Fujifilm’s X100V

Jack Min
Jun 18, 2021
8 min read

Me with my X100V, Helios 44-2 with Viltrox x0.71 on XT-3

So I have had Fujifilm's X100V for nearly a year now. So how do I like it? I freaking love it! Is it my favourite camera of all time? As of right now? Yes! But that again, I only owned three proper digital cameras. So…I guess it’s my favourite out of the three cameras I own. Yay.

But I still have a lot of things to say about this camera. This camera has been my daily driver for almost a year now. But please bear in mind that when I am talking nonsense (I’m talking about you, you professional maniacs on cameras), I am talking nonsense as I am reviewing it on a deeply personal level. So sue me, camera boys. I’ll be waiting.

By early 2020, I had my Fujifilm’s XT-3 for about a year. I love that camera, but I realised that I found its bulkiness hinders me from taking it everywhere. I wanted a camera that was small so that I could take it anywhere I went. Few of the cameras I thought of buying were these - Fujifilm’s X70, Ricoh’s GR III, and Fujifilm’s X100V. And…after much consideration, I have chosen X100V. Before I lay out my reasons for X100V and what I feel about it, I have to say that I consider X70 and GR III as very, very similar cameras. Those two share similar look and are meant to be used similarily. GR III is newer and has more features, so it’s better to consider X70 as budget version of GR III. I know some people are going to eat me alive for saying just that, but that’s the truth. So the question was more, GR III (or budget GR III) vs X100V. So why did I choose X100V?

The Ricoh and the X70 have basically the same focal length of 18mm. I do not hate the focal length. In fact, I prefer to shoot most things in Wide. Like, super wide.

Top of my workplace, shot on glorious XF16mm 1.4 on XT3

Like that is super wide. Right? So I would be crazy if I go for X100V, which has a tighter, 23mm focal length. It’s definitely not as wide as X70 or Ricoh, or the picture above. The camera is also bigger and clunkier. Also, supposedly Ricoh has this amazing mode called Highlight metered mode (or something like that) that meters for the highlights, instead of calculating for mid exposure. If you look at the photos I listed, even the photo above, I love shooting in that way! (look at how we only see the bright parts, and all the other parts of the image are darkened. It’s ’metered’ for highlights) So why! Why did I buy this? Why did I spend almost 500 dollars more on this camera instead of Ricoh? Why!

I can summarise it as….because X100V is cool. 😎 Well, yes. I have to admit it. As much as my melon of a head is ugly as hell, I love using cool things. If Ricoh’s a Toyota that probably has better mileage, comfort, beteter bluetooth connection whatsoever, X100V’s a freaking Rolls Royce. Any sane people would buy a toyota, but Rolls Royce has that…umph. If you get my jest.

Under the bridge, X100V

What do I mean by that? Well, first of all, physically, X100V looks very, very cool. It has that old Leica cameras’ looks, and at the same time, it offers a great picture quality. Ricohs on the other hand are an ugly piece of plastic that is made to do a thing - take pictures. (It does perform really good though) Ricoh would, on the technical level, perform the same as X100V in terms of picture quality, or at times even better. But…having a nice looking camera changes your desire to take pictures. You instinctively want to use it more often. (You might love it so much so that you bring it to your boring office job almost every day.) I guess as others say, it inspires you to take more pictures. It’s pretty small as well, so it’s not much of a bother to take it everywhere.

At the same time, I tend to find that when I shoot with old film cameras like the Olympus EM-1, people stare at you a lot less than shooting with clunky Sony cameras. Not that I like shooting street photographs, but when push comes to shove, I would rather look like a cool-hippy dude, rather than a creepy stalker dude.

The point I’m getting at is that Fujifilm, like all the other Fuji cameras, tend to prefer the old, film camera aesthetics. And you might be a practicalist who hates these ahesthetic choices. But I guess I’m more sentimental.

Gardener, X100V, shot with only using the optical viewfinder.

At the same time, I really, really wanted to use Fuji’s optical viewfinder system. I saw others on Youtube using them on the X-Pro series, but I wanted a small, compact camera, not another XT-3. (Not to mention that the pro series are even more expensive than X100V)

So for those who don’t know, there are two major kinds of film cameras back in the days. There are ones that have an interchangeable lens in front with the mirror that reflects the image up to the viewfinder - where you put your eyes (these cameras are called SLR), and there are ones that don’t(rangefinders). Instead, Rangefinder cameras have this small lens piece (called rangefinder) that shows what the main lens is looking. Here’s what I mean:

SLR vs Rangefinder (image source: https://thedarkroom.com/rangefinder-vs-slr/)

The SLR is the camera on the left, while the rangefinder is on the right. Do you see how rangefinder has a lens piece on the top right? Not one is ’better’ than the other. Each of them have different uses. SLR tends to be bulky and mostly are used by jounralists who need versatility of different lenses. Rangefinders tend to be smaller and you tpyically don’t have to think too much about maintaining the camera body. X100V implements this ragnefinders’ viewfinders onto a digital body. Once you look into it, you see these holograms of information on exposure values, shot counts, battery life, etc. But instead of a electric viewfinder, you get this rectangle that moves as your camera focuses on different subjects, noting where the camera can actually see. (The closer the camera focuses, the smaller the rectangle, as you see less. What do I mean? Well, put a finger right in front of your finger and see how much you can see the background, compared to when finger is further away from you.) Ricoh and X70 don’t even have these viewfinders! Instead they have screens in the back - which X100V also has as well. (and the one on X100V tilts as well!)

The lens on X100V is excellent as well. The previous models of X100 series (V means 5 here) didn’t have the greatest lenses. Especailly, their performance when wide open and close up were apparently horrible. (For those who don’t know what ‘wide-open’ means I’ll have a post explaining that as well.) So shots like below;

Flower at Seoul Forest, X100V

would look so much worse in those previous models. Sadly, I haven’t had the chance to use the previous models. So I have to trust other reviewers for those supposed horrible performance. But if their words are true, it’s a huge deal for me. Sometimes, I love shooting things close up wide open. Like the shot above, shooting wide open close-ups creates a dream-like image that I love. But I have not used Ricoh before so…I can’t talk about their lens performance. Oops.

One final punch that knocks Ricoh out of the question is the colour profile. I love the colour profile on Fuji’s cameras. Unlike gimmicks on other camera brands, Fuji’s colour profiles are based on actual film stocks back in those days. The X100V, being released in 2020 had the newest colour profile called Classic negative. The shot above and the shots below,

Seoul forest, X100V

Neighbourhood in Seoul, X100V

Seoul Forest, X100V

were all shot in such a profile. Look at the faded green, the way how warmth looks…nostalgic. I love this look.

So with all these points combined, Fujifilm’s attempt is obvious. They’re trying to bring back the aesthetics and feel of the old film cameras. They used a full metal body, with buttons that feel precise and mechanical. Ricoh, and to a degree Fuji’s X70, are modern…plastic cameras. (Perhaps that’s why X70 isn’t so popular, even though it offers nearly identical specs to the older GR models. It lacks that ’Fuji’ love for film cameras.) They have these colour profiles that mimic the old film stocks, dials that harkens back to the days of film cameras. And for a guy who loves shooting film photography, I think the choice is obvious.

But for using it for over a year, I have one quarrel with it. I do not like how slow it focuses. I understand that it’s a small camera, but at times I’ve missed so many shots for how slow it focused. So proper street photography is almost out of the question, not for these run and shoot types of street photography I do when I’m out on the streets. It also makes a noticeable noise when it focuses as well. It’s not extremely annoying, but if you’re crazy enough to shoot video on this small camera, your camera will catch these focus motors working tirelessly as it focuses in and out.

There are some minor complaints as well. I do not like the grip on this camera. Even when I’m holding it with two hands after dozens of shots I found the grip to be very uncomfortable. I’d have to stretch my hands now and then to use the camera again. This was easily fixed when I bought a thumb rest that let me put my thumb right next to the viewfinder. I also found the silver part on the top gets easily scraped as well. That’s for me for treating my baby little too harshly, but still, I wish it was an actual silver-like metal, instead of this paint-ish thing that they put on there. I also find at times it gets little too warm, almost hot, especially when summer’s blazing sun shines down on its metal body.

Strangely enough, as much as I like shooting wide, I did not find the focal length bothersome. I actually learned what will be in shot and what will not, and started adopting my shots to the camera. If I really wanted to shoot wider, I would use the lens mounts that lets me shoot wider than the default 23mm focal length to 18mm. This is nearly as wide as I want it to be.

So, would I recommend this camera to everyone? No. Current camera market is becoming more niche day by day, thanks to smartphones. The price of this camera is already too steep at staggering $1500. With the lens mount that I use to shoot wider, the camera strap, the thumb grip, the price easily goes up to $1800. With an honest heart, I cannot recommend this camera to everyone. But, but but, if you’re the person who is fascinated by retro-film photos, the retro film cameras, while having a modern high tech infused into old film aesthetics…then sure, this is the perfect camera for you. If you’re not interested in any of them, and just want a small nimble camera that you can take everywhere, then you’d be better off with a Ricoh GR III. Personally, I love this camera. I cannot imagine myself without it. If I go someplace new, you’d find me with this camera strapped around my neck.

Jack

Oh, and some of the shots I shot with X100V.