Hi Alex,
I sincerely appreciate your efforts in bringing these simulations to Sony users. I came across your website just as I was considering purchasing a Fujifilm camera solely for everyday photography and capturing family moments. After discovering your simulations, I decided to purchase the PDF guide.
Over the past weekend, I tested three of the simulations—Sony Classic Negative, Asteroid City V2, and Kodak Gold V2—on my Sony A7C II with the Viltrox 40mm f/2.5. However, I feel that my results don’t quite match the sample images shown in the "Share Your Work" section or in the PDF.
To troubleshoot, I reviewed your blog post on color calibration and noted that the A7C II's colors closely resemble those of the A6700, which was used as a reference for the settings.
I've attached the images along with the corresponding simulations used for your review. Could you please let me know if I’ve made any mistakes or if there are any specific adjustments I should consider? If my results are actually correct and align with the intended look, I’d appreciate your confirmation so I know I’ve applied the settings properly.
Note: Aside from the Asteroid City V2 simulation, where I used Cine1 instead of S-Log3 due to not having an ND filter, I followed the PDF’s recommended settings precisely.
Looking forward to your insights!
Sony Classic Negative
Asteroid City V2 (Used Cine1 instead of Slog3 as i forgot my ND filter but rest of the settings are same)
Kodak Gold V2
The a7CII and a6700 have very similar color science, with one small difference—the a6700 leans warmer, with a slight yellow tint. Based on what I’ve read, the a6700 shares the same sensor and color science as the FX30, which aligns with Sony’s Cinema Line—known for its warmer, greener, and yellow-toned colors.
A quick fix? Increase the temperature on all recipes by about +200 and push color filter by 0.5 levels towards green from base recipe—that should get it close. But don’t worry, I’ll provide specific adjustments for each case.
Notes on Specific Presets
Sony Classic Negative This one naturally has a warm magenta cast, but in your images it seems rather cool magenta. So to fix this, I would shift the color filter towards green by 1 stop to fix the magenta cast, and then push it towards amber by 1 stop. These adjustments will add warmth, pushing yellow tones and balancing the blues, all while keeping skin tones natural and clean—without looking too green or muddy.
Kodak Vision V2 Just to clarify—did you use the first version (originally based on S-Log) and modified gamma for Cine1, or the second version which is based on Cine1? The second version was added just before the update, so it may still need a few refinements.
Kodak Gold V2 This preset looks great and behaves as expected. The only noticeable difference is saturation levels—the reference in the PDF appears more saturated. And that is because after checking the reference images on the big screen, I intentionally toned down the saturation in the recipe, since it sometimes felt overpowering in certain scenarios. The current version offers a more balanced look.
A Quick Note on Color Perception
If you use the same recipe in different locations, you might notice the colors look different—and that’s totally normal.
For example, last update’s location gave each image a slight magenta tint, while last year’s had more of a green-amber feel. While some of that comes from updates, a lot of it is simply the lighting and surrounding colors affecting how we perceive hues.
Think of it like this: one set of photos was taken on a warm summer afternoon, and another on a cool late autumn morning—the environment naturally affects how we perceive hues, so these variations are completely normal. That’s just how light works.
Lens Choice Matters
The lens you use can significantly impact color rendering. Different lens manufacturers—Sony, Zeiss, Tamron, Sigma, Samyang, Viltrox—all interpret colors differently, sometimes leaning warmer, cooler, or introducing a green or magenta tint.
These color shifts will impact your final image when using film simulations, and you'll notice differences when switching between lenses from different brands.
Hope this information helps in getting better color :]