Turn your Nikon Zf into an X100VI killer with these free film simulation profiles
(Image credit: Gareth Bevan / Digital Camera World)
While the Fujifilm X100VI is the latest photography sensation, with everyone checking to see the latest Fujifilm X100VI deals and stock status, what if I told all you Nikon Zf owners that you can have all the 'film simulations' you ever wanted – and it won't cost you a dime!
That's right, thanks to some free third-party software called Nikon Picture Control Editor (not to be confused with the official Nikon Picture Control Utility) you can install image profiles directly to your latest Nikon Z or even your trusty Nikon DSLR and leave the X100VI's film simulations and recipes dead in the water.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have Fuji Veliva replicated in your digital workflow on your trusted Nikon camera, or why the monochrome setting just isn't what Kodak T-Max 400 used to be on film?
Well, thanks to this handy bit of software developed by Dmitrij Sosnovsenko (by way of Nikon Rumors), you can now load color or black-and-white profiles to your camera via an SD card, save them as custom profiles, and then switch between them to your heart's content – all for free, and an X100VI in sight!
For those who didn't know this was a thing (neither did I, but I'm certainly going to try it out), below I have added a brief checklist so that you can load your profiles to your camera – but I must say now, this is not official Nikon software so please do this at your own risk:
While this is a really interesting bit of software that you can certainly have a lot of fun with, it does make you wonder why Nikon hasn't done a deal to license some of the film looks officially.
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I understand why simulations of Fujifilm offerings wouldn't be on the cards, but surely there is a door wide open for Nikon to approach Kodak or even Ilford and offer picture profiles of say Kodak Porta 800 or Ilford HP5. In fact, it seems like such a missed opportunity with the Nikon Zf, since a lot of users love shooting street photography with this camera. Still, now you can get those looks yourself!
For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
