shadows compared to the Provia (Standard) film simulation.

Image of a green and black Reala Ace film canister on the left. To the right, there are four horizontal sliders illustrating film characteristics: Color (Muted to Vivid), Highlight Tone (Soft to Hard), Shadow Tone (Soft to Hard), and Characteristics (Standard to Unique).

“There was a time when conventional wisdom suggested negative film was only for recording memories and could not be used for subtle applications. Reala Ace was born in such a time, capable of reproducing complex colors such as purple and yellow-green, which negative film had been unable to do very well,” Fujifilm explains.

A close-up view of many hydrangea flowers in various shades of purple, blue, pink, and white, all covered with dew droplets. The petals and clusters beautifully overlap and create a vibrant, textured floral pattern. — © Yukio Uchida

“The revived Reala Ace has deep, soft shadows and hard highlights, free from the muddiness typical of digital photographic colors. It recreates the brilliance possessed by prints of that era, suppressing color to the extent that the more saturated the subject, the more muted the color.” The company says the film simulation is ideal for snapshots, family photos, and a wide variety of photographic subjects.

A cluster of red, white, and blue balloons floats in the air against a backdrop of trees and a partly cloudy sky with the sun shining brightly. The sunlight creates a lens flare effect around the balloons. A building roof is visible on the left side. — © Rammy Narula

A person in a red coat and tan hat is leaning towards a vintage red sports car parked on the street. The person is holding a black and white houndstooth bag. Two other people are standing in the background near a gray building. — @ Josh Edgoose

In PetaPixel‘s GFX 100 II Review, Chris Niccolls called attention to the new Reala Ace film simulation, saying that it delivers “gorgeous JPEG” files and is an “excellent alternative” to the standard Provia film simulation.

A colorful graffiti mural featuring abstract shapes and vibrant colors is in the foreground. In the background, the Calgary Tower and a modern building stand against a blue sky with some clouds. — Photo by Chris Niccolls as part of *PetaPixel*‘s Fujifilm GFX 100 II Review

The new firmware updates are available to download directly from Fujifilm’s global support website, and bring the X-H2, X-H2S, X-T5, and X-S20 cameras to firmware versions 5.00, 7.00, 4.00, and 3.00, respectively. Alongside the new Reala Ace film simulation option, the firmware updates also include bug fixes for each camera.

Fujifilm also released firmware version 1.11 for the X100VI today, addressing the same bugs as have been fixed on the other four X Series cameras.

Today’s slate of firmware updates continues Fujifilm’s excellent post-launch firmware support program.

Fujifilm has also released a new version of the Fujifilm Tether App for Windows and macOS, providing photographers the ability to connect their X and GFX cameras to a computer for live tethered shooting. The software can be used as a plugin for Adobe Lightroom Classic and is designed for professional portrait and commercial photographers who work in a studio environment.

Image credits: Fujifilm unless otherwise noted. Header graphic created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.