Black and white · 2016

ACROS

Black and white with grain that behaves like film.

Short answer

ACROS is Fujifilm’s premium black and white simulation, based on Neopan 100 Acros film. It has richer shadow detail and smoother midtones than plain Monochrome, and its grain changes with ISO the way real film does.

Based on: Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros
Type: Black and white
Introduced: 2016
Cameras with this simulation: 32

Fujifilm introduced ACROS with the X-Pro2 in 2016 and it needed the newer processor to exist. The grain is not a fixed overlay: it is calculated per image and scales with sensitivity, so a shot at ISO 6400 is grainier than one at ISO 200, exactly as a roll of film behaves.

ACROS versus Monochrome

Monochrome is a straightforward desaturation with a firm curve. ACROS holds more information in the deep shadows, rolls into the highlights more gently, and separates close midtones better.

On a face, Monochrome gives you a graphic image and ACROS gives you skin. On a landscape, Monochrome flattens distant haze while ACROS keeps the layers apart.

If your camera has ACROS, there is very little reason to shoot Monochrome except when you want that harder, more graphic look on purpose.

Which filter variant to pick

The three variants imitate coloured glass filters used on black and white film. ACROS+Ye is the gentle one: it darkens the sky a little and keeps skin natural. ACROS+R is dramatic: skies go near black and clouds jump out. ACROS+G lightens foliage and treats skin most kindly, which makes it the portrait choice.

If you are unsure, plain ACROS or ACROS+Ye will cover most of what you shoot.

Settings that suit it

Shadow +1 and Clarity +2 give the classic printed look: deep blacks with texture still visible in them. Add Grain: Weak, Small at base ISO, or turn grain off entirely above ISO 3200 where the sensor supplies its own.

Black and white is where a white balance shift still matters, even though colour is gone: it changes how the colour channels are mixed. Shifting toward red lightens skin; shifting toward blue darkens it.

Suggested starting settings

Highlight	0
Shadow	+1
Sharpness	0
Grain	Weak, Small
Clarity	+2
White balance	Auto

Common questions

Which cameras have ACROS?

The X-Pro2 and everything after it, which covers all X-Trans III, IV and V bodies and the GFX line. Older cameras only have Monochrome.

Does ACROS grain look better than adding grain in editing?

It is different rather than strictly better. Camera grain scales with ISO and sits inside the tonality; grain added afterwards sits on top of it. Many people prefer the camera version for exactly that reason.