What is it with cameras and fixed lenses?

The Hexar

In 1993 I bought a Konica Hexar camera, also known as “the poor man’s Leica”. It was a “range finder” like camera with a fixed 35 mm lens and autofocus. To be loaded with 35mm film. I loved this camera. Not only because of its looks. It was small and unobtrusive, easy to pick up and take for a ride. A big plus: the image quality was to die for.

The Nikon

I was used to a Nikon F3hp with a motordrive and several lenses all in one big bag. I carried this heavy bag everywhere. For fun, on holidays, for my study or for doing documentary stuff. This F3 Nikon was a workhorse. Always ready to do what I wanted it to do. Never an issue. Many rolls of Kodak Tri-X and other black and white films went through it. The best interchangeable lens camera I’ve ever owned. A workhorse. Built like a brick outhouse.

Still, the Konica Hexar came as a relief as light and easy as it was to pick up and go. But of course it was “limited” by a fixed 35mm lens and felt a lot less sturdy.

Digital photgraphy

At some point in my photography journey I sold all my analog cameras and lenses, with a bleeding heart that is. I wanted these cameras to be used and not collect dust living with me.

I started my digital photography adventure with some small compact cameras. Nikon Coolpix 995 (3MP), Olympus C7070 (7MP), and Canon S95 (10MP). The Nikon had a weird split swivel design, the Olympus felt like a square block and the Canon S95 was super small and felt like a piece of soap. Later on I bought the Olympus E-510 micro four thirds DSLR with a kit lens. It came out in 2007 and had good image quality for that time. I just didn’t like, and still don’t like, the micro four thirds 3:4 aspect ratio.

The GR

My first “serious” digital camera was the Ricoh GR. The first Ricoh GR with a “big” APS-C sensor. This camera also had a fixed lens like the Konica Hexar. A 28mm (full frame equivalent) so a bit wider. Super light, unobtrusive and very very small. Great to take everywhere and shoot like a tourist but with a fantastic sharp lens. Nobody takes it serious because it looks like a small toy camera. That’s also the beauty part. It is used by many street photographers all over the world. A pocketable cult camera that produces excellent results.

The iPhone

I also did some street photography with my iPhone 5S at the time. Everybody has a phone and it’s very easy to take quick snapshots. Always had it on me. So on my commute to work and in my lunchbreaks I used it to take some pictures on the streets of Amsterdam. The handling was terrible though, for a camera, but yeah it’s a phone.

The X-T2

Longing for a bit more diversity, and to give myself a new boost in photography, I bought the Fujifilm X-T2 with a 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) F1.4 lens. A great camera that can do anything with the versatility of interchangeable lenses, and there are many, also available from third parties. Later on I also acquired a wide angle 16mm (24mm full frame equivalent) and a small tele 50mm (75mm full frame equivalent). Now I could pick what suited best but I noticed I was almost always taking out the 23mm (35mm). A heavy piece of glass but beautiful image quality.

The X100V

Aaah but those small cameras with fixed lenses though…. I had my eye on the Fujifilm X100 since it came out in 2011 but it was much too expensive for me at the time. Many different versions of it passed me by. The X100S (Second) in 2013, the X100T (Third) in 2014, the X100F (Fourth) in 2017…. and then came the V, the roman number five in 2020. I bought one in 2021. Thinking about the Hexar and the Ricoh GR, I knew what it was like to have a small camera with a fixed lens. Also, the 35mm focal length suits me very well. Compared to its predecessors the X100V has an updated lens, much more contrast and sharpness wide open, and faster auto-focus.

Not having to think about which lens to take out, or having to take them all out, because you never know what you will encounter, is a blessing. It’s simple. It’s small. Always using the same focal length has one big advantage: You intuitively already know what you’ll get if you see something you want to take a picture of. It grows on you. Also, I don’t know what it is about this camera but it screams: “Take me out!”. Every time. More than any camera I’ve ever owned except, maybe, the Ricoh GR.

What I also love about this camera is how close you can get to your subject. Combined with the F2 aperture you can really separate your subject from the background with a beautiful bokeh.

“The best camera is the one you have with you” is so very true. This one is always ready to go. Always using the same camera makes you forget about technique. It becomes second nature. Just pick it up and make pictures.

For me this is the one. For now that is. You never know what comes next….X100SIXTH? Nah.