Fuji Fuji X100 - 8 part "User Experience" and field test.

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I've just finished an 8-part "user experience" and field test with the X100. Its not a review but my real-time experiences with it, mistakes and all. Probably the most "interesting" (understatement!) camera I've ever used. Certainly the most frustrating, but ultimately probably one of the best.

Day One
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 1 - Day One

First Impressions
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 2 - First Impressions

ISO Comparison
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 3 - ISO Comparison

Video and Panorama
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 4 - Video and Panorama

Lens and Sensor
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 5 - Lens and Sensor

Operational Difficulties
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 6 - Operational Difficulties

More Quality More frustration
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 7 - More Quality More Frustration

Conclusion
Soundimageplus: Fuji X100 - User Experience 8 - Conclusion
 
Thanks for the write up, which I enjoyed reading a lot. Your conclusions are very much in line with my personal experience after using the X100 for the last 3 weeks or so. Fuji has a real winner at hand and presently sets the gold standard in the large sensor compact camera category, at least for me. My X1 plus VF and hand grip will be up for sale soon. Trading in a Leica for a Fuji:D Leicaholics may forgive me.
 
Thanks for the write up, which I enjoyed reading a lot. Your conclusions are very much in line with my personal experience after using the X100 for the last 3 weeks or so. Fuji has a real winner at hand and presently sets the gold standard in the large sensor compact camera category, at least for me. My X1 plus VF and hand grip will be up for sale soon. Trading in a Leica for a Fuji:D Leicaholics may forgive me.

I too am seriously thinking about what I'm using, and I've got a lot of cameras that do different things that the X100 does in one. I'd be interested to know how you cope with some of the "difficulties". Does it become second nature to accept the Fuji way of organising things or do you still experience frustration? I'm hoping that I experience the former, because I have most definitely made mistakes with it. As a "long-time user" in X100 terms, I wonder what your experience is?

As a Leicaholic myself, you are certainly forgiven!! Is it OK to be a Fujiholic?? Never thought I'd ever say that!
 
Thanks David for your "personal review". What I "hate" about using different cameras is the fact that the menu structure / layout is different.
Does this have impact on you as professional ? (I know you got Leica, X100, Nikon, Pans)
 
Part of the problem is that things aren't where I expect them to be. In many ways I've got quite lazy and usually only consult manuals when I need to!
I'm fully prepared to accept that some of these problems may be me not paying attention, but I'm certainly not the only one experiencing "confusion".

I'll get my head round it soon and hopefully that will all get stored away in my memory along with the other large number of camera control memories I store there!! Ultimately as I said at the end of my posts, for me its the results that count, and I have very little to complain about there.

Thanks David for your "personal review". What I "hate" about using different cameras is the fact that the menu structure / layout is different.
Does this have impact on you as professional ? (I know you got Leica, X100, Nikon, Pans)
 
Thanks for the write up, which I enjoyed reading a lot. Your conclusions are very much in line with my personal experience after using the X100 for the last 3 weeks or so. Fuji has a real winner at hand and presently sets the gold standard in the large sensor compact camera category, at least for me. My X1 plus VF and hand grip will be up for sale soon. Trading in a Leica for a Fuji:D Leicaholics may forgive me.

That's interesting retow, I'm thinking of going the same way! The software update on the X1 has made no difference in my view and when I took it out to use at an event on Saturday, it missed any small amount of action that there was! My first "serious compact" was a fuji 31 fd so I'm no stranger to Fuji. I would never buy another camera without a viewfinder and the price of the X1 plus the Brightline VF was just too much!
 
I'd enjoyed the previous entries and just checked out the conclusions. I pretty much agree. It's interesting that you say "For me the bottom line is always the image quality and the X100 is just superb in this regard". For me, image quality has NEVER been my bottom line - every camera I've used in the past year has been more than good enough IQ for the kind of photography I mostly do. And yet the X100 is "superb in this regard" to the extent it may spoil me for some of my other cameras. There a certain crispness and fullness to the images I'm getting with this camera that's spoiling me and changing the way I look at the finished output. I don't peep pixels and if I needed to in order to see the difference, it wouldn't mean anything to me. But the IQ from this camera is readily apparent even on the computer monitor. And then I can do my typical B&W treatment and rough them up a bit, but the color shots are so stunning I'm inclined to use color more, even though I seem to see images more naturally in B&W.

And, for all of its quirks, its just a lot of fun to shoot with. Which for me is a HUGE part of the whole experience and desire to use a camera. Between the rangefinder like characteristics of shooting with this camera and the TLR characteristics of shooting with the Nex, I'm having the photographic time of my life these days...

-Ray
 
Firstly, thanks for your advice and feedback. I'm using your solution about keeping it on all the time and it does help.

The thing that really amazes me is just how good the jpgs are. I'm actually very rarely using the raw files. I've really never seen anything as good as this before. Plus they are relatively easy to "fix" if I don't get the exposure right. I'm still shooting raw for long term storage, but I'm sending out the jpgs to my various library websites with no concerns at all.

I'd enjoyed the previous entries and just checked out the conclusions. I pretty much agree. It's interesting that you say "For me the bottom line is always the image quality and the X100 is just superb in this regard". For me, image quality has NEVER been my bottom line - every camera I've used in the past year has been more than good enough IQ for the kind of photography I mostly do. And yet the X100 is "superb in this regard" to the extent it may spoil me for some of my other cameras. There a certain crispness and fullness to the images I'm getting with this camera that's spoiling me and changing the way I look at the finished output. I don't peep pixels and if I needed to in order to see the difference, it wouldn't mean anything to me. But the IQ from this camera is readily apparent even on the computer monitor. And then I can do my typical B&W treatment and rough them up a bit, but the color shots are so stunning I'm inclined to use color more, even though I seem to see images more naturally in B&W.

And, for all of its quirks, its just a lot of fun to shoot with. Which for me is a HUGE part of the whole experience and desire to use a camera. Between the rangefinder like characteristics of shooting with this camera and the TLR characteristics of shooting with the Nex, I'm having the photographic time of my life these days...

-Ray
 
Thanks for posting this report. Very, very interesting. Your comments gel with what I have read elsewhere (e.g. Sean Reid, Michael Reichmann).

I really appreciate you taking the time to put this together.
 
Interesting field test! I have been reading your blog for a while now and I enjoy reading it. I am just curious how long it takes you to sell the X100 again and what your next favorite camera will be. We will most probably know that next month.
 
I'm going to pretty much repeat what I just posted over on your blog: Wow!! Those pictures taken in that kind of low light at those settings - heck at any settings - sure are impressive! I can't wait to experience what you've been writing about myself and thank to your blog, I've got a big head start. Thank you so much for taking us along on your learning path, David.

Christian, I have a feeling that the X100 is going to remain in David's collection for quite some time.;)
 
P5030035.jpg

Christian, I have a feeling that the X100 is going to remain in David's collection for quite some time.;)

This time its not just me! My (very reluctant to be photographed but OK this time if you promise to blur me out!)wife and partner, in all senses of the word, is also smitten. Thats a smile of pleasure back there, checking out the OVF. Selling is probably not an option here.
 
View attachment 1270


This time its not just me! My (very reluctant to be photographed but OK this time if you promise to blur me out!)wife and partner, in all senses of the word, is also smitten. Thats a smile of pleasure back there, checking out the OVF. Selling is probably not an option here.

Camera.....case......hood......jeez, I think you need to add a NSFW tag to this......it's bordering on camera porn.

R
 
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