I have a touch of what some photographers call GAS, or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. It was just last fall that I persuaded my wife how important a Nikon 70-200mm VRII lens was to me and how it would propel my hobby headshot "business". This completed my personal holy trinity of Nikon lenses, which also included the 16-35mm VR for "real estate" photography and the kit 24-85mm VR. But to be honest, my day job in finance doesn't leave a whole lot of time, or perhaps energy, as to allow the natural inspiration and inclination to lug my D600 and lenses around on a frequent basis.

Over the winter, I continued to look more at photos and gear online than I did actually creating my own images. In early spring, though, something significant happened. Our family of four, which includes two teenagers, booked a trip to Italy for this coming June. Instant inspiration!

There's nothing quite like booking a European vacation to start the juices flowing with mental imagery of what to see, what to eat, how to pack, etc. And what a great opportunity to further satisfy my Gear Acquisition Syndrome. There was no way I'm lugging a full-frame DSLR around Italy, so certainly I was going to need a new camera for this trip! For you see, I've read all the blogs and articles over the years by the likes of David Hobby, Zack Arias, et al and had secretly desired a more minimalist and less weighty camera setup. I lusted for the Fuji X100S, but was able to keep my credit card in my wallet and my wife's ire at bay for a couple years. But this trip changed everything and created the perfect opening to pursue the new object of my desire ... Fuji's X100T!

The moment of purchase came on a night a couple weeks ago when I was stranded at the office working on a project. As a treat to myself, I hit the buy button on B&H's website just before I left for home. The X100T arrived at my door last Tuesday and I took it out and immediately began to shoot. And I've continued to shoot for an entire week now.

I don't have the patience or knowledge to provide a deep technical review, but I can provide some sample images and my first thoughts. The fact that I'm blogging at all about this camera should give you some foreshadowing of my overall impressions.

After one week, here's what I think about Fuji's X100T:

I want to take it everywhere! All the blogs you've read are true. You'll want to take this camera everywhere you go. And you aren't going to feel conspicuous.
It makes me less shy as a photographer -- something I wasn't necessarily expecting to feel, but a welcome surprise. For whatever reason, I've always been a little self-conscious when using a big camera with a big lens. I'm a hobbyist, for god's sake. Sometimes a DSLR feels a little too pretentious. The X100T is small and stealth.
The camera will make you take more photos. I haven't counted my exposures, but I can guarantee I've taken more shots in 6 days with the Fuji X100T than i have in the past 6 months with my Nikon D600.
The camera will make you walk more and thus, lose weight. The Fuji X100T is a catalyst to get you off your butt and walking. I've averaged over 15,000 steps the last 3 days with it hanging by a sling strap over my shoulder. And I don't have any neck or shoulder pain!
X100T's wi-fi, coupled with the Fuji's iPhone remote camera app, make it super simple to transfer images to your phone for sharing and social media.
The f2 lens has incredible bokeh.
Multiple viewfinder options allow for a variety of ways to interface and compose shots.
It will inspire you to use your DSLR more. Okay, this one is a little bit of a future prediction, but I can see where using this camera more will re-ignite some creative juices and cause me to reach for my D600 when I need a little more reach than the 35mm-equivalent focal length lens on the X100T will give me.

I'm continuing to learn about the X100T's options so I'm ready to hit the ground running when we land in Rome!

Now for some sample images. All Fuji X100T images below are jpeg taken straight from camera. Most are utilizing the Classic Chrome film simulation.