Pro's and Con's of the X100s

[GWT]

Hey, thanks guys for your input - I really appreciate you knowledge and experience.

In regards to the gear I use, I tend to shoot 99% film, mostly B&W due to the cost of colour film development. I also tend to have at least a couple of cameras loaded at a time so it often takes me a while to work through a film.

The range cameras I use are Olympus 35SP, Fed 2, Contax G2, Olympus XA & XA2, Rollei 35s, oly trip, Olympus OM1, Pentax ME Super, Minolta X700 - plus a few others.

I never take out a range of lenses with me, the one that's on the camera is the one I use.

I love cameras and using film but I'm now feeling that I'd like to make life a little easier and a more compact digital might just be the thing.

Also like KenR, it would mean my wife could use it happily.

 

[cidereye]

Hey, thanks guys for your input - I really appreciate you knowledge and experience.

In regards to the gear I use, I tend to shoot 99% film, mostly B&W due to the cost of colour film development. I also tend to have at least a couple of cameras loaded at a time so it often takes me a while to work through a film.

The range cameras I use are Olympus 35SP, Fed 2, Contax G2, Olympus XA & XA2, Rollei 35s, oly trip, Olympus OM1, Pentax ME Super, Minolta X700 - plus a few others.

I never take out a range of lenses with me, the one that's on the camera is the one I use.

I love cameras and using film but I'm now feeling that I'd like to make life a little easier and a more compact digital might just be the thing.

Also like KenR, it would mean my wife could use it happily.

It will make life a lot easier, you sound similar to myself. I love and adore shooting film cameras but so lazy when it comes to processing/scanning. For me the X100/s is as close as can be to shooting a film camera and the results as many have concurred are fantastic.

Mind you, with all the latest FW updates for the original X100 I've not noticed a large difference between my old X100 and the X100s in AF performance, bearing in mind the X100s is double the price of a mint used X100 I would plump for the X100 unless money is no real issue. Even though it's not an X-Trans camera the results & high ISO performance are still excellent.

I now tend to shoot an M4 + 35mm with BW alongside my X100s for colour and low light situations when I photograph on the streets. The X100s is so small & light even with a hood you barely notice the extra weight in your bag.

I'll tell you how highly I rate these cameras, I just got rid of my M9 to go back to shooting with the Fuji and don't miss the M9 one little bit! YMMV

Go for it, I bet you will not regret getting one either! 😉

 

[user237428934]

I leave a uv filter on all the time w/ the hood. No lens cap.... On the other hand u could pick up a third part lens cap and leave the adapter in place. The bayonet mount hood adapter comes on and off pretty fast.

Gary

You think a normal 49mm snap in cap would work?

 

[douglasf13]

After owning the X100, and then X100s, I'm back to the original X100, because the AF now feels about equal with the latest firmware updates, and I prefer the Bayer layout. I think these cameras are closest in feel to shooting film cameras, outside of the Leica digitals, so you should be fine.

If you do want lens options, there is a 28 converter and an upcoming 50mm converter, so there is a little bit of flexibility.

 

[NicoM]

I've owned the X100s for a week now and here are my thoughts.

Pros
Great sensor
Relatively portable
Nice OVF
Great build/feel/button layout

Cons
Slow by DSLR standards
Short battery life
EVF is still a little laggy

 

[turen009]

How good is the x100s in low light situations without flash, such as bars, nightclubs and such?

 

[NicoM]

How good is the x100s in low light situations without flash, such as bars, nightclubs and such?

Low light image quality up to ISO3200 is fantastic, but AF gets really slow in the dark. Manageable with static subjects, not so much with moving subjects.

 

[turen009]

Low light image quality up to ISO3200 is fantastic, but AF gets really slow in the dark. Manageable with static subjects, not so much with moving subjects.

How about manual focusing? I read that the fly-by-wire manual focus is not very convenient. Is that so? I can focus with manual focus SLR XD11 or a Leica MP pretty quickly on slow moving subjects. Knowing that its not a true rangefineder, how does the manual focusing speed and accuracy on X100s?

 

[NicoM]

How about manual focusing? I read that the fly-by-wire manual focus is not very convenient. Is that so? I can focus with manual focus SLR XD11 or a Leica MP pretty quickly on slow moving subjects. Knowing that its not a true rangefineder, how does the manual focusing speed and accuracy on X100s?

It's doable, I guess, but feels really awkward. Nothing like focusing a geared lens.

 

[turen009]

It's doable, I guess, but feels really awkward. Nothing like focusing a geared lens.

Hmm, perhaps best to use zone focusing in low light and leave it at that? If the shutter has no lag this looks to be the best bet in tricky lighting when the AF suffers.

 

[cidereye]

Hmm, perhaps best to use zone focusing in low light and leave it at that? If the shutter has no lag this looks to be the best bet in tricky lighting when the AF suffers.

Easy to do as well using the back focus button method, the ISO performance is so good I just keep it at f/5.6/f/8 & zone focus using this method. Fast, silent and so adaptable.

 

[user237428934]

Hmm, perhaps best to use zone focusing in low light and leave it at that? If the shutter has no lag this looks to be the best bet in tricky lighting when the AF suffers.

Zone focus in low light? How can you zone focus with f2. If you can use f5.6 or f8 then it's not low light at all.

 

[emmef2]

I have a X100s since nearly 3 months and I am usually using it in tandem with my Olympus E-P5 with a zoom lens.
The X100s is a great photographic tool and a very good bridge between film and digital i that it allows, if needed, to set the camera very much like a film camera, with no LCD and no EVF and its controls layout and silent operation contributes to that.
I process the raw files with Capture One

Pluses:
+ responsiveness
+ image quality
+ Dynamic range and tonal gradation
+ high iso rendition with minimal and pleasant noise
+ OVF is great and also shows detailed exposure data and can visualize the histogram
+ EVF is useful when accurate composition is needed or you need to check for flare

Minuses:
- battery dies without giving a reasonable warning
- not so great implementation of manual focus
- maybe it's my sample but lens image quality could be better, considering it's a prime lens, center is sharp, borders are ok
- AF in low light is slow
- Histogram / highlight control implementation in OVF/EVF could be better, or at least the one in the E-P5 is easier and quicker to use

 

[tedwhite]

At what aperture is the lens sharpest?

 

[tedwhite]

No reply in 13 hours? Was it that stupid a question?

 

[GRN]

No reply in 13 hours? Was it that stupid a question?

No. I was just a little time ago shooting some film wih my other camera 🙂 Now Let's go to the issue. The lens little soft wide open. It finds it sharpness around F2.8 -F4. It's sharp all over F8. From F8-16 the shaprness is same all area of the lens. Of course there is diffraction phenomenon at very small apertures..but its hard actually see it in real life. It just looks nice and sharp. These are my experiences anyway.

 

[Tin]

You think a normal 49mm snap in cap would work?

I use a 51mm rubber lens cap (which normally is used on a lens with 49mm filters). Of course that will not fit over a lens hood. The 51mm lens cap is not a 100% fit. You have to juggle it a little bit to make it fit , otherwise the cap may pop out on its own when the camera sits in your pocket.

 

[willie_901]

At what aperture is the lens sharpest?

There's a bunch of reviews that report the lens' resolving ability vs aperture.

I too lazy to Goole them.

 

[tedwhite]

Thanks, GRN. I suspected that might be the case.

 

[tedwhite]

Many thanks to all. I just bought an X100s.