Thoughts on the Fuji x100v
Obviously the Fuji x100v was the most sought after camera of 2023. And now, its successor, the Fuji x100vi, will probably be the most sought after camera of 2024.
I saw all the videos on Instagram and YouTube hyping about this nearly 4 year old camera and at first I ignored it. But this little camera kept coming back to me over and over again.
As the years go on, I get older and wiser I have started to realise what is most important to me and what is not. What definitely is not important to me is carrying round an enormous bag full of camera gear, traipsing across countless countries, back slowly breaking under the weight minute by minute. I began to realise that I don’t need to carry every single piece of gear that I own. I carried a lot of “what ifs”. What if I need a telephoto? What if I need a 35mm prime? What if I want to do street photography one day and don’t want to use an enormous 24-70mm lens?
I think over the years I’ve been able to refine the gear I carry on my back to the bare minimum-everything I need and nothing I don’t. But I’ve since discovered I have different travels tastes. For instance, when travelling to a city I don’t want to lug around a huge kit with an enormous, heavy 24-70mm lens that screams tourist. I’d rather be as inconspicuous as possible, blend in.
It was this feeling that got me looking into downsizing my kit. And whilst I could never give up my beloved Sony a7iv, I sometimes found myself not reaching for my camera at all, because it was just too big.
Enter the Fuji x100v.
This thing is small. I mean, fit-in-your-pocket small. I was so apprehensive at first, was it just all hype? Not to mention the price tag…
But as the days and months progressed I found myself thinking more and more about this camera. So I took the plunge.
After almost a 4 month wait, this little beauty landed in my hands.
And I have to say, it is changing the way I shoot.
It is so incredibly light and compact yet the image quality is beautiful. I find myself reaching for it more than my Sony purely due to it’s size alone. And that is making me shoot things I wouldn’t normally shoot- the sunlight hitting the wall in my study, the clouds, a stroll down the street during blue hour. Freezing moments I would not normally freeze and seeing the world in a different light. It is just so convenient, I nearly carry it with me everywhere. I am no longer waiting to shoot the big, epic moments in life, epic landscapes, epic sunsets. But rather shooting all the small moments in between that nobody else cares about except me.
Was is worth the price tag? That depends. It is expensive. But it brings me joy and think it is now a part of my kit that I will definitely get value out of it.
Do you need it? Absolutely not.
But where is the fun in that?
