Phantomas
Well-known
I've tried the prototype at photokina and the viewfinder is much better than Hexar AF (which I have used before). More clear, more "comfortable to look through". I really can't recall how magnification was though.
Paul T.
Veteran
Are there any other reports of this? It does indeed sound irritating - and hard to justify.
Does that mean it didn't float your boat, Dirk?
Japan---Exposures
Member
I am not so sure. I think it is very good for what it is, but I cannot imagine it as my primary picture taking machine like a true RF. And for that price and sophistication it would be a shame to relegate it to "second" or occasional camera. Some people will say "oh, but that's when I won't take my Leica etc. around with me", but then you won't take the same pictures you would if you had taken it. I have the M9 and a Perar now if I want a small package - sure, not at the same price point but it is what I am working with 100% of the time.
As for whether some "flashing" is justified, it occurred to me yesterday, that this probably HAS to be the case. After the camera focusses, to consider parallax etc. the lines have to be repositioned for accuracy, right?
My 42mm F0.75 has thin depth of field. Someday I need to hack it onto a camera.
I made due with my 50/0.95's and 50/1.1. They are not too bad with regard to deep DOF.
I made due with my 50/0.95's and 50/1.1. They are not too bad with regard to deep DOF.
Paul T.
Veteran
Makes total sense. In the Hexar, they kind of grind into position; but here you don't have a continuous movement, more a momentary back and forth as the contrast AF works.
Hmm, wouldn't mind the M9 and Perar!
foolproof
Established
Catto
Photographer
Just added a small update about a couple of things I've uncovered recently about the X100 (obviously) - minimum focus distance when you're not in Macro mode, card speed & shutter speed stuff we've been discussing on these forums...new update is at http://robertcatto.tumblr.com/post/3593306738/fuji-x100
R
R
Catto
Photographer
Okay - finally got mine today (long story), here's a few quick thoughts from the first couple of hours.
Impressions - I already hate the lens cap, first time out with the camera (before I even got home with the box) I fumbled it while taking it off, and it hit the asphalt and rolled under a car, then out again. Oh well, few chunks out of it already - better that than the camera.
I expect I'll get the lens hood and just go without a cap, like I do with my R-D1s & 35 Summilux - that'll also keep my clothes from wiping themselves off on the lens when I'm walking around with it.
Otherwise - the AF might be a little slower than my first impressions (where I said it was at least as good as a 500D), but not by much. It's pretty darn snappy.
I find the ND filter a bit of a pain, combined with the 1/1000th limit at f/2 - I'd love the option of automatic ND, where it would drop into place at a preset limit, much like the Auto ISO stops at a certain minimum shutter speed / maximum ISO. If I could set the ND filter to arrive whenever I exceeded the max shutter speed, I'd be very pleased not to have to hit the button.
I'm also running up against the minimum focus distance of 80cm more than I expected to, but that's probably because I'm testing it out and trying to get massive background blur on things just because I can.
That said - and I'm sure I'll convert all these ramblings into a blog shortly - I'm also finding that the AF tends, when confronted with a target that's smaller than the AF box, to choose a higher contrast object BEHIND what you were aiming to shoot. So, EVF is useful in those situations, so you can see what's actually happening, and stop it grabbing the wrong place.
Oh - other interesting (bizarre!) discovery, when you put it into 'burst' / 3 or 5 frames-per-second mode, and play back the images, it shows you the first one with a little flickering window showing the others in the bottom right. It seems to treat them like a 'stack' of files rather than several different images; but if you hit delete on that first one, it deletes THEM ALL! Perhaps there's a way to change this behaviour, I haven't really gone looking yet - but it's sure not what I expected would happen when I hit delete...
Overall, really enjoying it (perhaps a bit too soon to use the word 'love' though) - bring on an update to Adobe Camera RAW, and I'll be well pleased...
R
Impressions - I already hate the lens cap, first time out with the camera (before I even got home with the box) I fumbled it while taking it off, and it hit the asphalt and rolled under a car, then out again. Oh well, few chunks out of it already - better that than the camera.
I expect I'll get the lens hood and just go without a cap, like I do with my R-D1s & 35 Summilux - that'll also keep my clothes from wiping themselves off on the lens when I'm walking around with it.
Otherwise - the AF might be a little slower than my first impressions (where I said it was at least as good as a 500D), but not by much. It's pretty darn snappy.
I find the ND filter a bit of a pain, combined with the 1/1000th limit at f/2 - I'd love the option of automatic ND, where it would drop into place at a preset limit, much like the Auto ISO stops at a certain minimum shutter speed / maximum ISO. If I could set the ND filter to arrive whenever I exceeded the max shutter speed, I'd be very pleased not to have to hit the button.
I'm also running up against the minimum focus distance of 80cm more than I expected to, but that's probably because I'm testing it out and trying to get massive background blur on things just because I can.
That said - and I'm sure I'll convert all these ramblings into a blog shortly - I'm also finding that the AF tends, when confronted with a target that's smaller than the AF box, to choose a higher contrast object BEHIND what you were aiming to shoot. So, EVF is useful in those situations, so you can see what's actually happening, and stop it grabbing the wrong place.
Oh - other interesting (bizarre!) discovery, when you put it into 'burst' / 3 or 5 frames-per-second mode, and play back the images, it shows you the first one with a little flickering window showing the others in the bottom right. It seems to treat them like a 'stack' of files rather than several different images; but if you hit delete on that first one, it deletes THEM ALL! Perhaps there's a way to change this behaviour, I haven't really gone looking yet - but it's sure not what I expected would happen when I hit delete...
Overall, really enjoying it (perhaps a bit too soon to use the word 'love' though) - bring on an update to Adobe Camera RAW, and I'll be well pleased...
R
Catto
Photographer
One further observation from this evening - if you set up Auto ISO, with a maximum ISO setting and a minimum shutter speed, the logic seems to be something like this: it won't boost the ISO until you reach your minimum shutter speed. So if you set it quite low, like I did (1/15th) you'll be in relatively good light, but shooting at 1/15th before it steps up from 200 to 400ISO.
But, when you get into a truly dark situation and it reaches peak ISO according to the settings you've defined, the camera WILL start to dip below your minimum shutter speed; so (for example) tonight I had it on max 1600 ISO, min 1/60th shutter speed; and when it reached 1600ISO at 1/60th (at f/2 on the lens, which I set manually) it started creeping below 1/60th - in increments of 1/3rd of a stop - rather than increasing over 1600, or underexposing the image, which is really what I expected to happen.
Interesting to know. So I expect my plan will be to set a higher ISO limit than I actually want, to make sure I maintain my shutter speed minimum as long as possible; since it won't actually go to the highest ISO setting until absolutely necessary, but it WILL start dropping the shutter speed once it reaches that point. I'd rather be at 6400ISO and sharp (well, usually), than at a clean ISO but have subject movement...unless that's what I want, of course.
All that said, at 1600, f/2 and 1/9th - no trouble focussing at all. So that's good news!
R!
But, when you get into a truly dark situation and it reaches peak ISO according to the settings you've defined, the camera WILL start to dip below your minimum shutter speed; so (for example) tonight I had it on max 1600 ISO, min 1/60th shutter speed; and when it reached 1600ISO at 1/60th (at f/2 on the lens, which I set manually) it started creeping below 1/60th - in increments of 1/3rd of a stop - rather than increasing over 1600, or underexposing the image, which is really what I expected to happen.
Interesting to know. So I expect my plan will be to set a higher ISO limit than I actually want, to make sure I maintain my shutter speed minimum as long as possible; since it won't actually go to the highest ISO setting until absolutely necessary, but it WILL start dropping the shutter speed once it reaches that point. I'd rather be at 6400ISO and sharp (well, usually), than at a clean ISO but have subject movement...unless that's what I want, of course.
All that said, at 1600, f/2 and 1/9th - no trouble focussing at all. So that's good news!
R!
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Frontman
Well-known
The X100 is on sale in Japan now, and there are a few camera shops which have it in stock. I played with an X100 at a camera shop on Saturday night, and I was impressed. The camera can be switched to the manual focus mode using the focus selecting switch located on the body of the camera, navigating the menus is not necessary. Then you can simply focus using the knurled focusing ring on the lens.
The X100 is a flyweight. It is made of cast magnesium, but feels as though it is made of plastic. Your neck will never get sore from carryinf it. Focus is as fast as the OP states. The viewfinder switches on as soon as you put your eye to it, and the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are clearly displayed below.
All in all, it seems to be a great camera. I am throwing hints at my girlfriend, my birthday is not very far off, hopefully she gets the message...
The X100 is a flyweight. It is made of cast magnesium, but feels as though it is made of plastic. Your neck will never get sore from carryinf it. Focus is as fast as the OP states. The viewfinder switches on as soon as you put your eye to it, and the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are clearly displayed below.
All in all, it seems to be a great camera. I am throwing hints at my girlfriend, my birthday is not very far off, hopefully she gets the message...
eurotramp
Member
@Catto thank for for your initial impressions, i would love it if you could consolidate all of this into your blog. It will make it much easier for anyone to refer back when they get their camera 
Also i have a question for you, do you detect a viewfinder alignment issue? as reported by some in this forum.
Also i have a question for you, do you detect a viewfinder alignment issue? as reported by some in this forum.
Damn in stock without buyers and the US can't even get a few?
eurotramp
Member
Hasn't even been launched in the EU... i think it might be a while (3-6 months) till we see some here in Netherlands. (Maybe a second hand sigma dp2s in the meantime
)
Catto
Photographer
@Catto thank for for your initial impressions, i would love it if you could consolidate all of this into your blog. It will make it much easier for anyone to refer back when they get their camera
Also i have a question for you, do you detect a viewfinder alignment issue? as reported by some in this forum.
Cheers for that, have been adding to the blog today as well. Haven't shot anything critical in terms of horizontal alignment yet, but I'll let you know if I see anything...
R
Catto
Photographer
Day 2 blog just added - with comments on highlight warnings (I was told there wouldn't be blinking highlights! Not so!), playback info and tricks with the jog dial, conservative / crooked framelines, and a few more images...I could repost it all here, but that seems a bit silly somehow.
R!
R!
shashinka-ichiban
写真家 一番
Very helpful. I like the fact that the OVF lines are more than 100% to give me a little wiggle room for PP cropping or in the case that the OVF is off-kilter a little bit I can manually adjust and not lose the content in cropping if needed.
David Charlwood
Established
It was on sale at the Fuji Shop in Nelson, New Zealand, TWO days ago!
Catto
Photographer
I'm sure we mean the same thing, but I'd describe the framelines as something like 90-95% - ie. they indicate most of the image, but the actual size is larger than they show. If they were more than 100% I'd read that as meaning they showed a LARGER area than was captured...just so we don't confuse other people more! (Kinda like I just did.)
R
Catto
Photographer
Don't remind me, some other shops in Wellington had eight of them last week, well before mine arrived! Oh, the torture! But I appreciate it all the more now that it's here, having endured the extended anticipation. (Yeah, that's the ticket...)
R...