When it comes to gear stuff, I’ve tried to stick to fuji x100t related items. This is both practical (I own one so I can talk about it and include information about it.) and a philosophical one as I imagine my ideal reader either owns a Fuji x100t, or they have a similar camera and could find a similar piece of kit for their own camera. In some cases this is more difficult than others but in general, there are small flashes, lens hoods, and similar or every camera. Recently I picked up two new accessories that are perhaps a bit more exclusive to the Fuji x100t (and x70) cameras and they have been interesting to use. I didn’t deliberately go out of my way to pick them up (unlike the Fuji EF-X20) but they came with some extra batteries so I thought I’d give them a try.
Thumb rest
One of the biggest issues I have (and I know this is true for other people) is getting cramp in my hand when holding my fuji. Putting the camera round my neck helps as I can rest my hand a bit, but it means that I might not reach it as quickly as if it were always in my hand. One of the accessories that some people swear by are these little thumb rests that go in the hot shoe mount. They help put your thumb in a more pleasing position.
In my opinion, this isn’t a life changing difference. It is no where near as pleasing as a traditional DSLR grip, but it is a significant improvement upon the normal place to rest your thumb. It also helps to protect the shutter dial against your thumb rubbing against it and nocking it out of place. As such, it’s a nice touch and will improve your shooting experience…a bit. It doesn’t fully solve the issue of cramp from holding it for a long time.
The thumb rest I got (I have no idea the make as it was second hand) moves around a little and this does worry me if it is causing some damage to the hot shoe mount, I doubt it, but fears are usually illogical. It also can’t be used when you are using the hot shoe mount for a flash or trigger. All in all, it’s a nice touch and worth trying, especially as they are usually pretty cheap.
Soft release button
There are many of these around with various custom designs. It’s one of those trendy items to get for your fuji x100t and show off a bit of your personality with. The one I got was plain silver and I honestly didn’t know it was included in my battery and thumb rest bundle. It screws in place and changes the feel of the shutter button a bit. Personally, I had no issue with the traditional thumb rest and this new one is fairly similar. The more even and smooth rest is slightly more pleasing on the finger but I haven’t noticed a huge difference in taking photos with it.
My only complaint is due to the easy at which mine has been dislodged on occasions leading to it dropping off (or requiring time to place back on). This could be because it is of lower quality, I have no idea as I don’t know the company. Again, this is an accessory I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to buy but I enjoy using. These really are dirt cheap (so they could make a fun gift) and they can add a bit of unique personality to your camera. I may well pick up a different one to help distinguish mine from other Fuji street photographers’ when I attend met up.
Rounding up
Overall I’m pretty pleased with getting and experimenting with these little accessories. They are good fun and add more uniqueness to your camera with a slightly improved shooting experience. Still, I wouldn’t consider them to be absolute essentials and nor do they completely remove the issues they seek to address.
Wezlo says
Are you using any other cameras for your street photography, or just the fixed lens?
Chris Wilson says
I’d say 99% is the Fuji with its fixed lens. I also have an Olympus OM-D which I used with various lenses and will use now that the snow has started (as its weather sealed), that’s also the camera I use for my portraits. I have picked up a tele adaptor for the Fuji x100t which I’ve been playing around with and I’m working on a review for it. Overall I LOVE it for portrait work but my eye is really honed in on 35mm frame lines in street photography. So much so that I’ve so far found that missed parts of a scene due to how I frame things. I’ll probably adapt over time though.