Fuji X100 Digital SOMETHING from Fujifilm

[amateriat]

Taking a real, close look at this very nice Fuji makes me wonder: whatever became of Konica's top-notch tech people...?

If this outfit got hold of any of them, I'd advise y'all to buckle up, because this might indicate the beginning of a wild and wonderful ride.

Companies may come and go, but good ideas sometimes still rise to the surface. (In this case, sometimes more than once.)


- Barrett

 

[semilog]

if you still insist that the x100 is not a retro styled camera, i don't have much else to say!

That "retro" look is also a highly-refined and mature set of interfaces that in many respects have never been improved on. Many of us are excted not because it recalls the past in general, but because it implements specific excellent design themes that may have been supplanted but perhaps have not really been improved on.

Think of a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Stratocaster, a Martin D18, or for that matter a Yamaha concert grand piano.

There are newer designs for guitars and keyboard instuments, and they are certainly different, but they are not for all purposes better.

Ah. here's the article I was looking for.

 

[aizan]

the dials are great (though it'll take a while to get used to the direction they turn) and the viewfinder is unbelievably awesome. i'm not talking about the interface (though i'm keeping an eye on whether you can cycle through preset "snap" focusing distances like ricoh).

 

[CameraQuest]

Wow.
I don't think any other RFF thread has made it to 900 posts so quickly

Stephen

 

[semilog]

the dials are great (though it'll take a while to get used to the direction they turn) and the viewfinder is unbelievably awesome. i'm not talking about the interface (though i'm keeping an eye on whether you can cycle through preset "snap" focusing distances like ricoh).

The knobs ARE the interface. The menu system is also part of the interface, but on a camera like this you should be able to set it up and then largely stay out of the menus. That is the WHOLE POINT of the knobs.

 

[tlitody]

Wow.
I don't think any other RFF thread has made it to 900 posts so quickly

Stephen

Fuji are going to set the price based on how many posts there are in this thread. Since everyone is going nuts for it, the price will be higher. You better stop posting before a 1000. Its a viral auction😀

 

[amateriat]

Wow.
I don't think any other RFF thread has made it to 900 posts so quickly

Stephen

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we've given Fuji our answer.

Bring on the X100!


- Barrett

 

[Al Patterson]

For comparison, go look at www.dpreview.com to see all the folks who just don't GET a tool like this.

Now, I'm not sure I'd buy one myself, but I get why street shooters who can't or won't pony up the bucks for an M9 would go for it.

I'd love to borrow one for a weekend at some future date though.

 

[semilog]

Bingo...I wouldn't discuss the M9 because it is completely out of my reach.

If I *really* wanted an M9 I'd find a way to afford it. But I simply can't imagine a situation where a camera body for pictorial photography would be worth a lot more than $5k to me. And I say that as someone who willingly has repeatedly carved $30k+ out of a very tight research lab budget to purchase scientific CCD cameras.

But $1k for this camera, if it's remotely as capable as promised -- that, I'll do in a heartbeat. When I was in high school I paid for my first Nikon and lenses with a paper route. Maybe I'll have to do that again...

 

[Ezzie]

Oh, I'll find a way to pay for it. However, justifying the need for it vs the wife will take some doing. She's not overly interested in the art. But where there's a will, there's a way.

What I think this thread demonstrates is that we indeed prefer the RF experience, and many have not yet found the ideal digital supplement to their beloved film RF camera. Admittedly this is not an RF camera as such, but looks like it will handle like one, it seems to be the first real option for many. The digtial M's being too expensive for many, and not without their faults. The R-D1 being too quirky for most.

 

[semilog]

For comparison, go look at www.dpreview.com to see all the folks who just don't GET a tool like this.

It's the Internet Disease: "What's good for me is good for thee."

Well, it's not, and you (the DP Review commentors, not you, Al) are imbeciles.

 

[splitimageview]

You mean the diehards falling for what isn't even an RF (but looks like one)? :angel:

So how many posts would the thread have if it were actually a 12mp fixed lens digital with a true rangefinder for $1k? 🙂

 

[Ezzie]

The DpReview crew are quite good IMO. However the forum is populated by another breed altogether.

 

[semilog]

So how many posts would the thread have if it were actually a 12mp fixed lens digital with a true rangefinder for $1k? 🙂

I don't actually care even slightly if it's a "true" rangefinder. That is not the end-all and be-all. What I am interested in is good cameras that are well-suited for the kind of pictures that I want to take. The Leica M is one. The Nikon FE2 is another, and the Mamiya 6 is yet another.

This little Fuji apparently reflects design choices that might put it in that group. On the other hand, in its actual implementation it might have limitations that preclude that. But I can certainly understand why people are excited. It's not like any digital that's been made before, and it incorporates at least some of the properties that I really care for, which other digitals have lacked.

That is cause for hope, and perhaps for celebration.

 

[semilog]

The DpReview crew are quite good IMO. However the forum is populated by another breed altogether.

Some call them trolls.

I think that that is too kind.

 

[JonasYip]

Since this is a camera that is valiantly attempting to bring the viewfinder back into the photographic mainstream, I have a quick aside: does anyone here actually like composing at arm's length using a screen? I mean, is there anybody here who prefers it to a viewfinder?

I don't mind using the LCD, much as I never minded looking down into a TLR or Hassy or RZ or at the back of a view camera. That said, if there's a viewfinder I'll use that over the LCD.

Plus there are times when using the screen is great, like holding the camera up high, or down low, or when shooting discreetly.

I do get confused sometimes though, and I'll pick up my FM2n and stare at the back for a bit, or stick my EP1 up to my face and see nothing...

 

[Ezzie]

........

I do get confused sometimes though, and I'll pick up my FM2n and stare at the back for a bit, or stick my EP1 up to my face and see nothing...

Funny, and from what I've seen not uncommon.

 

[akptc]

... or stick my EP1 up to my face and see nothing...

😱😀 that happens to me often 😀😱

 

[amateriat]

You mean the diehards falling for what isn't even an RF (but looks like one)? :angel:

The Hexar Autofocus wasn't a "true" rangefinder either. I didn't care: I owned one for five years, took tons of pictures with it, and only (reluctantly) gave it up for help finance one of two Hexar RFs (yes, a "proper" RF, if you will).

Indeed, I'll welcome the X100 with open arms, provided the production product lives up to at least most of the hype generated by the example Fuji is showing to us right now. I doubt many here are "falling" for some kind of ruse. I daresay most of us know what we're being offered here, and like it enough to make our opinions known. We may be a tad crazy, but we're not stupid.


- Barrett

 

[Paul T.]

Did anyone else notice they have a level in the finder?

Perhaps it's just me, but I seem to take more slightly wonky shots with the GF1 than with any other camera.