Fuji X100 - Part 2

[mobilenerd]

Just got mine yesterday and love the fact that the 4 basic controls, ie. aperture, shutter, ISO and exposure compensation can be easily adjusted. Have managed to get it adjusted even without lifting my eye off the viewfinder.
That allows me to focus on whats important which is the subject matter.

What I do not like is the tiny MENU/OK button. I have fat fingers.

Overall my experience with it is above average. It delivers on the IQ as promised and it takes me back to the late 70s when I was shooting with manual film bodies.

 

[pbear1973]

Just got mine yesterday and love the fact that the 4 basic controls, ie. aperture, shutter, ISO and exposure compensation can be easily adjusted. Have managed to get it adjusted even without lifting my eye off the viewfinder.
That allows me to focus on whats important which is the subject matter.

What I do not like is the tiny MENU/OK button. I have fat fingers.

Overall my experience with it is above average. It delivers on the IQ as promised and it takes me back to the late 70s when I was shooting with manual film bodies.

Congrats bro!! I know you will love it as much as I do!

 

[mobilenerd]

Impressive camera I must say. Took a couple of pics in almost pitch darkness at my service balcony with only ambient light coming from my bathroom some meters away, the shots were clear and usable! Amazing!

 

[pbear1973]

Some shots I took.. I think they look quite nice. Almost no PP except for some cropping, minor curve tweaking, and of course B&W conversion. Somehow the X100 takes pictures the way I like them.

Flickr: ctky1973's Photostream

 

[wilswong]

Just got mine yesterday and love the fact that the 4 basic controls, ie. aperture, shutter, ISO and exposure compensation can be easily adjusted. Have managed to get it adjusted even without lifting my eye off the viewfinder.
That allows me to focus on whats important which is the subject matter.

What I do not like is the tiny MENU/OK button. I have fat fingers.

Overall my experience with it is above average. It delivers on the IQ as promised and it takes me back to the late 70s when I was shooting with manual film bodies.

You don't really need to press that a lot. only when you need to access the menu button. After which when you confirm the selection, just press the shutter release button to engage the option.

 

[wilswong]

Some shots I took.. I think they look quite nice. Almost no PP except for some cropping, minor curve tweaking, and of course B&W conversion. Somehow the X100 takes pictures the way I like them.

Flickr: ctky1973's Photostream

The EXR JPEG engine is doing a great job. I have to agree that I saved a lot of time not going through RAWs.

And you should also try to take RAW and do JPEG conversion in camera. The JPEG engine in the camera is really versatile. Now if they can just take that software out and put in the computer desktop (PC/Mac) instead of silky (silky is cumbersome for most people)

 

[pbear1973]

The EXR JPEG engine is doing a great job. I have to agree that I saved a lot of time not going through RAWs.

And you should also try to take RAW and do JPEG conversion in camera. The JPEG engine in the camera is really versatile. Now if they can just take that software out and put in the computer desktop (PC/Mac) instead of silky (silky is cumbersome for most people)

Excellent idea! Silky is a pain to use.. right now I'm using Lightroom to do the conversion. Will try the in-camera JPG.. I read a lot of good stuff about it!

 

[pbear1973]

I posted a round of poorly taken night shots earlier on where I followed some not-so-good advice on holding the camera by placing my left hand around the short lens barrel. Here are some much better taken shots. I'm quite blown away by the quality.

The lens appears to have a fair bit of flaring and ghosting though. Not sure if anyone else has this experience.

http://photobucket.com/x100nights

 

[wilswong]

I posted a round of poorly taken night shots earlier on where I followed some not-so-good advice on holding the camera by placing my left hand around the short lens barrel. Here are some much better taken shots. I'm quite blown away by the quality.

The lens appears to have a fair bit of flaring and ghosting though. Not sure if anyone else has this experience.

http://photobucket.com/x100nights

Yes. it is a common problem. I guess because of the way the lens can resolute so well, the other extremes like ghosting/flaring due to strong light source is inevitable even with coating etc. Just get those cheap lens hood off the internet to minimise those coming from the side first and avoid strong light coming from the front.

And by the way, update the firmware to 1.13.

 

[pbear1973]

Yes. it is a common problem. I guess because of the way the lens can resolute so well, the other extremes like ghosting/flaring due to strong light source is inevitable even with coating etc. Just get those cheap lens hood off the internet to minimise those coming from the side first and avoid strong light coming from the front.

And by the way, update the firmware to 1.13.

Thanks Wils.. ya I read on Luminous Landscape that it's common for a lens to flare and ghost when shot wide open. The first set I took was shot at f/5.6 and there was (almost) no flaring, and definitely no ghosting.

I was "rucky", my X100 came with 1.12 straight out of the shop. The X10 had an update that allows you to program the (mostly useless) RAW button, hopefully we will see such an update for the X100 soon.

 

[MechaEd]

I upgraded to firmware 1.13 2 weeks ago and I find that the autofocus now hunts more than it used to especially when the subject is between 1 to 2 meters away. It won't focus in one spot and it will when I move the focus slightly lower or higher from the subject. Not sure if it's just a perception issue though.

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

 

[seech]

I upgraded to firmware 1.13 2 weeks ago and I find that the autofocus now hunts more than it used to especially when the subject is between 1 to 2 meters away. It won't focus in one spot and it will when I move the focus slightly lower or higher from the subject. Not sure if it's just a perception issue though.

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

I actually find the autofocus to be much snappier.... ???

 

[bullterrier]

I for one, absolutely love the pictures I am getting from my X100. True it has no zoom and the auto focusing takes a bit of work to get it going and so on. But that is the character of the beast and I find myself being more aware and conscious of what it takes to shoot a great photo instead of using one of those auto everything cameras. Many more people noticed my X100 when i take it out cos of its unique look and design. Many tried to guess its brand like Leica? Pentax? and so on. My last oversea trip alone, I took more photos with my X100 than I ever did on a single outing with my DSLRs and other PnS.

A buddy played with my camera shooting some photos on his own with it and when he came over to SG this week Monday he declared he wanted a X100 of his own so I got him hook up with a bro here selling his camera and the next day there was a shiny new X100 on my buddy neck heheheh.

I have been using DSLRs and various Canon and Lumix PnS cameras. I even go diving with some of them heheh. After a while I decided it was silly to lugged a heavy camera body and a few lenses around on top of my luggage when I am travelling. So the DSLRs eventually stayed home and I made do with my PnS. But there are times when you need a bit more control and dexterity and the PnS could not deliver. And I include some of the Canon G series here. A friend told me to look at the X100. Like many I was drawn by its unique design and look, also by the easy access to essential controls like shutter speeds and apertures. But I hesitated as it was a fixed lens and also no zoom. I thought about the X100 for quite a while. In the end it took an outing with a buddy with a X100 to see for myself the ease of use of the camera and how really good the lens was and what you are paying for in terms of the build and important features of the X100.

To be kiasu, I bought both the X100 and XS-1 just so that I have a nice single lens superzoom camera (24-624mm) to fall back on. After living with these 2 cameras, the X100 has become my go everywhere camera, and as a result it takes lots of photos and many are beautifully framed (hell to the lack of zoom) and the colours are vivid and lifelike. Isn't this more important and the real purpose to why you would want to have a camera in the first place? My Fuji XS-1 meanwhile is sitting at home accompany the home pet dog. Dont get me wrong, the XS-1 is a good competent camera on its own and is ideal for when you might want to do more challenging shots with that nice long zoom and decent size sensor. But for everyday street and quick shots, the X100 in my opinion is more than able to deliver on many many accounts.

If you are considering getting a X100 but is hesitant worrying abt its fixed lens or no zoom, go for a day outing with a friend who have one and wont mind you taking some photos with the camera to see for yourself first hand how good this camera is. Granted it is not the camera for everyone as there are people with different needs out there.

 

[MichaelLee]

If you are considering getting a X100 but is hesitant worrying abt its fixed lens or no zoom, go for a day outing with a friend who have one and wont mind you taking some photos with the camera to see for yourself first hand how good this camera is. Granted it is not the camera for everyone as there are people with different needs out there.

I hestitate for a while and give up the idea of having X100 not because of fixed lens (i have been shooting with fixed lens anyway)....it is because of the hardware issue, sticky blade and dirty VF (u never change lens, but dust could go to VF, i am puzzled). and also the level of Fuji service center if any of this issue do happen.

Other than that, I guess most of us are fully convinced that X100 produce very good image.

 

[zzyzx]

I hestitate for a while and give up the idea of having X100 not because of fixed lens (i have been shooting with fixed lens anyway)....it is because of the hardware issue, sticky blade and dirty VF (u never change lens, but dust could go to VF, i am puzzled). and also the level of Fuji service center if any of this issue do happen.

Other than that, I guess most of us are fully convinced that X100 produce very good image.

sticky blade issue happens to other lens too. just that the x100 has more of such issue and not every copy got this problem. i believe the later batch all are free from this problem because i understand from the fujifilm svc centre that they had already "done something" to solve the problem.

as for dust in VF, yes my x100 has dust in VF when i bought it new and a light tap on the glass bring the dust elsewhere not in my sight anymore. even my canon 5Dmk2 got dust problem inside the top lcd panel which is sealed. i did the same thing to tap on the glass to reduce the dust. why i say reduce is because the amount of dust in the panel is :bigeyes:

 

[MechaEd]

I actually find the autofocus to be much snappier.... ???

Hmmm... interesting. I guess I'll have to take more pictures to really see if it's just my 'feeling'.

 

[Bryson]

Just got my X100 from SLR Revo yesterday, happy user right now.
Just wondering, how do I check if my X100 is the newer batch or the old batch? It comes with firmware 1.12 preloaded. Worried if it will be affected by the sticky blades issue. Thanks!

 

[zzyzx]

Just got my X100 from SLR Revo yesterday, happy user right now.
Just wondering, how do I check if my X100 is the newer batch or the old batch? It comes with firmware 1.12 preloaded. Worried if it will be affected by the sticky blades issue. Thanks!

Look at the serial no. If it starts from 21, meaning manufactured in yr 2012 1st quarter and belongs to latest batch.

 

[Bryson]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[irvinl]

Hi x100 users, i wanna get reliable & not too expensive 3rd party batteries.. where is the best place/price to get them?

and one problem i faced that i wanna seek help, i bought the shutter bug mini soft release (the red ladybird one sold at chiif) and i release that the original brown case when closed will actually press the button down, worried that it might damage the button in long term.
any solutions to solve this? other brands of buttons? or means i can't use the case anymore?