Fujifilm just announced the 5th generation of their legendary X100 series camera – X100V. Fuji X100 was initially shown at the Photokina show in September 2010 and was introduced in February 2011. I remember the hype when the first one came out. It was something new, something different, it was beautiful, it was powerful, it was sexy and almost pocketable. Of course it was slow, and probably that was the reason it never reached my camera bag.
However, the second generation – X100S did find its way to my arsenal. I loved this thing. There was that moment of passion, of pushing you to go and do street photography, to just have it with you.
I never found a reason to upgrade to X100T, neither to X100F, although the F was a big improvement in speed and overall responsiveness. At that time I even sold my X100S, wondering if I should get the F or just wait to see what the 5th generation will have to offer. And here it came…
The X100V
Today… I’m watching the Fujifilm press conference and I already know – I’ll have the X100V in my hands… very soon.
X100V has some very important upgrades over the F model.
Weather Resistance
Fujifilm added the so long awaited weather resistance. As they said in the presentation in London, this wasn’t a possible task so far, as they would compromise the size. With model V they finally achieved their long goal. Weather resistance really makes sense on this camera, as it is widely used for travel and street photography. The weather sealing comes with one caveat though. You must use the filter adapter and a filter, because of the moving lens element.
New Lens
Finally!!! After 10 years and 4 generations Fujifilm designed a new lens – keeping the same size, but sharper, especially in the corners, and wide open. This was one of the downfalls of the previous lens – wide open and at close distance it was soft. According to Fujifilm, the new lens also has better contrast.
Tilting Screen
I was one of the folks, who thought that adding a tilting screen would kind of ruin this camera.
Somehow Fujifilm managed to add the tilting screen and the back of the camera still looks flat. Good job on this, Fuji!
4-stop ND filter
Fujifilm improved the integrated ND filter from 3 to 4 stops which gives some more flexibility in shooting wide open in the daylight.
Key specifications
- 26MP X-Trans sensor
- Redesigned lens 23mm F2
- Built-in 4-stop ND filter, compatible with previous lens converters
- Tilting touchscreen LCD screen with 1.62m dots
- Updated 3.69m dots OLED EVF, with new redesigned OVF optics
- Up to 4k/30p with F-Log internal capture (8-bit)
- 2.5mm mic port, headphones through USB-C with adapter
- Weather-sealed, when filter adapter and filter are used
- Single SD card slot
- Battery rated 350 shots using the EVF, 420 using the OVF (CIPA)
Here is the official page of the Fujifilm X100V.
And here is the official Promotional video for X100V.
There is a wonderful article from Jonas Rask about Fuji X100V, with sample images and commentary.
Part II of the article is coming soon…
