You are right that too many DSLR-like options enlarges the table of offerings and makes more obscure the gold that’s necessary, increasing the chance that the new user may never find them, or never get comfortable and confident to actually use the camera.
The simplicity of the original X100 is, however, an illusion. It’s complicated. I don’t think I would have got to like it and succeed with it if it weren’t for the collective wisdom here on RFF, discussing the optimal set-up. My only previous digital in 2011 was the Nikon Coolpix 4500. I think the DSLR users were my teachers.
For simplicity I had the Olympus Mju 2 which I gave my wife. Would we have all the kids photos from the 1990s if that had been the X100 instead? Not so sure.
Simplicity is the M2, or the M7.
The Hasselblad automatically prevents errors, but it is a slap on the wrist camera - take out the dark slide if you want to press the shutter; put it back in if you want to change backs; you now lose a frame because you didn’t have the back and the body in sync.
The best interface, an enabling interface, was the Konica Hexar AF. Choose f2 on the aperture dial and in bright sun ‘16’ appears in the LCD and you get the shot. The 16 is shorthand for “go ahead and take the shot but just to let you know we stopped down to f16 as this is ISO 400 and the maximum shutter speed is 1/250s. Sorry about the bokeh. Have a nice day.” It is so clever the Hexar. There are no slaps or stern warnings or interruptions. There’s so little you need to know and the camera covers for your blunders. Those Konica engineers were truly thoughtful and insightful about the use of the camera.
