Fuji Some pros think the X100S is da bomb

[Pelao]

I agree. That's why I said I thought Zach was a better photographer - I should have said MUCH better. And I agree that Steve is a shill for most of the stuff he gets for free, but I think its somewhat to his credit that he's been willing to criticize things about cameras he doesn't like. I don't think he's found anything he dislikes about the OMD, for example, but has been somewhat critical of Fuji AF and some of the Nex lenses I believe. I've never seen him criticize Leica and we'll see if the high ISO banding issue with the new M240 is a big issue or not, but he seems to be REALLY downplaying it, so that could turn out to be shill behavior.

So I wasn't defending Steve. He knows what pays his bills and goes to bat to keep the money coming in. But frankly, if I ever tried to run a site like his, I'd no doubt be accused of the same stuff because I tend to like almost everything I try these days. There are exceptions, but I'll always say that's just about personal preference rather than good or bad - the RX100 isn't for me at all but its an amazing little camera in a lot of ways. So I'd probably come off as a shill too because very little current camera gear sucks at all and I can get pretty enthusiastic about anything, particularly in the relatively early days of using it.

But, as much as I like Zach's work and fully respect him as a professional photographer, he's still a Fuji shill - I don't think there's any question about it. That doesn't mean he doesn't believe what he's saying, but I'd be shocked if he's not getting paid to say it, or at least getting a lifetime supply of Fuji gear. And he says it in some pretty over the top ways. I mean, I really don't believe the X100s is the greatest camera of all time and I doubt he does either, but he's hot for it at the moment and is willing to say that about it. To me, that's pretty over the top and is pretty much what a shill does! And again, if I was as good as Zach and I really liked Fuji as much as he seems to and they were willing to pay me to shout about it, I'd probably do that too. So I don't think I'm being over-critical here. Just calling a spade a spade...

-Ray

Perhaps. It may also be an assumed spade. He does use the cameras to produce paid work. He is also a very expressive guy. When he is enthusiastic about something he goes all out. It's just who he is. A bit like Kelby and his really bad jokes.

 

[Ray Sachs]

Perhaps. It may also be an assumed spade. He does use the cameras to produce paid work. He is also a very expressive guy. When he is enthusiastic about something he goes all out. It's just who he is. A bit like Kelby and his really bad jokes.

Well, if it turns out he's not getting paid to say it, I take it all back. But I find that pretty unlikely. Even if he's just getting paid in gear, which I find less unlikely but still unlikely.

-Ray

 

[Pelao]

Well, if it turns out he's not getting paid to say it, I take it all back. But I find that pretty unlikely. Even if he's just getting paid in gear, which I find less unlikely but still unlikely.

-Ray

Sure. I have no doubt he is receiving something too.

That said, he does use the cameras for pro work, and good work too. Work that needs to be good for him to stay afloat. All things considered, I'll happily pay attention to what he says and take from it what is relevant to me. He is no different from the generously supported Leica pros. They say the good stuff, take the cash - but then on to real work with the gear.

Huff I just can't take seriously. For me he adds no value. I feel this is reflected in the comments to his posts - very revealing about the crowd that is attracted. Might as well talk about golf clubs or baseball. There isn't a lot of photography going on there...

 

[joeradza]

The difference between Zack and Huff is simple. Zack Arias is a full time professional photographer and Steve Huff and his posters act like teen age girls giggling over the latest whatever.

 

[jloden]

As far as the battery life - you have to bear in mind in Zach and David's case, they're coming from DSLR systems that use large batteries that get 900+ shots to a charge. Compared to those numbers, almost *every* mirrorless and compact camera out there "eats batteries". Especially if you consider that in David's case, he's likely using flash quite a bit on top of it.

As for the rest of it... this comes up every time with Steve Huff, but you have to remember the man has stated many times he only reviews gear he's personally interested in and excited about. How many of us get really excited about a camera and then proceed to nitpick it to death? I'm gonna guess "not many", since otherwise we wouldn't be here on a Fuji X forum given the reputation for quirkiness they've acquired If we weren't able to overlook some issues like, say, AF speed in exchange for other things we love about a camera, we'd all be using DSLRs with blazing fast phase detect AF instead.

Zach and Steve both fall into the same camp - they write about gear they own that they're excited about. They gush over their cameras. Ergo, you don't go there to get a photozone-like set of tests and a fair and balanced discussion of its pros and cons. You go to their sites if you happen to like the same cameras they do (e.g. for Steve Leicas, rangefinders, compact high IQ cameras) or maybe because you really like their photography and are interested in their opinions about the gear they use to create it. If you really like Leicas and the OM-D too, then maybe Steve's take on the RX1 is worth a read to you. The only important point is not to take it as some kind of empirical evaluation of each camera relative to the market - it's just one guy's opinion. If you take it for what it is, it's fine.

 

[Ray Sachs]

More from Zack - the new king of hyperbole! Which doesn't mean he doesn't believe what he's saying or that he's not a damn fine photographer. Still.....

http://zackarias.com/editorial-photography/galatasaray-bests-schalke-fuji-x100s-bests-leica/

And the follow-up POTD over on DPR - "Fuji will not be the new Leica until they start offering a Limited Edition X100 that is wrapped in albino elephant foreskin."

-Ray

 

[Pelao]

More from Zack - the new king of hyperbole! Which doesn't mean he doesn't believe what he's saying or that he's not a damn fine photographer. Still.....

http://zackarias.com/editorial-photography/galatasaray-bests-schalke-fuji-x100s-bests-leica/

And the follow-up POTD over on DPR - "Fuji will not be the new Leica until they start offering a Limited Edition X100 that is wrapped in albino elephant foreskin."

-Ray

Yep, seems like hyperbole. Sure, I know what he means, and it's his style, but still...

I'd rather Leica stayed Leica and Fuji keep going as they are. Otherwise the innovation would stop, updates would take years, and the price would go up to places I can't reach.

The special edition you mention seems like a miss to me. Can't quite put my finger on why...

 

[Armanius]

I need Fuji to transfer all the improvements onto the second gen XPro/XE. And release the 23/1.4!!! Soon! That should be enough to prevent me from getting a X100S (other than the wife ... although she would not be able to tell it apart from the X100).

 

[Armanius]

In Steve's defense he has some pretty nice photos in one of his old blogs. There's a documentary set on homeless folks in Phoenix that to my layman's eyes, it is pretty pretty good.

 

[zapatista]

Steve Huff=Zack Arias.

 

[jloden]

[...]

The special edition you mention seems like a miss to me. Can't quite put my finger on why...

I wouldn't want to

 

[Pelao]

Steve Huff=Zack Arias.

Nope.
Hardly. Huff 'reviews'. Arias makes photographs and comments on the cameras.

 

[zapatista]

Nope.
Hardly. Huff 'reviews'. Arias makes photographs and comments on the cameras.

Yeah I just checked out his blog, some really nice stuff. He makes boy bands look good, that's sheer artistry.

 

[flysurfer]

There seems to be quite some fascination with people like Ken, Zack or Stev. Folks keep writing about them and their blogs, quickly filling forum pages. So I guess those guys are doing something right by issuing controversial posts that people like to talk about and link to—that way, other people read it, too, and then join the conversation. That conversation that is typically more about the way an article is written (hyperbole, hilarity, factual nonsense, highly opinionated etc.) and less about the actual camera. So I guess it must be kind of entertaining, maybe even in an odd way, like a traffic accident, where you simply have to look. As long as this concept generates traffic, word of mouth, links and thus more traffic, it apparently works.

 

[Pelao]

There seems to be quite some fascination with people like Ken, Zack or Stev. Folks keep writing about them and their blogs, quickly filling forum pages. So I guess those guys are doing something right by issuing controversial posts that people like to talk about and link to—that way, other people read it, too, and then join the conversation. That conversation that is typically more about the way an article is written (hyperbole, hilarity, factual nonsense, highly opinionated etc.) and less about the actual camera. So I guess it must be kind of entertaining, maybe even in an odd way, like a traffic accident, where you simply have to look. As long as this concept generates traffic, word of mouth, links and thus more traffic, it apparently works.

Perhaps that's so. I haven't visited Rockwell or Huff in a very long time. Arias I have occasionally. - I like some of his work.

 

[Steve B.]

Yeah I just checked out his blog, some really nice stuff. He makes boy bands look good, that's sheer artistry.

Let 's see getting a large check from a record company as a professional photographer as opposed to say whining on an Internet forum........ Hmmmmm, I wonder who I would trust. And when you get a check from said record company I might take you seriously. Oh wait I bet you are the unrecognized tortured artist type. Let me guess William Eggleston, no wait, Robert Frank right?

 

[kevwilfoto]

Yeah I just checked out his blog, some really nice stuff. He makes boy bands look good, that's sheer artistry.

Zack is crazy good. I remember his Instagram stream of black & white iPhone images and thinking he should have a gallery showing of that stuff. And the images he pulled off in that DigitalRev cheap camera challenge were really good for a $10 pocket camera and $?? flash. Nikon, Canon, Mamiya, Fuji, iPhone - it doesn't matter what he shoots with.

 

[Pelao]

Zack is crazy good. I remember his Instagram stream of black & white iPhone images and thinking he should have a gallery showing of that stuff. And the images he pulled off in that DigitalRev cheap camera challenge were really good for a $10 pocket camera and $?? flash. Nikon, Canon, Mamiya, Fuji, iPhone - it doesn't matter what he shoots with.

I forgot about the DigitalRev thing. You're right, he really showed his abilities there. I like some of his stuff too. He makes it look easy.

 

[jloden]

I forgot about the DigitalRev thing. You're right, he really showed his abilities there. I like some of his stuff too. He makes it look easy.

Yeah, that was impressive as heck. That episode and the one with and David Hobby (Strobist) - considering the ridiculous Buzz Lightyear Toy Story toy camera they gave him, he was amazing. Zach at least got a point and shoot that didn't insert CGI dinosaurs into your photos

 

[zapatista]

Let 's see getting a large check from a record company as a professional photographer as opposed to say whining on an Internet forum........ Hmmmmm, I wonder who I would trust. And when you get a check from said record company I might take you seriously. Oh wait I bet you are the unrecognized tortured artist type. Let me guess William Eggleston, no wait, Robert Frank right?

LOL, I'm a ****ing tax accountant. I was being serious, Arias does some really nice stuff. He's still a Fuji schill, but no, now that I'm really looking at his work...excellent.