[Zig]

Good man!
Hoping we'll soon see a decent hands-on fieldtest.

Still trying to keep a serious face about a company that calls itself Arstechnica, which tickles the transatlantic ear: my, the fun a Googler can have.

[shuttertalk]

Apparently you can start pre-ordering... although the $1200 price tag is a bit steep!
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/17/fujif...-yours-fo/

[matthew]

Give it a few months for the early adopters to get theirs - then it will drop down to $1149.99.

[Pavel]

Pretty but fixed lens means that it would just be a vacation camera. 35 mm equivalent is something I would find useful mostly out of Toronto. In Toronto, I mostly want to isolate using 70-300 (100-450) and I rarely used 23 mm (35 mm). As sexy as the camera is and as qood as the viewfinder may be, I would rather wait to let the dust settle and all major players come out with their Evil cameras. You may end up with all the nice features of Fuji AND get to use different (small) lenses too. Not a camera I lust for - not a tool for me most of the time. If I was rich, I would get it as a "vacation camera" when I do not want to lug lot of gear or attract attention.

[Toad]

This camera has interested me since it was announced - primarily because of the hybrid EVF/OVF. It is nowhere near as small as some of the other EVIL cameras - closer in size to the M9 than to the GF1. That is OK though - none of the EVIL cameras are really *pocketable* anyway, so the difference in encumbrance is moot.

Pity about the fixed lens though - which I expect is completely a function of the OVF portion of the viewfinder. If it had interchangeable lenses. it would be a pretty compelling product - as it is, it becomes a bit more of a niche product. Having said that, if I owned this (and didn't own the M9), I expect that I would carry it all the time - dragging out my Nikon for specialty work only (like I do now).

[Simon_Leung]

If this was my camera I change the name to:

Konica Hexar-D because it reminded me of the original Hexar Silver, that I once had.

[Toad]

Dpreview has posted a hands on preview of the FujiFilm X100.

I have to say that this is a VERY exciting camera. If I didn't already own a Leica, I would be very interested in this.

[matthew]

I read the dPreview, and have to say that I'm more interested in the camera than I was before. (Still not gonna buy one, but…)

B&H says 'price not available', but one Toronto camera store I know is taking pre-orders at $1080 (Canadian), and throwing in an 8GB class 10 SD card as well. That's still a lot more than a GF1 kit, but much cheaper than the $1200USD that I'd been hearing.

The best current availability date is "March".

updated - the price has gone back to $1200CAN, but still with the 8GB card…

[Zig]

The gorgeousness of this camera is not helping me keep a level head at all. I do so want this camera to work...and I do want to be justified in saying to myself, "oh, go on then...". I'm forcing myself to look at its "issues" areas in an effort to tell myself I'm making the right decision not to get one.
I'm helped in the above respect by it having the card/battery access maddeningly adjacent to the tripod bush, I guess...but then realise I've hardly used a tripod this year and then only for low-viewpoint landscapes with a small aperture.
I think I'd like to see some kind of better grip, to be honest...I could see myself nudging that jog button too often. In fact, some kind of faux advance-lever-with-thumbrest would be nice, like the aftermarket accessory that fits a Leica M9.
I'm also disappointed that one wouldn't be able to use a screw-on filter unless prepared to pay for a threaded adapter-ring...and the price is already the compromising factor for me.
In fact, on that subject, UK snappers are a bit more hampered as from a few weeks ago, with our execrable increase in VAT. Our pre-order prices are now over the psychological barrier of £1000...with £1020 being the norm. Of course, they'll prrobably throw in a sweetener of an 8GB card or somesuch..but nevertheless this is a big old price, considering that anyone with more "pro" leanings would need the option for filtration.
And that is the stumbling-block: given its niche is inhabited by people who wish creative control over actual photography, there are many other things that £1000 would secure. Rather...I'm assuming that this sort of money is not going to be as readily spent, to be honest.
IF the firmware works and IF the lens were to perform as we hope it will(and this is all hearsay for the moment, yet barely 2 months before release...how on earth are shops taking pre-orders for a lens-dependent kit of which the lens hasn't even been reviewed!?), then for £900 or so, with filter-ring, I'd eat mackerel and gravel for the next few months in order to afford it.
As it is, my personal decision on how to fill my 35mm gap boils down to the graph of need against price against ease of use. I'd so like the ease of covering this field of view with the Fuji...yet the Zeiss 35mm f2 Distagon shaves almost £200, or 20%, from the cash needed to get there. And if I were to fork out over £1000 for a Fuji X-100, how could I resist torturing myself with, "and for less than £200 more, you could get the Distagon f1.4.."? The latter is hitting our shops now.
I feel this camera, wonderful as it surely is in so many respects, has arrived just 6 months too late for me to seriously nail my colours to the mast for it. Maybe the hype-tsunamai may give my resolve a serious buffeting as time approaches...?

[matthew]

Can anyone guess what I met today?







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.

[shuttertalk]

Nice one Matthew! Thanks for posting...

Can you elaborate on the experience with the OVF/EVF? I take it the OVF is not a through the lens type - any problems with parallax errors? Also how is the EVF in use?

[matthew]

Actually, I can't really elaborate on the EVF - it wasn't the final hardware. The complete one is supposed to be an 1.1 million-dot LCD, while the one installed in the demo camera had more modest specifications and wasn't playing that nicely with the camera.

Parallax isn't likely to be a problem for normal photography, as there are framelines in the hybrid mode. I didn't check to see that they move to indicate the frame at different focusing distances, but there's no reason why they wouldn't. For macro or near-macro photography the OVF won't do, but then it's easy to switch to the EVF, although using the LCD would probably be more natural under those conditions.

[Toad]

More and more interesting. Thanks Matt.

[Zig]

A good day to go to work then Matthew! Thanks for your reflections.
My, they're cutting it fine still, if they still want to roll it out next month.

[Zig]

Latest I've gleaned as of today(mid-Feb 2011): might have a bit of a knock-on for UK would-be buyers:
I went in to my local camera shop today, Clifton Cameras, who have a decent reputation and some top dealerships: whereas, yes, they are taking pre-orders for the X-100 at less than £1000(GBP): their price is £999.
............However, the low 'n' dirty is this, so she informed me: In March(the much-vaunted release date) there are only a mere 200 coming into the UK nationwide, and then these are shared between the Fuji "platinum dealerships". This means my local shop has 20 on order, leaving the rest shared out as above....thing is, of course, she informs me that my particular outlet has pre-orders amounting to 37!
In answer to the next obvious question: "May" was the reply for the second wave of X-100s to hit the UK shores.
You know, given this info, I can't help wondering what on earth has been the problem here...firmware...raw conversion software..flash...?

Anyway...all converging nicely to keep the price at a premium, given the indications of supply versus demand...and if any UK folks here are thinking of having one by May, you'd better order now, as it seems you may have missed the March boat...
I have to stress that this final caveat is a personal surmise based on the information given to me above.

[Toad]

I guess that they want to start selling them as soon as possible, and not wait until they have stockpiled a critical mass of cameras that can satisfy the demand.

...or if I were of a more cynical persuasion, I might make the case that there is nothing like an artificial shortage of supply to fuel a feeding frenzy of "pay top dollar" demand.

[Zig]

No mate, that's a transparently realistic truism there, I reckon.

[Zig]

...mind you, that's the "Italian Meet With Toad Whilst Sporting a Poncy New Camera" shagged then. :|

[Toad]

Zig: If you want that camera, don't be afraid to check out the online e-tailers (sorry Matt). I ordered my GF-1 from Vistek in Toronto and got it at least 2 months before I could have got it in the major Vancouver shops. The distribution of *hot* cameras to suppliers is by no means an even playing field.

[Zig]

aha!

[adam]

Like many other people, I'm waiting for the arrival of mine

[shuttertalk]

Woah! Welcome to the Fuji X100 appreciation club, Adam! Soon you will be our president!!

[matthew]

Zig: If you want that camera, don't be afraid to check out the online e-tailers (sorry Matt)

No worries - my employer does a lot of online business, and is almost invariably cheaper than stores with names starting with "V" or "H".

[Pavel]

Mathew "V" and "H"? Does not ring a bell. I am going to have as Viktor for a steak and a chocolate bar.

[Toad]

Mathew "V" and "H"? Does not ring a bell. I am going to have as Viktor for a steak and a chocolate bar.

Its a Canadian joke... (***cough vistek&henrys***cough cough)