Oh Excuse Me, I Think I Had a Bit of G.A.S.
Yes, I had G.A.S., but I took care of it, at least for now.
Most photographers are very aware of G.A.S., but in case you aren’t it’s Gear Acquisition Syndrome. The uncontrollable need to acquire the latest shiny piece of photographic equipment to hit the market. It doesn’t matter how much it costs. It doesn’t matter that it won’t improve your photography. It doesn’t matter that it will be replaced by a another shiny thing soon enough. It’s new, it’s better, it’s shiny and it has to be yours.
For me, this time, it was the shiny new Fuji X100T. I already had the predecessor, the X100S. And before that I had, um well, the X100S. And before that I had the original X100.
The X100 cameras are great little cameras. They’re small, quiet with a great APS-C X-Trans II CMOS sensor. They have a fixed, single focal length lens, 23mm (35mm equivalent) making them a street photographers dream.
But I have no business owning one.
I bought the original X100 in July 2011. I carried it a lot, I took it everywhere I traveled. I even went to New York City for a week with just that camera, and made some of my favourite NYC photographs on that trip. According to my Lightroom catalog, I made just over 2000 photographs with my X100 before I sold it to buy my first X100S in April 2013. Yes, my first X100S.
The X100S has a larger sensor, faster focus and a bunch of other new features that make it a solid improvement over the X100. The last photograph in my Lightroom catalog from that camera was taken on July 4th, 2013. In late 2013 I decided to sell the X100S because I wasn’t using it enough. What’s the point of owning a camera that I’m not using, right? RIGHT!?
Despite not using the X100S very much I regretted selling it, so in March 2014 I bought my second X100S. The X100 series of cameras are just so much fun to shoot with. I still have that X100S, but I will probably be selling it soon. Or maybe I’ll keep it as a backup. I don’t know yet. If I do sell it, the potential buyer will be getting a great deal. The camera is just over a year old and only has 350 shots on it.
Fuji recently released the X100T. This new version of the X100 series of cameras has the same sensor, same lens, same body, just about the same everything. There are a few tweaks like an improved EVF, a new hybrid OVF mode that shows a small EVF view in the corner, an electronic shutter, slightly faster focusing, a new film simulation, in-camera battery charger, etc. The feature that prompted me to buy this camera though is the built-in wifi. My Fuji X-T1s have this feature, and I like it – A LOT! With the built-in wifi I can transfer photographs directly from the camera to my iPhone or iPad, or I can print photographs on my Instax SP-1 printer. Since the camera and the printer can both create their own wifi networks, I can do this wherever I am, without needing to be connected to a proper wifi network. I can also control the camera remotely from my iPhone through the wifi.
I resisted this purchase for a little while. I knew that Fuji prices are expected to rise significantly in Canada sometime in April, but I still kept telling myself I wasn’t going to buy it. But then I kept looking at it on my favourite camera store’s website. Finally I contacted them for their best price. Told them no, then a couple hours later contacted them again and told them yes. Two days later it was waiting for me to pick up at the local post office (my favourite camera store is in a different city, and I’ve never actually been there).
I haven’t taken the X100T out on a serious shoot yet, but that will happen soon. I’m heading back to New York in May and the X100T will probably be the only camera I take with me. I’ll take my iPad instead of my laptop to make this a very light trip. I’ve been to New York so many times I need a challenge to force myself to be more creative with my photographs there. Working for a week with a single focal length will do that (even though I have done it before).
Why am I so taken with this little camera, even though I don’t use it much? I don’t know, I haven’t figured that out yet. I just know that when I do use it I love it, and when I sell it I miss it. No matter how much or how little I use it, I’ve decided that I will always have an X100 series camera in my bag. Call it my guilty pleasure.