There is a setting on every camera I have ever owned that I have never used. Not in 2026, not in 2025, not in 2017, not in 2009. Sepia tone.
It is right there on the Fujifilm X100VI, sitting among the film sims. And the only sepia I have ever seen is old photos and The Wizard of Oz.
The only use case I can imagine: you spot a girl walking on a fence, her aunt and uncle, some farmhands, a woman on a bike stealing a dog, and a snake oil salesman. If you see that, shoot sepia. Otherwise I got nothing. Does anybody out there shoot sepia? Name me a use case. I am serious.
I went out and shot sepia anyway, looking for the same things I would look for in color or black and white. And I will say this: viewing sepia on the camera transports you to another time. A whole different era.
In post I generally shoot a couple of stops underexposed and lift it slightly. Do you crush those browns? Do you make them browner? That is my parody of the black and white guys and their crushed blacks.
Ultimately sepia is a novelty. But now I feel compelled to go watch The Wizard of Oz.
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