First look preview of X100 at dpreview.com

Frankie said:
Allow me to repeat the question:

Supposed the jog lever is so lock-linked, but if within the menu there is a preset focal distance option...or other multiple-choice options...wouldn't the idea still work?
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Of course. But seeing as this is at least partially marketed toward the retro nostalgic, rangefinder, street-shooter, don't you think zone focusing presets would have been mentioned by now?

It might be included, it might not. I'd say my personal expectations are 60% not, 40% yes. If it's in, it would most likely be selectable via the jog dial.

What I am certain of is that jog dial being how you adjust the Fn button settings. like 99% certain.
 
GSNfan said:
Almost all of digital cameras have auto ISO, so I'm sure X100 would have that option as well, the only issue is that their minimum shutter speed is usually 1/60 which is not fast enough. On the other hand you can also set the min shutter speed to 1/30 and get moving objects slightly blurred and stationery objects in full focus.

Maybe while you're waiting for X100, pick a cheap fixed lens RF and a role of film, it would be good practice.
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My 5D doesn't. :-( It also doesn't have the ability to turn off the fake 1/3 stop ISO settings, something my 40D I traded up from did have.

If you think about it, it makes sense now not to have a dedicated ISO dial, since I bet they believe most people will be using auto-ISO. Shutter speed and aperture is adjusted much more often from shot to shot than ISO, even if it's left in manual mode.
 
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videogamemaker said:
Of course. But seeing as this is at least partially marketed toward the retro nostalgic, rangefinder, street-shooter, don't you think zone focusing presets would have been mentioned by now?

It might be included, it might not. I'd say my personal expectations are 60% not, 40% yes. If it's in, it would most likely be selectable via the jog dial.

What I am certain of is that jog dial being how you adjust the Fn button settings. like 99% certain.
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My interest is not nostalgic, street shooting, or defending the RF faith...

In fact I had posted several alternative methods for zone focusing, including enhancing the unmarked lens ring.

Fuji offered at Day-zero a virtual "focus scale + DoF" in the O/EVF and LCD, it didn't take me "5 seconds" to see that, but unappreciated by many in all the excitement.

Fuji had neglected listing many important aspects of X100 until responding to "inputs" in their web site much later. Fuji has not still, hinted, published or otherwise leaked the menu content and architecture...likely because being finalized.

Using the Fn+jog for eye-level O/EVF adjustment is good for shooting-related functions. Zone focusing immediately came to mind.

A very disappointing and lazy way of dealing with the Fn button is simply use the Fn button for direct accessing a favourite menu item for immediate display in the LCD...say ISO...and use the 4-way back dial for selection...... [I dearly hope not.]
 
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Frankie said:
My interest is not nostalgic, street shooting, or defending the RF faith...

Using the Fn+jog for eye-level O/EVF adjustment is good for shooting-related functions. Zone focusing immediately came to mind.

A very disappointing and lazy way of dealing with the Fn button is simply use the Fn button for direct accessing a favourite menu item...say ISO...and use the 4-way back dial for selection...... [I dearly hope not.]
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That is why I clearly used the word "partially" to get you to think about their marketing concerns. Snap to zone focusing is part of the Ricoh marketing material, it would make sense to included it in the X100 marketing material based in part in how and who they market it to.

Using the 4-way would indeed be dumb, which is why it's so unlikely, and then it would leave the jog dial to be truly vestigial, yet closer to where the user's thumb would be.
 
Personally, I would want the jog dial DEFAULT setting to be the selector of the preset manual focus distances WHEN the camera is set to manual focus.
Pushing the jog dial left or right would increment/decrement the hard coded distances, i.e. 1m, 2m, 3m etc and would be viewable via the viewfinder. PRESSING the jog dial sets the distance. Any inadvertent nudge of the jog dial would display the change but not PROGRAM the change. After a few seconds, if the jog dial is not PRESSED to enter the 'new' setting then the distance displayed reverts to the programmed setting.
Perhaps while in MANUAL focus mode, pressing the fn button would change the function of the jog dial to an iso selector.
Will there be user customization of the fn/jog dial interface?
 
DougFord said:
Personally, I would want the jog dial DEFAULT setting to be the selector of the preset manual focus distances WHEN the camera is set to manual focus.
Pushing the jog dial left or right would increment/decrement the hard coded distances, i.e. 1m, 2m, 3m etc and would be viewable via the viewfinder. PRESSING the jog dial sets the distance. Any inadvertent nudge of the jog dial would display the change but not PROGRAM the change. After a few seconds, if the jog dial is not PRESSED to enter the 'new' setting then the distance displayed reverts to the programmed setting.
Perhaps while in MANUAL focus mode, pressing the fn button would change the function of the jog dial to an iso selector.
Will there be user customization of the fn/jog dial interface?
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Really not clear at this point. That I can recall, only the ISO has been listed as changeable by the Fn key (but I'm sure Frankie will correct me if I'm remembering wrong, as I'd like him to). It might only be a list of normal things like ISO, WB, Movie mode (as Dpreview said it's accessible through the Fn key. Or it could be that it works like a customizable menu where you can put any setting you want into it via the normal menu, then it scrolls through those things.
 
videogamemaker said:
Or it could be that it works like a customizable menu where you can put any setting you want into it via the normal menu, then it scrolls through those things.
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This would be my preference. The jog dial defaulting to hard coded distances while the cameras dedicated focus mode switch is in the MF position.
Of the hard coded choices available; default would be MF followed by the zone focus presets. MF designating that the lens focus ring is activated.
This 'focus mode' menu would only be available and visible to the user when the dedicated focus mode switch was set to MF.
 
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videogamemaker said:
Obviously they could add it later than the firmware in the version Fujiguys have, but wouldn't you think they'd put zone focus snap on that list if it were there?
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At Day-zero, I had an urgent need to ascertain that MF is via the lens ring [could be only decorative], and not some weird method like my old Canon G7. You would think Fuji would say that...but no, not until much later. No journalist at Photokina thought to say that either, except a Spanish magazine.

As to the Fujiguys, I took what they had to say with a big grain of salt...self-contradiction is bad in reporting.

If you look at the functions they say assignable to <Fn>, some are read-only [DoF], some require user selection [ISO, image size...].

I classify some camera functions as mission-critical [best assigned to VF, thus Fn+jog], and others as set-up [assignable to LCD+4-way dial].

The debate is not whether I like certain functions, but rather exploring the scanty product info we do have [salt and all]. I have no desire to prove anyone right or wrong.

In that regard, Fuji had compounded the problem of an info-gap. A simple feature listing would do wonders...even notated as "to be finalized" is better than nothing.

I have been doing that since Day-zero...just so to satisfy my own curiosity.
 
Frankie said:
At Day-zero, I had an urgent need to ascertain that MF is via the lens ring [could be only decorative], and not some weird method like my old Canon G7. You would think Fuji would say that...but no, not until much later. No journalist at Photokina thought to say that either, except a Spanish magazine.

As to the Fujiguys, I took what they had to say with a big grain of salt...self-contradiction is bad in reporting.

If you look at the functions they say assignable to <Fn>, some are read-only [DoF], some require user selection [ISO, image size...].

I classify some camera functions as mission-critical [best assigned to VF, thus Fn+jog], and others as set-up [assignable to LCD+4-way dial].

The debate is not whether I like certain functions, but rather exploring the scanty product info we do have [salt and all]. I have no desire to prove anyone right or wrong.

In that regard, Fuji had compounded the problem of an info-gap. A simple feature listing would do wonders...even notated as "to be finalized" is better than nothing.

I have been doing that since Day-zero...just so to satisfy my own curiosity.
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You're right. We'll have to wait and see.
 
X100 Low light AF speed BLUES

X100 Low light AF speed BLUES

I love almost everything I have read about the X-100, except:

1) A 20th of december interview in a spanish webpage with a FujiFilm engineer revealed the X100 team is considering developing a technology that will include both the hybrid focusing system of the new FinePix F300EXR and the phase detection currently in used in the X100:

http://www.quesabesde.com/noticias/fujifilm-finepix-x100-entrevista-hiroshi_kawahara,1_7074

I may be reading too much into it, but it got me thinking the team saw room for improvement in the AF area...

2) "(AF speed) is kinda slow, to be honest, and not at all the responsiveness I'm hoping for in the final version, but I think this is one area where much will be done to improve performance towards launch." Hands on X-100 camera-reviewer at Akam.no comment on dpreview.com

3) And the thing that struck me the most from that dpreview preview was the realization the X-100 has got a big bright front facing AF assist yellow led... So much for low light candid photography !

Other than an enlargement of the central focusing area, akin to ground glass focusing, the X-100 seems to lack any other focusing aid... I really hope they get it right (they got my 1200$ if it focuses as fast as a 600$ DSLR)... but for $ 1200 Fujifilm might as well have put an active AF system a la Hexar AF in there :mad:
 
Jorge-AD said:
2) "(AF speed) is kinda slow, to be honest, and not at all the responsiveness I'm hoping for in the final version, but I think this is one area where much will be done to improve performance towards launch." Hands on X-100 camera-reviewer at Akam.no comment on dpreview.com
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He later said that he was referring to the whole firmware of the camera in regards to the responsiveness - being an early test mule. He went as far to say that he had to turn the camera off and on every time he took a shot and the settings would all have been reset. Don't think its a good indication. Also he said the AF was at least as fast as m4/3 cameras.

Jorge-AD said:
3) And the thing that struck me the most from that dpreview preview was the realization the X-100 has got a big bright front facing AF assist yellow led... So much for low light candid photography !
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In every camera that has one of these you can turn it off.
 
videogamemaker said:
And even if it didn't, a piece of black gaffer's tape fixes it.

Honestly AF speed is the one area I am worried about. Could be good, could be sucky, we'll have to wait and see.
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My good and trusty old F11 Finepixes (yes, more than one...) has the same green light to help to focus but you can turn it off, it takes 0,5 more to focus (or put it on High speed shooting - in focus from 3mt to infinite) and has the AUTO ISO too - in the Fn button - see, has been there since ever... it's their heritage.

Still saving for it... and salivating too!
In fact I wondering if I put one of my Nikon F's, D' or S's for sale... :eek::bang:

Nah! just keep saving. ;)
 
videogamemaker said:
And even if it didn't, a piece of black gaffer's tape fixes it.

Honestly AF speed is the one area I am worried about. Could be good, could be sucky, we'll have to wait and see.
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I'm going to take an educated guess here and say it's going to be about the same as a gf1/gf2 with a fast lens like the 20mm f1.7. It's using the same focusing system and they haven't made any noise about it, so it's not going to be DSLR fast, but will be easily sufficient for most uses. So basically not high end DSLR fast by any means, but useably fast. I used an e-p1 w/17mm pancake for a while and was satisfied with how it focused on the latest firmware - even in low light... I can't really see the x100 being much faster, and I doubt it will be any slower.
 
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