As a professional wedding photographer, Alison Conklin has spent her career photographing her clients’ special moments – a job that she loves dearly. However, with so much time immortalizing other people’s memories, she sometimes feels like she forgets her own. Her time with X100V has changed all that.

“It’s not because I don’t want to photograph my everyday, but because it can feel a bit like work,” explains Alison. “But holding X100V for the first time, I fell in love with the simplicity of the design and how I was able to simply focus on the composition. I loved throwing this little camera in my purse, so it was with me whenever I wanted it.”

For Alison, the small parts of our day that we often overlook are what make the best memories. “Capturing those little things really remind us, because, frankly, we have so much to be thankful for and time moves so quickly,” she says. “Having a camera that we want to take along to the grocery store, or to visit a friend’s kids, or capture our own kids is such a wonderful thing.”

In addition to X100V’s portability and ease of use, Alison was also impressed with the quality of images it was able to produce. “I seem to hover in the world of wanting the beautiful images I get from my go-to GFX workhorses, but for my everyday stuff, not wanting to carry all of that gear with me,” she tells us. “But when I downloaded the images from X100V, I was completely blown away. This new lens is sharp, fast, and bright,” she beams.

Alison goes on to talk about how the 23mm focal length is a great window on the world and, when combined with the fourth-generation 26.1-megapixel sensor, it produces amazing results. “It’s wide enough to tell the story, but not so wide that you lose the subject,” she explains.

“When I take photos on my phone, I have to admit that I am guilty of never looking at the images,” admits Alison. “But this lens, combined with the FUJIFILM colors and Film Simulation modes, creates images that I am excited to look at after I take them.”

It wasn’t just the results that Alison was impressed with – she also praises the process of making such beautiful images. “It’s the FUJIFILM brand, so the external dials ensure you always know your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings at a glance, leaving you to focus on taking pictures.” she says. “It is also so quick and is able to absolutely keep up with what is happening in front of me. I haven’t thought about anything except composition since getting my hands on it,” she enthuses.

And the best thing? X100V’s compact design ensured that, while it could keep up, it didn’t have any influence. “That is the magic of this camera. It allows the photographer to capture what’s happening without intruding on the moment.”