Over the last decade or so digital camera technology has improved by leaps and bounds. And while dSLR cameras, especially at a professional level, have moved forward in all aspects I’ve always felt small portable cameras have lagged behind in particular image quality. Sure most cameras produce great images during the day when the light is good, but as soon as the light becomes more challenging or when trying to shoot at night most cameras fall short. While small cameras have gone through an evolution of increased features and decreasing sizes the dSLR has focused more on the core features of the traditional camera, with image quality being the stand out. To be perfectly honest I love dSLR cameras, they have served me well over the years and will undoubtedly continue to do so for many more.

When I started my career in photography I would photograph anything anywhere, my camera always seemed to go everywhere I did. Holidays away meant new backgrounds and exciting things to shoot. The first thing I’d pack would be my cameras. Back in 2004 digital dSLR cameras could produce beautiful print quality images, the same could not be said for point and shoot cameras. I guess you could compare point and shoots with today’s phone cameras minus the zoom. This meant I would happily carry my dSLR with me everywhere I went.  However, as the years passed I grew continually tired of carrying over 10 kilograms of gear around with me as it was always a big production setting the camera up before taking that first shot. Now for commercial assignments this is no problem, you are there to do a job and the tools are part of that. But when shooting for fun the process should be fun otherwise it just becomes work. The end result meant that my camera stayed at home even when going on holiday.

This led me on a search for the perfect walk around everyday camera, and has seen me buy probably over a dozen cameras over the last eight or so years. Now I’ve never been one to buy something without researching it first, I always try to go for something that I would consider the best for my budget. The disappointing thing for me was the quality gap between dSLR and walk around cameras was always miles apart. To me it’s like driving a brand new Mercedes to work everyday then in the weekends hopping into a 30 year old Lada, not very inspiring. Which ultimately meant the expensive point and shoot would also stay at home and the only shooting I would do would be on my phone.

Then came along the Fuji X100s and life was about to change. That may sound dramatic but it’s true, let me explain. Over the last couple of years the only camera that I use when not working is my phone. And being mainly a commercial shooter I’m usually shooting to a tight brief with little room for creativity. The X100s has changed all that, this camera travels everywhere with me. I’m continually exploring and looking for new opportunities, and excitement levels increase at the prospect of photographing exotic and even not so exotic locations. The love is back! To me this camera offers the best of both worlds, the image quality of an SLR and the compact size of a point and shoot with all the features you would expect from a high end camera and then some.

Why the X100s?
This is a question many of my fellow photographers have asked me, Fuji make a great range of X cameras and options to suit almost any photographer. For me the choice was easy, I wanted a camera that could not only produce great results but one that could challenge me. The X100s has a fixed 35mm equivalent lens and did not offer a wide range of lens options. The thing that excited me about this was that I would have to find the picture and not rely on the lens to find it for me.

The X100s has image quality and looks to match, to me the X100s is a true photographer's camera. Fuji haven’t just added retro looks for the sake of it, this camera feels like it was was built to last and behave just like a camera should. The buttons and controls are exactly where you would expect them to be, and the built-in viewfinder is one of the best I’ve seen. Most point and shoot cameras are built with “auto modes” as the starting point, while the X100s was designed for the manual shooter with mechanical exposure controls, so there is no need to scroll though countless menus to find the settings you want.

The F2 35mm equivalent lens is razor sharp and this, coupled with the super fast focusing system, means you can use this camera in any situation. With easy to use manual and automatic controls it’s always ready when you are. In recent months I have started shooting more and more with the wide conversion lens (28mm), and with no loss of f-stops it means I can get in closer to my subjects and not so far away for architectural shots.

By far the most impressive feature for me is the camera sensor, finally a sensor that competes with dSLR’s. I know with the X100s I can shoot with confidence up to 3200 ISO with the knowledge that I can still get a sharp low noise image. I don’t think I’ve ever used the built in flash, and I probably never will. Shooting at 1600 ISO is something that most other consumer dSLR’s struggle with but with the fast F2 lens of the X100s this means that you are well covered for almost any situation with the added benefit of being able to shoot handheld.

Fuji X100s iso200 F11 @ 1/640sec 

One other feature that impressed me and something I never thought I’d use much was the built-in 3 stop ND filter. This is an actual filter that slides over the sensor when activated. This is a very cool feature if you're wanting to capture those waterfalls or if you want to shoot a portrait at F2 in bright sunlight. It’s simple to use and can be programmed to the function button for easy access. To me this is a great new feature but don’t forget to turn it off when you're finished using it! There are many other features some of which are just for fun, others that create an enhanced user experience.

Fuji X100s iso200 F16 @ 8sec (built in ND filter)

To me this camera has it all, with very little compromise, over its much bigger dSLR brothers. Portability, image quality, functionality are all important aspects when choosing a great compact camera. It seems Fuji have identified an area in the market which others have shied away from and have filled the void a lot of photographers have been looking for. I see great opportunities for this type of bespoke camera and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. To sum it up in just a few words, all I can say is the X100s stays true to its word and delivers on all its promises.

all images and content copyright cactusphotography