Over the summer, I had an opportunity to spend several weeks shooting in New York and Geneva with what's become one of the most written about, and lavishly praised, cameras in recent memory: the Fujifilm X100S. To say that it's been the recipient of gushing accolades is to say nothing at all; there have been numerous reviews that characterize it as one of the best digital cameras of all time and many photographers -like this one, for instance -that describe the X100S as nothing short of "the greatest" and assert its ability to replace in one fell swoop an entire bagful of gear.

All this is to say that by the time I got my hands on an X100S I had a certain level of expectation about what it would be like to use. True confessions time: I've been working to lighten my gear bag for the last two years, having hauled a full frame DSLR and lenses on press trips and to trade shows for some time and having gotten thoroughly fed up with the bulk. My work camera's shrunk to a Micro 4/3 body and three lenses -kit zoom, 60mm macro, and 50mm prime -and I don't miss the mass at all, though I do occasionally wish for a touch more dynamic range. Despite the compactness of my working kit -which fits easily into a small Domke bag -there is still something awfully, awfully compelling about the idea of having one camera that is more than sufficient unto whatever task you throw at it.

I still don't think that there's any camera out there that entirely fits the bill, but the X100S from Fujifilm is damned close -maybe closer than any other camera I've ever used.

Technically, it's a step up from the wonderful but sometimes frustrating X100 -the X100s has Fujifilm's 16.3 megapixel X-Trans sensor under the hood (which I covered here, in the XE-1) and up front is the same 23mm (35mm equivalent) fast f2 lens used by Fujifilm to such good effect on the X100. What's improved most noticeably, other than the sensor upgrade, is the autofocus performance -the X100S uses an on-sensor phase detection system which, though still not capable of the breakneck speeds you'd need for sports photography, is more than fast enough for virtually any other situation and certainly more than adequate for street photography. Autofocus speeds hold up even under low light, which is pretty terrific as low light is where the X100S really excels.

One aspect of the X100S that's consistently singled out for praise is the quality of the JPEG files, and they are, indeed, wonderful; there's a depth and richness to colors that I can only describe as seductive -almost dangerously so; the camera's capable of producing such lush color rendering that you run the risk of getting lazy about other aspects of image-making just because you could point the X100S at almost anything and have it come out looking as if the colors were by Monet and the light by Vermeer. Now that there's support in Aperture for the X-Trans sensor, however, I'm not so sure that I would echo the advice of other reviewers that there's "little need" to shoot Raw files -side by side, the Raw files from the Fujifilm X100S offer better control over contrast and there's noticeably more detail retained as well (at least to my eye.) This is not to say the JPEGs aren't anything short of fantastic -whatever algorithms the camera's using to produce them generate fantastic looking results ninety nine times out of a hundred -but there is a certain signature to them in terms of contrast and color profile and I personally think it's well worth having both the JPEG and Raw files to work with, just in case. Incidentally, the X100S files convert beautifully to monochrome images; though the beautiful colors are stripped out you get to see just how much fine detail the camera's really recording and the sense of structure and clarity in composition -provided the photograph has those qualities in the first place, of course, which is up to you -more than compensates.

Fujifilm X100S, converted w/Silverefex Pro, ISO 400/f9

The one feature of the X100S that may be a deal-breaker for some is that, as it's not an ILC, you are stuck working with a 35mm equivalent focal length. If you're used to working with prime lenses this is not particularly a problem; I think zoom lenses tend to make for a certain detachment from the process of taking a picture that's not necessarily good for quality. There's a part of me that wishes that the same handling were available in a 50mm focal length, or in an ILC but in both cases, you'd be talking about a different camera with different handling characteristics, and in any case, there are several excellent ILC options from Fujifilm as it is. Practically there are very few situations where you can't take an interesting picture because of f ield of view anyway; this is more of an issue for professional photographers for whom telephoto or wide angle lenses may be essential. The X100S lens isn't a macro lens per se but it can as close as you're ever likely to want or need to get, unless really tight true macro shots are something you need often (if you do, you know it) and if you want a wider view Fujifilm actually makes a very effective converter for the X100S that gives you a 28mm FOV, so you're really getting two good options in terms of focal length.

Fujifilm X100S, Raw file processed in Aperture (white balance correction only.) ISO 400/f5.6

The X100S is the best -without question -low light, fixed lens camera I've ever used. Noise is impressively low unless you really crank up the ISO and between the fast lens and terrific sensor, the limiting factor in shooting in low light is much more apt to be autofocus speed than noise.

Fujifilm X100S, ISO 5000/f2.8

The really interesting thing about the X100S, though, is how you can look at its technical and performance numbers until you're blue in the face and utterly fail to formulate any impression that even remotely captures the reality of shooting with it. I absolutely fell in love with this camera -its handling reminds me of nothing so much as my old Leica iiif; light, unobtrusive, but with a feeling of reassuring precision and flexibility in operation that made it, while I had it in for review, pretty much the only camera I ever took with me. Despite having had it for almost a month I was left feeling as if I had not even begun to scratch the surface of what it has to offer, and I intend to make it the next camera I own.

I am sorry to lapse into the single most common cliché of writing about the X100/X100S cameras by mentioning Leica, but the comparison is irresistible and I have been giving a lot of thought to why that might be. Leica today still makes incredible cameras and lenses, though of course the quality and name come at a significant premium. Many of the reviews I've read discuss the Fujifilm X100S as the value oriented alternative to Leica, but as far as digital photography is concerned I think it's an interesting thought experiment to leave money out of the equation when comparing the two products. Leica's approach and Fujifilm's approach remain fundamentally different functionally and conceptually, and each company's cameras offer something the other doesn't; there are reasons -damned good reasons -to buy either, and I think Fujifilm's X100S ought to be amazon online coupon codes regarding fujifilm evaluated on its own merits; it does the camera a disserv ice to think of it as a poor man's Leica (or to think of, say, the Leica M-Type as an overpriced Fujifilm X100s -I suspect there will be many well-heeled photography enthusiasts and pros who will be happy to own and shoot with both.)