#053: The X100S
And so an era comes to an end. A chapter in my photographic journey has closed as my favourite camera, the Fujifilm X100S took its final shot sometime in the middle of last year, bringing to a close 10 years of steady, slow and fun use.
On 6 October 2013, I walked into the Fujifilm store and purchased it. No hassle, no issues. Nothing like today’s chaotic scenes with the newest model, the now famous X100vi, and also the previous model where it was impossible to get one at retail. The “S” in the name stands for “second”, i.e. it was the second iteration of this camera. It is now on its 6th iteration or version. The camera system has come a long way from a niche tool to gaining TikTok's mad crazy appeal, and now everyone wants one, whether they know how to use it or not. Oh well.
This is the camera that made me fall in love with street photography and the one that helped me “see” on the streets. Its uber-slow autofocus allowed me to slow down, compose and anticipate the shot I was about to take. It helped me keep my shot counts low and also in doing so made sure I got a lot more keepers at the end of the day. Its compact size with a fixed focal length lens of 35mm (in full frame measurements) meant I was happy to take it almost everywhere with me and it accompanied me on almost all my travels. As a photographic tool, it is just fun to use, and the retro look and appeal only made it a joy to hold and use.
It was not a cheap camera but did I get my money’s worth from it? I sure did. I just wish the newest model wasn’t so expensive! (given the current exchange rate etc.) or I would have put my name down on the pre-order list the moment it launched last month. I may look back into getting the newer models, but for now, my eyes are drawn elsewhere and onto a different format, so stay tuned for something new :)
Below is a selection of photos from the last decade of shooting with the Fujifilm X100S on the streets wherever I went. Editing through to get to these images, from the waste amount of photos that were taken took its time, and I hope the selection below gives you a good view of the kind of street photography that interests me.
As I pack it away for the last time, I can't help but feel a pang of nostalgia. The scratches on its body, the worn-out buttons, and the little chipped edges—all tell a story of a life well-lived. We've been through a lot and I loved every little pixel of it.
So thank you little Fujifilm X100S, my dear camera, for being the silent witness to a decade of my photographic journey. You may be retiring, but the memories you've helped create will continue to be remembered here and in all the other images I have, forever etched in the pixels of time (and backed up in my external HDDs ;))
I hope you all like the images below, some you would have seen in the past on my social media, but now curated here for however long this website remains active.
Cheers.
