The camera I didn’t know I needed

This is probably the 10.000th review on the Fuji X100V, but I still think you will like what I have to say about it. And for all that are impatient, here are the links to all the features I put on the camera:

Camera // Thumbgrip // Lens hood // Filter // Golden Shutter Button

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Hi guys, my name is Patrick, and I am a photographer here in Salzburg, Austria. And today, I will talk about a camera I didn’t know that I needed, why I love it, and the three ways I use it.

1. First, let’s talk about a thing I call FOMAS
The age-old question when it comes to cameras is, which one is the best. Usually, the one you have with you is the best. But then the question is, what do you sacrifice when you use the particular camera you have with you.

Either it is your main gear, that is just big and heavy, and then you want to bring along some different lenses because, you know, “What if I need it in that particular moment?”.

This precisely is what I call FOMAS – fear of missing a shot. And I wanted to get rid of this feeling, because it haunted me.

2. Second, documenting your daily life is so important and fun
The wonderful Eric Floberg has a mantra: Document your life. And I fully agree, it is the best thing you can do for yourself. Document mundane things, like having a coffee, seeing a friend, a cool person on the street, your kid eating a strawberry, you name it. For me, it is not about those grand shots that you take in your life, it is about all those shots you make along your way to understanding what makes life worth living. So for me, it was important to have a camera for everyday, that is small and still takes great pictures and videos is important to me. And no, my phone is not an option for that, and also not my bigger Mirrorless Camera, because it literally gets in the way of you and the moment.

So I was looking for a small, daily camera and obviously found the X100V through the many many videos about it on YouTube.

The price tag was a bit hefty when I bought it, I thought, why should I pay well more than 1000€ on a camera that is APS-C and has one fixed lens. But it didn’t take me long to understand why the FUJI X100V is so great.

You pay for the fact that you cannot do so much with it. Its limiting factors are what makes it so great for me.

● I don’t have to think about the lens I take with me, it gives me peace of mind.
● It fits in every pocket.
● It looks AWESOME, and I even modified it which I get to later.
● The Fuji in-camera presets are awesome. I always use the standard black and white preset in-camera. Shot in RAW and JPEG, so I have all options. It looks fantastic.
● And, the sensor is just great quality, and the video it produces in 4K is great. Aaaand it shots in 120fps in Full-HD.

And using the camera every day showed me new ways how to put it to use:
1. Documenting the life of my family. Especially since we had a kid, the camera sits on our living room counter and is ready all the time to shoot those special moments. I have collected so many wonderful shots of my family that I cherish every day.

2. BTS camera for shoots that I do. The FUJI X100V has a reporter-style that makes it not overwhelming when you use it in different environments. People don’t freeze up when you take a picture with a smaller camera. And so I bring it along to shootings to document everything that goes on in-between. And I can send out the black-and-white JPEGs immediately to clients on the spot.

3. Which brings me to number three: I use it not only as a support camera for weddings, where I just shoot stuff in-between and can send it to the bridal couple immediately. But I have also given the camera to bridesmaids to document getting ready or their day, when I cannot be around at that moment. And people looove to take pictures with it. And on one wedding last year, the bridesmaid took the camera to the get-together of bridesmaids and groomsmen while I was shooting the first sight with the couple. The pictures turned out amazing. I simply set the camera to f2, Auto ISO and Auto Shutter, and it works.

4. And obviously, FUJI is known to be amazing street photography cameras because they are so small, and no one identifies you as a professional photographer when you walk around with it.

I initially said that this is the camera I didn’t know I needed – and having it now, makes it more valuable to me because of all the moments it captures, more than every other camera.

And finally, here is how I modified my model.

I used a golden shutter button and painted the top font with a golden colour from the craft store. Added the JJC thumb grip and adapter for the lens so I could screw on a Pro mist filter, which I use like 30% of the time.

And I think it just looks very special that way. I can’t wait to see all the moments this camera will collect in the next years.

Until then, let me know in the comments what your daily camera is.

See you next time. Bye!

“ONE OF THE BEST CAMERAS TO DOCUMENT YOUR LIFE”