The Fujifilm x100v has taken the creative world by storm this past year. The small, pocket-sized camera has been in such high-demand that it is almost permanently sold out. I decided to test out the hype and borrow a colleague's for my stint at Indian Wells this week.
First off, I get the hype now. For such a small, limited camera with a fixed lens, the results are shocking. Obviously it's not as good as the Canon R3 and R6 in my kit. It can't zoom, autofocus is slower, frame rates are lower, and image quality is worse. But its film-camera build with the lift-ISO wheel and classic OVF makes it an absolute joy to shoot on, and its tiny shape makes it so much easier to carry around, particularly in moments where an R3 with a massive zoom lens feels like an attention-grabbing overkill.
Part of the job when I'm on the tennis tour is shooting a lot of Behind-The-Scenes content. The subtlety of the x100v is an absolute blessing in those cases. I haven't even begun experimenting with the camera's built-in film simulations yet, one of its most hyped features. I can't wait to see what else I can make with the x100v this week.