The Fujifilm X100 series of cameras have been my favorite for a long time. I first fell in love with this series when I bought the X100S in 2014. This camera was with me at all times, and I made many meaningful images with it. The reason why I sold it was because I prefer my current X-T3 with XF23mm f2 combo. You can’t beat the weather seal, snappy AF and sharper image. Now, Fujifilm has recently announced the latest model in the X100 series, the X100V.
Please note that the Fujifilm X100V is a prototype/pre-production model that I received directly from Fujifilm Canada. The image quality was not final in all my sample photos posted on this blog. This post is based on my real working assignments and how the camera reacts, behaves and delivers rather than a pixel by pixel analysis of the sensor and images.
I would like to share my little Fujifilm X100V working experience in using it for a wedding assignment yesterday and hope you find it useful. There is no need for me to explain anything about the image quality as the sensor is the same as the one that was found in the Fujifilm X-T3 and/or the X-Pro 3. You can find all kinds of reviews and images from the Internet, check out Jonas Rask here.
Also check out Bert Stephani’s promo video below.
I picked up the X100V sample unit on Saturday and carried it with my X-T3s for my wedding assignment the next day. Thanks to the Fujifilm menu that applied across all camera series, I don’t have to read the menu before using it. My muscle memory from X-T3 also applied on X100V. The most challenging one is how to shortlist my function buttons due to the missed D-Pad. I am not a big fan of touch screens so it isn’t useful and doesn’t help. The touch screen was turned off at all time for myself. The EVF has been upgraded to the same one as X-T3 and XPro 3 with 3.69 millions dots OLED. As I prefer to use the ultra brightness of the OLED display, I set the EVF Performance under the Power Management to “BRIGHTNESS”. The other option is the “SMOOTHNESS” function that the camera inserts black frames every other frame, giving the appearance of a very smooth display with fast subject motion. Try them out to see which one works for you.
I can’t even tell that the Fujifilm X100V came with a 2-way discrete tilt-screen. When it’s not in use it sits perfectly flush with the back of the camera. It’s so well incorporated that except for a small carve-in to the left of the screen. It tilts out to a completely 90 degree angle facing upwards and perfectly for low angle shots in reception.
The autofocus is sharp and fast now but I wished it could be more snappy. I found it to be a little bit slower than XF23mm f/2 on my X-T3. I have no doubt It is a huge improvement over my X100S. The old lens would often hunt, and not snap focus before doing a home run from near-to-infinity. It’s frustrating when working on wedding assignments.
But I’m happy to say that now the new 23mm f/2 MKII lens is perfectly sharp and crisp even at f/2 at close focus, PERIOD!
Conclusion and sample images
If I could have only one camera and one lens, it would be this X100V. Let me clarify that it isn’t the main camera for my working assignments as this is not the form factor I preferred. For example, I have to program the rear dial as Back Button AF for easier access. The new aluminium material, classical design, new 23mm f/2 mkII lens, the tiltscreen, the weather-resistance and powered by the same engine from X-T3. The X100V earns a seat not in my camera bags but in my jacket pockets for carrying it at all times.
Samples
Check out the sample photos (SOOC JPEG) to see just how sharp this new lens really is. View them in the gallery and look at the EXIF for your reference.
