FUJIFILM X100VI: Unobtanium Obtained. Part 2 – First Day Test Pics.

FUJIFILM X100VI: Unobtanium Obtained. Part 2 – First Day Test Pics.

Disclaimer. The world is on fire, and this is a distraction. Up to joining me for some rambling nonsense about camera gear? Read on.

Part 1 dealt with the acquisition/arrival.

FUJIFILM X100VI: Unobtanium Obtained. Part 1 – The Arrival.

In that post, I covered the X100VI unobtanium thing. I also wrote that I used day one to learn the camera and not to take photos. This is a post with images from day one out and about.

There will be repeats. Planned. Wanted to see how it performed compared to other image capturing favorites. Here are the images with thoughts afterward.

Loving the thin depth of field available from the f/2 lens.

Here is where I switched to zone focusing, aka bootleg GR snap focus mode.

https://flic.kr/p/2rk8XLf

And back to fake snap focus zone focusing.

Some may see this as heresy, but this lens (34.5mm f/3 FF equivalent) and APS-C sensor are giving the same energy as the GFX 50mm f/3.5.(40mm f/2.765 FF equivalent) and a medium format sensor. For comparison’s sake I offer the picture below.

Don’t agree with me?… Ok. I respect that. All the best to you.

Thoughts.

What is it not?

Let me be clear before I proceed. This is not some magical device that will transform my photography. Nope. At the end of the day? It is just a camera. What transpires once it is in my hands is largely up to me. That is largely why I stopped looking at sample images from other folks. I pretty much take the same photos no matter what camera I use. Where the camera comes into play is determining, based on the tech, compactness for a daily carry, and features involved, how many images I successfully capture.

What is it?

How do I put this?

At first, I was unsure how to write about this camera.

In an email exchange with Hamish, founder of 35mmc, he asked me for my first impressions.

In general, I told him that when you peel away the hipster pixie dust, it is ultimately a tweener or compromise camera… in a good way.

When I sat and looked at the form and specs, it pulled my favorite bits off of different cameras,…

• Small size from the GR.
• EVF and competent AF from the A7C.

…added a few bonus features,…

• Leaf shutter with a flash sync up to 1/4000s.
• Built in flash.

…along with some unique neat to haves…

• Optical viewfinder.
• Film simulations.

…and put them in one body for a “reasonable” sum, all things considered.

A rather pleasant compromise that has already paid dividends.

Last weekend I brought two solutions to a performance my chorus was singing in. One for quick pics and video, and another in case some “real” photos were called for. Where I struggled was a terrible choice.

• Bring the “real” kit in with me and trust it will not go walkies unattended while we were singing.
• Leave it in the trunk in one of the hottest days ever and risk bricking the camera permanently due to high heat.

I chose the latter, and fortunately, it suffered no damage.

This weekend, I had another similar event to attend, and without even thinking about it for long, I just brought the X100VI.

And it was a perfect solution.

It proved compact enough to go unnoticed in use, and when I needed to, I was able to shoehorn it into my front pants pocket when we sang.

It had all the bits I wanted from a proper “real” camera.

• EVF.
• Competent, intelligent AF.
• If I need more light, it has a flash on board, and I brought along a compact TT350 just in case.
• 40MP for more than enough detail.

Welp. More to come. Next up is documenting the event mentioned and the drive home.

Happy capturing.

-ELW