Hit the street

From the word go, the Fuji X100S brought out the hipster photographer in me. Its retro design, combined with modern features, makes the camera feel like it has just come out of an alternative future based on the 1960s.

Using the Fuji X100S with all its knobs and dials reminded me of my very first Vivitar (or any classic rangefinder). These make it less automated and more involving when it comes to playing with aperture, shutter speed and exposure. The size of the camera makes it comfortable to move around with and its weight makes it convenient to take everywhere.

When it comes to performance, the camera produces beautiful shots. The images are
very sharp and crisp, and the colours and tones are amazing. The more I used it, the more I wanted to go out into the streets and capture as many images of strangers as I could.

The autofocus on the Fuji X100S is not slow but it isn’t entirely that fast either. However, this did not bother me too much as I was more excited about its manual focus assist and the split image mode. Using the split image focus on a camera such as the Fuji with its retro looks adds more to the whole hipster/nostalgic experience. Another thing I
loved about this camera is its performance
in low light — you don’t get nearly as much noise and the images are actually pretty good.

There were, however, a couple of things that bothered me about the camera: a short batter y life and a fixed lens. All I wanted to do
was take it everywhere with me. The Fuji X100S feels like a camera built for exploring and travelling, but with its short battery life that experience might be ruined when your camera dies halfway through a colourful alley in old Cairo.

The camera comes with a 23mm lens, which is a great lens, but I’d still like to have the flexibility of switching lenses without the hassle of looking for adaptors.

The Fuji X100S is a pretty neat camera. It is small, light, quiet, produces gorgeous images and looks cool even if you are just holding it. It is definitely a camera street photographers would enjoy.