“The X70 is a very different camera from the X100V,” says photographer Kevin Mullins to the Phoblographer in an interview. “Its heuristics lend themselves to being very stealthy, and its unique focal length makes it excellent to shoot with to get great context and storytelling in a photograph.” Kevin is a fantastic photographer that captures images that are incredibly elegant. We’ve talked to him before about his approach, which always gets photographers glued to his words. But most recently, he posted about a camera that’s dear to our hearts: the Fujifilm X70. And specifically, we both wonder why it never had a successor.
All images by Kevin Mullins. Used with permission. Please follow his Instagram and website. Before we go on, know that this article isn’t sponsored. Instead, we saw a post from Kevin and related to his feelings on the Fujifilm X70. You can see our review of the camera from years ago right here. And you can still get them on Amazon.
On Photography
Kevin got into photography after reading an article about documentary photography on a train. He didn’t own a camera, but he explained to his wife that he wanted to try it. That was 16 years ago. It lead to a career change and he’s shot over 680 weddings in a documentary/candid style
From my early days shooting Weddings, I found a love of all things documentary and subsequently shot a lot of Family Social Stories, Street Photography, and Commercial work.
Kevin Mullins
Kevin shoots weddings with Fujifilm gear and has done so since 2012. He started with the very first Fujifilm X100. But these days, he’s using an XT5, X Pro 3, and then brings either the X100V or the X70 with him. He typically reaches for the 18mm f1.4 and the 56mm f1.2.
The Fujifilm X70
As a former Fujifilm UK ambassador, he still adores their cameras. “The X70, to me, was and still is, one of those amazing cameras that came in under the radar and did not get the exposure it deserved,” he states. “It was released on the same day as the X-Pro2, which took all the headlines and didn’t sell very well. However, it’s a fantastic camera, smaller than most mobile phones and has a lovely X-Trans sensor, making it perfect for Street Photography.” He continues to state that he doesn’t think Fujifilm will ever update the camera.
“…I’ve personally lobbied Tokyo several times about this. If there were a successor, I’d love to see it have the most recent X-Trans Sensor, but I would be happy without a viewfinder to keep the camera super compact.”
Kevin also would love it to never have a PSAM dial. Instead, he’d want ISO and shutter speed control; and maybe a built in ND filter. He overall loved the original Fujifilm cameras because they were “tactile little black boxes.” These days, he feels that Fujifilm is moving away from the more tactile analog style to the bigger, bolder, more PASM approach. He doesn’t like it and prefers the X70, X100V, and the X Pro 3 — so do a slew of other photographers that grew up shooting.
On AI Imagery
Of course, we had to ask Kevin about AI. He shoots weddings, and we doubt anyone would want to go to Midjourney and ask it to depict their wedding. With that said, he’s not too concerned about AI impacting what he does. “However, I worry about how it will affect those shooting commercial and editorial photography,” he tells us. “There can and will be huge benefits from AI. From a creative point of view, I think transparency is the most important thing.”