paulfish4570
Veteran
... and you will not find any geek-speak in it. 🙂
1) the cheese: the strap that came with the camera is slap-out cheesy. it works OK, but it has not a molecule of leather on it, nor a good non-slip inner layer for the shoulder. for kit this expensive, you'd think fuji could at least provide a re-branded Optech. the camera-protection tabs ARE leather and work beautifully with the triangle rings. the only other piece of cheese is a poorly seated screw on the base plate. i don't have a phillips head driver small enough to unscrew it and seat it properly, but i will get one.
2) i am sorely left-brained, so there is little logic to me on digi-cam controls and menus. i have to learn to operate such things by doing. i have found this pretty easy to do on the x100, but it will take me a while to figure out everything this cam is capable of in my hands. might i say it is intuitive? as close as it gets for mr. poetry-brain. i could make photos straight out of the box.
3) my bride had to do the firmware upgrade for me. it looked simple, but i kept missing a step in the instructions. she went right through it like a hot knife through lightly salted fresh dairy butter. focusing seems snappier after the upgrade.
4) i am not much of a close-up or macro guy (i lose all sense of composition inside a meter), but i do like to get in close for portraits and details. this is where i had difficulty from the camera itself - before upgrade. it had trouble focusing on a smallish subject in a busy background. the AE tends - pre- and post-upgrade - to overexpose the close-up subject, as it seems to compensate too far for the background. the little exposure compensation wheel takes care of the tendency to overexpose. i figure most of you guys already know about such things, but i had to learn by doing. i reckon a user could push some buttons and find a spot meter setting, then make a customized setting for such. customized settings are something it will take a while for me to settle upon.
5) the camera feels good in my smallish hands. my right thumb does seem to accidentally find the shutter and exposure compensation wheels every now and then. paying attention to the viewfinder info lets me know if i have done so. i think i will get one of those little thumb-up devices as shown by someone here on the forum to keep things simple.
6) the viewfinder really is a wonder, whether optical or EV. i seldom shoot in stygian conditions, but my limited use in a restaurant was right on as long as i remembered to lock focus before re-composing. but this is necessary inside or outside.
7) film simulation and iso settings are extremely easy to change. even at iso 3200/BW, there appears to be no "grain." the yellow and red filter settings give high iso settings a little edge that i like in my BW photos. as for color, well, i am partially red-green color blind with zero experience with fuji slide/color films, which are the color film simulation settings. i do like the look of the astia setting, and i do not fool with color PP. as for RAW, i haven't figured out the conversion business yet. then again, how would i know if color is "correct" in PP? ergo, i pick astia or provia or velvia and an iso for color. now, i do intend to get lightroom or SEP for my BW work.
8) i find the x100 to be very barnack-ish in handling, and very bessa r2m-ish in viewing. the x100 is lighter than my IIIf with cv 50/2.5 color skopar mounted. the x100 doesn't yet dance on my fingers like a barnack ballerina, but i think it will with use. the viewfinder on my bessa R2m IS very x100-like.
9) the 35/2 lens is superb. i think it the best lens i have ever used but that ain't saying much compared to you guys. it gives edges that i like in my photos, a 3D effect.
10) i'd like to have a 50mm equivalent x100, too.
11) that is it for now. i have edited above to correct a mistake i made in the macro focus tick box. photos and more comments below.
1) the cheese: the strap that came with the camera is slap-out cheesy. it works OK, but it has not a molecule of leather on it, nor a good non-slip inner layer for the shoulder. for kit this expensive, you'd think fuji could at least provide a re-branded Optech. the camera-protection tabs ARE leather and work beautifully with the triangle rings. the only other piece of cheese is a poorly seated screw on the base plate. i don't have a phillips head driver small enough to unscrew it and seat it properly, but i will get one.
2) i am sorely left-brained, so there is little logic to me on digi-cam controls and menus. i have to learn to operate such things by doing. i have found this pretty easy to do on the x100, but it will take me a while to figure out everything this cam is capable of in my hands. might i say it is intuitive? as close as it gets for mr. poetry-brain. i could make photos straight out of the box.
3) my bride had to do the firmware upgrade for me. it looked simple, but i kept missing a step in the instructions. she went right through it like a hot knife through lightly salted fresh dairy butter. focusing seems snappier after the upgrade.
4) i am not much of a close-up or macro guy (i lose all sense of composition inside a meter), but i do like to get in close for portraits and details. this is where i had difficulty from the camera itself - before upgrade. it had trouble focusing on a smallish subject in a busy background. the AE tends - pre- and post-upgrade - to overexpose the close-up subject, as it seems to compensate too far for the background. the little exposure compensation wheel takes care of the tendency to overexpose. i figure most of you guys already know about such things, but i had to learn by doing. i reckon a user could push some buttons and find a spot meter setting, then make a customized setting for such. customized settings are something it will take a while for me to settle upon.
5) the camera feels good in my smallish hands. my right thumb does seem to accidentally find the shutter and exposure compensation wheels every now and then. paying attention to the viewfinder info lets me know if i have done so. i think i will get one of those little thumb-up devices as shown by someone here on the forum to keep things simple.
6) the viewfinder really is a wonder, whether optical or EV. i seldom shoot in stygian conditions, but my limited use in a restaurant was right on as long as i remembered to lock focus before re-composing. but this is necessary inside or outside.
7) film simulation and iso settings are extremely easy to change. even at iso 3200/BW, there appears to be no "grain." the yellow and red filter settings give high iso settings a little edge that i like in my BW photos. as for color, well, i am partially red-green color blind with zero experience with fuji slide/color films, which are the color film simulation settings. i do like the look of the astia setting, and i do not fool with color PP. as for RAW, i haven't figured out the conversion business yet. then again, how would i know if color is "correct" in PP? ergo, i pick astia or provia or velvia and an iso for color. now, i do intend to get lightroom or SEP for my BW work.
8) i find the x100 to be very barnack-ish in handling, and very bessa r2m-ish in viewing. the x100 is lighter than my IIIf with cv 50/2.5 color skopar mounted. the x100 doesn't yet dance on my fingers like a barnack ballerina, but i think it will with use. the viewfinder on my bessa R2m IS very x100-like.
9) the 35/2 lens is superb. i think it the best lens i have ever used but that ain't saying much compared to you guys. it gives edges that i like in my photos, a 3D effect.
10) i'd like to have a 50mm equivalent x100, too.
11) that is it for now. i have edited above to correct a mistake i made in the macro focus tick box. photos and more comments below.
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