thoughts on the fuji x100V?

[shawn]

The scale is pretty accurate. You can also go the simple way of setting it to only AF when you press a different button. Point the camera at an object the distance away that you want to focus and hit that button and then you are all set from then on. That can actually work a little better than MF at times since the focus dial will be turned off and you won't accidentally change focus point.

You can play back to the EVF and even do all menus that way if you want to. If you set the camera to review an image after shooting if you are in the OVF mode the camera will quickly switch to EVF to show you the image and then switch back to OVF.

Shawn

 

[Range-rover]

reprise...

so I turned 70 this week and decided that I had to celebrate with a new camera and yes I bought the fuji x100v...
what an absolutely lovely machine, nice feel to it, easy to use and pretty good results so far ...no art has been produced as of yet so there is nothing to post. I bought a square hood kit so now it is both gorgeous and weather resistant. and every time I glance at it from the corner of my eye it reminds me of a leica...in looks 🙂

Happy Birthday and enjoy you new camera, your right it does have the Leica look. I did read a few reviews and did find that the lens is a big improvement over the other 100 camera's, at F2 it seems to be better.

 

[willie_901]

The scale is pretty accurate. You can also go the simple way of setting it to only AF when you press a different button. Point the camera at an object the distance away that you want to focus and hit that button and then you are all set from then on. That can actually work a little better than MF at times since the focus dial will be turned off and you won't accidentally change focus point.

...

The accuracy is fine for most street work. At f 2 I'm not sure I would trust the electronic scale at 3ft for ultimate sharpness with a subject exactly 3 ft away.

I didn't trust the lens focus scale for any of my analog M/LT lenses to this degree either.

As Shawn mentions, there are several quick ways to achieve proper focus using MF or AF mode with the back button or half-shutter press respectively.

However, at apertures wider than f 4 none of the X-100 variant lenses will produce a sharp image at 3 ft (compared to using f 5.6 at 3 ft). This design limitation is mentioned in the X-100 manuals.

The menu macro mode won't help at all. This setting only switches to an AF algorithm that is optimized (slower ) for critical, close up focusing.

 

[lars]

The scale is pretty accurate. You can also go the simple way of setting it to only AF when you press a different button. Point the camera at an object the distance away that you want to focus and hit that button and then you are all set from then on. That can actually work a little better than MF at times since the focus dial will be turned off and you won't accidentally change focus point.

Thanks for the suggestion. It's actually how I have my GX9 configured for zone focusing with an AF lens.

I ended up buying an X100V a few days ago so I'm experimenting with using the range limiter as a way to quickly switch the camera to a specific fixed focus distance. I'll see how that goes.

I don't want to use to the method you described because I sometimes switch back and forth between zone focus and AF when shooting. With my GX9 it's not a big deal because I have my zone focus configuration saved to a custom preset. So far, I don't think that's possible with the X100V, since the only thing it has that is close to a custom preset is the Custom Settings which is quite limited to the fields that it can save/recall.

So if the range limiter doesn't work, I'll probably have to rely on using MF mode and, hopefully, it will be able to return to the last-used focus distance whenever I turn it back on.

 

[lars]

I did some testing indoors. I set the range limiter for 2m/2m and then went through several cycles where I stood in front of something that was 2m away, turned on the camera, and took a photo. This was at f/4 and all the shots were in focus so the lens does seem to limit itself to the same focus distance each time.

But today when I did some 3m @ f/8 shots on the street, things that were about 5-10m away didn't look as sharp as they typically would when I shoot with a 17mm @ f/5.6 on my micro four thirds camera. But things at 3m did seem to be in focus. I'm starting to suspect that this is an issue of the difference between viewing a 20mp file vs a 26mp file at 100%.

 

[jsrockit]

But today when I did some 3m @ f/8 shots on the street, things that were about 5-10m away didn't look as sharp as they typically would when I shoot with a 17mm @ f/5.6 on my micro four thirds camera. But things at 3m did seem to be in focus. I'm starting to suspect that this is an issue of the difference between viewing a 20mp file vs a 26mp file at 100%.

I would say it is the difference between focal length and sensor size too. The bigger the sensor, the harder zone focusing is. Digital is unforgiving when it comes to zone focusing.

 

[biomed]

After sitting on the fence I finally decided to get an X100V. This is the first non-Panasonic camera I have owned in many years. So far I am impressed. It almost feels like my old Bessa rfs again. I also purchased a JJC grip and lens hood.
Grip
Hood

 

[Wenge]

I rented x100v last week and bought it next day. Today I shot GFX 100s w/ 23mm f4 at same time w/ x100v (first pic) to see the comparison; then made b&w cropped prints on P800 and can't tell any diff on the prints, but a slight difference to the GFX on high-res screen pixels as seen on the little conch shell. At base iso in good light, they are comparable, 100s is the winner in low light, while 100v is easier to walk around with.

GFX sees in the dark and can recover 4+ stops and the comparison ends there in low light, but this x100v an outstanding jacket-pocket camera to go along anywhere. (X100v @f/5.6; GFX @f/8)

 

[biomed]

After sitting on the fence I finally decided to get an X100V. This is the first non-Panasonic camera I have owned in many years. So far I am impressed. It almost feels like my old Bessa rfs again. I also purchased a JJC grip and lens hood.
Grip
Hood

5 month update -
Getting to know the camera a bit better than the first time I used it. One thing I have noticed is that I have become spoiled by cameras with IS. I have had to relearn how to keep the camera a bit more stable. I took IS for granted until shooting with the X100V. It is one heck of a great camera IMHO!