Fujifilm X100 Accessories

Given how much we love the Fujifilm X100V, it seemed reasonable to follow up with an article on the best Fujifilm X100 accessories.

The X100 series are amazing cameras that offer a one-and-done solution perfect for street and travel or for those looking for a minimal photographic approach.

One thing that stands out most around ownership of a Fuji X100 camera is the desire to personalise it with various accessories.

(Even Fuji themselves issued the first X100 in a couple of different limited edition presentation boxes bundled with a leather case.)

The X100 series really inspires you to be creative in both how you shoot with it, and also how to dress it up to make it unique.

It’s a bit like baking the perfect cake and then finding the best icing and sprinkles to complete it!

Some photographers add a nice strap and leave it at that, while others go full Frankenstein and create an X100 monster – (I’m not judging as I myself have Frankensteined a camera or two in my time!)

Regardless of where you sit, we’ve got the perfect gear guide to help you decide on some awesome accessories for your beloved camera.

1. DSPTCH Braided Strap

While your Fujifilm X100 camera comes packed with a neat Fuji branded camera strap, it’s usually the same strap that comes with most of their premium mirrorless cameras.

My recommendation is that you take the time to find a great strap that suits you. For me, one strap that stands apart from the rest is the DSPTCH Braided Strap (you can check out our full review of it here).

For me, this strap’s a great choice as it’s stealthy, strong and very comfortable to wear all day long.

It’s handmade from over 15m (50ft) of paracord. For a 94cm (37″) strap that gives a little bit of flex without compromising the integrity of the braid.

I mentioned it’s strong, but this strap is the Arnold Schwarzenegger of camera straps. The paracord on the DSPTCH Braided Strap is rated to support 249kg (550lbs).

This strength doesn’t come at the cost of comfort. The paracord is soft and pliable – meaning you can even wrap it around your wrist a couple of times like a wrist strap if needed.

A neat touch is that the strap also has a reflective fabric woven into it, making it a safe option for stealthy nighttime shooting on the streets.

The strap comes in black for ninja-like action or, alternatively, you can grab a red one.

A great feature of the DSPTCH Braided Strap is the inclusion of two sets of quick-release mounts. If you have a camera that only has small eyelet lugs then there’s a pair of thin round cord connectors.

Or, if you have larger lugs or use the kind of connectors included with the X100 cameras, there are flat cord connectors.

Like many of you out there who have an original X100 and an X100V, you can have connectors on both and just use the single DSPTCH strap between them – I am already saving you money!

Picking a strong and comfortable strap should always be the first move to ‘pimp’ your X100 camera and the DSPTCH Braided Strap is a perfect solution.

You’ll look stylish, comfortable and feel confident in the knowledge that your camera is safe and secure.

2. JJC Soft Shutter Release

A soft shutter release button is a simple but effective accessory that can both personalise your X100 camera and provide a comfortable shooting experience.

JJC make an excellent range of accessories for the X100 and we’ll cover a couple of them here in this guide. But the JJC Soft Shutter Release is a simple and cost-effective piece of kit.

I’ve been using soft shutter buttons on all of my Fuji cameras and I believe they offer a greater level of control – plus, when shooting from the hip I can slide my thumb across it to fire the shutter.

Some soft shutter buttons are convex and some are concave to suit individual touch – fortunately, the JJC solution supplies one of each for convenience.

Each button is machined from brass and is around 10mm in diameter – the concave one’s slightly bigger.

While some soft shutter release buttons use double-sided adhesive tape to fit the camera’s shutter button, the JJC Soft Shutter Release buttons are the screw-in type that include an anti-slip o-ring so you can really lock them in.

At around US$8 for a pair, you cannot go wrong. Plus they come in a range of colours and finishes. It really couldn’t be any simpler.

3. Fujifilm LH-X100 Lens Hood

As I mentioned in the introduction, even Fujifilm got involved in the accessory game for this camera more than any other. While we won’t cover it in this guide, they even produced a full leather case for each generation of X100.

A worthy Fuji-made addition to your X100 is the Fujifilm Lens Hood, available in black or silver and guaranteed to fit any of the X100 cameras.

The lens hood is made from a strong alloy and actually comes in two parts. The first is a mounting ring that replaces the existing protective ring that comes fitted to the X1o0.

This mounting ring also acts as a filter adapter ring with a 49mm screw thread for fitting either a protective or ND filter – remember that the X100 comes with an internal ND filter system.

Once this is secured to your fixed 23mm lens, with or without a filter, you can then mount the actual lens hood itself.

The Fujifilm Lens Hood is a gorgeous retro-inspired piece of kit that really adds to the overall design of the X100.

Keep in mind though that once fitted the X100 is no longer pocketable – well ate least not jeans-back-pocket pocketable.

But, it does provide a little bit of bump-resistance to your lens by acting as a strong and durable barrier.

The only real downside to this accessory is that once installed, you can’t place the metal lens cap back onto the X100 – as a result, your front element is exposed when in your bag.

Of course, the lens hood has a purpose other than adding bling to your X1o0 as it’s an effective tool for reducing flare and glare hitting your lens on bright days.

Keep in mind that the LX-100 Lens Hood is a first-party product that is both a lens hood and filter mount so the asking price of around $90 is a worthwhile investment.

4. JJC Filter Adapter Ring

If you’re not interested in adding a lens hood to your X100 camera but still want to be able to add a filter to the front, look no further than the JJC Filter Adapter Ring.

The X100 series lens doesn’t feature a traditional filter thread. Instead, there’s a thread on the outside of the lens fitted with a soft-edge protective ring. You remove this ring to install an adapter ring.

The JJC Filter Adapter Ring is a very simple piece of kit that threads securely onto the outer thread of the X100 lens. All that’s left is to attach your preferred protective, polarising or ND filter to the adapter ring and you are ready to rock (we’ll cover filters in a moment).

It’s made of a metal alloy that comes in black or silver and is designed to effectively match the look and finish of the X100. Plus, you can fit the X1o0 metal lens cap onto the adapter ring ensuring that your filter is protected.

Having this inexpensive adapter ring will give you a little more protection to your fixed 23mm lens – remember if that lens gets scratched, you have to send the whole camera in for repair.

5. Fujifilm Protective Filter

Fuji makes a range of protective filters to fit most of their lenses and filter thread diameters – but for the X100 series, they make the 49mm Protective Filter in both black and silver.

This first-party protective filter is a premium product made from alloy and a glass lens that has Fuji’s Super EBC (Electron Beam Coating).

What’s EBC, I hear you ask? It’s a multi-layer lens coating designed to improve light transmittance and prevent lens flare and ghosting.

Aside from that, the filter gives you the assurance that you’ll not damage the precious front element of the X100 23mm lens – an item that’s not replaceable.

Plus, once you’ve securely fitted this to the new X100V, you complete the process to make it a weather-sealed camera.

The Fujifilm X100V is the first X100 camera to be weather resistant, elevating its use as a travel and street photography gem!

A Protective Filter is a little like an insurance policy – however, this one is not going to cost you an arm and a leg. At around US$50 you’re making a small sacrifice to protect the longevity of your X100 camera.

6. GLASS by Expert Shield Screen Protector

It seems that these days any appliance you buy with a screen requires a sold-separately after-market screen protector.

From our smartphones to gaming consoles – they all need that little extra protection that the manufacturer chose not to address.

Glass by Expert Shield produce screen protectors for the Fujifilm X100 series of cameras and I think that these are a smart choice.

Much like buying a cheap protective filter, a screen protector costs a few bucks and prevents your screen from chips and cracks.

That tiny investment will save you the heartache of finding that you have a whopping crack through the middle of your X100 screen.

Also, the Glass by Expert Shield screen protector does not interfere with the touch screen responsiveness on the more recent models.

7. Fujifilm Tele Conversion Lens (TCL-X100 II)

Many photographers choose to pick up an X100 series camera and bling it out a little but tend to leave it fairly minimal.

What’s more, many love that you have to work with the lens fitted to the camera – a brilliant 23mm f/2 – and nothing else.

I really appreciate this kind of ‘shoot with what you have’ approach as it drives creativity – not to mention that some photographers just get sick of carrying a bag of lenses.

All fair enough! However, Fuji has developed some nifty little options for you if you want to expand the capabilities of the X100 you own, depsite not having accesss to the regular X-series Fuji lenses.

The first is a Tele Conversion Lens that screws into the original external screw thread on the X100 lens.

The TCL-X100 II changes your focal range from 23mm to 35mm providing a perfect focal distance for portrait photography. With the teleconverter, you can also achieve a minimum focus distance of 14cm (6″).

The TCL-X100 II is the latest version of this lens and, with the X100F (see review) and X100V, the camera automatically recognises it and adjusts for aberration. The previous version of the teleconverter required a menu change to active the corrections.

Both versions of this lens have a solid all-metal body build. They’re also quite wide and large compared to the size of the 23mm fixed lens.

For a little under US$500 you’re able to turn your fixed focal length camera into an interchangeable lens camera.

Plus, even with this lens included in your kit, you’re still only carrying a small amount of gear.

8. Fujifilm Wide Conversion Lens (WCL-X100 II)

As with the Fujifilm teleconverter lens, there’s also a Wide Conversion Lens available.

This time, you’re attaching a wider lens and shifting your view from the fixed 23mm to 18mm – making it perfect for landscape and architecture.

The WCL-X100 II works in exactly the same way as the TCL-X100 II: it attaches to the external screw mount on the X100 lens and is automatically detected by the camera on the X100F and X100V models.

If you own an older version of the X100 series, then you can still use version II but your camera will not recognise that the lens is attached and so you have to menu dive to set it up.

The wide conversion has a metal body and quite a neat profile compared to the TCL-X100 II lenses.

The WCL-X100 II comes with a lens cap and mount cap to protect the important bits. It’ll set you back around US$450.

Once again that’s great value for money for a wide-angle lens that expands the functionality of your X100 camera.

9. Thumb Up Thumb Rest

If you find shooting with a small X100 camera a little bit challenging, or you want a little more thumb real-estate, then the Thumb Up Thumb Rest is a simple and cost-effective solution.

With this thumb rest, you can quickly gain a greater amount of grip and control over your X100. I found that using this thumb rest almost eliminated the need for a strap.

Even though Fujifilm have considered the ergonomics when designing all of the X100 cameras, some may still find shooting with a small camera challenging.

The Thumb Up Thumb Rest is machined from a high-quality alloy that’s both strong and light. And while the manufacturer states that it’s only suitable for an X100V, I personally can’t see any reason for it not to work on any of the X100 cameras.

Once again, if you’re looking to Frankenstein your X100, the thumb rest retails for around US$13 and comes in three colours.

10. Gariz Genuine Leather Half Case (X100V)

The team at Gariz have been making leather camera accessories for as long as I can remember. What’s more, they’ve made leather half cases for the range of Fujifilm X100 cameras.

The latest version is the gorgeous Gariz Genuine Leather Half Case for the X100V.

Gariz have gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that the Half Case still allows access to the Focus Mode switch and terminal ports on the two sides of the camera. At the front of the case, there’s a raised ‘bump’ to increase the size and comfort of the camera grip.

This genuine leather case fits snugly to the form of the X100V body – the stitching is precise and strong and the inside of the case is lined with a softer material.

The base of the case is a solid plate that’s been carefully machined to include a cut-away for the battery door, a screw mount for a tripod and holes for the camera speaker.

Further to this, the plate (and half case) is attached to the camera base via a locking screw that fits the tripod mount.

The base plate adds to the dimension of the camera and increases the hand-grip space.

The Gariz Genuine Leather Half Case for the X100V retails for around US$130.

When you consider that you’re buying a protective case made from high-quality leather that doubles as an extended grip – it’s a bargain.

What’s more, the half case is available in a range of leather colours meaning you can dress your X100 up to your taste.

11. Fujifilm Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (NP-W126S)

Regardless of the camera model or brand you’re using, I always recommend that you buy at least one spare battery and have it charged and always ready.

Even a hobby photographer would be frustrated to find themselves in the middle of a creative shoot with a dead battery and no spare.

The original three X100 cameras (X100, X100S and X100T) used an older Fujifilm NP-95 battery. While this was almost half the size of the current battery, it also resulted in a lower shot count.

The X100F and X100V use the more common WP-126 and WP-126S – these are the same batteries as used by all Fuji cameras with the exception of the brand new X-T4 which uses a new, larger battery.

Always go with first-party batteries, which have been engineered and manufactured under the brand’s supervision, precisely made to maximise the performance of the camera.

Some third-party batteries have had over-heating issues and at times have impacted the camera performance and functionality.

At a little over US$60 for the WP-126S, you’re able to double the output of your camera and enjoy a full day of shooting with your X100.

Final Words

You may already own one or many of the Fujifilm X100 cameras – I know a few people that have every model! Or you may have just recently picked up the latest and greatest entry – the X100V.

Regardless, your X100 looks exactly the same as everyone else’s and that’s a crying shame! Surely your gorgeous little Fuji shooter deserves a little personal love, a little bling or an all-out Frankenstein treatment?!

There’s no doubt that people love the Fujifilm X100 series of cameras – they’re exceptional cameras well worth every cent.

So why not take a few steps to personalise, protect and power-up your camera?

As we’ve shown here, adding a few of the best accessories for the Fuji X100 series is truly inexpensive and simple to do.

And I’m pretty certain that after reading this gear guide, you’ll be more than tempted. Come to think of it, after writing this article I’m starting to feel like I need a new X100 camera too!

Let us know in the comments how you accessorise yours ;-)