thoughts on the fuji x100V?

[Glenn2]

A definite improvement in the V is the battery level indicator. It now shows percent remaining capacity. With the previous models I owned, level of charge was poorly indicated and could catch you by surprise while shooting. At first sign of less than full charge would charge batteries just to be safe.
Not sure if the F had this feature, or if was just added for the V?

 

[jjcha]

last week at my regular visit to the camera store I handled the new x100v...I was immediately impressed by the solid feel of the camera, the nice heft to it...and it got me thinking...so I have a few questions for those who have been using it for a while...
has the small portable camera made much difference to the way you shoot?
do you carry less gear if you always carry at least a camera every day? are you carrying less gear because the x100v is enough to meet your daily needs?
and last what are you impressions of the camera? is it worth the money you paid for it?

I absolutely love my X100V until I spend a day with it actively shooting on the street. Then, having to use the manual focus ring for zone focusing just really kills the joy of it. Switching from 1 meter to 3 meters. Resetting back to 2 meters after using the center point autofocus for a shot or two. Ugh. The camera can do it, and it works with the digital distance scale and aperture based focus zone. But man there is no joy in it, and I resign myself to having to lug the super heavy M10-P around instead. Or going back to my GRIII, which is awesome, but just doesn't have the fun of shooting with an OVF.

X100V is great if you're using autofocus or don't need to change distances too much when zone focusing. But, sadly, I can't sell my Leica yet (I'll never sell my Ricoh...). It's almost my perfect camera.

 

[Archlich]

I absolutely love my X100V until I spend a day with it actively shooting on the street. Then, having to use the manual focus ring for zone focusing just really kills the joy of it. Switching from 1 meter to 3 meters. Resetting back to 2 meters after using the center point autofocus for a shot or two. Ugh. The camera can do it, and it works with the digital distance scale and aperture based focus zone. But man there is no joy in it, and I resign myself to having to lug the super heavy M10-P around instead. Or going back to my GRIII, which is awesome, but just doesn't have the fun of shooting with an OVF.

X100V is great if you're using autofocus or don't need to change distances too much when zone focusing. But, sadly, I can't sell my Leica yet (I'll never sell my Ricoh...). It's almost my perfect camera.

After 1.5 year exclusively with the GR3 I bought a used X100V to see if I can build some affinity with it this time.

Agree with you. It's an AF-oriented camera, with vastly improved AF performance over the F, especially tracking. Eats the Ricoh for lunch. Refined in a lot of ways, the best IMO being the new pull-and-turn ISO dial. The Color Chrome Effect that came with the X-Trans 4 sensor is awesome. Even the battery door latch is repositioned - very well thought out.

Deep down there nothing had changed really. It's still the pain for zone focusing. Touchscreen still lags a bit, much like other Fujifilm cameras, and attempts moving focus points around with it meddles with the swipe Fn actions badly. Lots of functions, dials, menus (less buttons though), that needs your attention from time to time. Still hope (vainly) that they may introduce an all-inclusive USER1/2/3 dial that remembers all (not just Image Quality) settings that's been standard feature from every other makers someday.

It's a very very nice camera. Just really needs some getting used to.

 

[jsrockit]

I absolutely love my X100V until I spend a day with it actively shooting on the street. Then, having to use the manual focus ring for zone focusing just really kills the joy of it. Switching from 1 meter to 3 meters.

With the focus limiter, can't you set both the beginning and end point to the same ... say 2 meters? Why wouldn't that solve your issue?

http://fujifilm-dsc.com/en/manual/x-pro3/menu_shooting/af_mf_setting/index.html#af_range_limitter

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, reading all the accolades makes me feel I got the wrong camera back in 2016, when Fuji introduced their second iteration of the X100. I purchased the plain-vanilla X100 at a low price because the X100S (or was it T?) had been announced, and dealers wanted to clear their shelves for the new version. To me, it was going to be like the "poor man's M9," or so I thought.

Problem: I really never managed to "bond" with that camera. Even went on a trip (to me it was the light-weight alternative to the Nikon D700) and the results were not what I expected in terms of color rendition, AF speed and even ability to handle certain situations. With my (heavy) dSLR, I could tell the camera where to focus; with this one, I was locked on a center-of-the-frame focusing point. Then, there was a limitation: when I wanted to shoot in A mode, some times the camera just wouldn't shoot at f2 because the light was too intense. I ended up having to live with it in eternal Auto mode... and still, there were times when the settings changed themselves and I never knew how to get them back to what I wanted. The menus were a nightmare to me.

So I sold it and got myself an X-Pro1, thinking about the advantages of interchangeable lenses and what not.

What for? It was the same... I won't repeat my complaints but in the end that camera and I parted ways. And, since I had read a lot about the X-Pro2 being a significant improvement over its predecessor, I replaced the X-Pro1 with an X-Pro2 very lightly used.

That's another story. I really like that camera. The menus are different, but, for some reason I find them slightly more intuitive, and, what sold it to me was the stick that allows me to switch among the very many focusing points. It makes it easier to frame, tell the lens where to focus, and shoot. And I love that I can shoot RAW and JPG, that I have two card slots, and that the AF is a lot better and more responsive.

But now that I read so much about the X100 I'm wondering if it wasn't me the one who was wrong for that little camera... Oh, well, good luck deciding, joe! 🙂

 

[jjcha]

It's a very very nice camera. Just really needs some getting used to.

Agreed. The autofocus has improved over the X100F where I finally feel pretty confident relying on it for night time street shooting at F2.0. It may not be Sony level or as fast as the latest and greatest Fuji X lenses, but it's enough that it hits most of my shots. It's a revelation and has added another tool to my street photography.

I took the X100V (+ wide angle conversion lens) as my only camera on vacation in Okinawa and it was just awesome. Just perfect as an all around camera taking touristy/photos friends and family.

But if only it had a manual focus tab/hard stops, or as you say the ability to save focus distance/aperture along with everything else to a U1, U2, U3 setting like the Ricoh GRIII.

 

[jjcha]

With the focus limiter, can't you set both the beginning and end point to the same ... say 2 meters? Why wouldn't that solve your issue?

http://fujifilm-dsc.com/en/manual/x-pro3/menu_shooting/af_mf_setting/index.html#af_range_limitter

Yeah, I've tried the focus limiter.

The challenge is this - I'll go out for some night street photography, with a zone focus at F5.6 and a zone focus of ~ 1.5 meters to 3 meters or so. Take some shots, just walking around.

Then I see something maybe 5 meters way I want to focus on, so I stop down to F2.0, hit the back button focus with the center point on it, recompose and take the shot.

Then I adjust back to F5.6 and a zone of 1.5 meters to 3 meters. Take some more shots.

Then someone/something interesting happens right in front of me, just 1 meter to 1.5 meters away. I live in Tokyo and on crowded streets this happens all the time.

With the Ricoh GRIII, I just switch to U1, where I have a custom setting saved at a zone focus of 0.7 meters - 1.5 meters.

With the M10-P, I just turn the focus tab so it's pointing straight down.

With the X100V, I miss the shot. Well, I get the shot, but the subjects are blurry from being too close.

I tried using the focus limiter set at 1 meter, so I could jam the autofocus button to focus down when I needed to do this. But then I lost the ability to use center point autofocus for those times I wanted to precisely set focus on a subject.

And apart from that, every time I did something then readjusted my focus zone to my default 1.5 meters to 3 meters, which happens all the time, ugh having to stop, look at the screen, turn that mushy focus dial, overshoot just a little bit and have to twiddle to make sure the zone is correct, ugh ugh ugh. Compare that to turning a m-mount lens... or just switching from U1 to U2 or U3 on the GRIII...

 

[jsrockit]

With the Ricoh GRIII, I just switch to U1, where I have a custom setting saved at a zone focus of 0.7 meters - 1.5 meters.

With the M10-P, I just turn the focus tab so it's pointing straight down.

With the X100V, I miss the shot. Well, I get the shot, but the subjects are blurry from being too close.

Having used all 3 (well, Leica M, not M10-P), I completely understand. It is the reason I use AF on my Fujis. I find them good enough now to use AF in the dark. However, the focus tab straight down and knowing I was at 5-6 feet on a 35mm was really cool too. It saved me a few times back in the day.

 

[back alley]

I had 2 copies of the x100 (not at the same time) and we worked well together...thinking back I cannot remember why I sold them.
if it wasn't for doing a trade for some other gear I don't think I would get the x100v but my birthday is approaching and I'm feeling the urge to gift myself.

 

[jsrockit]

Joe, life is short...and if you can afford to do so, do it.

 

[Pál_K]

...
On the minus side - my mind boggles when I see that indicator notches and posts for manual setting knobs (even the ON/OFF switch!) are not painted to make them stand out.
They have the same color as the rest of the camera body which makes quick checking them nearly impossible, even in good light. I had to modify them as this irritated the hell out of me.
...

What's strange is that on the X-Pro2 and X-Pro3, those particular indicators are painted.

 

[Sierra Club]

What's strange is that on the X-Pro2 and X-Pro3, those particular indicators are painted.

Strangely enough, exposure comp indicator post is black in all of the silver versions. ON/OFF notch is the same color as camera body though. I just can't understand some of the decisions Fuji made here. How much would it cost to paint these things in a contrasting color to improve user comfort. By the way - V also has the same issue...

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

I felt the same way about the on/off switch as you and many others when I first started using the Fuji cameras.

However, I think it’s like people that can type without looking at the keyboard or people that can play guitar without looking at the guitar… with a little time one’s fingers will operate the camera without looking at it. Maybe not 100% but to some degree.

All the best,
Mike

 

[Sierra Club]

With keyboards usually plugged in to the PC's USB power supply and guitars not really running out of *battery* power either, it's hard to compare these things.

Especially considering that NP-W126S is at best a poor power source for X100, even if camera is configured for power saving.

I understand your point and usually I am able to tell if my Nikon F3 is switched on or not without looking at the controls, but that's because they are designed/shaped properly and operate like in an airplane.

 

[Out to Lunch]

On a beside, is anyone using the Fuji WCL-X100II Wide Converter lens (28 mm)? If so, is it any good? I see that there is a version II. Are both the I and II versions compatible with, both the X100 and the X100T?

 

[jjcha]

On a beside, is anyone using the Fuji WCL-X100II Wide Converter lens (28 mm)? If so, is it any good? I see that there is a version II. Are both the I and II versions compatible with, both the X100 and the X100T?

I use the original version of the WCL. The second version just has magnets, so the camera can auto-detect it and automatically put it in wide mode, versus having to manually change a setting on the camera. The optics and everything else are unchanged. Both versions work equally with all versions of the X100, other than the auto-detect functionality.

I'm sure there is some sacrifice in image quality in using the WCL, but it's pretty marginal. I've never felt that the image quality is lacking, and I own a Ricoh GRIII and M10-P with a 28mm Zeiss F2.8.

Sure, when you're pixel peeping you can see the other two are better. I actually was fooling around and compared it the other day, and yes, at 200% magnification, the Zeiss is a clear class ahead of the X100V+WCL. Surprise surprise.

And I'm sure you take a hit in quality from the native 23mm X100V lens. But I've never wished for a second that the image quality of the WCL were better.

The WCL is just a touch less wide than a true 28mm equivalent. Fuji themselves say its a 19mm lens, versus the 18.3mm of the Ricoh GRIII.

Handling is great. It sits 80% of the time on my X100V. Love it.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Thanks, jjcha that is useful information. The Zeiss Biogon 2.8/28 is my favorite lens, and so I think we're having similar tastes. Many thanks for your feedback and cheers, OtL

 

[Rob-F]

A quick look at eBay showed that: 1.) There are not many X100 of any any version up for sale, suggesting that people must really like them, no matter which version they have; and 2.) with the exception of the X100V, the prices are pretty similar, no matter which version it is, suggesting they all have their admirers. Me, for instance: I'm happy with my original X100.

Still, I wonder how I'd like the X-Tran sensor.

 

[Out to Lunch]

I have, both the X100 and the X100T. In my experience, the original X100 renders nicer in b&w, and the X100T is a little better capturing faster moving subjects in street shooting conditions. I am not a pixel peeper, just an ordinary Fuji user. The original had a Bayer filter and the later models an X trans filter. If you please, have a look at the pros and cons on YouTube or other channels. Cheers, OtL

 

[jsrockit]

A quick look at eBay showed that: 1.) There are not many X100 of any any version up for sale, suggesting that people must really like them, no matter which version they have; and 2.) with the exception of the X100V, the prices are pretty similar, no matter which version it is, suggesting they all have their admirers. Me, for instance: I'm happy with my original X100.

Still, I wonder how I'd like the X-Tran sensor.

I’ve owned them all. The original does have its fans and keeps gaining new ones. Bayer, cheap, simple, etc. However, it is almost 10 years old and that has a little to do with availability as well. As far as the other models... the X100T was the first one with half way decent AF speed. The X100F was the first that could focus ok in low light reliably. The X100V is the best of the bunch ... it can handle anything you’d possibly want to do as long as it’s at a 35mm fov. The X100s is the odd man out simply because the T is better and around the same $.