For a 9yr old camera worth less than £300 used, getting an X100 is a no-brainer... right?
I was skeptical at first. Having read lengthy reviews of slow start-up times and poor quality images, the critics seemed to be dissatisfied with this camera’s performance in a 2020 tech-savy world of pixelpeepers and gear-aholics. However, my skepticism was topped when it’s charger arrived dead with the camera. Was my X100 story already over?
Well not entirely...
Taking its shameful position as a shelf filler, my excitement was fast to fade. However, in its pathetic position overlooking the room, I kept catching a glimpse of it. Once at first, but soon repeatedly, over and over, my sole purpose for entering the room had quickly become to merely admire the X100. Its elegant design has a flare of patriotism to it; it’s as if some of the greatest designers of analog SLR's and rangefinders had sat together at a reunion meal and were reminiscing on the days, not so long ago, when they used to make masterpieces. On my shelf, it serves as a gentle reminder of the industry's elegant past.
The faithful sound of a door knock quickly broke my daydream; Amazon had pulled off its lockdown ‘knight in shining armor’ move once again. Batteries charged, I entered the early morning in search of shadows... the X100 was such a pleasure to shoot. It was calm and patient. You can’t take quick snaps of fast-moving subjects with this camera, it just wouldn’t keep up. Instead, it gently persuades you to look for inviting scenes and wait for the right subject to enter. It’s respectful for beginners and passers-by who don’t want big DSLR's in their faces. Looking back, I almost ought to rephrase my previous statement... Batteries charged, I entered far too many early mornings for my sleep schedule to like, anticipating my first capture (That’s better!)
The X100 is by no means a pro tog’s go-to wedding camera, neither can it out-spec my D750. Yet there’s something special about its occasional luggyness and its inability to satisfy a modern-day pixelpeeper, that I can’t quite pin down. Is it its sharp looks, its ability to reinvigorate a photographer tired of shooting the same thing over and over again? Or is it its fashionability, its parodic glance from your shelf when you ought to be working? There’s something so unique about this camera, which manages to scare away the tech-savvy photographers of today.
Despite a 10.2 megapixel sensor, the x100 is a workhorse, showing scuffs and scratches from many past ‘lovers’, it’s the camera you take with you everywhere you go. Images turn out okay but there’s always an analog flashback every time you take one; you think it will turn out great.
This camera manages to find the perfect blend of excitement and rigor; a duality so lost in today’s market. There’s a romantic patriotism to the past in its design and its calm sturdy mechanics yet it comes with the convenience of the digital world we’ve become so accustomed to. That raw excitement to shoot is hard to find, but the X100 certainly helps you find it.
T H E V E R D I C T: go out and get one!
