Moving on from X100

[FA Limited]

Good luck with it.

Just saying that the amount of hype these things get is ridiculous.

For example, two years ago Steve Huff was gushing all over the X100, although to his credit he pointed out some quirks inbetween his exuberant, nearly orgasmic outbursts.

quoting Steve Huff is like quoting Ken Rockwell, they're hit trolls ... everytime you see a link to their site think pause stop

As for myself, the X100, X100s were disappointing, I think they are cluttered and sluggish with nice cosmetics, and yes, a six-year old $400 DSLR will run circles around it, albeit with a penalty for bulk and coolness. But neither the X100 or DSLR fit into my pocket so if I am going out to shoot, why not bring something that works really well and actually can hit focus on a kid or moving subject? If I only shoot static or slow subjects it quite a limitation imposed by the camera.

it was pretty obvious the X100 (and even the X100s) is not best at running children and moving objects and this was pretty clear if you did even close to "30 minutes" of research.

 

[jsrockit]

It's funny how we perceive cameras so differently... and how we assume if cameras don't work for us, they must not work for anyone.

 

[Franz Elmar]

I think you guys are being awfully defensive about rationalizing your purchases.

Reminds me of my dorm mates in college, where we all hated the institution but later in life they've all become big boosters and donors....

Thanks for keeping the economy going ;-p

 

[jsrockit]

I think you guys are being awfully defensive about rationalizing your purchases.

There's nothing wrong with rationalizing more expensive gear if its what we feel is right for our photography just like there is nothing wrong with buying the cheapest camera if that is what works for one's photography. What is wrong is assuming what you think is the right camera is what everyone else should think.

 

[marcr1230]

🙂
Rationalization is part of the fun.
We certainly don't need Leicas to take memorable images, but we enjoy them, whether it's the simplicity, the RF , the quality. it doesn't really matter.
yes, I agree, the X100 and X100S are just cameras, the most important thing is having the "eye" for great images. like all cameras they have pros/cons - and yes we can all wait a couple years and buy one for half price.
But if happiness is a new toy, and even if it is an admittedly shallow happiness, why not ?
life is short, enjoy yourself, give of yourself, be happy.

 

[Richard G]

Weird. I bought the X100 in May 2011. It was much anticipated. There was hype. The camera exceeded expectations. It still does. It is a fantastic little camera. Lots of very good shooters here including pros put the camera through its paces in those early months and loved it. It is extremely capable. It isn't perfect.

Mine had too light a touch for the exposure compensation dial and developed a shutter speed dial problem and it was replaced under warranty with a later build date better camera. The rendering of the lens, the colour, the sharpness, the high ISO capabilities and the ergonomics are amazing. I would buy the X100s in a flash, but the X100 is too good to justify doing so.

My camera was on f4 and A shutter setting. I saw this guy coming and switched to 1/30s and A aperture setting in less than two seconds:


1/30s in Collins St by Richard GM2, on Flickr

 

[Ken Ford]

The camera arrived yesterday afternoon (props to amazon!)
It was storming yesterday, I will be going out today to use it - although it's pretty gray outside

Well?

(Tapping foot)

 

[Gary Sandhu]

I liked my x100 but not having to flip it to macro mode for near focussing. I sold it. I ordered and am waiting for the x100s because it fixes this. Every other improvement is a bonus.

 

[Mcary]

Well I've had it for about 8 months now so I think I've given it a far chance but the Crown Graphic just doesn't match all the hype I read about it. I mean the focusing is so slow it make taking snap shots of kids playing pretty much impossible . Plus it bulky and don't ask me about the film advance, talk about slow.

 

[Mcary]

Good luck with it.

Just saying that the amount of hype these things get is ridiculous.

For example, two years ago Steve Huff was gushing all over the X100, although to his credit he pointed out some quirks inbetween his exuberant, nearly orgasmic outbursts.

Last month when Huff wrote about his new X100s he introduced it by ranting about how lousy the X100 was.

It's pretty funny actually.

Yes it is quit funny but nowhere near as funny as listening to all the whining and crying from all the people that are actually naive enough to believe all the hype 🙂

 

[marcr1230]

Ok - here are my first impressions

Physically - the camera is solid, the OVF is lovely. controls easy to use, and as others have noted, a number of flaws/weaknesses in the original have been addressed

Easy to set on full auto and just shoot - nothing new here from the X100. I like the fuji operation of switching from "P" to "A" to "S" to "M" by twisting the aperture ring or shutter speed knob off of "Auto"

Menu system - fairly complex - it will take some familiarization - the "Q" menu is great - puts frequently used setting at one touch access. the menu button brings up the full menu system which like many cameras has a lot of settings/options and you have to dive into menu depths to start changing things

I love the ND filter on this camera - I had it set to the Fn button on my X100, will do the same here.

Focus - faster and surer than the X100, I had decent light and no problem focusing.

RAW - I like the in camera RAW conversions - basically let you shoot RAW and later create jpgs in camera using the canned film types. I don't remember if this was on the X100.

Lens/Sensor - I found it very sharp, same lens as the X100 with the new X-Trans 16meg sensor, I believe without the anti-alias filter. I did some 100% viewing and you can pull up amazing detail from very small areas of the image.

I found the control wheel a little sensitive - you both click it then spin to change an option - sometimes when I thought I was spining it , the camera thought I clicked and moved be to the next setting instead of changing the current (Q Menu). already after 5 minutes I am controlling it w/o error

Here are some examples - sorry for the boring subjects

Boring street seen - converted from RAW in Aperture

First Image done as in Camera Std Film Conversion:

100% crop from a section of the first picture (from the RAW):

Focus Test - 100% crop of larger image, bicycle approaching me - 1/1300 @ F2.8 - focus seems ok on the bags and on the hands/handle bars - but this is not meant to be a super stop action camera

 

[Ken Ford]

Great! I have a rental one coming in three weeks, I'm voraciously reading what I can so I can hit the ground running without wasting time.

 

[marcr1230]

Here's today's experiment, +1 EV, focus point on the shoulder.
I really love the +/-EV control, so so much improved over the X100
certainly sharp enough in the center

Ernie Banks Statue:

100% Crop - not sure if the color fringe is moire or fringing, or actually oil or something on the statue:

 

[willie_901]

Looks like moire' to me. If you have Lightroom see if the moire' tool helps.

Sometimes the conditions are just right for very strong moire' artifacts. Even with the D700 I have seen two or three images out of about 30,000 with strong moire'.

 

[Cameron]

I've contemplated selling my X100 to either invest in a Leica M2/M3 or the X-Pro1. The X-Pro1 would probably fit my budget more once a newer version comes out. I would like a Leica for obvious reasons... but would also like a digital option for opportunities of paid work that might come up. However, I don't really want to move to a DSLR. The X-Pro1 seems to be the perfect camera, compared to the X100. Interchangable, solid... black, etc.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[rehview]

I grew really tired of my x100's exposue problems so I pounced on a used Canon 5d to try it out and compare the exposures. Here is my comparison, I would appreciate some help from the expert digital photographers out there...

So here is a photograph taken with the 5d with 50mm lens. ISO is 800 and we're at f2 on Av mode.

Here is a photograph taken with the x100. Again ISO 800 and f2 but I had to put the camera at -2 EV to get a similar exposure. My camera seems to expose well during daylight but when in situations like this it consistently underexposes by over 1EV.

Is this lighting really too tricky for the x100 to figure out? I'm tempted to move on to the 5d permanently. Thoughts/comments/help appreciated...

 

[FA Limited]

Here is a photograph taken with the x100. Again ISO 800 and f2 but I had to put the camera at -2 EV to get a similar exposure. My camera seems to expose well during daylight but when in situations like this it consistently underexposes by over 1EV.

it's not exactly the same framing so that would have an effect on the meters decisions. secondly to clarify if it's under exposing, why do you have to give it -2EV? are you trying to say it overexposes? maybe this has something to do with the DR modes which change the ISO.

my x100 meter is pretty good i have no complaints, it's done a better job than any other camera that i've used.

 

[jsrockit]

Is this lighting really too tricky for the x100 to figure out? I'm tempted to move on to the 5d permanently. Thoughts/comments/help appreciated...

Have you tried all the various meter modes?

 

[daveleo]

it's not exactly the same framing so that would have an effect on the meters decisions. secondly to clarify if it's under exposing, why do you have to give it -2EV? are you trying to say it overexposes? . . . . .

Thanks, you beat me to these points. The area of the light zones is not the same in both frames, plus the "over/under-exposure" comments are confusing.

@rehview: you really should post images with the EXIF data still embedded. some "fresh eyes" looking at your camera settings may see something that you don't.

 

[FA Limited]

just to add the few times that i have tried to put EV comp on my X100, i would go home and find out that i had made a mistake of increasing it. it is just so rare that i need to fiddle with the camera's exposure.

the "great JPEGs" usually associated with the X100 to me are really because of great metering, spot on AWB and the great colors.