new owner, a few questions

[leontrotsky67]

hey, first post here, and a few questions.....
i just got my x100 le (black) , f.w 2.0 yesterday, $700 on ebay, and very impressed so far. i've just been shooting randomly in the house to see what it can do, mostly monochrome, and am amazed at how sharp the pics are looking (at least in the screen and eyepiece) even handheld at 1/10 of a second, something i could never hope for with my canon 350. i can't wait to go out around town and get some shooting done this weekend,- this camera might get me back 'into' photography again, at least that's what i hope in buying it.

now the questions (i'm waiting for my wife to install the cd to the pc, so i haven't read the manual yet)......
#1- is there any way to hook the camera to download pictures to my pc through a normal mini-usb, or do i need a special connector?

#2- i mainly shoot b&w, but is there a way to set the raw or fn buttons to rapid-switch to color?

#3-i seem to recall one of the fuji x-series being able to set the focus box in the finder to a smaller size for more precise focus. is this feature available on the x100 and if so how is it accessed? is it in a more recent firmware upgrade?

#4- is there any way to set picture playback to only show in the evf, rather than coming up on the rear screen when you take your eye away from the finder?

sorry if these questions have been asked a million times, and looking forward to your answers.

cheers,
rob

 

[leontrotsky67]

anybody?


cheers,
rob

 

[marcr1230]

re #4
there are 2 controls that relate to this and it is easy. one on the back (view mode - I think) it toggles thru the EVF only, back only, or eye sensor to switch between the two

then there is a lever in front of the body, that toggles the EVF/OVF, so in short you want viewfinder only and EVF mode. then whether or not you look in the viewfinder, that will be where the playback occurs.

 

[leontrotsky67]

thanks, marcr, i'll give that a try. any idea on the others?

cheeras,
rob

 

[Darthfeeble]

AF box is adjusted by holding the AF button down and rotating the thumbwheel.

Fuji uses the same USB connector that the Oly Pen series uses and is pretty commonly found. I have Lightroom, Aperture and Bridge/Photoshop, all have auto download methods.

 

[Darthfeeble]

Go to the Fuji website and in Support, you should find all sorts of manuals to download.

 

[leontrotsky67]

darthfeeb-

i'm trying that w/ the af button and the thumbwheel, but all it's doing is moving the focus box to different locations. i'm trying to shrink the focus box to focus on a tighter area.

by the thumb wheel you mean the ring around the menu/ok button, right?

cheers,
rob

 

[leontrotsky67]

ok, finally just figured out that changing the size of the focus box only works in the evf. my only gripe is that you can't seem to half-shutter to lock the focus while switching back to the ovf. , but i guess that's not a big deal.

so anyone have any ideas about a one-button switch from monochrome to color, without using menus every time?

cheers,
rob

 

[Darthfeeble]

darthfeeb-

i'm trying that w/ the af button and the thumbwheel, but all it's doing is moving the focus box to different locations. i'm trying to shrink the focus box to focus on a tighter area.

by the thumb wheel you mean the ring around the menu/ok button, right?

cheers,
rob

No, the thumb wheel is up at the very top right of the back of the camera. It jogs rather than rotates however. My memory is failing, also my memory is failing......

 

[Darthfeeble]

I just played with my menu again and you can program one of the two buttons, Fn or RAW to set film simulation and then quickly choose BW from that menu. This may require the latest firmware update.

 

[leontrotsky67]

i have b/w as my default since that's 90% of what i shoot. i'd just like to be able to quickly and easily switch to color for those rare times that i see something where color looks more suitable. pretty much what you said but in the opposite direction. i guess that since i have the film simulation set as my default there's no way to add another film simulation as the 'function'?

cheers,
rob

also, darthfeeble, thank you for your help. mostly this camera seems pretty intuitive, and it's good to have people willing to answer a newb's questions.

 

[tedwhite]

What about just leaving it in color mode, then converting to b/w with a program such as Silver Efex Pro 2. Or is it better to go into in-camera b/w film simulation? Obviously it's cheaper in-camera.

 

[Darthfeeble]

Another option for the BW/Color issue is to shoot in the BW mode but shoot RAW+jpeg. The RAW file will be in Color and the jpeg in BW and you can decide what suits you in your developer.

 

[tedwhite]

I did not know that, Darthfeeble.

Thanks.

 

[Pherdinand]

this dude has quite some hints and tips about the x100 settings (and also the hardware).
http://www.kenrockwell.com/fuji/x100/users-guide.htm

 

[Pherdinand]

thats where i read also, that
Changing the size of the AF Area

Only with the EVF or rear LCD, hold the rear AF button, and move the rear control lever left or right to make it smaller or larger.

It doesn't change size in the optical finder.

 

[willie_901]

#1- is there any way to hook the camera to download pictures to my pc through a normal mini-usb, or do i need a special connector?

#2- i mainly shoot b&w, but is there a way to set the raw or fn buttons to rapid-switch to color?

#3-i seem to recall one of the fuji x-series being able to set the focus box in the finder to a smaller size for more precise focus. is this feature available on the x100 and if so how is it accessed? is it in a more recent firmware upgrade?

#4- is there any way to set picture playback to only show in the evf, rather than coming up on the rear screen when you take your eye away from the finder?


#1. I have no idea. My computers have SDHC slots so using a cable has no purpose for me.

#2 Others have addressed this. I always use raw and never change the EVF to monochrome. I shot B&W using optical finders for a long time. Viewing a scene in color with the intent of a B&W photograph never bothered me.

#3 Reducing the focus region is useful in some situations. When there are high contrast regions behind, but near your intended focus object, reducing the focus-region size decreases the odds the system will find the higher contrast objects. Otherwise using a smaller region might make the AF hunt more than it needs to. Much of the lore about optimizing the X100 AF is well-intended but obsolete. Mu advice is to experiment with techniques you have read about the AF system and discover techniques that work for how you work.

#4 I have no idea.

 

[tedwhite]

#1. It is easier, in my opinion, to take the SD card out of camera and simply stick in the slot in your computer than to fiddle around with a cable.

 

[remphoto]

You can get a synch cord on amazon for a few bucks but I usually use a card reader.