There is a surprising number of cases out there for the Fujifilm X100 camera: full body, half jacket, leather, neoprene, etc. The X100S has the same physical dimensions as the original X100, so any case which works with the first version will fit just fine for this updated model. We thought about how we'd be using the camera and what we wanted from the case we'd house it in, and decided that JnK Handworks of South Korea was the vendor best able to provide a case that met our needs. We highly recommend readers check out their "About" and "Work" sections and click through the slide shows and video. Even though their site is mostly in Korean, you don't really need to understand the language to see that their work is amazing.
JnK makes all of their cases by hand. This means you can order leather, color, stitching, and features in any combination you like. We opted for the following: Rally Tan leather, snap-on back cover, metal tripod hole. It takes a few weeks for the folks at JnK to get the order out, but judging by the result, even if the wait was longer, it would still be absolutely worth it!
We chose the Rally Tan because we wanted the case to have the "already used" appearance and patina like that on the case of our Balda. That choice meant we will not have to wait sixty years for the leather to acquire the "used for sixty years" look. We chose to have JnK add the snap-on back cover to protect the large LCD screen. While covering the rear LCD would not make any sense for most digital cameras as those cameras use use the LCD for composing the shot, it should not be a problem with the X100S. Most of the time we will not compose using the LCD because we will be looking through its innovative hybrid electronic viewfinder.
The stitching, fit, and finish on the JnK case is excellent. The bottom of the case is rigid and has a mounting hole for use with a tripod. The inside of the case is completely lined to protect the finish of the camera. The right front is padded to provide a nice comfortable grip. Snaps secure the back over and side loops to the case. Note that the shape of the rear cover is not just a simple rectangle, but that the right corner is angled to fit with the slant of the window for the controls on that side.
We could have ordered a strap along with the case, but the Leathinity strap we got a few years ago has served us well. We liked it so much that we decided to move it from the Nikon onto the Fujifilm. The strap looks great with the X100S, but there is a slight issue we noticed with the protective flaps once we had it on the camera. They are a bit thick and so we couldn't get the securing loops of the case to fit around the flaps. We worked around the problem by just snapping them in front of the flaps instead of behind.
Here are a few shots of the X100S with both the strap and JnK case. The cutouts in the back give access to all of the controls. Note the attention to detail and the custom fit of the JnK case. They really took the time and effort to make the case a part of the camera instead of an afterthought.
We are not sure how much of an issue it will be, and we should have some comments after we have used it for a while, but the one thing we noticed is that this case does not have any cutouts for either the ports or the CF card compartment. This means that the case must be removed whenever we want to transfer the images. If we find it cumbersome, a simple solution would be to use a WiFi-enabled CF memory card so images can be off-loaded to the computer without the need for cables or for removing the card. We have always wanted to take a look at WiFi cards, now it looks like we have FINALLY found a reason :-)
Sure, there are less expensive case options on the market, but then that is true for point-n-shoot cameras as well. The Fujifilm X100S is a very handsome camera. We are extremely thrilled to be one of the first to have our hands on this piece of gear and we could think of no better way to protect it than with something as equally beautiful and well-crafted as this JnK case. [Permalink] -Fujifilm X100S Accessories: JnK Handwork case
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