My experience using the Fujifilm X100F for life and travel

The Fujifilm X100F was release back in 2017 and the X100V replacement was announced earlier this year. As I mentioned in my previous blog post on my initial impressions of the X100F, I was curious to try out the X100F to see what the fuss was all about (spoiler alert, it’s a fantastic little camera and I loved using the little thing). The X100 series is Fujifilm’s first foray into the mirrorless market and is one of it’s most iconic cameras. This blog post wraps up my experience of using the X100F for a month. During this time I took it on a trip to Melbourne, photographed Open House Perth 2019, used it as my primary camera on the last Fuji X Aus Perth photowalk for 2019 and shot some behind the scenes candid photos and videos for my brother’s wedding.

Disclaimer: I was fortunate to borrow the Fujifilm X100F curtesy of Fujifilm Australia, however this isn’t a sponsored post and all opinions are my own. This is also not intended to be a comprehensive technical lens review. There are plenty of photography websites that are excellent for that. This is simply my experience as an enthusiast X shooter. All images taken in this blog post were shot by me.

Design & Handling

The design of the X100F is beautiful. It doesn’t stray too far from it’s iconic and classical camera design. The retro look was something that initially drew me to the Fujifilm brand when I was researching mirrorless cameras 5 years ago. The design appears simple but under the hood it’s powerful, high quality and sophisticated. Since buying and using the XF 23mm f2 lens to use with my Fujifilm X-T10, I’ve been a big fan of the 23mm focal length. Technically the X-T10 and the 23mm f2 lens combination would be the same as the X100F with it’s standard 23mm f2 lens. However I love how small and compact the X100F is. You can throw it into you bag or pocket without it weighing you down. The weight/size of the camera feels solid without being too heavy.

I like the finger grip on lens as it makes it easy to adjust the aperture given how flat the lens is. The magnetic lens cap is very nice touch. I always find the plastic lens cap falls off my lenses easily. The design and placement of the buttons and dials to be similar enough to the X-T10 so it didn’t take me too long to get used to it. The clean design of the camera is pleasing to the eye and quite intuitive to handle.

As I mentioned earlier, I feel like I’ve tried it in a variety of photography settings. I found during my brother’s wedding and doing some event-style photography at Open House Perth and ASCA Coffee Competition, the fast focusing and quiet shutter was amazing. I also really enjoyed using it for the slower pace types of photography like interior (Open House Perth) and street photography (Melbourne and Perth photowalks)

The hybrid view finder took me a while to get use to. Once I did, I really enjoyed being able to switch between the OVF and EVF. The toggle for the switch was also well placed on the camera.

Teleconverters TCL/WCL

I enjoyed using the standard 23mm lens so much that the teleconverters often sat unused in the bag. However when I did pull it out for a few niche situations like trying to do more intimate street photography or needing a wider field of view to capture the the whole interior of the State Library Victoria during my weekend trip to Melbourne. In all situations the TCL and WCL worked great. They are small and portable. Between the X100F and the two teleconverters, it does make for a pretty compact travel or street kit.

Wrap up of my experience with the Fujifilm X100F

I didn’t think the X100 series would be something I would gravitate but after a month of using the X100F I would love to have it as a secondary “fun” camera! The X100F allows you to focus on your creativity and capturing the moment. The image quality is what you expect from Fujifilm and it won’t disappoint. Given that I enjoy travel, urban and street photography, it will be tempting to snap up a cheap X100F when the X100V comes along!

Thanks for stopping by today and happy shooting.

J