Fujfilm X100S
I have owned my FujiFilm x100s for a decade now. In that time I have used it for all sorts of different types of photography. I have shot out and about photos, adventure documentary photos, landscapes, portraits, and even weddings with the Fuji x100s. I have used the Fuji x100s in all sorts of different weather as well including rain and snow storms. The only issue I had was a few years back when the on/off button started to stick closed after using in some rather rough weather. I sprayed some wd-40 onto it and honestly haven’t had any issues with it since.
Fast forward to today and we have all sorts of iterations of the FujiFilm x100 that started it all, the newest being the recently released FujiFilm x100vi. I figured I’d take a little look at the new camera and the model that I have to compare and see how far it’s come. The x100s has a 16mp sensor compared to the newer x100vi’s 40mp sensor. This might be one of the more significant upgrades to the camera. They both have a fixed 2.0 35mm equivalent focal length lens. The ergonomics are a bit updated with a few more dials than the older models as well as a weather sealed body. There are the improvements you’d expect across the board with everything from the viewfinder to the iso being improved. However, one thing to note is that the newer model FujiFilm x100vi is made in China rather than Japan like the FujiFilm x100s. That being said, I do have a FujiFilm xt-3 which was made in China and I haven’t had any real complaints with build quality.
The allure of the FujiFilm x100s for me was the fact that it was a more simple approach to photography to me. I like the physical and visible dials on the camera that you use to set the shutter speed, aperture, and iso. I think maybe the most iconic and sought after style camera for a lot of photographers are the Leica Rangefinders and when the original FujiFilm x100 came out it was nicknamed the Leica Killer. Obviously the x100 isn’t really a range finder and it’s a lot different on every level to a Leica, but it did fill a gap in the camera world that existed between dslrs and point and higher end point and shoots. The FujiFilm x100s, to me, was not a point and shoot. I gave up using auto functions on cameras somewhere in 2010 during a photography class and never looked back. One of the main selling points for a lot o the FujiFilm cameras is also the ability to shoot in a film simulation right in camera. Unfortunately, when I gave up shooting in auto I also stopped shooting jpeg and started shooting RAW so this feature is mostly not a thing for me. While I do still use my x100s all the time and enjoy shooting with it, I don’t see myself buying the newest model. This isn’t the camera I’m grabbing to do paid work these days and for what I use it for it gets the job done. I was very interested in the FujiFilm Xpro-3, but thats a different story and at this point it’d make more sense to wait for the next iteration of camera if they continue it.
Below are some photos of my FujiFilm x100s.
