I currently shoot with a Canon 5D Mark I with a 50mm 1.2L (and occasionally a 35 mm 1.4L). My other camera of choice and convenience is an iPhone 4S. I’m actually frequently amazed at just how good shots I can get with such an old iPhone camera…I can’t wait to upgrade to the iPhone 6 plus, just for the photography capabilities. The thing is, my photography style, when it comes to portraiture, is candid shots. I’ll throw out photos where my subject notices the camera – usually their expression changes and it just isn’t natural. The problem with that, and using the 5D, is that the mirror on the 5D is incredibly loud. They do that by design – every camera manufacturer has a distinctive shutter sound, it’s part of what makes up the personality of the camera. Loud shutter makes it hard to grab those candid shots, though.
Not only is the X100s quiet, but it has a tilt-able viewfinder, which makes it possible to take off the hip shots and still see what you are shooting. With the Canon 5D I have to shoot blind for those – the Mark I doesn’t have live view. And while iPhone can be muted to make no sound at all, and it has a big LCD viewfinder, for some reason I feel really conspicuous pointing a phone at somebody.
Not to mention the size and weight difference between the Canon and the Fujifilm cameras is huge.
Here are the original articles that got me interested in the Fujifilm cameras:
In-Depth: The New Fujifilm X100s
FujiFilm X100S Test Drive in Istanbul with Zack Arias
And here are some recent ones. Thierry Nguyen’s portraits are awesome.