The Lil’ Camera That Could
My two week road trip with the X100S
I had read all the hype and peeped enough pixels to know that Fuji’s new version of their beloved X100 was going to be good, but how good?
When Fuji released the X100S in early 2013, it was a challenge to find a retailer that still had them in stock. They flew off the shelves faster than water during a zombie outbreak. But unlike the U.S. Government, the Fuji machine does not shut down.
The box arrived on my doorstep in early June, right before our family headed out to the local swiming hole.
Not going to lie, at first the camera was a challenge to figure out. There’s so many ways you can configure the thing it takes time to find your own sweet spot in operability. But after you get the camera dialed in to fit your style, ah-maze-zing!
Side note: this camera turns heads.
The X100S immediately took up residency in a little corner of my heart. I could NOT leave home without it. I’ve been a professional shooter for about 5 years now and there’s something to be said for a any piece of gear that reminds you why love the craft. For me, the X100S is that piece of gear.
The Call Of The Road
A little over a month ago, I was asked to go out on the road with Courrier. My role was to be a fly on the wall and get some live shots during shows and behind the scenes look into life on the road. I was excited to road-test this little camera — to see what it’s really made of. Would it hold up the beating and bumping (read hammering and throwing) that was sure to come?
My normal arsenal consists of your typical Canon-full-frame-boredum with a couple lenses ready to be dropped. This is why having a fixed lens camera really excited me. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, you never get used to hearing camera gear bounce off of concrete.
The auto-focus on this little guy is a dream! It’s nice to finally have camera that doesn’t hunt for focus. If you’re coming from the Canon world, be warned that there is slight learning curve. The different setup that Fuji presents took some time to grasp before it finally felt right.
If there was one thing I was looking forward to the most about this camera, it was the leaf shutter. After working with sync-speeds at 1/250th or slower, syncing at speeds around 1/1000th of a second was crazy! I carried a small hot-shoe flash with me in NYC and was able to pull off portrait shots in mid-day light. I wasn’t worried about over powering the sun, because I could dial it all back using my shutter, WITH A HOT-SHOE FLASH!
If you’re on the fence about the X100S, I have two words for you: GET OFF. You will be happy you did… if you end up on the right side of said fence.
Below are some of my personal fav’s from the For The Love, For The Road documentary project.
