A REALLY WET MONDAY IN DECEMBER
THE CAPEL STREET RAIN AND MIST TEST [WHY MY FUJI X100VI FAILED AND THE LEICA Q3 IS COMING WITH ME TO BELFAST]
There is a specific kind of atmosphere on Dublin’s Capel Street in November that begs to be photographed. It’s moody, the lights reflect beautifully off the damp pavement, and the city feels alive.
To capture this, I recently took out my Fujifilm setup: the new X100VI paired with the WCL-X100 wide conversion lens. I love the 28mm equivalent field of view for street work—it forces you to get close and immerse yourself in the scene. I was excited to see how the new 40MP sensor handled the complex textures of the street.
The shoot, however, was a disaster.
It wasn't torrential rain; it was something worse for a camera. It was a wetting, pervasive Irish mist that hung in the air. Within twenty minutes, I noticed my images were looking soft, almost dreamlike, but not in a good way.
I wiped the front element with my microfiber cloth. The haze remained. I realised with sinking frustration that the moisture wasn't just on the outside of the glass—it had worked its way between the master lens of the X100VI and the back element of the WCL converter.
The majority of the images from that session were unusable, ruined by unremovable internal fogging that didn't clear until the camera sat in a dry room for hours.
The Investigation: The "Weather Resistance" Trap
Frustrated, I started digging into why this happened. The X100VI is advertised as having a weather-resistant body, a significant upgrade over older models like the X100F.
But there is a massive catch that I learned the hard way on Capel Street.
The X100VI is only sealed if you remove the front lens ring and attach the AR-X100 adapter ring plus a protection filter. That combination seals the moving front element of the built-in lens.
The moment you screw on the WCL conversion lens, you break that seal.
The WCL attaches directly to the camera's lens threads, but it lacks the rubber gasket necessary to create a watertight barrier against the camera body. Furthermore, the large, bulbous front element of the WCL is incredibly exposed to the elements, acting almost like a rain catcher.
In that fine Capel Street mist, capillary action drew moisture right into the gap between the two pieces of glass, creating a moisture trap.
The Belfast Dilemma
This realisation couldn't have come at a worse time. Next week, I’m heading up to Belfast for a few days of shooting. I checked the forecast, and it is exactly what you’d expect for Northern Ireland in December: cloudy, high humidity, and persistent rain.
I desperately wanted to bring the Fujifilm. I love the ergonomics, the film simulations, and the slightly lighter weight. I looked into solutions to "rain-proof" the WCL setup. It involves buying specific nano-coated protective filters for the front of the WCL, hunting down specialised third-party square hoods to act as an umbrella, and perhaps even using gaffer tape over the seam where the lens meets the body.
It all started to feel incredibly fiddly. Did I really want to be standing on a wet corner in the Cathedral Quarter, worrying if my gaffer tape was holding up?
The Only Real Option: Enter the Leica Q3
While debating the Fuji workarounds, I thought back to a trip to Belfast earlier this year. The rain then had been constant—heavier than the mist on Capel Street—yet I didn't have a single issue. On that trip, I was using my Leica Q3.
The comparison is stark. The Leica Q3 is rated IP52 as a complete unit right out of the box. There are no adapters to buy, no gaps to tape. But more importantly, it comes down to the glass itself.
The Leica's Summilux lens has aggressive hydrophobic coatings (AquaDura). When it rains on the Q3, the water beads up instantly and rolls off. On the Fuji WCL, the mist seemed to smear and cling to the glass, creating a blurry film that was impossible to wipe clean in humid conditions.
Furthermore, the Q3’s lens element is deeply recessed inside its square hood, providing a natural physical barrier against falling rain that the protruding Fuji WCL just doesn't have.
The Verdict
I love my X100VI. It is a phenomenal camera for 90% of the situations I shoot in. But for a winter trip to Belfast, where the environment is actively hostile to electronics, I cannot rely on a modular system with a known weak point.
I don't want to spend my trip managing cloths, checking for fogging, or hiding under awnings. I want to shoot.
The difference in weight between the Fuji rig and the Leica is negligible, but the difference in peace of mind is massive. The Fuji is staying dry in Dublin. The Leica Q3 is going to Belfast.
There is a specific kind of atmosphere on Dublin’s Capel Street in November that begs to be photographed. It’s moody, the lights reflect beautifully off the damp pavement, and the city feels alive.
To capture this, I recently took out my Fujifilm setup: the new X100VI paired with the WCL-X100 wide conversion lens. I love the 28mm equivalent field of view for street work—it forces you to get close and immerse yourself in the scene. I was excited to see how the new 40MP sensor handled the complex textures of the street.
The shoot, however, was a disaster.
It wasn't torrential rain; it was something worse for a camera. It was a wetting, pervasive Irish mist that hung in the air. Within twenty minutes, I noticed my images were looking soft, almost dreamlike, but not in a good way.
I wiped the front element with my microfiber cloth. The haze remained. I realised with sinking frustration that the moisture wasn't just on the outside of the glass—it had worked its way between the master lens of the X100VI and the back element of the WCL converter.
The majority of the images from that session were unusable, ruined by unremovable internal fogging that didn't clear until the camera sat in a dry room for hours.
The Investigation: The "Weather Resistance" Trap
Frustrated, I started digging into why this happened. The X100VI is advertised as having a weather-resistant body, a significant upgrade over older models like the X100F.
But there is a massive catch that I learned the hard way on Capel Street.
The X100VI is only sealed if you remove the front lens ring and attach the AR-X100 adapter ring plus a protection filter. That combination seals the moving front element of the built-in lens.
The moment you screw on the WCL conversion lens, you break that seal.
The WCL attaches directly to the camera's lens threads, but it lacks the rubber gasket necessary to create a watertight barrier against the camera body. Furthermore, the large, bulbous front element of the WCL is incredibly exposed to the elements, acting almost like a rain catcher.
In that fine Capel Street mist, capillary action drew moisture right into the gap between the two pieces of glass, creating a moisture trap.
The Belfast Dilemma
This realisation couldn't have come at a worse time. Next week, I’m heading up to Belfast for a few days of shooting. I checked the forecast, and it is exactly what you’d expect for Northern Ireland in December: cloudy, high humidity, and persistent rain.
I desperately wanted to bring the Fujifilm. I love the ergonomics, the film simulations, and the slightly lighter weight. I looked into solutions to "rain-proof" the WCL setup. It involves buying specific nano-coated protective filters for the front of the WCL, hunting down specialised third-party square hoods to act as an umbrella, and perhaps even using gaffer tape over the seam where the lens meets the body.
It all started to feel incredibly fiddly. Did I really want to be standing on a wet corner in the Cathedral Quarter, worrying if my gaffer tape was holding up?
The Only Real Option: Enter the Leica Q3
While debating the Fuji workarounds, I thought back to a trip to Belfast earlier this year. The rain then had been constant—heavier than the mist on Capel Street—yet I didn't have a single issue. On that trip, I was using my Leica Q3.
The comparison is stark. The Leica Q3 is rated IP52 as a complete unit right out of the box. There are no adapters to buy, no gaps to tape. But more importantly, it comes down to the glass itself.
The Leica's Summilux lens has aggressive hydrophobic coatings (AquaDura). When it rains on the Q3, the water beads up instantly and rolls off. On the Fuji WCL, the mist seemed to smear and cling to the glass, creating a blurry film that was impossible to wipe clean in humid conditions.
Furthermore, the Q3’s lens element is deeply recessed inside its square hood, providing a natural physical barrier against falling rain that the protruding Fuji WCL just doesn't have.
The Verdict
I love my X100VI. It is a phenomenal camera for 90% of the situations I shoot in. But for a winter trip to Belfast, where the environment is actively hostile to electronics, I cannot rely on a modular system with a known weak point.
I don't want to spend my trip managing cloths, checking for fogging, or hiding under awnings. I want to shoot.
The difference in weight between the Fuji rig and the Leica is negligible, but the difference in peace of mind is massive. The Fuji is staying dry in Dublin. The Leica Q3 is going to Belfast.
THE RAIN AND THE CAMERA