So I finally caved and picked up a used X100V about three months ago, and honestly, I love the thing. The built-in 23mm f/2 lens is great for general stuff, but lately Ive been feeling kinda limited. Im doing a lot of street photography here in Chicago, mostly during my lunch breaks and on weekends when the weather isnt acting up, and I find myself wanting to get a bit tighter on some subjects without having to get right in their faces. I know the X100V has a fixed lens, so I am talking about those teleconverter add-ons like the TCL-X100 II.
I have been doing way too much digging on forums and watching endless YouTube reviews. Some people swear by the TCL, saying it makes the camera feel like a 50mm and that the quality loss is negligible, but then I read others saying the added bulk totally ruins the point of having a compact camera. That is the part that is killing me—I dont want to turn this thing into a brick if I can help it, but I also really want that extra reach for candid portraits. My budget is around 300 to 400 bucks for this, so I could probably swing a used TCL-X100 II if I hunted around on eBay.
Is it really worth the hassle of screwing on an adapter every time I want to switch up my look? Or am I better off just practicing my footwork and getting closer? I feel like I am stuck in analysis paralysis and every video I watch just contradicts the last one. Does anyone actually use the teleconverter for daily street shooting or is it just something that ends up sitting in a bag gathering dust? Any perspective would be huge because I have a trip coming up in a month and I want to get this sorted before then.
Honestly, I used the Fujifilm TCL-X100 II Teleconverter Lens for about six months before selling it. Its a cool piece of glass, but dont expect it to be a magic fix for your street work. It makes the camera significantly front-heavy, and it definitely takes away that pocketable vibe you probably bought the X100V for in the first place. If you really want to try it out, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- It changes the effective focal length to roughly 50mm, which is great for portraits but might feel tight for quick street work.
- You have to manually enable the conversion lens setting in the menu, or the camera wont apply the correct distortion correction.
- The extra weight will make your wrist tired after a few hours of walking around Chicago. I found that I spent more time fiddling with the screw-on mechanism than actually taking photos. If you feel like your footwork is the issue, try shooting with the digital teleconverter feature first. It crops your image to 50mm or 70mm, and while you lose some resolution, itll show you exactly if you even like that field of view before dropping 300 bucks. Be careful not to get caught up in the gear chase. If you really need that 50mm look, you might eventually be better off picking up a used Fujifilm X-E4 Mirrorless Camera with a Fujifilm XF 35mm f/2 R WR Lens instead.
