#10 Shooting the Fuji X100s, my beloved old camera

This post is part of an unassumed rolling review of the X100s, on going since 7 years….

I have a love/hate relationship with Fujifilm cameras. I tried many of them, XT20, XPRO1, XPRO2, XE3 and X100S and neither bond with any, except the the X100S. Shooting with the Fuji X100s is a pleasure.

Fujifilm XPRO1 is a very nice camera, cheap, solid. I really tend to think that the sensor is producing very nice images, much more organic than the next generations. This review illustrates well what you can expect from this camera. The only issue of this camera is the manual focus. It’s really hard to use manual lenses on it, and I let it go, with regrets.

For the newest camera, I never really like the rendering, might be my workflow.

Fuji XPRO1, Voigtlander 40mm f1.4
Fuji XPRO1, Voigtlander 40mm f1.4

The other one is the X100s. This has been my first rangefinder style camera, after selling my DSLR. For some reasons, I felt in love with it. Image quality is enough ; with a thumb rest, it’s really to hold it, and the size is ok, not too bulky (can fit in your jacket), not too tiny (you will not press 2 buttons at a time).

Fujifilm X100S has always been with me while travelling. It’s ease of use, portability, fun to shoot factor makes it shine. On top of that, the leaf shutter makes it a really silent camera, more than any Leica M system, and this is a plus.

Fujifilm X100S, Malta, band playing
Fujifilm X100S, Malta
Costa Fortuna boat at night with the fujifilm X100S
Fujifilm X100S, Costa Fortuna

Since buying this camera, I had many others, FujiFilm, Sony, Leica but I was never able to sell this one. I really love it.

Hitting the road again with the fuji X100s

During the festive period, I spent 3 days in the desert. I have a bit of experience with desert now, and was aware of what to expect, sand, dust, wind going everywhere especially in your camera system. So, here it is again, fixed lens with a Wide Converter Lens from 35mm to 28mm, the almighty Fuji 100s…. perfect camera for this trip along with a Mamiya 645 1000s and 6 rolls of films.

I was not expecting to use this Fuji a lot, just as a notebook for the family time, diner, lunch, sand boarding session to come. But, I really liked to use it again, shooting RAW+JPEG

picture of Lisa Desert with a fuji X100s on Astia simulation
Fuji X100s, Liwa Desert, Astia Simulation, straight from camera
Inside an abandoned truck with fuji X100s with velvia simulation
Fuji X100s, abandoned truck, Velvia simulation

If finally took more than 200 pictures during this trip, and using the WCL, the camera turned into a perfect landscape system. Using the EVF while composing to focus on shadows and light for B&w, trying to find the right colors, it was so much fun.

Sand Dune in Liwa desert in black and white
Fji X100s, liwa desert, Tmax like editing

Even using a polarized filter was fun :

Desert shot, polarized effect in mirror
Fuji X100s, Polarized effect in Mirror

The only drawback was the autofocus system, it sometimes hunt a lot before finding enough contrast. However, the new X100V has improved on this and could be really helpful in hard conditions.

In conclusion, on top of an unforgetable trip, I felt in love again with this tiny camera. Shooting with the fuji X100s is a real pleasure. Despite his age, it’s still a more than capable camera and for the price on the second hand market, it’s a bargain.

tent with moon in desert, shot with fuji X100s
Fuji X100s, Moon shines

2 Comments to “#10 Shooting the Fuji X100s, my beloved old camera”

  1. David Murray

    I have an X100, first iteration of several later models. As a Leica M3 user (I have two) I find the X100 a very quick and simple camera to use. Like the R8, I unlucky use Program mode for point and shoot readiness. I shot a wedding with it during the pandemic lockdown, that was the reason I bought it. My boyfriend, whose two oldest friends were marrying had insisted that I was to use something modern, not the ancient M3 outfit. So the X100 it was. The results were greatly admired and appreciated. The built-in flash was a boon.
    Although purchased second hand, it works perfectly and came with a spare battery. There’s not much this little chap cannot tackle. The 23mm lens equates to a 35mm on full format and is my favourite fov.

    Reply
    1. Greg Author

      Thanks David for your comments, and you’re right, this is a really good small camera and a strong companion to any M film camera.

      Reply

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