Fuji X100 Digital SOMETHING from Fujifilm

tapesonthefloor said:
This hybrid viewfinder makes many things possible. Let's imagine something together:

Engadget confirmed for us that the MF-ring is actually a MF-ring. This is excellent news. As most of us probably know, manual focus in a digital camera is near useless without a quick and easy way to confirm focus. dSLRs deal with this by having decent optical viewfinders and a focus dot. EVIL cameras deal with this by having a variety of software solutions, none of which I find satisfying, and most of which I find maddening. Is it the Olympus models that have the zooming focus method that only works with their new AF lenses? This, in my opinion, is terrible. If I'm ever going to be happy focusing manually with a digital camera, I have have have to have my eye up to an optical viewfinder. Maybe I'm already an old man at thirty, but this is simply a necessity for me.

With the X100 and some software, I can have a bit of everyone's cake, and ... eat... them? ...okay, ignore that part.

So, if I'm reading all this emergent data right, I have the choice between seeing only the EVF or seeing the OVF with some choice EVF bits merged. Since they're using a prism, they won't be able to project lowlights over the OVF, correct? the EVF is a light source, meaning only bright things (frame lines, data/numbers, etc) will be able to be superimposed on the OVF image. So, perhaps instead of the traditional rangefinder patch, when I'm in MF mode the EVF can project a zoomed-in, contrasty patch of the image into the center of my display so I can do a contrast focus on my own. Perhaps it will be similar to the new Pens in that the patch appears automatically when I touch the zoom ring. The difference will be, however, that instead of switching to a full zoom mode in the most jarring way possible (like the Pens), the camera will be able to project a bright patch onto the optical image. Augmented reality.

I can't picture exactly how this "contrast zoom" patch might look when the EVF can only project bright areas—it might look like a part of your composition is sitting in front of a bad blue-screen in the 70s—but it would still be enough to focus as quickly as one would with a proper RF once one was used to it.

I'm going to stop rambling now, but I have my fingers crossed that this triggers someone else's creativity. I really don't think we've even started to touch on what's possible here with this hybrid viewfinder and some creative firmware. This is probably the future.
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I can't help thinking that the EVF view will be just that. An EVF view. You will probably be able to switch to a magnified version if desried, as on the G1, but my guess is that focusing is designed mainly to be centre-spot AF, rather like the Hexar, and manual focus will be something of a kludge.

Perhaps it's theoreticaly possible, given that the VF and the sensor are at physically different points, that they could act as a triangular rangefinder, but I'm certain that if they'd done this, Fuji would have made more of a song and dance about it. As it is, the VF arrangement is more advanced than anything we've seen to date.
 
Paul T. said:
... but this is a camera that should press the right buttons (or rotate the correct dials) for a lot of photographers.
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That could very well be true. I just think it's a camera that's going to push the right buttons for a fairly small group of photographers - like us.
And to be clear, I'm not bashing the camera. I applaud a camera maker for trying something like this.
But I just don't believe we can look at the reaction of this forum's members and learn much of anything about how the camera will be received out in the real world. But then, I'm also sure that Fuji probably has fairly modest sales goals for the camera.
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
It will sell well because common people won't need to focus and they'll move the aperture to f/2 and with a background blur they'll feel like photographers easily... :) That's what sells cameras these days because that's what the first millions and millions of compact digitals everybody had couldn't do... And it's cool for them, but it should not cost $1800...

Cheers,

Juan
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Jeez, why are you making like manually focusing a camera is so damn hard to do...it's avery easy concept. I'm sure "common" people could handle manually focusing if they wanted to...

This is still a niche product...this isn't for the masses.
 
Paul T. said:
Perhaps it's theoreticaly possible, given that the VF and the sensor are at physically different points, that they could act as a triangular rangefinder, but I'm certain that if they'd done this, Fuji would have made more of a song and dance about it. As it is, the VF arrangement is more advanced than anything we've seen to date.
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Triangulation isn't really required in this camera. As the EVF is giving us a live-view, it's essentially a mirrorless SLR, meaning we'll be able to do our own eyeball contrast focusing. Does that make sense? I want that zoomed, contasty through-the-lens patch to be superimposed on my OVF, and since we know those frame-lines and data bits are already doing this, we know this is possible.

Basically, I don't even need Fuji to write this code. I'll start fiddling with the firmware as soon as the first hack is found.

...edited to add: A Fuji that is free and open with its firmware would be nice. This hybrid viewfinder opens a lot of doors, and if the company were to tap the creativity of the community to help find new ways to use this camera post-launch that would be ideal. Fuji! Hi! CHDK has only done good things for Canon and its cameras! Make designing custom firmware legal, and free, and easy!
 
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tbarker13 said:
That could very well be true. I just think it's a camera that's going to push the right buttons for a fairly small group of photographers - like us.
And to be clear, I'm not bashing the camera. I applaud a camera maker for trying something like this.
But I just don't believe we can look at the reaction of this forum's members and learn much of anything about how the camera will be received out in the real world. But then, I'm also sure that Fuji probably has fairly modest sales goals for the camera.
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Hey, you could be right, who knows? But if we look at the last days of the film SLR, and you were to add up the number of people who used a Contax G2, plus the Hexars, plus the Leicas, plus the Olympus Stylus, plus various older models, that would make up a decent percentage of the whole - a niche market, but a big one.

If Fuji can command that niche, it will transform their position. It won't outsell Nikon's SLRs, but if it's $1000 my guess is it will outsell the Ricoh, the Leica X1 , the Samsung NX10, and the Sigma DP1 put together.
 
whatever you think about this camera it is just one focal length which will only suit one section of the photography world. But at the price and should a couple of different focal length versions become available, then I can see people buying each focal length. They are small enough to carry three very easily which means you always have backups with you. The only questionable thing is the viewfinder. Its not likely to be a ZM but if its good enough and given that the shutter response is supposed to be very fast and asssuming the focus speed matches, then it'll be a real winner.
Only thing is that since the sensor and lens are matched, fuji would need to design another sensor for each focal length so don't expect subsequent versions to be any cheaper.
 
Oh and everyone is going to hate the fact the viewfinder is only 0.5x magnification so it'll look completely different from your leicas and zeiss and bessa viewfinders. But you've said you want one so live with it.
 
Yes I saw the early 2011 info too late. Oh well, by X-mas 2011 I can buy one cheap from one the the dejected no longer so enthusiastic wantedtobe photographers who didn´t understand what it was they bought in the first hand. Which is how I got my R-D1. Suits me fine.
 
This is the camera to beat at that price point ($1000)... they could have charged twice as much IMO.

I can't believe anyone who likes digital, likes wide-angles, and doesn't like SLRs wouldn't be excited about this. How can you not be?
 
This is one "common" photog who can't wait to get his "common" little hands on this great new camera for the "common" masses.

I've been waiting for this for years, my M9 fund (which had many years left for fulfillment) has been liquidated.
 
wha? 1000 bucks? who said that? where does that come from? do i have to read all the 30 pages? humm
sounds not too bad :D
 
NickTrop said:
@aizan - No, that one doesn't but you're posting "the extreme" to prove a point, not what's typical. There's not much design difference between an SLR and a DSLR. - There's not all that much design difference between film point-n-shoot, digital compacts, etc. Take away the DSLR hump, put any kind of EVF or OVF on top go with dials instead of menus and you will have a camera that essentially looks like a rangefinder, as the Fuji does. How else would it look? How else could it look? I think its a case of form following function for the most part... Just like SLR/DSLR design. I don't think Fuji is trying to be "retro cool" here no more than DSLR makers were trying to do that. Take away the hump, add a few dials, that's what you got.
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every website notes its retro look. if the designers of the x100 were the same ones who did the contax g, hexar rf, hasselblad xpan, etc., as i suspect, the x100 is a departure from their usual designs. it really stands out in miserere's size comparison image, and is even more extreme than the already retro olympus pen and leica x1. put it next to a ricoh and tell me their styles don't greatly differ. if you still insist that the x100 is not a retro styled camera, i don't have much else to say!
 
Retro or not. They've certainly made a better job of it than the PEN, which is just plain ugly. Then again I like the looks of my R-D1. ;)
 
i like the pen for the most part. i would just do away with their particular front plate surface treatments and grip.
 
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