The black and whites are phenomenal with the Fuji X100 and the good news is you can pick one up for a couple hundred bucks. Whether you shoot landscapes, street photography or you're a travel shooter: you might one to pick one of these up and leave the phone in your pocket. Fuji put a lot of time in developing this camera and they have changed the photography world since it's inception back in 2010.
I first saw the unveiling of the Fuji X100 at Photokina Photography trade show in Cologne, Germany when it was introduced in 2010. It was sexy and I could not wait to get my hands on one. I waited for a couple of years to buy it used for nearly $1,000 and fast forward to 2018, you can pick one up for a couple hundred bucks on Amazon/Ebay.
So what is the X100?
It's basically a digital Leica. Small and classic rangefinder looking in design and functions, but digital under the hood.
-12.3 megapixels (that doesn't seem like a lot with the ridiculous megapixel war going on, but plenty big enough to print a billboard)
-silent mode (excellent for sneaky street photography; which you will see in a moment)
-23mm (on a crop sensor that is basically a 35mm)
-The black and white modes are stunning even though you only get a JPG with the filters (but they got it right!)
-A very useful neutral density filter so you can shoot 2.8 aperture in the full sun. Wow!!!!!
-2.8 lens that is sharp sharp sharp wide open!!!
If you like small cameras or want a Fuji but don't want to shell out several thousand dollars for one of the boutique new Fuji models, go with the X100. Fuji put a lot of money into developing this camera and to be frank, it's a damn good camera even to today's standards. Is it quirky, hell yeah, like any good woman (if you're a woman reading this...like a fine young man).
more images of the X100 at the end
I have rambled plenty about the X100. What you really clicked to see are the images....right? If you have been following me, I have been talking a lot about black and white photography lately. I will give insight into the camera and back story of some of the images. Let's dive in Steemian fans...
This is a street photographers dream camera. It's silent, almost undetectable and the black and white mode is gorgeous.
I did some street photography in St Bart. Above.
More of that sneaky street work.
I am not much of a landscape photographer. But when I have the X100 in my hands I just want to shoot landscapes in black and white. The "red filter" mode and the neutral density filter in this beast are a blast. The contrast and quality of the blacks are incredible. It just feels rich.
The next few images will be landscape and I will shut up for a moment. Enjoy the show:
I use this camera for only black and white. I keep it in the red filter mode which is a jpg. But I don't care because I am not doing a lot of post processing. I dial in an exposure using the compensation wheel and that's it. No photoshop.
I want to show more people...
The ISO performance sucks. Here's a night shot, I was struggling to get good images. I am sure that the newer Fuji's they have fixed the ISO performance, but do I really want to spend $3,000+ for night shots? Not me.
Night shot at a bar in San Francisco. Not bad, not good either.
You can see this camera shines in the daylight. Ansel Adams would be proud to say the Fuji covers the zone system nicely.
That 2.8 lens is magic and sharp.
Planes
Same plane :)
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She's a tough little lady. I never use a case or a lens cap. Always ready to be fired.