When I switched from Canon APS-C SLR to Sony full frame mirrorless (Sony a7R III) in 2017 because of the smaller form factor for both body and lenses got me hooked.

I found myself concurring with the sentiments expressed by numerous bloggers and reviewers regarding the Sony system. While perfect in its technical perfection, it lacked a certain warmth and connection, feeling more like a clinical tool rather than a conduit for the joy of photography.

Soon I occasionally lurked to other pastures on YouTube, and discovered Fujifilm cameras which I never really considered. Probably because of the APS-C format. They, however, had something about them. A certain character. A Retro-feel with many knobs, switches and wheels. Plus the Fujifilm-own lenses (at that time there were no 3rd-party vendors available) had aperture rings which I personally find very sexy. Plus the JPEGs out of cam are legendary because of their film simulations and the option to even tweak them even more in cam to your own liking, so possibly no more (or at least not as much) RAW-postprocessing. But then: again invest in a new system, as I already spend quite the amount of money on the E-Mount system? Perhaps too much of a hassle. 

On stage then appeared the X100V. More retro than anything else, stylish, smaller, inconspicuous, perfect for street photography which I became more and more interested in. Only downside was the fixed focal length of 23mm (35mm in full frame). Which – if you believe all the street photography bloggers out there – is THE focal length to go to in this genre.

After a couple of months considering and contemplating I did get me one in early summer of 2021.

Indeed, it has been a good journey I had with it. I had it with me during my travel to Sweden and Norway in that year, alongside with my Sony and lenses, which now seemed ridiculously massive compared to the small package especially with the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART mounted to it (that’s still the old SLR version from my Canon times, just reassembled to an E-mount version at Sigma).

There was no denying that this camera was fun to explore. 

On the other hand there was no denying as well, that I soon felt a bit limited by the 23mm focal length. Other shortcomings I didn’t foresee that they were actually a thing for me soon showed up. The AF was not as smooth as I was used to, plus Camera Remote was a bit of a pain to use (not that I have been particularly crazy about Sony’s Imaging Edge Mobile which only worked occasionally).

I found myself leaving it at home more than I admitted to myself and turning to the good old Sony again. I’m doing a lot of colour grading in Lightroom anyway,  and with Sony having more and more choices of attractive  lenses both in their own line-up (G and GM series) which are becoming smaller and better-looking or  Sigma’s  iSeries. 

In the summer of 2022 when the X100V was extremely hard to come by, and the used prices skyrocketed. That’s when I finally decided to sell it to be able to afford my second GM lens  (the 35mm f/1.4). I did feel bad, though. It is still a nice piece of technology, and it was hard to part ways. I sold it to an online second-hand vendor who offered me the exact same price for which I bought it brand-new the year before. Probably could have sold it for even more if I had done it myself on eBay, but I didn’t want to bother. 

Sony has added the a7C series to their line-up a while ago. Full-frame, interchangeable lenses, yet compact and a little bit more stylish (especially with the soilver top). Which to me looks exactly what I would like to hold in my hands, especially its upgrade announced in August 2023. Whenever I will be able to afford it, I will get the a7CR as my fun camera.

Until then the a7R III will still be my workhorse. 

Some shots taken with the Fujifilm X100V: