Wednesday, February 05, 2020

Neat, But Not My Jam

Fujifilm just announced the fifth iteration of their X100 high-end pocket cam, the X100V.

Like other cameras of its ilk, such as the Leica Q, Ricoh GR, and Sony RX1 families, this is intended to be a go-everywhere camera for the avid photographer.

Thing is, while they all have large sensors, either APS-C or Full Frame, they also all have fast, fixed focal length lenses that are permanently affixed, usually in the 28mm or 35mm equivalent focal lengths. As I've mentioned before, I already carry something with me that has a fast, wide-angle lens permanently affixed; my phone. I'm just not enough of a photographer to use one of these the way they're meant to be.

I'm a big proponent of having a real camera with me all the time, but it needs to be one that can do things my cell phone can't. The iPhone 7 plus gives me a pair of lenses, roughly equivalent to the field of view of a 24mm wide angle and a 50mm normal lens. I've usually carried a camera in the opposite document pocket of my gun burkha, on the other side from my phone, pen, and notebook*. These days, it's still the Sony RX100, and the 28-105mm equivalent lens definitely does things my phone can't, and the 20.1MP 1" sensor delivers fantastic images.


*The camera serves the double purpose of keeping the unbuttoned shirt from hanging lopsided from the phone and pen being on the same side.