The 50mm Fuji X100v
Is the Fujifilm X100v the most hyped camera of the year? It’s undoubtably a gorgeous piece of kit and everyone I know who owns one… absolutely loves it.
But is the fixed 23mm lens a reason for some people not to be interested at all?
That’s where the Fujifilm TCLX100 comes into play. I want to share my experience shooting some street photography with this teleconverter and share my general thoughts about whether I think this £300 converter is worth it.
This is the teleconverter For for those that don’t know, simply put - this screws onto your x100v lens and turns the 35mm equivalent into a 50mm equivalent. You can also get a wide converter which changes the 35mm into a 28mm.
Personally, I think there is bigger difference between 35mm and 50mm rather than 35mm to 28mm so I opted for the tele converter. If I had the 28mm converter on I think I would still come away with fairly similar images as if it was still 35mm.
You could actually get yourself a used xpro, xe or xt fujifilm camera and buy multiple lenses for a similar price of an x100v + this teleconverter.
I understand the first response from people that claim the whole point of a x100 camera is because it’s a fixed lens. Whether you buy the wide converter or this tele converter. Why don’t you actually buy an interchangeable lens camera in the first place.
But there is just so many things to love about the x100v and it’s appeal is strong enough that just the 23mm (35mm equivalent) fixed lens is good enough to make this one of the most hyped cameras at the moment. I don’t want this to become a x100v review but you can’t even buy one of these very easily anymore. They are so in demand and even if you get your hands on a used one they’re going up in price since the original release.
Imagine you’re dunking your favourite biscuit into a cup of tea and all of a sudden someone gives you another biscuit. That’s how I feel about being able to shoot with the x100v at another focal length. I thought I had 1 biscuit to dunk in my tea with but no… I’ve gained another.
Personally, I love the 50mm focal length. It might be my favourite. I think the compositions are cleaner, it’s easier to line things up, it the compression is enough to capture details but not too tight that you lose context or your environment.
So with that being said, how does it actually perform? Last weekend I headed up the fujifilm store in London and spend a wopping £299 (which I do think it a little much) on making this 35mm transform into a 50mm. And here is first attempt at street photography with it.
Another win about this teleconverter that I didn’t take into account much until the light started to fade away is that the adapter doesn’t affect the aperture of the 23mm lens. So you can still take advantage of that f2 which is fantastic on the x100v. I don’t often shoot at f2 and I don’t often shoot at night either but whilst in London we had no choice when the sun disappeared I was forced into opening up that fstop.
Talking optically about the lens. Autofocus wasn’t affect at all and image quality looks exactly the same. When I edited all these photos on my monitor I was looking for any signs that the lens wasn’t as sharp as usual, but no. The TCL does not affect the quality of images produced by the x100v.
Something that isn’t great about this is that the filter thread is now 67mm if you wanted any kind of filter. Whereas the 23mm has a 52mm thread. So any filters you already have and use… are rendered useless and you would now need a new set for the 67mm thread.
If using the x100v as a small compact and pocketable camera is important to you, then the TCL might be a swift no thank you. It’s no longer small and invisible. Which might put a lot of people off.
What about aesthetics… the x100v is one of the best looking cameras to exist. I firmly believe that. But I had mixed opinions about the TCL when I put a story up on Instagram. It was pretty 50/50 between liking and disliking how it looks. In all honesty… it does look a little silly… but at the same time. I like it.
For me, I normally shoot street with as minimal gear as possible but I do at least take a little shoulder bag for the camera it self, my wallet, keys, earphones etc. The x100v without the TCL fits in here just fine, the x100v with the TCL included also fits in here just fine. So day to day when I’m out and about - the extra size doesn’t get in my way. But it could do for you depending on how you personally carry the x100v.
A big reason people like the x100v for street photography is because it doesn’t look intimidating. If people see you taking their photo they don’t really question it. You don’t look like a serious photographer when your camera looks like a toy. The x100v is a friendly piece of kit. However, the TCL doesn’t take any of that away. You might be spotted a little more often but it still doesn’t look aggressive compared to a professional DSLR or mirrorless setup. This still looks a bit like a toy.
If I’m using my Canon R6 with a 50mm it’s still bigger looks more serious than the fuji.
As far as my behaviour goes when using the TCL. It’s just the same. I look forward to using the fuji, it genuinely makes me want to pick it up and take photos. Now I have the extra benefit of choosing between 35mm or 50mm.
