Concert photography with the Fujifilm X100V
In early August I had the chance to photograph a concert from a former bandmate of mine. It had been quite a while since my last concert photography session, and back then I worked with a telephoto lens. This time I wanted to challenge myself and see how the Fuji X100V – with its fixed 35mm lens – would perform in such a setting.
And I have to say: it works. Of course, it means you have to move a lot. With a fixed focal length you can’t just zoom in, so I found myself constantly walking, crouching, getting closer, stepping back – but in a smaller venue like this, it was actually an advantage. The location was very familiar to me, since I’ve even played there myself in the past. Without the barrier of a photo pit, I could move freely – from behind the stage to right up close with the band. That freedom gave me plenty of creative space to explore different perspectives.
Low Light Performance
Concerts are rarely known for perfect lighting conditions, but the X100V held up surprisingly well. For an APS-C camera, ISO values up to 12,600 were absolutely usable. Some images needed a bit of noise reduction in Lightroom afterwards, but with today’s tools that’s almost effortless. The colors, on the other hand, came out beautifully straight out of camera – just as I’ve come to expect from Fuji.
Burst Shooting
This was also one of the first times I really put the 11 fps burst mode to the test. Normally I don’t have a reason to use it, but here it made perfect sense. Capturing fast moments on stage – the energy, the movement, the emotions – worked flawlessly, and I ended up with a great selection of shots.
Conclusion
Concert photography feels like a natural extension of my love for music. It’s a refreshing break from my usual photography routine and a creative challenge I want to continue exploring. Whether capturing live performances or creating portraits of musicians, I’d love to bring more of this energy back into my work.
