Why It's Good To Get Up, Go Outside, Take Some Photos And . . .

[rover]

But if I leave the house I might miss my package from B&H! 😀

Oh, like packages are being delivered in CT. FedEx is holding a box of mine from KEH hostage because there is too much snow on the ground. Are you telling me that life in the quiet corner hasn't stopped because it has been snowing out?

 

[farlymac]

Dave, next time you run into the Fuji rep, tell him a dummy film advance would be great for all us old farts who would probably tweak a muscle trying to advance the 'film'. You know the type. We still set the index on our Nikons.

PF

 

[tapesonthefloor]

I'm in that shop THREE TIMES A WEEK, and this is the ONE DAY I decide to walk north on lunch instead of south towards Queen.

Or, to put it another way, I think I might hate you.

 

[willie_901]

Thanks Dave for sharing your impressions. I really appreciate it.

 

[dcsang]

@Nicholas - Sorry 🙂 I am usually in there fairly often but I had an inkling to walk that way around 1:45pm and blammo - there was the camera with three of the sales guys, Harry, and the Fuji rep(s) all ooing and ahhing over the camera. I walked over, said my hellos to the guys (the reps didn't know me from any other shmoe) and immediately said "Can I touch it?" - Kevin, who was holding the camera at the time looked at the rep and said "I don't know.. can he?" The rep nodded and smiled and said "Sure.." then continued to ramble on about how it was a working prototype... 🙂 Truly something I've never had an opportunity to do before - it did make me feel a bit "special" since there's been so much talk (hype?) about the camera.

@farlymac - that would have been a nice touch wouldn't it? 🙂

@Bob - heheh... I heard it also holds the cure for many a disease 😀

@Rover - it was interesting - this photographer was interested but still wouldn't "bite" just yet. One of the other sales guys said he was disappointed because he was so hoping it would have had a REAL rangefinder in it - the rep first didn't exactly know what he was talking about but then realized and said "Oh, ya.. no... we couldn't do that and have auto/manual focus"

Oh.. which reminds me... although probably old news.... the rep had said it was "Focus by wire" (whatever that means) for the manual focus.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[GSNfan]

Would you say X100 weighs the same as a Canon G11/12?

According to fujiguys the weight is approximative 400-450g and a G11/12 is 400.

 

[Mackinaw]

You should have really raised a ruckus by asking the Fuji guy why they discontinued Neopan 1600.

Jim B.

 

[dcsang]

@GSNFan - as I have never played with the G11/12 I couldn't tell you - the camera, for its size, just felt "light" to me - I guess I expected some "heft" because it just looks like it SHOULD be heavier - they make it to look like a retro all steel/metal camera but clearly it's not. The focus ring and aperture ring on the lens felt "plastic" for the lack of better wording.

@Jim B - heheheheh... I never thought of that - I should have asked him "Why do all your (Fuji's) pro films like NPH, NPZ and NPC seem to cheat to the green end while Kodak's seem to cheat to the red end?" 😀

Cheers,
Dave

 

[K14]

1.1 Million in the EVF and beautiful bokeh, held by the common man for the first time, Whoa! For the first time I think I just saw Elvis flash across the screen.

Dave, thanks for giving us your impression of this camera.

Gary

 

[GSNfan]

@GSNFan - as I have never played with the G11/12 I couldn't tell you - the camera, for its size, just felt "light" to me - I guess I expected some "heft" because it just looks like it SHOULD be heavier - they make it to look like a retro all steel/metal camera but clearly it's not. The focus ring and aperture ring on the lens felt "plastic" for the lack of better wording.

Cheers,
Dave

Considering that X100 has no image stabilization I thought Fuji would make the X100 slightly hefty, but I guess thats is not the case.

Thanks for the info.

 

[keepright]

wander into the local camera shop, where, luckily, there was a Fuji sales rep hanging out showing all my local camera shop sales dudes a working X100 prototype.

My quick impressions:

This is a preproduction model, so there were parts that weren't fully up to spec, but the hybrid viewfinder worked very nicely with a red overlay to show shooting information. The eyepiece has a proximity sensor to auto-switch from the VF to LCD as appropriate. Looking through the optical viewfinder without seeing a rangefinder patch was very disconcerting.

The build is very nice, feeling more solid than the GF1, but nowhere near the machined metal casing of the Leica X1. There's a very subtle hand grip, mild but effective, on the front of the camera. The black material that wraps around it is slightly yielding and very nice to hold. The lens is quite small, and the balance is entirely within the body.

The camera is essentially silent in operation. Its shutter is about the same volume as a compact P&S. It's just a quiet little 'snick' that makes my GH1 sound like a firecracker.

In short: the people who want to like this camera are going to have plenty of reasons to keep liking it, while those who don't 'get it' will continue to not understand what the big deal is.

 

[gavinlg]

My quick impressions:

This is a preproduction model, so there were parts that weren't fully up to spec, but the hybrid viewfinder worked very nicely with a red overlay to show shooting information. The eyepiece has a proximity sensor to auto-switch from the VF to LCD as appropriate. Looking through the optical viewfinder without seeing a rangefinder patch was very disconcerting.

The build is very nice, feeling more solid than the GF1, but nowhere near the machined metal casing of the Leica X1. There's a very subtle hand grip, mild but effective, on the front of the camera. The black material that wraps around it is slightly yielding and very nice to hold. The lens is quite small, and the balance is entirely within the body.

The camera is essentially silent in operation. Its shutter is about the same volume as a compact P&S. It's just a quiet little 'snick' that makes my GH1 sound like a firecracker.

In short: the people who want to like this camera are going to have plenty of reasons to keep liking it, while those who don't 'get it' will continue to not understand what the big deal is.

Awesome impressions - thanks! Do you have any opinion on the AF performance?

 

[ChrisN]

Dave and Matthew - thanks very much for your impressions. This is looking better and better. I'm glad it's a little smaller and a little lighter than an M.

 

[skibeerr]

Funny thing with all the hype around the x100 is that Fuji Belgium is unaware of it's existence. Only one standard press release hidden somewhere.
www.fuji.be

So I am on the list at Robert white.

W

 

[videogamemaker]

The build is very nice, feeling more solid than the GF1, but nowhere near the machined metal casing of the Leica X1.

Thanks for the photos and your impression, but the quoted sentence seems odd when DPreview had this to say: The build quality is absolutely superb... ....but overall the X100 gives a rare impression of solidity. Indeed of all current digital cameras, arguably only the Leica M9 can challenge the X100 for its sheer build quality and beauty as an object.

Is the X1 more solid than the M9? Why does DPreview (who has handled tons of cameras, including the x1 and m9) think it's so solid and well made, but you say it's "nowhere near" the x1?

Would you say X100 weighs the same as a Canon G11/12?

According to fujiguys the weight is approximative 400-450g and a G11/12 is 400.

There is no "according to". There are now three different sources, two with photos, showing it's 440-450 depending on if the cap is included. Fujiguys, the norwegian (who privately emailed me a photo of it on a scale) and this photo from the japanese review.

 

[jsrockit]

Is the X1 more solid than the M9? Why does DPreview (who has handled tons of cameras, including the x1 and m9) think it's so solid and well made, but you say it's "nowhere near" the x1?

Relax...the guy just gave his opinion. The X1 does feel nice in your hand, so I can understand. Show some restraint... the guy did us a favor by taking a real photo of it next to a well known (to us anyway) camera.

 

[videogamemaker]

Relax...the guy just gave his opinion. The X1 does feel nice in your hand, so I can understand. Show some restraint... the guy did us a favor buy taking a real photo of it next to a well known (to us anyway) camera.

I just wanted elaboration, I'm not attacking him. I certainly don't have one to correct him, I just want to know why there are two apposing viewpoints on the same product that seem so diametric. Maybe he could explain further why he feels that way. And I did say thanks, I am very appreciative of these two guys giving their hands on impressions.

 

[ochong]

I was looking around the cameras I have to find a size comparison and the Canon Canonet GIII QL17 is somewhat comparable to the x100.

Canonet - 120 x 75 x 60 mm, 620 g
x100 - 126 x 74 x 54 mm, ~440g

x100 is 6mm wider, a mm shorter, and 6mm thinner.

 

[dcsang]

Release Date DELAYED Until April

Release Date DELAYED Until April

As an FYI: I went back to my local store today and asked some pertinent questions of the staff who had more time with the camera than I did.

1. Is the release date still March? - Nope... it's been pushed back to sometime in mid/end of April, due to, according to Fuji "unexpected demand"
2. Is $1200 Retail or Street price? - Retail BUT apparently Fuji has informed retailers they cannot discount this camera initially. Yep.. what you see on the price tag is what you're going to pay.
3. Did you get a chance to take any photos with the camera and can I see them? - Nope - what was online (apparently they're gone now) is all that existed. The camera they had, in question though, did have 2200 shots on the "counter" according to one of the store staff.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[jsrockit]

Thanks for the bad news dcsang. I'm just wondering how they are judging demand for a camera that doesn't have many stores accepting pre-orders. Perhaps Japan is a different story?

I'm all for pushing back the release date if they plan to have enough supply to fulfill demand upon release. I'm sick of playing the waiting game after paying my money.