Fuji The great X100V discussion thread (formerly "specs leaked")

I got a hell of a lot of good work done with the original X100. It was the only camera I had for several years, and I made the most of it. I loved the simplicity, loved how short the path was from "itch" to "trigger"... as in "itch to maybe go take a picture of that thing/person over there" to "got it. Moving on." It fit in a tiny bag. It never got dust on the sensor. The lens had flaws, but they were mostly of the “good” kind. It made people look their best. With care, I could get 300-400 shots on a single battery, meaning I could go on most short vacations with just a backup battery and no charger if I needed to.

I’ve since gotten an XT1 and an XE3, and a handful of lenses. They’re all great tools, but they haven’t lessened my respect for what the X100 can do. I still use it sometimes – partly because it’s still as good as it ever was, and partly because my wife paid something like a thousand damned dollars for it.

And so, when I imagine how amazing the newest version must be (AF speed! Controls! Startup time!), I have nothing but lust for it. When you don’t have any other camera, you quickly learn to shut up, focus on what matters (metaphorically AND literally), and go make some good work. We only complicate things for ourselves by comparing it to others. If you know ahead of time that you’re going to love the simplicity of NOT having a few of the usual choices, and you’re good with f2 and that focal length… it’s all gravy from there.
 
I still miss the X100 anad X100T I owned. I am picky about my camera performance, so even as much as I loved the manual controls and the IQ from those early X100 cameras, they did not stick with me for long. Being locked into one lens also nagged at me as well.

I mucked about with an X100F - and it was "almost there" for me. At the right price I could see me getting one...but that opportunity never materialized for me.

The X100V, has a lot that I like. The upgraded lens is the biggest one. I don't care about the flippy screen, meaning it is not something that causes me into a "make or break" decision. The F and V have that awesome digital TC option and the WCL and TCL adapter compatibility, which makes the old argument I had about one focal length less of an issue.

I just need to justify in my mind if the upgraded lens on the X100V is enough to justify the additional money I'd have to outlay to get it or save that money and get a minty, used X100F and be happy! That and the fact that I'm now eyeing up a potential purchase of the Nikon z-mount 24-200 lens as a general walk about/travel lens.

Too much cool stuff that is competing for my dollars! :)
 
Meanwhile, back on topic... 😉

I've yet to see a negative review for the X100V but what I do note - and I know it is a curse of modern life - is the vituperation in the comments. The X100 line seems to attract more than it's fair share of people who have never had one, but who seem to hate the concept of a fixed-lens premium compact. The most common charge seems to be that an X100 series is obscenely expensive compared to an X-E series with a 27mm lens.

Surely this line of argument misses some of the key points of an X100 of any generation? I don't want to drag the arguments over here, but I'd be interested in the views of others about what I am seeing.
I currently have an XE3 and a 27 and am about to sell it to fund the X100V. The loss will be that I could put the 35 1.4 on the XE3 for night work and the XC 55-230 is actually light enough to use on the XE3. However, I have only done either of these on a trip to Disney. Otherwise, the XE3 has the 27. That combination doesn't have a tilt screen (which I really like) and is not WR. My thinking is that the X100 will do the small camera thing better and the XH1 is on the big side but is very pleasing to use.
 
It is interesting. It has three of the feature that made me pick the X70 over the X100 series in the first place. I prefer a titling touch screen over a fixed screen. And I often used the X70 wide open and closeup, two areas the X70 lens out preformed the X100 series. Personally I'm more than fine with exchanging the d-pad for the joy stick, I set the d-pad to AF control anyway. I know many don't like touch screens, but Fuji's implementation of the on screen on/off button works pretty well and the button location tends not to get get in the way.

If I had gone in the other direction and sold off my m4/3 to stay with Fuji this would definitely be on my list.

I have to agree with you on part of this, David. I too bought an X70 several years back and used it with mixed pleasure and frustration, but the tilting screen, although it wasn't at the top of my personal checklist, wound up being surprisingly (to me, at least) useful. Ultimately, I sold the X70 because it didn't quite fit my (admittedly weird and eccentric) personal criteria for what I wanted out of a small, semi pocketable and high-quality compact camera---

But a good friend recently let me play around with his now ancient 1st-generation X100 and....damn, what a beautiful camera it was....and still is. I know, I know, I know - the subsequent iterations of the X100 line have each improved significantly over the original and I imagine I would be happy shooting with any of them....but I'll join my voice to the growing number of people who have said that, all other things being equal, they either want to buy one (when the prices descend to a less stratospheric level) - or they already have put in their orders or pre-orders. The X100v seems like a wonderfully mouth-watering compact.

But then again, so is the other camera I've long lusted after, and finally purchased, after finding a lightly used copy for a reasonable (i.e. affordably low) price: a Pen F. With my not quite pancake-sized but otherwise superlative 15mm f/1.7 PanaLeica lens now permanently attached, it's almost the same size as an X100 (okay, the PL15 sticks out a bit further) and, in spite of the sometimes fiddly and weird Olympus controls, it is definitely a camera that, once you start shooting with it....you don't want to stop.

I'm pretty sure the X100v is, too. (Be still, oh my beating heart...)
 
Ok, so here is my next question that is bopping around in my head.

If I get the X100V, do I keep the 23/2?? Sell it and the XE3 and the not very often used 18-55. I can use all the other primes on the XPRO2 and bring the X100V when I want that focal length. It’s really not that much bigger of a footprint in the bag.

decisions, decisions. Now I gotta do some more think on’. Lol
 
if I had the X-Pro2 and I was considering buying the X100V, the X-E3 and 23/2 would be gone so fast it would make your head spin. I'd be tempted to keep the 18-55 unless you never plan on wanting the convenience of a zoom in your kit.
 
I currently have an XE3 and a 27 and am about to sell it to fund the X100V. The loss will be that I could put the 35 1.4 on the XE3 for night work and the XC 55-230 is actually light enough to use on the XE3. However, I have only done either of these on a trip to Disney. Otherwise, the XE3 has the 27. That combination doesn't have a tilt screen (which I really like) and is not WR. My thinking is that the X100 will do the small camera thing better and the XH1 is on the big side but is very pleasing to use.
If you can get by with JPegs I found the first level digital TC pretty good on the X70, worth a try on the X100V.

.....But then again, so is the other camera I've long lusted after, and finally purchased, after finding a lightly used copy for a reasonable (i.e. affordably low) price: a Pen F. With my not quite pancake-sized but otherwise superlative 15mm f/1.7 PanaLeica lens now permanently attached, it's almost the same size as an X100 (okay, the PL15 sticks out a bit further) and, in spite of the sometimes fiddly and weird Olympus controls, it is definitely a camera that, once you start shooting with it....you don't want to stop.......
I have the 17mm and 12-32mm when I want small on Pen F, debating about a 14mm, 15mm, or 20mm.
 
if I had the X-Pro2 and I was considering buying the X100V, the X-E3 and 23/2 would be gone so fast it would make your head spin. I'd be tempted to keep the 18-55 unless you never plan on wanting the convenience of a zoom in your kit.

while the zoom is convenient, I could get by with the Z6 and 24-70. I just rarely use it as I, honestly prefer the renderings from the Fuji primes over the zooms.

I just wish that Fuji would make a loner end prime. Something in the 135 to 200 range.

although I say that and I just saw that a company called Fringer makes a canon to Fuji AF adapter and the Canon EF and EF-S primes in that range are very affordable.

dag it!! More stuff to consider. LOL.
 
Sticking with my longstanding policy of departing with two cameras for every new camera I bring in, here's is what I am considering - assuming the new cameras turn out to be what I am hoping for and I decide that I really can stand to give up some of the cameras that I currently own:

X-H1 and X-T3 for the X-T4. The X-Pro2 and X-E3 for the X-100V.

I'm not at all sure about this yet. I'm still not sure the 16-55mm f/2.8 will feel right on anything smaller than the X-H1. And the X-Pro2 vs. the X-100V? We'll see.
 
Sticking with my longstanding policy of departing with two cameras for every new camera I bring in, here's is what I am considering - assuming the new cameras turn out to be what I am hoping for and I decide that I really can stand to give up some of the cameras that I currently own:

X-H1 and X-T3 for the X-T4. The X-Pro2 and X-E3 for the X-100V.

I'm not at all sure about this yet. I'm still not sure the 16-55mm f/2.8 will feel right on anything smaller than the X-H1. And the X-Pro2 vs. the X-100V? We'll see.
I think the selling of the X-H1 and X-T3 in favor of the X-T4 is the way to go. It would combine the best of both cameras into one. As far as the handling with the 16-55. I used to shoot the X-T1 with the 16-55. With the battery grip the X-T1 felt perfectly balanced with the both the 16-55 and 50-140.

The Pro2/E3 for the x100V would come down to how much you like shooting at the 23mm focal length. Plus available internal and external TCs. But it does give you a nice small option for the times you don't want the larger gear. Performance wise, the 100V will be better than the Pro2/E3. And closer to the X-T4 if you go that route. This would also simplify you down to two cameras.
 
FWIW, I've noticed the "F" version to appear sharper, at least to me, than the previous incarnations. I've owned them all and was never pleased with the "focus sharpenss" on the previous versions. I've wondered if Fuji finally got the AF right on the "F". I gotta' wonder.
. . . David
 
FWIW, I've noticed the "F" version to appear sharper, at least to me, than the previous incarnations. I've owned them all and was never pleased with the "focus sharpenss" on the previous versions. I've wondered if Fuji finally got the AF right on the "F". I gotta' wonder.
. . . David

It may depend on whether you are comparing RAW or SOOC JPGs. The in-camera processing of JPG sharpness, IMO, is not nearly as good as post-production sharpening. JPG processing can vary from one model to another, and can vary amongst ICL models and may also vary depending on the lens used. All of this can be firmware related. RAW files would be the most fair basis for comparison.
 
It may depend on whether you are comparing RAW or SOOC JPGs. The in-camera processing of JPG sharpness, IMO, is not nearly as good as post-production sharpening. JPG processing can vary from one model to another, and can vary amongst ICL models and may also vary depending on the lens used. All of this can be firmware related. RAW files would be the most fair basis for comparison.
I usually up the sharpening and process in camera. I’m still not happy with sharpening Fuji raw files in third party software.
 
I usually up the sharpening and process in camera. I’m still not happy with sharpening Fuji raw files in third party software.
When I up the sharpening in Fuji cameras and shooting B&W, it creates an undesirable effect. Thin black objects will have a white "border" on the side.
I am using Silkypix Developer Studio Pro 9 and am very happy with the sharpening options it provides for both RAW and JPG. Here is an example of in-camera sharpening.

X1015136SILK81c.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
I usually up the sharpening and process in camera. I’m still not happy with sharpening Fuji raw files in third party software.

I find sharpening in Capture One works well, but not so much in Lightroom.

I know there are halo issues in older x-trans cameras if you go past +2. I’ve heard that XT3 and newer cameras have addressed this issue. I do not have one of those cameras to verify though. Going off the word of some trusted sources.
 
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