Fujifilm X100: Any Regrets?

<p>I am close to purchasing an X100. There are none in my local tiny camera store, so I will buy mail order sight unseen. I've read the reviews, and it sounds good. I am checking here to see if anyone who did buy one, has regrets, or was disappointed in the purchase, and why.</p>

<p>I shoot mostly film cameras. My two faves are the EOS-1V for large SLR, and the Contax G2 and Bessa R for light rangefinders. I rarely use long lenses, as wide angles and normals work best for my subject matter - which is man-made and natural landscape, and shooting while walking the streets. I don't shoot sports or macro. The 35mm f/2 on the X100 sounds right up my alley so I have no concerns there.</p>

<p>Here's what I hope for with the X100. I hope it is very easy to put it in aperture priority mode, which is how I usually shoot. I hope it doesn't require endless boogering around with menu buttons in order to get ready to shoot in that mode. I mostly hope the shutter is as near to instant as my EOS. And that shot #2 can be taken within an instant of #1. And most of all, I hope the bokeh, and color rendition, and low light capture, and JPG processing are as good as many reviewers report.</p>

<p>Are there weird quirks? Is the metal body quality what us old film camera guys will find impressive? (How sweet those little Canon QL 17 are!). Did yours break? Need to be returned? Battery life is ok?</p>

<p>Thanks!<br>

P.S. Yes, I am aware that <em>many</em> other cameras sell for far less money. I just like the combination of features on this one, which seem unique and useful to me. </p>

 

<p>Steve Huff says is better than I could:<br>

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/05/11/the-top-7-complaints-of-the-fuji-x100-and-how-i-get-around-them-by-steve-huff/</p>

<p>Ariel S.,<br>

That was helpful. I had not read that report before. Thanks a bunch.</p>

<p>It was a pleasure to use. The image quality is outstanding for such a little camera. However, the complex viewfinder blind mechanism is prone to failure, and the shutter release button was a little stiff after some use. The fixed lens was a bummer, and the focus lock was slower than I'd like. Ultimately if you can live with a single lens, no wide or telephoto, you might like it. I haven't shot with a fixed lens camera since I was 17, so I sold it on after a few weeks. I am interested in the new X10 though, which is half the price but should be a real winner. </p>

Yes, the X10 images seem quite stunning for a 2/3 sensor. And it's real EXR, unlike the X100, which does it in software. Being photo.net's resident EXR fanboy, I am pleased that the X10 looks like a runaway success, guaranteeing at least one alternative to that awful Bayer-pattern thing.

<p>m:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Here's what I hope for with the X100. I hope it is very easy to put it in aperture priority mode, which is how I usually shoot. I hope it doesn't require endless boogering around with menu buttons in order to get ready to shoot in that mode. I mostly hope the shutter is as near to instant as my EOS. And that shot #2 can be taken within an instant of #1. And most of all, I hope the bokeh, and color rendition, and low light capture, and JPG processing are as good as many reviewers report.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Don't expect to be able to take shots within instants of one another. There is a noticeable delay. Everything else you mention is fine. The menu system can be a little daunting. I had a higher learning curve with the X100 than with the Canon 1D4. Once you get your preferences set up, you don't have to dink around in the menus, though. I use the menus now just for formatting.<br>

There are some quirks. You won't be able to adjust items from the menu while one photo is writing. But that's not a deal breaker. Like I said, I don't go into the menus these days. I got mine last May, and I've been very happy with it. The only thing missing is an X200: a 90/2 fixed lens to use as a companion. :)</p>

<p>Dave:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>However, the complex viewfinder blind mechanism is prone to failure</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Did yours fail? I haven't heard about this failing. Complex isn't synonymous with fragile.</p>

<p>Eric</p>

<p>Eric - -<br>

Just so I am clear. It sounds like you said once the menus are setup initially, shooting is more or less easy and only requires turning on. Is that right?<br>

And to the other fella who mentioned the X10 and "EXR" - what is the meaning of that? Just when every reviewer was putting emphasis on larger sensor size (which I like about the X100), now that becomes less important? Would you explain?</p>

 

I have seen reports of sticky shutter blades, all or most fixed by Fuji customer support, but no reports of viewfinder failure.

 

The X100 uses diagonal Sony CMOS with software EXR implementation, rather than hardware EXR as on the F200EXR and later. If you look at the respective DPreview tests, you see that the F200EXR has a tad more dynamic range in the highlights, although not so much that the X100 couldn't make it up with RAW headroom.

<p>Eric,<br>

<br />Mine did not fail, however, every time I went into the menu system, the blind closes. Every time I view a photo I just took, the blind closes. So it is closing and opening potentially hundreds of times per day, at some point it is going to fail and need servicing. That made me nervous. I would prefer having just the optical viewfinder and no EVF on that camera. The EVF wasn't so great though it did provide nearly 100 percent accurate framing, vs about 85% for the optical viewfinder.</p>

<p>I think it would be a great camera in most respects except focusing. It may not be easy to manually focus with this camera. </p>

<p>Personally, I chose the X-10 over the X-100.<br>

It's flexible and FUN!<br>

Fuji is going to release an interchangable lens mirrorless camera in the spring of 2012.</p>

<p>X-10 and X-100 is like comparing apples and oranges. The X-10 is a super-duper compact, with the usual tiny sensor. Though maybe one of the best in its class, it still is a compact, with that mini-sensor and a viewfinder as bad as any you'll find (G12, P7100 e.a.). Tried it, liked it, but did not buy it: skin tones, high ISO and DOF control are important criteria to me, along with a good viewfinder. Nothing you will find on a X-10.</p>

<p>The X-100 is a totally different kind of camera: large sensor, fixed lens, great viewfinder. Set to aperture priority, with the aperture ring on the lens, you just shoot away. Write times depend entirely on the card: get the fastest you can find, and you wan't feel the lag described.</p>

<p>I have tried it, but have not decided yet: before spending money, I would like to handle the NEX-7. Steve Huff and others have rated this camera highly, and it does not cost that much more. Downsides of the NEX-7 to me are the bulkier lens (even the Zeiss 24 mm is a monster compared to the tiny X-100 lens) and the high ISO capabilities of the sensor (I shoot a lot in churches). As of today, the X-100 seems to be the better camera for my purposes. But that's just me.</p>