Amateur Photographer - UK (2021-03-06)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 41

This misty shot through the

trees was captured during

a brief stop cycling the

off-road forest trails at

Bedgebury Forest in Kent

Fujifilm X100V, 1/25sec at f/16, ISO 250

to make up. Browsing Fujilm’s

online shop opened my eyes to

the idea of buying a refurbished

model, which at £999 brought it

within budget. Minutes later I

decided to bite the bullet. One

decision remained. Should I buy

in black or silver?

Discreetness

I was shocked by the interest

photographers expressed in the

X100V when I had been reviewing

it. On one day alone three people

approached me to inquire about

it. At rst I thought it was

because I had one of the rst

production samples in the

country hanging off my shoulder

but soon realised people were

attracted to its retro design and

wanted a closer look. Members

of the public who were less savvy

would pass and say ‘that’s a

lovely-looking camera’ or ask if it

took lm. As much as I adore the

appearance of the X100V in

black and silver, the classic guise

drew more attention than I’d

expected. It was this experience

that led me to my decision to buy

my X100V in black in the hope

people wouldn’t notice it. On the

off-chance they did, I wanted it to

look unassuming to the average

Joe. Was this the right decision?

Well, in the past six months not

one person has approached me

or mentioned the camera. I feel

my decision was denitely the

right one for someone who likes

to go about their photography

quietly and unobtrusively.

A lot has been written about

the X100V so rather than cover

each and every feature, I want to

offer an account of how I’ve found

it, what makes it special and the

areas where there’s still room for

improvement. The rst thing to

say about the X100V, like most of

Fujilm’s cameras for that matter,

is that you immediately sense it

has been designed by

photographers for photographers.

I’ve been fortunate to meet the

designer of Fujilm’s X100-series,

Mr Masazumi Imai, several times

and his enduring passion for

wanting to create a truly special

bond between photographer and

camera has always resonated

with me.

The special feel

The X100V spreads its buttons

and dials intuitively across the

body and its aluminium top and

bottom plates, which have a

lovely crisp edge, give it a

precision-engineered look and

nish. It has an immensely

satisfying feel, though I wouldn’t

class it as a camera that offers a

high level of grip. Within

days of receiving my X100V