REVIEW: First Three Months with the Fuji X100

It is now three months since I bought my Fujifilm Finepix X100 Black Limited Edition from Park Cameras and in that time I’ve taken nearly 4000 images with this professional level compact digital camera, with its beautiful retro rangefinder looks with 21^st century technology within.  I’ve also taken this camera to Shanghai, Istanbul, Marrakech and Paris and it is my constant photographic companion.

So what do I think of the X100? How do I rate the camera for ease of use and the quality of the images it produces?  Well I am impressed, I’ve not enjoyed my photography so much in a long time and I love my Nikon DSLRs and the flexibility they offer but they are heavy and not exactly discrete. 

While the X100 is lighter than a DSLR it is still an all metal, high quality construction, with beautifully weighted, old fashioned, dials. 

For some the lack of a zoom would be a problem but I love shoot with a wide angle lens and with this camera you have to think about your photography a lot more.  I’ll admit there have been one or two occasions that I wished for a telephoto lens to get a certain shot but on the whole I am very pleased with the X100s performance.

However things aren’t 100%, there are a few little things that annoy me and other things that I find could be better but on the whole this is a great camera and the results speak for themselves.

So what is wrong with the X100? 

For me the major problem is the ‘laggy’ fly-by-wire manual focus.  Why Fuji chose to fit the superb 23mm f2 Fujinon lens with an electronic manual focus system rather than a direct focus system is a problem that has caused many photographers to scratch their heads.  While the system is usable, the fly by wire system is frustrating and slow to react.  I have used the manual focus on occasions and I am getting used to its foibles, but in my opinion a direct focus system would make this great camera absolutely perfect.

The manual focus system for me is the only major problem with the X100 but there are a couple of other items on the camera that could have been made a bit better when the camera was launched.

The first item on the ‘could be better’ list is the MF/AF-S/AF-C switch on the side of the camera.  With this camera I prefer to use the Auto Focus Servo (AF-S) setting which locks the AF while the shutter release button is half pressed when the focus is found.  Auto Focus Continuous (AF-C) is not something I would use on this camera as I don’t need to follow focus moving objects.  The problem comes when you select manual focus and then try and reselect AF-S. The switch goes too easily from MF to AF-C, the switch is too loose and you have to very careful to make sure that AF-S is selected. It’s not a big problem, but I do find it frustrating sometimes.

Another item that could be better is the onboard flash.  It’s too close to the lens and it isn’t powerful enough. Also if you have the lens hood on the camera the flash will cause a horrible shadow on your subject.  I got round this by purchasing the superb Fuji EF-20 flash unit that is a perfect match for the X100.

The last problem was the initial lack of support for Fuji’s RAW file format (.RAF) by Adobe and other RAW converters.  This problem was solved for me by converting the RAF files to DNG format when importing the files into Lightroom.  However the latest version of Photoshop Elements (version 11) has a RAW converter that reads the RAF format file and so this is no longer a problem.

So if these are the problems, what do I like about the camera?

Well where do I start?  This list is going to be a lot longer than the one above.  

The best thing about this camera is its superb 12.2 megapixel sensor coupled with the excellent Fujinon 23mm f2 lens, which is the equivalent to 35mm in full frame terms.  This combination produces stunningly sharp results time after time.

Secondly this is a stealthy camera, it is so quiet.  The leaf shutter doesn’t make a sound; in fact you have options in the camera’s menu to simulate different shutter noises if you wish.  But I prefer the sound of silence.  The small size of the X100 and the lack of shutter noise gave me the opportunity to capture images in Shanghai and Marrakech that I wouldn’t even have attempted with the Nikon D700 DSLR, due its professional nature, size and loud shutter noise.

I can’t do a review of the X100 without mentioning the ground breaking hybrid viewfinder.  The Optical View Finder (OVF) is a joy to use with its detailed head up display.  The Electronic View Finder is easily selected by flipping the lever on the front of the camera and is also extremely useful to see what the camera is seeing.  However I am finding myself using the LCD live view screen more and more as I tend to get a low or high view point for my shots. Taking low level images with the X100 is a doddle using the rear screen, which also shows a built in spirit level so you can easily get level horizons in your shots.  

While the manual focus is far from the best, the AF system is superb and while it is not as fast as a professional DSLR, it does lock onto the subject quickly and easily in all but low light.  In low light I tend to switch to manual focus and only on subjects that give me plenty of time (ie landscapes or cityscapes).

The 720P HD video is very good and I’ve used this mode several times to produce videos for the FIA WEC website.  The AF can hunt during filming but I haven’t found it to be a major problem and for the press conference videos I produced for the 6 Hours of Shanghai I switched the camera to manual focus as the drivers were unlikely to move away from the podium.  The only problem I have with the video mode on the X100 is the lack of an external microphone socket, which would help improve the sound quality of the videos immensely.

The panoramic function is also a great way to produce different images.  However it doesn’t get things right every time and I always shoot the same scene with several images that I can stitch together in Photoshop later if the panoramic mode hasn’t worked correctly.

Another mode I love using on the X100 is the film simulations.  I used to shoot Fuji Velvia slide film in my film camera days and the Velvia simulation on the X100 brings back so many memories with its vibrant colours.  The film simulations only work on JPEGs so I tend to shoot RAW + JPEG so I have the best of both worlds. The X100 also has several black and white modes but I tend to ignore these and shoot in colour to convert to mono in PSE later.

I am really impressed with the macro facility on X100, it will focus extremely close to the subject and 99% of the time the AF will work without fault.  On the few occasions the AF has struggled I have switched to manual focus to get round the problem.

And finally one of the best features of this camera is its low light ability.  The f2 maximum aperture allows you to shoot in very low light but when this is coupled with an impressive noise handling capability that has allowed me to shoot at 6400 ISO without worrying, then that is impressive.  The ISO range is 200 to 6400 on this camera but it can be pushed to 12800 or 100 ISO in JPEG mode only and I did a very unscientific test to show the different levels which you can see HERE.  I have no qualms about shooting at 3200 or even 6400 after the results I got from the camera in Marrakesh.

Fujifilm Finepix X100 'S'

This month Fuji announced the successor to the X100, the X100S.  On the outside the new camera looks exactly the same except for the 'S' emblazoned on the front of the body.  

The new camera boasts a 16mp sensor (up from 12mp), 1080 full HD video (up from 720p) and an external microphone socket, a faster AF system and an improved manual focus mode but it is still fly by wire.  

The new camera will be ready in March and I have been asked if I would sell my X100 to get an X100S.  My answer, looking at the X100S specs on paper, is no. I am very happy with the performance of the X100 and the upgrades the ‘S’ offers don’t make sense when you consider the premium price this new camera is sure to command on its launch.  

Remember the X100 was £999 when it was launched in the UK two years again and you can get a silver X100 for £549 brand new today.  So maybe in a couple of years I will be tempted but not now.  However I will be making a beeline to the Fuji stand at the Focus Show at the NEC in March to see if I can get my hands on an 'S'.

Conclusion

After three months I am still in love with the Fujifilm Finepix X100 Black, it is a fantastic go anywhere camera that produces professional quality images that rivals anything I have produced using my Nikon D700 and range of Nikkor lenses.

I have added a few items that have made life easier when travelling with the X100.  The biggest purchase was the WCL-X100 wide angle conversion lens, which at £249 wasn’t cheap.  It turns the 23mm f2 lens into a 19mm f2 lens, which is 28mm in full frame terms.  This might not sound like much but that extra field of view does work in the field.  The converter is also a perfect match for the camera with no distortion in the final image right across the aperture range of the camera.

As well as the WCL-X100 and the EF-20 flash gun, I’ve also bought a Lowepro Apex 100AW belt / shoulder bag, a Manfrotto travel tripod, a leather wrist strap rather than using the supplied neck strap, two spare batteries (the X100 eats battery power), two spare 8GB SD memory cards and a old fashioned cable release that screws into the shutter release button on the top of the camera.  I also bought a 49mm to 77mm step up filter ring so I can use my Lee filters on the camera but the large 100mm x 150mm filters do look comical when fitted to the X100. But, again, the results speak for themselves.

The X100 is one of the best cameras I have ever owned and I can recommend the X100 to any serious photographer who wants professional DSLR quality in a compact camera body.

To view some images taken with the X100 visit the MacLean Photographic X100 Flickr Gallery HERE  or have a look at some of the blogs I have written either on owning the X100 or using the X100 in the past three months.

1. The Perfect Travelling Companion - HERE

2. Accessorise the X100 - HERE

3. Marrackech in Black and White - HERE

4. The Louvre in Paris - HERE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

If you like what you see on this blog please visit our Facebook page and click 'like'

MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON FLICKR AND ON OUR WEBSITE