Fuji X100

GhostInTheRuins

I've been thinking of picking one of these up lately. Now that the X100s is almost out the price of the x100 has dropped a fair bit.

I used to bring my D700 around with me all the time, but it doesn't do the 'aul back any favours. I bought a sony nex c3 as a small carry around camera, it's much smaller and lighter but with it's big lens it's just too bulky.

So at the minute my main carry around camera is my ancient olympus om-1 with it's 50mm lens, and it's a grand size and weight but I wouldn't mind getting a digital cam to bring traveling with me.

Anyone have any experience with the x100? Doing a bit of research on it and it looks great. Images looks lovely from it, I love the old style, just like my om1 and the hybrid viewfinder looks like something I'd love to mess with

I know it's a few years old at this stage but that doesn't bother me, and neither does the 35mm equivalent lens, opinions on if it's worth picking one up?

.Longshanks.

I have one and love it. Took a long time to get to that stage but I wouldn't part with it now.
I posted about it before here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76457279#post76457279

Any questions just ask and I try and help you.

GhostInTheRuins

.Longshanks. wrote: »

I have one and love it. Took a long time to get to that stage but I wouldn't part with it now.
I posted about it before here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76457279#post76457279

Any questions just ask and I try and help you.

Nice shots!

What do you mean when you say that it has its flaws? Would they be enough to put you off buying one?

I've been reading about some autofocus issues and other little problems but apparently fuji did a lot of firmware updates to fix most of them.

ronanc15

I had just managed to get these out of my head after lugging around my dslr through 6 airports......damn ye!! Tempted again....

GhostInTheRuins

ronanc15 wrote: »

I had just managed to get these out of my head after lugging around my dslr through 6 airports......damn ye!! Tempted again....

You're welcome

ronanc15

B*stard!!

Kev, can I ask how big it actually is? I've seen you mention it comes everywhere with you but how big is it to hold.

.Longshanks.

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

Nice shots!

What do you mean when you say that it has its flaws? Would they be enough to put you off buying one?

I've been reading about some autofocus issues and other little problems but apparently fuji did a lot of firmware updates to fix most of them.

Thanks. Yeah by firmware 1.31 (?) they fixed most of the issues.
That linked post of mine may have been before the latest upgrade.
But at the minute the auto focus is still a little slow. When I say slow, I'm judging it against a couple canon L's on either a 7d or 5dii in low light
If wouldn t put me off at all. If anything it taught me to slow down when taking pics.

ronanc15 wrote: »

B*stard!!

Kev, can I ask how big it actually is? I've seen you mention it comes everywhere with you but how big is it to hold.

The only way to answer that is to hold it yourself in a shop or get onto YouTube.
It - just about - fits in my jeans pocket or comfortably into my jacket pocket

ronanc15

.Longshanks. wrote: »

Thanks. Yeah by firmware 1.31 (?) they fixed most of the issues.
That linked post of mine may have been before the latest upgrade.
But at the minute the auto focus is still a little slow. When I say slow, I'm judging it against a couple canon L's on either a 7d or 5dii in low light
If wouldn t put me off at all. If anything it taught me to slow down when taking pics.


The only way to answer that is to hold it yourself in a shop or get onto YouTube.
It - just about - fits in my jeans pocket or comfortably into my jacket pocket

And would you describe your pockets as small, average or large? I joke!:D

Would be class to have an option like that to carry around. Sometimes its just not feasible to carry the DSLR.

.Longshanks.

ronanc15 wrote: »

And would you describe your pockets as small, average or large? I joke!:D

Would be class to have an option like that to carry around. Sometimes its just not feasible to carry the DSLR.

Huge!
I must clarify, it will just about go into my jeans pocket but its not comfortable. I normally carry in a soft pouch in my bag. For context

GhostInTheRuins

Yeah that size look just about about right for what I'm after as well. What's the red thing on your shutter button if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks. Yeah by firmware 1.31 (?) they fixed most of the issues.
That linked post of mine may have been before the latest upgrade.
But at the minute the auto focus is still a little slow. When I say slow, I'm judging it against a couple canon L's on either a 7d or 5dii in low light
If wouldn t put me off at all. If anything it taught me to slow down when taking pics.

Apart from the autofocus is there anything else that comes to mind as a flaw would you say?

.Longshanks.

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

Yeah that size look just about about right for what I'm after as well. What's the red thing on your shutter button if you don't mind me asking?

Soft shutter release. Suppose to be more 'acurate'. I think it looks cool. Nothing more.

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

Apart from the autofocus is there anything else that comes to mind as a flaw would you say?

It has its quirks. Little things like you need to format the card in camera every so often – ideally after each outing. Without doing that the start-up time can go from a split second to 4-5+ seconds! I think its related to some hidden file windows /iOSX writes to the file once its connected to a computer?

The battery life ain’t great. Buy a second one. Even without flash and using the optical view finder you would be lucky to get a full day sight-seeing out of it.

I’ve never used video mode. Manual focus is beyond useless. 5-6 complete turns to go from ‘macro’ to infinity. It’s a fly-by-wire thingie that means you have no ‘feel’ for how far you have gone.

BUT, despite all of the above I would still buy it again. You need to give it time to appreciate its quirks and eventually you accept them before eventually loving it.

The images it can produce are fantastic. 95% of the shots in the below set are jpegs PP in lightroom. I’ve shot RAW on it, but simply never see the need to. (the RAW write time is a little slower too, so a class 10 SD card is a minimum)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/longshanks100/sets/72157627737269512/

People always comment saying that it’s a cool looking ‘old’ camera and by extension don’t feel intimated by it….you can whip it out in situations where you might normally feel uncomfortable taking a DLSR
It’s a camera I’ll never sell.

Gloobag has one too I believe

Edit. The on board flash when dialled down a bit can product brilliant fill flash

Effects

I find it a pain when you try and change a setting after taking a shot and you need to wait until it's finished writing to the card. Another issue is the exposure compensation dial easily gets changed when you put it in a pocket or case. Annoying when you take it out to take a quick shot. You can get a nice thumb grip that prevents this but it seemed a little expensive to me.
As with everyone else I love the X100. Despite drawbacks it is an amazing camera and I nearly always have it with me. Having the built in ND filter is a great addition too. Brilliant when you want to shoot a wide open portrait and it would otherwise be too bright outside.

GhostInTheRuins

Feck it, I'm sold. Bought one on amazon.

muppetkiller

GhostInTheRuins wrote: »

Feck it, I'm sold. Bought one on amazon.

http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/fujifilm-x100-refurbished.html

I buy from the refurb site all the time and find it brilliant.
P832A4V3T8MES to bring it down to 515 Euro

Homer

muppetkiller wrote: »

http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/fujifilm-x100-refurbished.html

I buy from the refurb site all the time and find it brilliant.
P832A4V3T8MES to bring it down to 515 Euro

Thanks for that! I was looking at one pre-owned on gumtree but with that discount and peace of mind buying from fuji I'm much happier!
Damn I hadn't planned on spending 500 euro on a friday afternoon!

GhostInTheRuins

muppetkiller wrote: »

http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/fujifilm-x100-refurbished.html

I buy from the refurb site all the time and find it brilliant.
P832A4V3T8MES to bring it down to 515 Euro

Daaaaammn, why didn't you post this earlier!

It cost me €660

Effects

You probably still have time to cancel your order with Amazon.

GhostInTheRuins

Effects wrote: »

You probably still have time to cancel your order with Amazon.

It's already past that stage and is at "dispatching soon" so i can't cancel it. Money's already gone from my account.

I think I'll return it when it arrives and buy one of the refurbished ones.

muppetkiller

It was actually 498 Euro last week but it went up
Probably because of the interest in the x100s release

emrys

Great camera! I have one for almost 2 years. Am upgrading to the 100s, meanwhile my dslr gathers dust....

Homer

Got an email to say I should have it tomorrow or monday! Really looking forward to getting it now

emrys

Homer wrote: »

Got an email to say I should have it tomorrow or monday! Really looking forward to getting it now

you should pick up extra batteries - you can get unbranded ones on amazon for under a tenner - I always have 3 fully charged when im out and about.

.Longshanks.

.Longshanks. wrote: »

It has its quirks. Little things like you need to format the card in camera every so often – ideally after each outing. Without doing that the start-up time can go from a split second to 4-5+ seconds! I think its related to some hidden file windows /iOSX writes to the file once its connected to a computer?

The battery life ain’t great. Buy a second one. Even without flash and using the optical view finder you would be lucky to get a full day sight-seeing out of it.

I’ve never used video mode. Manual focus is beyond useless. 5-6 complete turns to go from ‘macro’ to infinity. It’s a fly-by-wire thingie that means you have no ‘feel’ for how far you have gone.

BUT, despite all of the above I would still buy it again. You need to give it time to appreciate its quirks and eventually you accept them before eventually loving it.

The images it can produce are fantastic. 95% of the shots in the below set are jpegs PP in lightroom. I’ve shot RAW on it, but simply never see the need to. (the RAW write time is a little slower too, so a class 10 SD card is a minimum)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/longshanks100/sets/72157627737269512/

People always comment saying that it’s a cool looking ‘old’ camera and by extension don’t feel intimated by it….you can whip it out in situations where you might normally feel uncomfortable taking a DLSR

It’s a camera I’ll never sell.

Gloobag has one too I believe

Edit. The on board flash when dialled down a bit can product brilliant fill flash

I lie. I've been reading all the reviews of the new x100s and am really really liking what I'm hearing about the new auto/manual focus and sensor.
So I stuck it up on gumtree for 80% of what I paid for it ~16 months ago and now its gone! My local shop is expecting 4 of the new 's' models in the next or so and the 3rd is mine.

emrys

I have had the x100s for just over a week now.

Manual focus is easy and accurate (choice of focus peaking or split screen)
menu lay out is similar to xpro1 and xe1 - so a big step up and it also has the Q button which makes simple setting changes even easier.

It looks exactly the same as the x100 - so all accessories are usable on the x100s.

AF his a huge step up. Now the x100 with latest software is a very decent camera compared to when it was released (in AF terms) but the x100s is quicker.

In combines phase and contrast AF. In good light AF is almost instant, in poor light it is still very fast (with occasional lens movement/hunting) BUT (a positive but!) it locks AF 99/100 no more red boxes. Also there is less need to switch to macro mode all the time as it will lock AF from 6 inches.

It is not a DSLR replacement (AF-C mode does not have focus tracking) but I must say it passes the kids test. the x100 was always challenging to nail focus (unless i zone focused) - the x100s is fast enough now to keep up with them.

PopeBuckfastXVI

Emrys, is the split screen/focus peaking done in the viewfinder or on the back lcd?

emrys

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

Emrys, is the split screen/focus peaking done in the viewfinder or on the back lcd?

both ! in the viewfinder (evf) and/or LCD

edit - have it with me in the office today so happy to answer any questions.

PopeBuckfastXVI

emrys wrote: »

both ! in the viewfinder (evf) and/or LCD

edit - have it with me in the office today so happy to answer any questions.

Thanks! I don't want to ask any more questions, I already want it, and can't have it!

.Longshanks.

emrys wrote: »

both ! in the viewfinder (evf) and/or LCD

edit - have it with me in the office today so happy to answer any questions.

In manual focus, does the wheel have a start & stop position or can you keep twisting indefinitely?
How much travel on the dial is involved to go from the closet focus point (but non-macro) to infinity? Ie how many turns?

emrys

.Longshanks. wrote: »

In manual focus, does the wheel have a start & stop position or can you keep twisting indefinitely?
How much travel on the dial is involved to go from the closet focus point (but non-macro) to infinity? Ie how many turns?

In manual mode you can twist indefinitely (no start stop point)

from 18 inches to infinity only two turns of the dial (not full turns, just two quick twists with thumb and index finger - maybe one second?

from 6 inches to infinity 3-4 twist turns maybe 1.5 secs?

the focus peaking is very clear and obvious - VERY impressive.

.Longshanks.

Thanks! I can't wait now!

ronanc15

If you dont mind me asking guys how much did ye pay roughly, and where did ye purchase?

Some of David Hobby's comments on it http://www.petapixel.com/2013/03/02/david-hobby-purchased-the-first-fujifilm-x100s-to-be-sold-and-he-loves-it/

.Longshanks.

Little update

I collected my x100S last Friday. Went for a walk down to the beach the day after and these are some of the pics.
Got to say it was definitely work the upgrade from the x100 for the new AF alone. ITs super quick now. The manual focus is really fun too - the option of split image or focus peaking is excellent, as is the Q button and moving the AF selection point to the main wheel.
These are all jpegs SOOC with no PP other than minor crops (imported to LR and then exported to flickr). Camera was on Aperture priority, min shutter speed 1/125 and max 3200 iso. Pro Neg Hi setting in camera.



ISO3200





And a few more PP'd in lightroom from the following days

emrys

glad you got your x100s - have been using it quite a bit recently will also post some pics.

Great images btw!

muppetkiller

Is there any place selling the X100S in Ireland or Europe yet ? I can't find it anywhere ?

flyingsnail

muppetkiller wrote: »

Is there any place selling the X100S in Ireland or Europe yet ? I can't find it anywhere ?

Berminghams list is as in stock
http://berminghamcameras.ie/fujifilm-finepix-x100s.html

muppetkiller

flyingsnail wrote: »

Berminghams list is as in stock
http://berminghamcameras.ie/fujifilm-finepix-x100s.html

That seems like a great price too thanks, Now for a nice win in the grand national and it's mine lol

Ben D Bus

flyingsnail wrote: »

Berminghams list is as in stock
http://berminghamcameras.ie/fujifilm-finepix-x100s.html

And I spotted a couple of used X100 in the 2nd hand window when I passed by this morning. Presumably left there by brand new X100s owners!

GhostInTheRuins

Bump bump.

There's new firmware out for the X100 (that's right, not the x100s) and it greatly improves the speed of the camera, the focusing speed, the focusing distance and a bunch more bits and bobs. Fair play to Fuji for still working on updates.

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/software/firmware/x/finepix_x100/

Effects

Wow, that's great to hear. Seems like it addresses most of what infuriates me about my X100. I had assumed there wouldn't be any more updates so people would be more inclined to upgrade.

Effects

Just came across something else after doing the update. In the past if I had tried to take a photo with no memory card in the camera it gave the error that internal memory was full. I could never take or play back photos from any internal memory and just thought it a weird quirk. Since the update however it's letting me shoot to an internal memory. Anyone else notice this?

.Longshanks.

I've had the x100 (pre 2.0 firmware) and the now the x100s. Both let me shoot to an internal memory. You can only get 3-4 shots from memory.
I used it to take a shot of my contact details if the camera was ever lost

Effects

Just noticed it reverted to jpeg only when I updated. Switched it to raw + jpeg and it said there was no room. I guess that why I never noticed it before.

Necronomicon

Like others before me, I have made the decision to go mirrorless. I am missing out on so many photo opportunities because I don't have the heart to carry the DSLR around for general-purpose activities anymore.

My heart is set on the Fuji X series. The X100t comes out, I believe, in a couple of days' time. From reading the previews I'm finding it hard to tell just how much of an upgrade it is going to be over the X100s. There are a couple of X100s on Adverts.ie at the moment for pretty reasonable prices (€650-700) and they are tempting me.

Edit: The X100t is already out it seems. It can be gotten for €1,075 here (better than Amazon's £999).

So now I'm trying to figure out if a brand new X100T is a better choice than a second-hand X100S to the tune of €400 or so...

Necronomicon

Bugger it. X100T ordered. Cannot wait!