Fuji X100 alternatives?

[pixelatedscraps]

Just curious, but are there any other high-end retro-styled film/digital cameras still in production?

I can think of:

Voigtlander Bessa R3 / R4
Leica MP / X1 / M9
Fuji X100

 

[gavinlg]

Zeiss Ikon
You could sort of/maybe count the olympus e-p1/2 or the Ricoh GXR

 

[Keith]

The Bessa folder sort of fits the description!

 

[keepright]

(I'm not sure you can count the Fuji X100 as an alternative to the Fuji X100.)

 

[rxmd]

Just curious, but are there any other high-end retro-styled film/digital cameras still in production?

I can think of:

Voigtlander Bessa R3 / R4
Leica MP / X1 / M9
Fuji X100

Bessa R2
Fuji GX670 = Bessa III
Zeiss Ikon
Tachihara, Gandolfi, Zone VI, Canham, Shen Hao, and a whole bunch of wooden view cameras
Olympus Pen E-P series - remember how when it appeared, everybody was over the top how "retro" this camera was

I'm discounting stuff like the Nikon FM10 because you wanted high-end. The Bessaflex also fit the bill but it's discontinued.

Arguably "retro" is the only argument by which film cameras sell nowadays at all.

 

[gshybrid]

Fuji makes a couple and if it ever makes it to the US I'll get the Fuji gf670w

 

[BMacW]

the GXR in terms of IQ(better) and size. Plus they will have a M mount module in fall.

 

[rxmd]

the GXR in terms of IQ(better) and size.

I guess this goes to show that "retro-styled" doesn't mean anything in particular.

I guess everybody just chooses what they mean by that; in particular it doesn't imply anything about styling, rather about some kind of gut feeling of being of good quality and of getting something for the $$$ you spent, whatever it is.

 

[pixelatedscraps]

Fuji GX670 = Bessa III
Zeiss Ikon

Good calls, totally forgot about them. I guess I should also mention the Rollei RF but I don't think that's in production anymore.

Speaking of being in production, is the ZI still being made?

 

[btgc]

I'm curious how film camera can be substitute for digital X100? You mean just look? Or functionality and medium?

 

[Catto]

Epson RD-1x? But really, there is no alternative. JOIN US...JOIN US...JOIN...US...
R

 

[gavinlg]

I'd be a happier person if I could banish the term 'retro' from existence. The fact that the x100 resembles old style cameras isn't a nod to fashion or flashbacks of any kind - it's because ergonomically, compact cameras have gone backwards with the disappearance of physical controls and knobs from the old style or 'retro' mechanical ones of 40 years ago.

It's return to traditional controls isn't a retro fashion statement, it's an ergonomic statement that somewhere along the line ergonomics of compacts became seriously ****ty - and that's the exact reason why the x100 has such internet popularity right now!

 

[_larky]

Exactly, fdigital hit the nail on the head.

 

[rxmd]

I'd be a happier person if I could banish the term 'retro' from existence. The fact that the x100 resembles old style cameras isn't a nod to fashion or flashbacks of any kind - it's because ergonomically, compact cameras have gone backwards with the disappearance of physical controls and knobs from the old style or 'retro' mechanical ones of 40 years ago.

It's return to traditional controls isn't a retro fashion statement, it's an ergonomic statement that somewhere along the line ergonomics of compacts became seriously ****ty - and that's the exact reason why the x100 has such internet popularity right now!

We've been able to buy compacts with physical controls and knobs for years. Look at a Canon G10, it has a shutter speed (correction: ISO) knob, exposure compensation knob and mode selector knob, plus another dial at the back for doing in-menu selections. That was two generations ago. If it was all about that, people wouldn't be as excited.

I think it's exactly the opposite and that it's all about the old-fashioned look. When the first pictures appeared, people were all about how sweet it looks. Now they ask questions such as what's the best bag to go with it. In a world where people buy things such as the ThinkGeek Bluetooth Retro Handset telephone receiver, "retro" is about appearance first, and about ergonomics a distant second.

 

[kshapero]

Since at the present the X100 does not exist, then anything is an alternative to nothing. Or put it another way: the X100 is a promise so an alternative to the X100 is a lie, therefore the new Zeiss Ikon digital camera is an alternative since at present that would be considered a lie.

 

[sol33]

We've been able to buy compacts with physical controls and knobs for years. Look at a Canon G10, it has a shutter speed knob, exposure compensation knob and mode selector knob, plus another dial at the back for doing in-menu selections. That was two generations ago. If it was all about that, people wouldn't be as excited.

If I remember correctly, the G10 doesn't have knobs for either aperture or shutter speed. It is more like a DSLR with knobs for exposure compensation, program mode and ISO. Certainly much better than most compact cameras, but very unlike direct controls for aperture and shutter speed.

And the retro style camera business works well for Leica and Olympus, Fuji is just jumping on the bandwagon.

 

[rxmd]

If I remember correctly, the G10 doesn't have knobs for either aperture or shutter speed. It is more like a DSLR with knobs for exposure compensation, program mode and ISO. Certainly much better than most compact cameras, but very unlike direct controls for aperture and shutter speed.

True.

From my personal impression, however, the user interface model of putting often-changed things on user-configurable wheels under the thumb (and/or index finger, G12) arguably has been working very well for the last 25 years or so, since the T90 and the early EOSes. In fact for every camera that's more complex than a Spotmatic, this kind of interface concept makes much more sense for me personally. In a camera that has an EVF, like the X100, it would make much more sense for me, for example, to have shutter speed changed by an index finger wheel (like on the T90 or the Leica M5), rather than on a separate dial on top of the camera.

The success of some "retro" cameras, however, seems to illustrate that some "retro" minded people see this differently from me.

 

[jsrockit]

We've been able to buy compacts with physical controls and knobs for years. Look at a Canon G10, it has a shutter speed (correction: ISO) knob, exposure compensation knob and mode selector knob, plus another dial at the back for doing in-menu selections.

I think what you are not understanding is the return to not only knobs, but to a dedicated shutter speed dial (not a mode dial), a dedicated aperture ring, a manual focus ring, etc.

You will never understand the appeal of this, if you think DSLRs and the G series are designed great.

 

[RayPA]

Just curious, but are there any other high-end retro-styled film/digital cameras still in production?

I can think of:

Voigtlander Bessa R3 / R4
Leica MP / X1 / M9
Fuji X100

Funny, I've never really considered an RF camera as "retro styled'. Sure there's a certain amount of styling involved with any camera, but primarily the 'look' is a product of the function of the camera. I don't see retro-styling when I look at an MP, an R-series Bessa, or a ZI. An RF camera looks the way it does for a reason.

For digital cameras that were intentionally retro-styled, the Olympus EP series comes to mind, because it was designed to look like the Pen-series SLR cameras. The X1 is a good call too. The Canon G-series maybe, and more so the later models (G10-G12 cameras). The X100, yes, because it looks like a rangefinder camera, but has no rangefinder (and of course the chrome and leatherette). But, really, where else could you put that OVF?




/

 

[damien.murphy]

Funny, I've never really considered an RF camera as "retro styled'. Sure there's a certain amount of styling involved with any camera, but primarily the 'look' is a product of the function of the camera. I don't see retro-styling when I look at an MP, an R-series Bessa, or a ZI. An RF camera looks the way it does for a reason.

Hear, hear. Any designer worth their salt will tell you form follows function. It's called fashion when it's the other way around 🙂