Fuji X100V - The Perfect Adventure Camera?
In my quest to find a perfect adventure companion, I stumbled upon the coveted Fuji X100V. A fixed 35mm F2 APC camera that is relatively compact, weather sealed, and has a massive cult following. The X100V ticked a lot of the boxes for me but, unfortunately, was sold out everywhere.
The Ricoh GRIIIX gave me a taste of carrying a compact camera with me, and with a bunch of adventures in the queue, I needed to figure out something sooner than later.
When a brand new X100V popped up on Facebook Marketplace for a few hundred above retail, I reluctantly leaped at the opportunity. I am happy I did; the woman I bought it off turned out to be a Motion Designer and has a family, so it eased the burn of the overpriced camera. People that know me know that I tend to dive right in. Life is too short, right?
There are a ton of reviews out there on the specs, pros, cons, etc., of this camera, so I encourage you to check those out if that's what you are interested in. But before you go, let me quickly share my experience with it over the past few weeks.
Does the Fuji X100V live up to the hype?
100% The feel of the camera, the quality of the images, and the overall vibe of it are really dope.
Is the camera pocketable?
The camera fits in a jacket pocket, but it has some thickness to it. In my opinion, the camera best works on a strap or a fanny pack. The Ricoh GR + Sony X100 series can't be beaten in that department. However, the Fuji beats those cameras out in every way.
Image quality?
I am very happy with the image quality coming out of the camera. It far exceeds my expectations in that department. The lens is gorgeous though I've noticed some weird fall-off while in F2.
Overall experience?
For me, the Fuji X100v has me stoked about shooting again; the camera is small enough to bring it on road rides, fly fishing, and leave it on the dash in the van while on road trips. It's small enough that it's there with you, but the image quality is good enough that I only sometimes need to grab my Sony.
Conclusion.
Initially, I decided to sell off all my Sony gear and make the leap to Fuji. The thing is, when you compare the Fuji X100V to my Sony A1 with Gmaster glass, it's just not fair. The Sony images are better in almost every way despite being harder to color-correct. I am very happy to have Fuji as my little adventure camera. Is it the perfect adventure camera? It will be for many people, and I would 100% recommend it to anyone who has been thinking about it. Was it worth the extra resale price? It was, and I'd probably buy another one to have it as a backup; I like it that much.
