[shuttertalk]

Of all the enticing new product announcements at Photokina, this one caught my fancy.

Fujifilm have announced a large APS-C sensor compact camera, (a la M4/3, NEX, Samsung NX100 etc.) but with a fixed 23mm f2.0 (equivalent to 35mm) lens. The drawcard - a hybrid OVF / EVF that switches at the press of the button. The OVF is also overlayed with shooting data via a prism - so it's not just a "window" and uses a newly developed EXR image processor.

The Hybrid Viewfinder on the FinePix X100 combines the window-type “bright frame” optical viewfinder found in high-end film cameras such as 35mm or medium-format cameras, and the electronic viewfinder system incorporated in fixed single lens or mirrorless digital cameras. By integrating a prism for the 1,440,000 dot LCD panel image on the viewing screen in the reverse-Galilean optical finder, the Hybrid Viewfinder can show both the shooting frame and a variety of shooting data.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1009/100919...lmx100.asp

I think this is a great idea - especially when the main complaint with EVIL cameras is the lack of a proper viewfinder. The fixed lens and the whole camera styling is charming - kinda reminiscent of the good old rangefinder days, but I can see how some might see that as more of a limitation.



I'm keeping an eye out for this one with great anticipation...

[Toad]

Yes - it looks lovely - and the hybrid viewfinder will be a treat. In every way a superior product - but no option to chnage lenses at all. Direct competitor to the Lecia X1.

[shuttertalk]

Agree with your analysis - hopefully the price won't be in the Leica range...

[shuttertalk]

I'm drooling at this image right here...

[matthew]

I'm very interested in this camera, and I know a lot of other people are as well. The price range is going to end up around 1000 USD, Euros, or Pounds, depending on the region; they'll be available some time in earlyish 2011. It certainly looks like a tempting camera.

The control arrangement looks good, but they missed having a dial for the iso sensitivity. Hopefully that's fixed before the camera goes into production.

I'm hoping for half-stop aperture control, although thirds-stop would be good as well.

I'm also surprised that they didn't align the hot shoe with the lens. This could hamper the inevitable niche of aftermarket converter lenses and accessory viewfinders.

(But I love that threaded shutter release.)

[Pavel]

much to like. However a choice of focal lenght for composition is major tool for me. On the other hand, the DOF control via aperture on Canon G11 is a joke and noise is too much over ISO 400. I like the viewfinder idea on the Fuji, but EVILS are beginning to give almost useful EVFs and retain exchangeable lenses. I would go with an EVIL as a possible alternative to DSLR, provided that both the bodies and the lenses will be small and the operation of an EVIL will be convenient, despite of small size. In any case, I will not switch to EVIL or any other system as long as I have the strength to drag my Nikon and a clutch of lenses.

[Zig]

Me too very interested; just right up my alley in fact. It'll save me scrabbling about for a 35mm lens, as 35mm shots seem to come up just when you don't want to faff around looking for the lens. To be honest, it shouldn't have any problems against the Panasonically- overpriced X-1...in fact I get the feeling it's thumbing its nose at Leica here, what with its looks(I think we're starting to see the rangefinder wave starting to crest in many ways of late).
And, again...see the nomenclature: "X100"...I mean, who are the kidding! This may well be the Crimbo present at Castle Zig.

Edited: oo dear..just seen Matthew's guesstimate on price...

[shuttertalk]

Yeah I've seen rumours of price being around that mark as well...

[shuttertalk]

Found a product brochure (already!) here...
http://www.fujifilm.com/photokina2010/pd...atalog.pdf

It also explains in more detail how the OVF system works. Automatically corrects parallax?? And you can switch to the EVF with that little toggle switch at the front (so that's what it was for. I thought it was the self timer switch).

[matthew]

I had forgotten about the built-in ND filter. I like the sound of that - both because it shows a certain confidence in the lens design as well as for its tremendous practical utility. Hopefully that feature makes it into the finished product.

[Zig]

I can confirm that on this side of The Pond the X-100 will indeed retail at £999 GBP. Despite my inbuilt failsafe bleeping at me about all the "better" uses(er, Zeiss 35mm primes) that photocash can be ploughed into, this remains for me the singularly most exciting camera birth of the past few years.
The naming "conventions" spawned since the m4/3 giltrush, still tickle me, as these naff little names suggest not so much their own model number but that of the rival's nose they're wishing to ape or rub in the dirt. And it seems that Fuji do not need to resort to anything other than allowing themselves to glow at this point.
And I know this is personal nostalgia for me still: Fuji rangefinders(and I'm reminded of Matthew's recent purchase here)...just yumminess really. Now, all we need is a rich benefactor at the gates of Castle Zig....

[Toad]

Its definitely an interesting little camera - the hybrid EVF/OVF being the feature that I think most people will see as its biggest strength. The fixed lens is not so much a deal-breaker as it might be on a camera that is so self contained. However, all of the criticisms that were leveled at the Leica X1 re feature set vs price are valid here as well. The Fuji looks better than the X1 though.

[matthew]

these naff little names suggest not so much their own model number but that of the rival's nose they're wishing to ape or rub in the dirt.

I hadn't thought of that - Leica has the X1, Fuji has the X100. Echoes of Olympus, with their OM series.

A couple of my colleagues are desperately lusting after the X100 - and the shop now stocks Fuji so we'll have a shot at getting it in - and most people are quite surprised that I'm not thinking of buying one myself. But if I didn't have the GH1+20/1.7, I'd probably be joining the queue.

[Zig]

..and you have a slightly larger Fuji rangefinder already mate...

[shuttertalk]

Photographyblog has dedicated some coverage to it - here are some hands on photos.

http://www.photographyblog.com/news/fujf...on_photos/

I also noticed that they've got a microsite going - very nice "marketing" reading to whet your apetite...

http://www.finepix-x100.com/

[Zig]

Thank you Jules!
(Just when I thought it was safe to save up for a graphite neck for me fretless bass... :/ )

[Zig]

Having a good long think here.
If the IQ is good and there are enough ergonomics in it for me to go "neat!" a couple of times, I'd reckon this might offset any momentary nonplussedness(!) I find myself feeling....and it needs to be good in the areas it says it is.
My brow furrows ever so slightly as to why it's taken so long to arrive, even though its design seems to have been a done deal for a while.
When I think this through, I wonder to myself if the waiting has not been to do with the camera's production at all but in its accessories...I'm thinking of its flash.
I notice that even at this late stage of the game, the flash synch speed hasn't been finalised..and I wonder if Fuji are working round the offset hotshoe oddity by designing a funky little "reverse offset" flash that gets flash coverage centred over the lens again?
Of course, that's me just ruminating. So many features seem ergonomically to be "there": I do like the easy RAW button that allows a quick flt between raw, jpeg or raw+jpeg..in fact as I like the time-honoured old-school ways of dialling exposure compensation: and the viewfinder-switching is very exciting. Yep, shutter speed on a dialling ring; yep, aperture ring and focusing ring: but I do so hope the latter has some substance and weight to it.
True, no I.S...but the colours are already nailed to the mast in terms of who they expect to buy it: we've got the added switchable ND filter as well...and the ISO goes very high...presumably, then, they are so confident of its lack of noise. And the quirky non sequitur: ND filter, 3 stops' worth...but is this because you can only get ISO100 by "extending"? By this, I'm assuming you have to go to a menu and dig around, as otherwise your slowest is ISO200.
And while we're on the subject, I'm puzzled as to why changing ISO is not clearly visible..is this within a menu too?
It all seems a funny mix: some bits are great, clear, functionally thought through and innovative...but others seem to be the ingenuity of someone working out how to get out of a corner they've backed themselves into, rather than the ingenuity of freedom.
I wonder if the first target of Fuji was to rival the Leica X-1 in terms of small and functional aesthetic/IQ? Full-frame sensor would make more sense..yet would have implications for lens size/aperture and overall size..and that weeny close-focus distance..
It'd better be darn good, with its quirky bits forgivable or quaint..and its rings had better feel the business...or else even with its ability to do video at wide apertures my brow could well stay furrowed.
Price: in addition to the £1000 tag that was hinted at, I now see that this may be the euro price...possibly making it around £900 in GBP. I do hope it's not too late. As it is, it's already a bit of an anachronism...and I guess we'll have to wait till it's on the shelves to find if it's a charming genius or slavvering eccentric.

[NT73]

It looks like a camera, rather than two bricks (a-la Canon & Nikon with extra battery). But I went off of Fuji in a big way, when my little F420 had to be returned 4 times. If they work well then fine, but my faith in the repair department went out of the window with the first return, which said they could find no fault with it. I don't think they switched it on.
I still have it and it still has the same problem. I take 1 photo and the camera switches off after displaying the battery low symbol.

[Zig]

Sorry to briefly divert the thread flow, but, NT, I have a bell ringing here:
They(Fuji) may have tested it with a different battery. I say this, as that camera is long in the tooth(by today's auto-obsolescence standards) and if its battery is original, might not be holding enough charge, as it's pre-lithium presumably. The scenario you describe seems bang on for a knackered battery, especially since the camera itself was a considered a dinky but nifty little thing. Pop a new battery in, you might be pleasantly surprised(and Fuji vindicated).

[Toad]

I do like the easy RAW button that allows a quick flt between raw, jpeg or raw+jpeg..

Bad use of button IMO. RAW is something I set once when I buy the camera and never set again - how about a dedicated ISO button instead? The ND filter is a nice feature though...

I wonder if the first target of Fuji was to rival the Leica X-1 in terms of small and functional aesthetic/IQ?

No question there - that is exactly the target market. m43 has always been about making the Leica aesthetic more affordable (plus video)...

[NT73]

Sorry to briefly divert the thread flow, but, NT, I have a bell ringing here:
They(Fuji) may have tested it with a different battery. I say this, as that camera is long in the tooth(by today's auto-obsolescence standards) and if its battery is original, might not be holding enough charge, as it's pre-lithium presumably. The scenario you describe seems bang on for a knackered battery, especially since the camera itself was a considered a dinky but nifty little thing. Pop a new battery in, you might be pleasantly surprised(and Fuji vindicated).

It was tested with new batteries, and fully explained to the fuji repairs dept manager, Zig. Neither had it been dropped mishandled etc. BTW this was when it was only 10 month old.

[Zig]

Oh dear, sorry to hear that; pah!

[matthew]

I read a comment over on The Online Photographer that the Fuji X100 will be perfect when it comes out, and then the X200 will be even better.

I had to laugh, because it's so true of all pre-release hype and camera marketing: this model is the best ever, superb, flawless - just like the one that it's replacing.

What interests me most is the built-in ND filter, a la Canon G-series. (Of course, that would be *really* useful in a camera that records video, but that's another matter.) But in terms of interface, for all of the justified excitement about the viewfinder, there are clearly some places that could be improved. But on the other hand, I don't think there's ever been a really well-designed digital camera, and from that starting place the X100 does look like an improvement.

[shuttertalk]

Good points Matthew.

Apparently the initial audience reception has been very positive from the crowds at CES:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1101/110106...erview.asp

Clarke told us 'of all the feedback that we received from the public, the vast majority was positive'. When asked why the X100's lens is fixed at 35mm, Clarke explained that this decision was taken because 35mm is 'recognised standard focal length - not too wide, but not too long'. It seems that it was also - at least partly an engineering decision. According to Toshishisa Iida, other lens options were looked at, but the X100's 35mm equivalent Fujinon lens gives 'optimal edge-to-edge resolution', allowing photographers to get the most out of the X100's 12MP CMOS sensor.

[matthew]

I may have read that summary…

The interest in the Fujifilm X100 is spreading beyond the photography and hard-core gadget sites. ArsTechnica, which is more of a general computer/tech/science site, has given it a decent write-up as well.

Fujifilm's upcoming Finepix X100 combines classic rangefinder styling and handling with a large sensor and a sharp lens to attract professional photographers looking for a competent compact.

The full article, which includes punctuation and isn't all just one long sentence, is here:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011...camera.ars