1. I shot this confrontational portrait with a Fuji X100 compact camera with it's fixed 35mm equivelent lens. I thought this camera would make a good street and cafe portrait camera. It's my tool of choice for Blaises wedding and my new companion just about everywhere. Here are my very first test shots all taken at f/2 - enjoy.
Click on the picture above to download a full high res jpeg of the image complete with exif for evaluation purposes.
2. My very first frame taken on the compact Fuji X100.
I set the camera to auto ISO, aperture priority mode at f/2 (wide open) I used a monochrome setting and captured RAW plus Jpeg for all these pictures. I found capturing a jpeg at the same time as a RAW file allows me to zoom in to 100% with one click to check focus.
3. A simple 2 shot to find my eye with the 35mm equivelent focal length.
I love the viewfinder of the X100. It is switchable between high resolution electronic mode and optical view. Both are fabulous and I used both modes throughout my shoot. For moving subjects I found the optical viewfinder to be the best and for static shots likeall of these the electronic viewfinder is perfect.
4. Once in a cafe I set about shooting into the light to get a few gritty couples shots. Perfect for a pre wedding shoot with an edge.
This shoot was an Exclusive training workshop for my Evolve 3 delegates. We laid on two couples to shoot, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In order to give my Evolvers the edge over their competition I taught how to capture great cafe couples shots. Every now and then I pulled the Fuji X100 from the camera bag to capture these images.
5. Another frame that captures the fabulous look of Melissa and Ryan.
The Fuji is great to use and the images are always super sharp even at f/2. I’ve no intention of using any other aperture. There is a built in ND filter that can be used if the light is too bright for a wide open shot.
6. Melissa and Ryan were an exceptional couple to shoot. They are getting married soon and their photographer is in for a treat. I directed the emotion and action in these shots to bring them to life.
7. Outside in bright light the Fuji is outstanding as is to be expected if the amazing low light capability is anything to go by.
Before deciding to go with the Fuji I considered the far more expensive Leica and the cheaper Olympus and Panasonic alternatives. I did my research and a fair deal of pixel peeping and it was a no brainer. The best image quality in the best looking package at a fair price to match the IQ.
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9. Click on this image to see a big version too if you wish.
10. After lunch we met up with Katy and Ben in another Bristol bar.
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13. I loved the Fuji X100, Katy loved Ben and we all had a wonderful day.
14. The little Fuji camera blew me away with it's speed of focussing and shooting. It was quicker to focus in this dark cafe than my Canon 5Dmk2 with it's f/1.2 50mm lens. Again I've put the high res file online. Just click in the picture to see it.
15. For intimate portraits on location there is no better tool. I love the unthreatening nature of the small retro camera and the ease that I can work quickly and silently. Every picture has a story to tell. Every picture has the ability to be seen as art.
16. The day after I was teaching a Shooting Weddings class and between frames on my Canon I pulled the Fuji from my bag to see what it could do. I shot this frame at -2 stops compensation. Click in the picture to see the full res jpeg version.
17. This little camera, the Fujifilm X100 is probably the best portrait camera I've ever used.
18. Highlights and shadows are rendered superbly in the processed RAW file.
I will now find my look with this camera and I’ll find a post production system for it too. At the moment I import and select files in Photo Mechanic then develop the RAW files in Lightroom, export in 16 bit and further adjust in Photoshop. I might add a film grain look too. I love the clean look of Neopan 400 film and the gritty look of the 1600 emulsion. Maybe two post production looks is what I will eventually choose to use.
Please feel free to comment below.
Tweets:
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Jamie David (@jamiedavidphoto)
@damienlovegrove Great images Damien Sat Jun 25 08:36:12 2011 |
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Randy Murrow (@randallmurrow)
@damienlovegrove Lovely, am itching to get one of these cameras! Fri Jun 24 12:55:20 2011 |
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Chris Forshaw (@economicturnups)
@damienlovegrove great blog post on the fujix100. The results are amazing, the design looks so cool Fri Jun 24 15:28:38 2011 |
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merrymen photography (@merrymenphoto)
@damienlovegrove thanks for the Fujifilm x100 “review”, love the look of that camera and seems to shoot great too! Low profile Fri Jun 24 09:07:36 2011 |
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Som Jandu (Imilux) (@somjandu)
RT @damienlovegrove: A great set of images and you’ve made me consider this camera! Fri Jun 24 08:05:59 2011 |
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Jeremy (@Romantic_Images)
@damienlovegrove I love these shots Damien, the X100 is amazing! Fri Jun 24 06:33:59 2011 |
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Ali Groves (@alisongrovescom)
@damienlovegroveSo informative Damien! Might be adding this little camera to my wish list! Thu Jun 23 22:49:51 2011 |
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Aaron Collett (@aaronbcollett)
@damienlovegrove I so want an X100… great shots. Thu Jun 23 22:48:31 2011 |
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Alan Starkey (@weddingphotoblo)
@damienlovegrove oh bugger, I was trying to talk myself out of buying an x100 I now realise that resistance is futile.. Thu Jun 23 22:35:35 2011 |
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Lesley Pattinson (@memsthrualens)
@damienlovegrove amazing shots as always Damien, really enjoyed your evaluation too :) Thu Jun 23 22:31:50 2011 |
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KarenKodishPhotos (@KodishPhotos)
@damienlovegrove Fuji: wow I wonder if this could be the answer to my low-light frustration at dimly-lit events? Hefty price tag though! Thu Jun 23 22:20:15 2011 |
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Colin Tuff (@colintuffphoto)
@damienlovegrove These are stunning! Especially from a camera you’ve had less than a week! Thu Jun 23 22:10:26 2011 |
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RockMyWedding (@RockMyWedding)
@damienlovegrove I would *really* like one of those… Thu Jun 23 22:14:25 2011 |
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Karen Flower (@KarenFlower1)
@damienlovegrove Beautiful images. The tonal range is incredible. Thu Jun 23 22:00:15 2011 |
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Andy Casey (@pickapic)
@damienlovegrove Nice sir very nice Thu Jun 23 21:51:12 2011 |
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Simon Hudspeth Photo (@simonhudspeth)
@damienlovegrove fantastic photos, my wallet is twitching! Thu Jun 23 21:42:57 2011 |
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James Dalby (@theDalbyMan)
@damienlovegrove Phwoar! BRB, i’m off to trade in my G9! Thu Jun 23 21:18:05 2011 |
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Catch/Compose (@CatchCompose)
@damienlovegrove wonderful photos – love the composition of number 9. Thu Jun 23 21:14:27 2011 |
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Nicky Chadwick (@nickychadwick)
@damienlovegrove gorgeous images Damien :-) Thu Jun 23 21:08:59 2011 |
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Greig Middlemiss (@Different_Light)
@damienlovegrove God damn you Damien, I want one of those cameras now. Or perhaps just the couple to shoot myself. :-) Thu Jun 23 21:04:48 2011 |
I love the x100 camera!
Hi Andrés,
I love the x100 too. I did upgrade to the X100T though when I went to Japan. It’s the only camera I took :)
Kind regards,
Damien.
Hi Damien, thank you for the wonderful photos. You write: “I found capturing a jpeg at the same time as a RAW file allows me to zoom in to 100% with one click to check focus.” How exactly does this work?
Hi Mark, The RAW file embeds a 50% jpeg. That’s what you view when using in camera playback and it’s what the computer uses to make thumbnails etc. When you shoot RAW + F you get 100% playback because the camera shows you the jpeg not the RAW file. I hope this helps.
really nice shoots – and the X100 proves how awesome it is – I find it do better on skin tones than any camera that I have used – so now we have a X100s :) waiting for mine
Enjoy your X100s Jon :)
Hi Damien ,
I just had to buy the Fuji X100 i must admit at first it was form over function it’s such a lovely looking camera however these images of yours are beautiful.
I have found something odd though ,i bought the hood and filter,if i try to shoot in macro ,a warning sign states ,turn the camera off – if i take the filter off , bingo !!! it works ,is this an idiosyncrasy of the camera? i have uploaded the 1.3 firmware, everything is fine as long as i don’t use the filter in Macro mode.
Hi Colin,
Enjoy your X100. The macro issue is probably caused by internal reflections on the filter glass. I never use a filter and I never suffer poor performance or flare as a result. I do take care of my kit though.
Regards, Damien.
Thank you for this review Damien. I’m convinced & have just placed my order for one.
Hi Paul,
I hope you are enjoying your X100. I’ve just ordered an X-Pro1 to go with my X100. I’ll be writing up my experiences with the X-Pro1 very soon.
If you have any questions you can get me on Twitter or Facebook. I’ll be delighted to help.
Cheers, Damien.
You are a very talented photographer Damien, that’s for sure. Wonderful work! But you still need an excellent tool to get this kind of high technical quality. Apparently the Fuji X100 delivers, wow! What is your opinion on the RAW write speed? Is it problematically slow or is it possible to work around/with it?
Hi Jan,
I must admit I use quite slow cards at just 30Mb / second. I’m happy with the Fuji write speed. Jpeg is way faster and I just love the jpegs the Fuji creates however I want to use a RAW workflow so I stick with RAW. I like to choose my moment to shoot and I have got used to a delay of about 1 second between shots with my currewnt shooting system. I had the same with my Hasselblad with it’s Phase One back and it doesn’t bother me. Different settings would help me I’m sure but I’m not bothered.
I hope this helps. Damien.
I am buying the X100 tomorrow, I have seen countless blogs and reviews. Yours by an easy mile, takes the cake for best one. Huzzah! :P
Loving up 12 Damien!
Thanks for the insight ;)
Thank you all for your fab comments. It’s great to be connected and making a difference. Keeps me wanting to blog and give back.
Damien.
Holy crap these are good. Thanks for sharing!
Super nice series and thx for samples. ;)
Amazing indeed what cant you do Damien
Wonderful images.
Incredible Damien! I was looking all over Flickr and YouTube and other sites trying to find some great shots used by the x100 and couldn’t find anything… as always I come here and get EXACTLY what I need. Thank you!
I’ve never ‘pixel-peeped’ other people’s photographs before and it feels weird doing it with these ones. But I was amazed with number 14 to be able to stroke my hand along the leather sofa (getting tactile with leather is definitely not weird okay) and enjoy its real-life detail at 100%. And just look at the detail in the picture on the wall in that shot.
Another one I’ve peeped into is number 16 – and it’s actually pissing with drizzly rain outside the window! The detail of a small spider’s web also comes up.
So with the high quality even at ISO 800, the fast lens and all the other pluses I keep reading about, I hardly need to think any further about my next purchase. (I haven’t even handled one yet!)
I’ve been waiting and waiting for a top-quality camera that’ll get me back to that ability (enjoyed with a Contax G2 and even with the wide 28mm Ricoh GR1v before that) to be intimate with the people who know I’m there and discreet with those who don’t.
Maintaining more eye contact and less lens intrusion is such a liberation.
This X100 also seems to be a straightforward and faff-free creative tool, enabling speed and decisiveness.
For those couple meetings where first impressions and discussions are taking priority, being able to completely take the tension out of the pre-wedding/engagement shots done at that point is going to be brilliant – and dead cool! I reckon I’m taken.
These are awesome!
WOW. Simply. Wow.
Great contrast and f 2.0..perfect for portrait .. i love the the number 16, and 12
congrat!