Introducing Fuji X100S

willie_901 said:
I am not disappointed at all. Actually I thrilled. Fuji is clearly committed to producing cameras that I enjoy using. The lenses are excellent values. It's wonderful to know Fuji's platform is likely to be a long-term player. I will almost certainly sell all my Nikon bodies and lenses when the XF 15/3.5 tilt-shift lens hits the streets. There is no way I am buying anything new from Nikon (unless they completely change their product strategy).
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Willie-

That was a bit harsh imho... Jeez, Nikon is the most committed company to backwards compatibility that I know of. Many of my lenses from the 80s film cameras still work fine on my D3.

A lot of the new, less compatible gear from nikon is simply the consumer versions that are priced such that it's not the end of world to see a bit less compatibility.

I'm a 100% fuji fan these days and actually use my fuji's more than the Nikons, but for lots of important things, there is still nothing better.

Hope this didn't come off as harsh, but just had to speak up for good old Nikon 🙂

Cheers,

Tom
 
Dante_Stella said:
Agreed - on an X-Pro1 replacement - but kind of puzzling on an X100 lens that is relatively undemanding to focus using AF and the EVF.

Dante
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Proof of concept? To gauge reaction? Trickle up technology...as explained on the product site the development was non trivial.
 
Tom,

Your post was not harsh at all. I am just fed up with huge, heavy, noisy cameras. Nikon has ignored the mirrorless compact market. Their J mirrorless cameras are intended for a market that pays attention to what Aston Kucher says and does. No thank you.

I understand Nikon's fear of cannibalizing their DSLR maket. However if Nikon doesn't cannabilize it themselves, other companies will be happy to do it for them. I lost respect for Nikon because apparently they do not understand this basic concept. Right now sales data supports Nikon's strategy. I'm sure Research In Motion (Blackberry) felt the same way in the early days of the iPhone and Android phone makets. Apple, and numerous other high-tech companies, have no fear of killing their old products. Apple could care less that iPads are hurting their laptop sales because they have no choice but to offer new technology that obsoletes laptops. Google's Chromebooks are putting a big hurt on PC laptop sales. The beat goes on.

I use Nikon equiptment to make money. It works well and it is reliable. But in less than two years Fuji bodies and lenses will do everything I need. I can't wait to stop lugging two D700s and two large ultra-wide Nikkor zoom lenses around everyday. Of course if I was an action photographer I wouldn't even consider abandoning Nikon. I think it will be a long time before Fuji bodies will be able to refocus inbetween exposures at 3 to 6 frames per sec. I also doubt Fuji will spend time working on focus tracking that works as well as Nikon's. Nikon's weather/dust sealing is also valuable for some of us. But not for me.
 
bwcolor said:
No, we didn't mention this because we are all smarter than to post a public challenge to our superiors.
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Spent a few frustrating moments trying to "like" this post.... Damn you Zuckerburg!!!! Funny side note, my auto correct changed Zuckerburg to Cheeseburger....
 
jsrockit said:
Why puzzling?
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Puzzling because it is far less useful than it would be on something with longer or interchangeable lenses (it would actually be excellent with a 50-90mm lens). Why would you spend that kind of money to put it in a camera with big depth of field?

The discussion of how they developed it raises the question of whether this would work outside a defined range of lenses - the "mismatch" is simulated, so if the math is lens-specific, then it might require manual focal length input or other intervention to work as well with legacy lenses.

It's neat, but from where I am standing, it looks like it was developed as a way to extinguish complaints from would-be buyers who want a "real RF." On that note, it's actually a lot more like an old SLR focusing screen in its operation.

Dante
 
Dante_Stella said:
Puzzling because it is far less useful than it would be on something with longer or interchangeable lenses (it would actually be excellent with a 50-90mm lens). Why would you spend that kind of money to put it in a camera with big depth of field?
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Fuji has to start somewhere and the X100 was ready for a refresh. I, for one, will find it useful on any camera, wide or not. I like exact focus though.
 
I really see this camera as a test bed of ideas for the next generation of X series cameras. The split digital imaging is some where between a split screen and rf system. It uses a patch and splits the image into thirds. Its a neat idea. In all honesty, the focus peeking with contrast set to high looked faster and easier to use to me. Either way, I think at least one of these will be incorporated into the next X series cameras.

I think it was partially developed to extinguish the would be RF buyers, but I also think its a company thinking outside of the box and innovating. At the end of the day, its something to talk about that is unique and differentiates itself in a saturated market of excellently performing mirrorless cameras be it ICLs or not.

To me the most attractive feature of this camera is the aperture ring, shutter dial, and exposure compensation!! Now that is revolutionary in today's market.
 
My assumption is that Fuji's development costs for the split image are not just being applied to the x100. Certainly it will appear on other models...otherwise yes, I agree with Dante.

Bravo to Fujifilm for being the first...
 
Dante_Stella said:
But the focusing speed of the X100 has not - for some time - been an issue. The firmware significantly sped it up. The issue I see has always more related to the use of TTL passive AF that requires the camera to focus, then close the shutter, then open it to expose. This produces a pretty egregious shutter lag that is not going to go away with phase-detect AF. It also induces a ton of wear and tear on the lens/shutter assembly. Phase-detect cuts down on the "over-run" that happens with contrast-detect AF - but it is no silver bullet for low-contrast subjects or low light.

A good way to improve the responsiveness of this camera, especially on moving targets, would be to introduce AF that does not "go blind" when the shutter is closed or during continuous shooting. This could be solved by combining external active (IR) and passive AF information (a la Fuji GA645) or just going to active AF (like a Hexar AF). These cameras had finite numbers of focusing steps, and the systems work well for lenses of the DOF of 35mm f/2 (or 23mm f/2 here).
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hmm...shutter lag can be adjusted to, focus tracking not as much. so we shouldn't expect the x100s to track focus on a person walking nearby, from around a full length down to 1/2 portrait shot (in landscape orientation), or is that something the x100 can already do?

and does the x100's lens/shutter assembly get more wear and tear than p&s digicams? or is that compared to mirrorless cameras with focal plane shutters?

i was all excited about the upgrade, too!
 
CES X100S Hands-On Thread

CES X100S Hands-On Thread

Dpreview Hands-On Thread

Chris has spent a good bit of time with the camera and asking good questions. Is returning today to ask questions posted in the thread.

Answers from the sales reps and not necessarily from people in the loop.

So far:

Autofocus at least as fast as the fastest mirrorless.

No more firmware updates for X100.

Can't do focus peaking in X100 because not Xtran II processor. Now this one just doesn't make sense. Maybe the processing power isn't sufficient, but certainly not tied to Xtran II.

Fuji a bit frustrated with Adobe in that they have had the Xtran info for one-year. No mention of Apple.

Also, X20 and lens roadmap info. .. or misinformation.
 
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