Camera Review of the Fujifilm X100 T | Wedding Photographer Camera Review

After a year of wishing and debating, I finally purchased the Fujifilm X100 T! I love Fujifilm as a brand. Their cameras are great and their film is amazing. I was looking for a classic styles, lightweight, and professional level camera that I could use to supplement my wedding photography, bring with me on my travels, and to keep with me every time I go out my front door. After reading countless reviews, this is how the camera met my expectations. If you’re thinking about purchasing the camera yourself I would say go for it. I do enjoy using the X100 T, but check out all my pros and cons before deciding if it really is right for you and what you need it for.

Let us start with the pros because there are so many great things to say:

• The camera really is lightweight. Compared to my DSLR, this small camera is compact and easy to carry around all day. No back, shoulder, or neck pain here.
• The macro feature! I was not expecting the macro feature to be so amazing. I no longer carry around an extra macro lens when I have this camera with me.
• It’s cute! Bonus: it has a vintage look that I love and wedding guests go crazy over it.
• It works almost identical to a vintage film camera. I love the simple manual features. It makes me feel artsy and authentic.
• Simplicity: with one fixed lens and only a few settings, this camera is not fussy.
• You can purchase two conversion lenses to add to the fixed lens for portraits and wide angle shots if you really need them, but it is more simple without.
• It is pretty good in low light. The ISO settings go high and they’re not too noisy.
• Bonus: there is a video feature that works really well. It is sharp and convenient. The camera only allows for fourteen minute recordings at a time, but I would rarely record as long as that at one time anyway.
• Wonderful for documentary style photos. It is quiet and unobtrusive so people are not intimidated by it. I can get into the action without scaring away my subjects. People rarely notice I am photographing them and you can set it to silent mode.
• It costs a fraction of the price of a professional or mid-level DSLR. If something happens to it, I’ll be sad, but I can also afford to replace it.

The so-so List:

• The film simulation features are fun and accurate (I would not expect anything less from Fujifilm), however, I use Lightroom to edit and the film presets to do stay attached to the image files. I quick fix is to change the profile to the Adobe profile that matches the film preset in Lightroom, but it is not exactly the same.
• I miss boca! The 2.8 aperture is nice, but I miss the ability to have a 1.4 depth of field.
• To change the ISO you have to go into the main menu. Not a terrible inconvenience, but an ISO button on the front would come in handy.
• Does not capture blue skies and contrast well. But I found an awesome fix! In the menu there is a Neutral Density filter option that really helps in bright sunlight and you can also use a lens hood.

The Cons:

I have a quick disclaimer for the cons. Mirrorless is pretty great, but compared to my DSLR, it just can’t match up. For someone who does not regularly use a DSLR full-frame camera, this camera is incredible. It really is. But when you’re used to a certain standard in sharpness and pixel count, it is really hard to adjust. DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are both amazing in very different ways. You can’t use one expecting it to work like the other.

• The X100 T is not as sharp as a DSLR. My Nikon has 24.3 megapixels and the X100 T has 16.3. It very good, but I prefer the sharpness of a higher pixel count. It is difficult to get over the difference.
• Although it is an amazing supplement to my tool kit and a decent backup camera, it cannot replace a full-frame DSLR. Maybe my expectations were a little too high.
• One fixed lens is a blessing in many ways, but also limiting.
• No zoom. This is better for quality purposes, but disappointing when you want to take a shot, but can’t get close enough.
• Does not pair well with off-camera flash, but I will be experimenting with this.
• Lens flare. In bright sunlight the lens is very susceptible to flare, creating a white fog in your images. This happens often with this fixed lens.
• The white balance can be a little too green or blue at times. It is fixable in post-production, but its better to have it right in-camera.

One of my largest goals with this camera is to use it for travel and blogging. I am still on the fence about leaving my Nikon behind when I need to take very important photos, but my test runs around town and in Montreal have proven the camera to be just what I needed. I currently use this camera for most of my personal travel photos and Connecticut Charm posts. I also keep it in my camera bag at weddings for some fun shots. Hopefully by the time I go on my honeymoon this camera and I will be best friends because I don’t want to lug around an expensive and heavy camera around Europe!

When I purchased my Fujifilm X100 T I found the best price on amazon, and that price is still the best I can find. To take a look at the details or buy a Fujifilm X100 T for yourself, click on the link above and it will take you directly to the same seller where I bought mine.