It’s 2011 and the hottest camera on the market is the brand new Fujifilm X100. 11 years later, this little camera can still be fun to shoot with.
Even though I had it for about 48 hours, I can see why Fujifilm has so many fans. Despite its age, the original X100 delivers great results. It may only have 12 megapixels to work with, yet it’s perfect for the social media world we’re living in. After all my iPhone 11 is doing great with about the same number of pixels.
Some features are outdated: the proprietary USB port, the mini-HDMI, having just two customizable buttons, the low resolution 2.8″ display, the clunky autofocus and having to charge the battery by taking it out of the camera are the ones that stood out for me.
Others are holding up even in 2022: the hybrid viewfinder, the incredibly silent leaf shutter, the decent image quality and, last but not least, the film simulations. A word about that: the original Fujifilm X100 has only three film color simulations: Provia (default), Astia (Soft) and Velvia (Vivid). I did manage to edit all my photos using Classic Neg, by using this method.
So how was it? After setting it up the proper way (center AF, back button autofocus, camera set to Manual Focus), it was very enjoyable. Now I can say I understand why Fuji users are so keen on talking about the shooting experience, as if the cameras have magically teleported from the analog era and through some miracle can now shoot digital. The dials were great to the touch. Not too stiff, but not too loose. I liked the aperture ring so much never once have I though to leave it on Auto.
What about the photos? Here’s some context for a few of them.
Want to see more photos? Here’s a short video:
Given it’s an 11 year-old camera, I like the Fujifilm X100 a lot. It’s compact, has great character and it takes nice photos. It’s not as easy to use as a modern smartphone, but you already knew that, didn’t you?
