While disease ravages the land, and our cities are being sacked, I think it is important to take time for more vital things. Like to review a new camera. This is my review of the Fujifilm X 100 V.
As faithful readers know, the X 100 series has been my favorite, and most commonly used photographic instrument. I have owned all five of the variants. The first X100 was so compelling in form and function that it broke a photographic slump for me. All of the subsequent releases have been, in their own way captivating. For a photographer my age, Fujifilm cameras are fun to use because of the reliance on old-fashioned manual dials rather than menu-driven functions.
I acquired my X 100V just before St. Patrick’s Day. I did this with the thought that it would be fun to test it during our local parade where I can shoot on the street and in pubs, my favorite use for these bodies.
Alas, the pandemic, canceled the parade, the pubs, and most public gatherings. Damn.
As I wrote in earlier articles, I was skeptical about whether the improvements in the latest model would be very compelling. As it turns out, I was wrong.
The camera body is now made out of aluminum, and the silver version which I acquired, has a natural metal finish rather than paint as on the previous magnesium body. The machining is finer, and the camera does look a touch more expensive than previous bodies. There may be a bit more heft. It still however the same wonderful form factor as earlier cameras.
There are slight changes in the body’s design, and I was unhappy to hear that my expensive Lensmate thumb rest, designed for the X 100F was said not to fit. This turns out not to be true, it actually works fine.
As is the trend, Fujifilm removed the D-pad from the back of the camera. This to me is not positive as I find myself looking for additional buttons to program for functions (I do not like touchscreens, which this camera now sports). I’m also not a fan of unnamed buttons, because I honestly sometimes forget which button is programmed to what function. This of course is the curse of aging.
This is the first version of the X100 to have weather sealing. Given the nature of the fixed lens, in order to completely weatherproof the camera, one must have a filter adapter, and filter of some sort on the front of the lens for it to be completely sealed. As a longtime owner of these cameras, I had these items on hand. It is reassuring when shooting in bad weather, but honestly, with a little common sense, I never had a problem with previous versions.
I do however really appreciate the articulating LCD screen. It is designed to be no more obtrusive than the previous fixed LCD, and in fact, it’s easy to forget it’s there. It’s really useful for composing low-level images and overhead crowd shot. Unfortunately, it does not pivot right to left so it is not always useful when shooting vertical.
So onto the lens. The prospect of a better optic was certainly a motivating factor for me to upgrade from the “F” version of the camera. A variety of technical reviews seem to show that the lens was certainly better wide open and close focusing distances. When I obtained the camera, prior to selling its predecessor, I took images to confirm this.
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X100f @f2.0 ![]()
X100V @f2.0
As you can see the lens is definitely sharper wide open at this distance (about 16 inches). I shot some similar images at roughly 7 feet and was not as impressed with the difference in sharpness though it was there.
That having been said, I do get the impression that images are sharper overall. And I find the bokeh quite lovely. It’s no longer seems at any disadvantage for instance, vs the excellent Fujifilm XF 23 mm f2.0. Overall it’s a fine lens. And happily, it works with the existing lens converters.
The files generated from the 26-megapixel imaging sensor are excellent, as they were from the 24-megapixel imaging sensor of the earlier model. They have excellent dynamic range and lots of detail. They still are fussy about which raw converter you use if you want to avoid the “wormy” appearance of details that seems inherent in the Trans-X sensor. Once again the Irident products or Capture One seem to work better than the Adobe products, but the latter is getting better.
The X 100 series has been my favorite camera for shooting waterfalls and other forms of moving water. This is because of the soft leaf shutter, the various remote release options, and most notably the built-in neutral density filter. This filter has been upgraded from 3 to 4 stops on the “V” Version. To test this I visited a local waterfall in the afternoon when I knew it would have direct sun, making slow shutter speeds tricky. With a polarizing filter in the four-stop neutral density filter engaged, it was easy to get nice silky waterfall images.
A pleasant surprise was the firmware update process. I had the Fujifilm camera remote app on my android phone connected to the camera, and the app informed me there was a firmware update to be done. Happily, instead of downloading the file to my desktop, and to blank SD card, the phone downloaded the app and transferred it by Bluetooth to the camera which that updated. This is really slick and much more in line with current technology.
It should also be said that the new Bluetooth capability of the camera makes for a lot less fussy connection process. It allows you to access the remote shutter and due to the low power requirements, you can keep the camera connected without excessive power drain.
I also had a problem for a time with the viewfinder. I could not figure out why all of the data in the electronic viewfinder disappeared. I kept trying to fix this while looking at the rear LCD and hitting the Disp/Back button which would slightly LCD through various modes including the one I wanted. The viewfinder would still however be blank. Turns out, you have to hit that button while you’re looking through the viewfinder if it is to have an effect.
So the question generally involves the issue of whether to upgrade. The X 100 V is priced roughly a hundred dollars more than the previous cameras bringing it to $1400. I was able to get roughly $650 for my previous body on eBay, so the cost was not exorbitant. Yes, it’s an expense. But I think all of the changes (except the loss of the D-pad) add up to an even better shooting experience, and I’m happy I spent the money. Clearly, if this camera is too rich for your blood (is which it well may be) then a used “F” or earlier “T” version are still very pleasant instruments that produce beautiful images.
I love shooting these cameras. And now the pubs are open.