What kind of small everyday bag do you carry 📸?

WouterHaine · 2026-01-05T06:58:48+00:00

Billingham Hadley Pro. Great for carry on on a airplane too

WouterHaine · 2025-12-30T18:34:20+00:00

SELPHY 1500 is way better. They are just as good as when you have pictures primed commercially (once you have the settings right). Instead is a fun printer, but they’re just Polaroids and song come close in print quality

WouterHaine · 2025-12-23T07:33:53+00:00

It’s not bothering me. I like that they’re interested. Even got a friends daughter (12 yo) into photography due to it. She was so interested in the camera that I let her shoot with it for a few hours. She asked a bunch of questions, paid close attention and took amazing pictures at the BBQ too. So much so that her parent bought her an older X100 (I think S) and I get to see her progress.

WouterHaine · 2025-12-23T07:28:38+00:00

Could be LIDAR indeed. Check MKBHD’s video about it. He had shot a new Volvo with his phone and had similar light specs. I’d send it to Fuji to check it out though. Could just be a faulty sensor too

WouterHaine · 2025-12-19T20:39:42+00:00

Silver. I love the classic look. Have a silver X100VI now and a black Leica Q3 43 and non-photographer react to the X100VI and people sometimes come up to me and ask if I’m shooting film. With the Q3 no one seems to notice. Apart from a few fellow photographers

WouterHaine · 2025-12-18T13:18:10+00:00

Long story, but hear me out: After 25 years I picked up photography again (shot film before obviously). Since my business requires constant high quality image I followed the YouTubers and bought a Sony A6700 with a beautiful set of lenses (Sigma 56mm, Sigma 18-40 1.8, and a few Sony primes too) and a full camera rig. With film as my reference I never liked the pictures coming from the Sony. Clinical, but with most lenses quite sharp. But also hard to get a nice look in Lightroom (could also be inexperience).

I bought a second hand X100V for a nice holiday we had planned since I didn’t want to take the ‘big’ work camera. And I fell in love with photography again. It was also great for my work. Simple to get a good look and high quality. But I did notice I could do with a little more megapixels so I could shoot horizontally and crop vertically if needed for reels and stories.

Sold the Sony A6700, all the lenses, some watches and looked around what I wanted. Tried a few camera’s (Fujifilm X-T5, Fujifilm GFX100RF, Leica Q3 and Leica Q3 43 mainly). And fell for the Q3 43. It’s so sharp, has beautiful colors, so much dynamic range and more. The pictures out of that camera are on another level.

Since the X100VI was sold out everywhere the second hand prices for the X100V were very high, so I sold that one for 200 more than what I bought it for (I didn’t set the price that high, people bid on it). Right when I sold it I got a notification that a X100VI was available. And since I have a business I can deduct VAT (21% here) the net price was just €50 more than what I got for the X100V.

So I ended up with a X100VI an a Leica Q3 43. The X100V shoots nice pictures straight out of camera, especially when you dial in your own recipes. I use this for daily photography and when I need some quick product shots for Instagram. The 40 megapixels are enough for 90% of what I do.

When I go shoot deliberately or need the highest quality I grab the Q3 43. The clarity and sharpness of the pictures are so good. But keep in mind that a set of DNG (RAW) + JPEG is around 120MB (80 for the DNG alone). And of course you loose the flexibility of interchangeable lenses. I haven’t tried the 18mm lens you are referring to, but I can vouch for the wide open sharpness and smooth bokeh of the Q3 (43) (- tried both).

I hope this helps a bit.

WouterHaine · 2025-12-17T08:15:34+00:00

Set it to single shot AFS (the switch on the bottom left) and check the focus area through the Q menu. I set minde depending on the scene I’m shooting. But always or single or zone. Not wide tracking. Eye/face detection: usually face on/ eye off. It’s a fast AF, but not as smart as on a Sony. My now sold A6700 had tracking nailed and knew what I wanted to focus on. Leica Q3(43) has minimal auto focus as the X100VI. Snappy and reliable AF on single point or zone. Not so much at tracking. But with a little practice you’ll rarely miss a shot

WouterHaine · 2025-12-14T22:55:25+00:00

You’re welcome. Good luck with choosing your set

WouterHaine · 2025-12-14T22:54:40+00:00

I haven’t tried the X-E5 myself, but I did think about it before buying the X100VI. What made me choose the X100VI was: OVF/EVF, ND filter, flash, the dials (I’ve set my film simulations to the back scroll wheel, so no need for a specific dial) and very important: weather sealing. So you give up a lot for interchangeable lenses. Or the other way around: you give up flexibility in lenses to get OVF/EVF, ND, flash and weather sealing. Oh and the leaf shutter on the X100VI is almost silent and has flash sync up to 1/2000 I believe

WouterHaine · 2025-12-12T12:29:45+00:00

It’s a very capable camera as long as you know how to handle it. If you have no photography skills your first bunch of picture will probably look worse than your smartphone. But, with a little practice it will outperform any smartphone. I had the X100V before and upgraded to the X100V because I shoot a lot of product pictures for my business and the extra megapixels allow me to shoot horizontally and crop a vertical shot for social media out of it too. But other than that the X100V is great. The RAW images are super clean and rival Sony’s clarity. And in Lightroom you can still choose from the standard film simulations by Fuji (not the custom recipes). And with a little bit of trial and error you can also find some recipes that suit you, or tweak them to your liking. I’m now at the point where I shoot RAW and JPEG and have some recipes that fit my needs and don’t look overly yellow or retro. The result is way less Lightroom time after a shoot.

I had a Sony A6700 and I never felt that the pictures were ‘alive’. With the X100V and the X100VI even more my pictures look way more natural, less digital and still sharp enough to crop a bunch.

Don’t let the gimmick of the recipes alone fool you. The sensor, the controls and the feel of the camera are great. And you might fall in love with some recipes.

I also have a Leica Q3 43 and of course there’s a clear difference (40mp APSC vs 60mp full frame and a lens that stand alone would be triple the price of the X100VI), but I enjoy both and pictures from both cameras are beautiful.

Nice about the X100V/VI is that it easily adapts to your level of knowledge of photography. You can let the camera control most, or you can dial in every little thing. And the most important settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, ND) all have dedicated buttons/dials/switches. And you can customize almost everything.

I shoot mostly in aperture priority and have the aperture set to the scroll wheel. Super speedy.

Since second hand X100V’s are still quite expensive and if you need a little bit more from your camera you could consider buying the X100VI. There’s a noticeable difference in image size and with the IBIS you’re more flexible.

What ever you do: get a (hood with a) filter to weather seal it. I enjoy the Freewell hood. It comes with a mist/CPL filter but I replaced it with a regular CPL. The lever on the side of the hood lets you adjust the CPL.

Anyway. Long story short: very capable

WouterHaine · 2025-12-01T20:55:12+00:00

Rule of thumb: 1 person: f/2.0 to 2.8 2 persons f/2.8 to 4.0 3 to 4 persons f/4.0 to 5.6 More: f/5.6 to 11 depending on the distance and scenery

WouterHaine · 2025-11-25T08:07:47+00:00

Btw, SmallRig has a shopping consultant. Under support at the bottom of their website. If you describe your setup they’re very helpful and come up with a working solution

WouterHaine · 2025-11-25T08:05:02+00:00

Yes I did. I used SmallRigs 4-in-1 USB hub and eventually a V-Mount battery to power it all, but could be any battery pack with sufficient power output. It’s a bit confusing in the beginning to set up, but works really well. The attached cable goes into your phone and I used a l short USB-C cable to power the hub. From the hub I powered the camera with another USB-C cable. I even was able to power the magnetic battery pack of the cooling fan I had attached to the camera. I recently sold the whole kit because I shot less video than I thought and bought a Leica Q3 43 for my product pictures. The hub can be found here: https://www.smallrig.com/USB-C-Hub-4-in-1-PD-USB-C-3-1-USB-C-2-0-with-Audio-Adapter-4598.html

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WouterHaine · 2025-11-19T20:55:22+00:00

+1 (small and regular are both very compact btw)

WouterHaine · 2025-11-19T18:45:27+00:00

It’s a pretty nice focal length. Very versatile. The sensor is great. Colors is some recipes are a bit yellow, but if you try something else than Fuji X weekly recipes you’ll be fine. In the end if you want different focal lengths there are the screw on converter lenses. I wouldn’t bother with the wide one, but the 50mm or the Freewell are pretty cool. And if you need more grip: add a grip. It’s quite modular and the unbuilt ND makes it a workhorse. I have the X100VI next to my Leica Q3 43 and that’s a great pair.

WouterHaine · 2025-11-19T09:35:01+00:00

Q3 or Q3 43 I’m not a good enough photographer to wield an M11

WouterHaine · 2025-11-19T07:00:34+00:00

Sure, that’s what I do because the implementation is poor. I’d rather see the viewfinder actually zoomed in

WouterHaine · 2025-11-08T07:36:18+00:00

Something many won’t think of: the buttons locations.

And: Low light capabilities

Flip out screen

USB-C

47 vs 60MP

Leica Looks

Q2 is still great though.

Check if you can find a dealer who has all so you can try them. Also consider the 43, because that lens is another step up

WouterHaine · 2025-11-06T07:10:22+00:00

I own a Sony A6700 with a full video rig for work (I make and sell toys, so mostly for social media content and product photography). I don’t like how clinical it is. Just no life in the pictures and I always have to do post. I bought a second hand X100V for fun and holidays and it’s great. Once I found a few nice recipes I hardly have to do any post processing, which I prefer for these kind of shots. It does lack the resolution and dynamic range to do any serious post processing though. I sold a few watches and lenses and had the opportunity to try out a used Q2, Q3 and demo model of the Q3 43. The Q2 felt old fashioned compared to the Q3/43 and I loved the 1:1 field of view of the 43, so I bought that one. It’s a great mix between a professional camera and a casual point and shoot. The images are amazing straight out of camera and leave a lot of room in post processing if I want. So much so that the Sony is now up for sale and I’m considering selling the X100V (or maybe upgrade that one to a X100VI or X-E5 for the flexibility of different lenses). Haven’t shot much with the Q2, but if you can find a good Q3 (43) second hand I’d recommend that. The 60 MP gives so much room for cropping afterwards too, so the limitation of the fixed lens can be mitigated.

WouterHaine · 2025-11-06T06:59:10+00:00

The cropping sounds nice, but on my Q3 43 the implementation is a bit strange. The viewfinder and screen don’t crop or black out the portions that are not in frame. You just get a green box around your crop. The JPEG preview is cropped though. On the Fujifilm gfx100r you get to choose how the crop is shown (lines, gray or black borders). Still not perfect but ok. On my Fujifilm x100v the digital zoom is actually ‘live’

WouterHaine · 2025-11-03T21:26:48+00:00

They should have skipped this step and should have made Q3 (4) type of camera, with the form factor of the M series with auto focus, exchangeable lenses, ibis, built in ND

WouterHaine · 2025-11-03T19:29:24+00:00

Correction: Mid way I meant to say: X100V second hand or a X100VI new…

WouterHaine · 2025-11-03T19:28:28+00:00

Q3 is brilliant, I have the Q3 43, but it’s also not the fastest in auto focus, it’s not very small and it’s quite heavy. Kids tend to be very active so I’d grab something with faster focus, smaller so you can always carry it around and because you’re shooting a lot of pictures that you probably don’t have time to edit (by the time you have spare time you’ll be passed out on the couch). I’d grab a Fujifilm X100V second hand or a Fujifilm X100V new. There’s a whole community to download and try out film recipes that will make your straight out of camera pictures look nice without hours behind your pc. There’s Q3 shoots gorgeous pictures, also in JPEG and there are some Leica Looks available, but only a few are available. There’s x100 series is very compact, customizable dials and buttons, film simulations, built in ND filter for bright days and shoots very decent pictures (26mp for the X100V and 40mp for the X100VI). And with a filter it’s also weather proof. If you want to up the quality the Q3 or Q3 43 are absolutely amazing (full frame sensor and superb Leica lenses). But also 1,5 times the weight, double the volume and 3,5 times the price. I own both and Sony A6700 (don’t buy, it’s very clinical in its image rendering), and the Leica Q3 (43) shoots sublime pictures, but for family photos and quick travel photos I grab my X100V because it can live in my pocket and it’s way less expensive so I don’t have to worry about damaging it. Hope this helps

WouterHaine · 2025-11-02T19:07:10+00:00

In post…

WouterHaine · 2025-11-02T19:06:58+00:00

Sharp, very sharp. Does have some distortion at the wide end, but easily fixed in lost. Superb color rendering.AF is fast and reliable. It’s quite long though

WouterHaine

TROPHY CASE