I’ve had my Fujifilm X100 for a good few months now and I feel like I’ve really gotten to know it. When I first purchased the camera, I felt like I was constantly battling with it. I struggled with the slow AF, the exposure metering was different to what I was used to and the frame lines in the optical viewfinder were nothing more than a ‘best guess’ of what would end up in the final image. However, as I continued to use it, I started getting used to its quirks. I learned to slow my style of shooting down from what I was used to with my big DSLR. When using the DSLR, I always felt under pressure to get my shot and move on, as if at any moment I was going to be arrested for photographing something I shouldn’t. I eventually began to realise that people didn’t care that I was taking time to compose my images with the X100. Apart from the occasional envious or inquisitive glance from another photographer, people didn’t pay me any attention at all.
When you slow down with the X100, something fantastic happens. All of the parts of the camera that you found you were fighting against when trying to shoot it like a DSLR suddenly started working. Autofocus works well if you choose your AF point carefully and consider the parallax error when using the OVF (optical viewfinder). The live histogram gives you real-time exposure information and, when using the Auto ISO function, you can also set Auto Dynamic Range which will give you much greater detail in the shadows of bright scenes. The framelines in the OVF move once you’ve locked focus so sometimes you just have to adjust your composition slightly to allow for the parallax error. For shots where framing is critical, you can always use the EVF (electronic viewfinder).
Some of my favourite photos have been taken with the X100. I feel like it’s really improved my photography, particularly in terms of composition and I think I owe a lot of thanks to the wonderful OVF. Being able to see outside of the frame is really helpful when lining up your shots, especially if you’re used to shooting with a DSLR as I was. It helps that the OVF is so big and bright and that you get an (almost) instant preview of your images directly in the eyepiece. For portrait work, this means that you can snap away without removing the camera from your eye so your subject is often none the wiser that you’re taking more than one shot. The fact that the X100 is nearly silent when taking pictures is another great point (although I do miss the satisfying shutter noise from a DSLR).
All-in-all I love almost everything about my X100. However, there were a few things that I found annoying:
- The included Fuji X100 strap is horrible
- The lens hood (and lens cap) is a nightmare to keep attached
- The ergonomics for the shutter button aren’t perfect
Fortunately, I’ve found a solution to each of the above problems.
The first isn’t so much a problem as a matter of personal taste. To me, the included X100 strap is fine but I felt like it let down the appearance and also the feel of what is otherwise a beautiful camera. It’s also quite thin and not very flexible. Luckily, there are hundreds of third party camera straps to choose from. I recommend one with soft leather ends to protect the camera from the metal attachment rings, otherwise you’ll end up with a horribly scratched top plate. I went with a black Artisan & Artist ACAM-103N. It’s made from woven fabric wtih leather ends and a sliding leather loop (in red on the black strap) to keep the ‘tail’ of the strap in check. It’s adjustable in length and looks more like a strap from a messenger bag than a camera.
It looks great, is comfortable to wear over the shoulder, around the neck or even across the body. It can be quite hard to come by o
The lens hood is a more troublesome issue. I admit that I went for a much cheaper third party lens hood from JJC (Amazon affiliate link)
The last issue I had was again down to personal preference, but I felt that the shutter release was just not quite right for me. Luckily, the X100 has a threaded shutter release, just like the film cameras of old which means you can use one of the thousands of shutter soft releases (“softies”) available. I went with an Abrahamsson mini soft release from RapidWinder (available in the UK from Peter Walnes).
The soft release effectively raises the shutter release button by a centimetre or so and allows you to wrap your index finger over the top of it. This means you can apply a more even pressure to the shutter button, minimising camera shake. Plus, in red, I think it looks great. Apparently, with practice, you can go one or two stops slower with your shutter speed and still get sharp images.
So I’ve customised my X100 a little bit but not overly so and I think the small changes really do help to improve the camera and, perhaps more importantly, they improve my enjoyment of the camera. I’d say that’s even more important.
Have you customised your X100 or have you got a different camera that you’ve modified somehow? Share your ‘upgrades’ in the comments below.
Update (4 May 2012): Steve Huff had a very similar idea almost exactly a year ago. Credit to him for getting there first. Although I wish I hadn’t seen that red strap. It’s beautiful…