I rarely do wedding shoots as paid jobs. Most of my wedding assignments are for close friends who has seen my work and are willing to give free rein to my “artistic” interpretations.
My typical gear for the wedding assignments used to be 2 Canon DSLR, one mounted with a prime (85mm 1.8) and a Tamron 17-50 zoom. With the launch of Fuji X-system “rangefinder” like cameras, I started using these lightweight, versatile and discreet camera to complement my normal wedding rigs. My very first forage in the use of Fuji “X” system for wedding shoots started with the X100 coupled with a Canon 5DMk2 mounted with a 16-25 2.8.
It was a church wedding for an ex-colleague of mine in a packed hall filled with guests and lots of kids. I enjoyed moments when I just pack my 5DMk2 into the bag and walk around with just the X100. The X100, looking like a small discreet toy camera makes me look like one of the many guests when shooting. During the wedding ceremony, the X100 with barely audible shutter sound, is my choice for capturing many wonderful moments.
Were there parts when the X100 struggled? Yes, there are. At the end of the 6 hours shoot, I down to the last bar of my second battery. I have to remind myself not to chimp so as to conserve the battery life. The auto-focus, compared to my 5DMK2, is not as fast, but this can be overcome with anticipation and careful positioning.
Will I continue to use the X100 despite it’s short-coming? Yes, I will! To me, the benefits of a light weight, discreet camera outweighs the disadvantages. From hindsight, Fujifilm’s continual commitment to improve their product range with firmware updates had me convinced to be a future “X” system customer.I will leave you with a selection of some of my favourite shots with the X100.
Luc Pher 