Fuji What happened to the X100?

Travisennis

Regular
It seemed that earlier this year nearly everyone was so enthusiastic about the X100 that it was hard to find a discussion on this forum that wasn't about that camera. Today I saw that Luke was able to find himself a X100 and he made this comment:

Thanks to all who offered my theirs (I had so many offers it made me uneasy). I hope I enjoy it more than everyone else seems to. Yikes!

It's been 6 months. What happened? I just recently bought mine and I couldn't be happier with it. I honestly feel like it is one of the most unique digital cameras on the market. Sure, it is quirky as hell and it has had some quality control issues, but it's not only a wonderful example of camera design, but it backs it up with wonderful image quality.

Of course, when it came out it was a big deal with lots of hype surrounding it. I know I wanted to try one and it took me some time before I actually could. I'm sure others wanted to try it too and they jumped on it early and after trying it found out it wasn't for them. Which is to say that there are probably many reasonable explanations for why people are moving on to other cameras.

However, it doesn't seem like there are many X100 owners left around here. I know BB and Ray still have theirs and perhaps a few others. For those who've kept it do you plan to keep it longer and for those who've gotten rid of it, I would be curious to hear your reasons why.

As for myself, I plan to keep mine and keep it for a long time. I bought a GF1 last November. Then some legacy lenses. Then I sold my GF1 and those legacy lenses and bought a NEX and some more legacy lenses. Then I sold everything and bought a X100. All that in not quite a year. I'm tired of buying and selling. I'm tired of wanting th e latest and the greatest. I have a camera I'm happy with and I plan to keep it around for awhile.
 
Not to worry, Travis - we've got quite a few who use and own their X100s. Some people have multiple cameras and so you won't see them always posting pictures from the same camera...and not everyone posts in the camera specific threads. I try to spread the "wealth" myself.

Personally, I love my camera and for now it is my only camera. At times I miss having a wider lens, but really I've become quite comfortable with the 35mm - and I love it for low light! If I were a wild life photographer, I'd want an interchangeable lens camera. I know there are street photographers who do use the X100, but some like a smaller camera for that. It's always going to come down to the individual, their needs, their finances....and their G.A.S, sometimes comes into play.

Right now I can name christilou (Christina), you, Luke, me, greyelm(Malcolm), Burkey (David), ntrolls, flysurfer (I think he has it), thekeddi, kyteflyer, kevenv, Armanius (the king of G.A.S.:tongue:), chromatin64 (Russ), and several more who as far as I last looked still not only have the camera but use it.(y)

Look at it this way, Serious Compacts is just a microcosm of the wide world of photography. Over on Flickr there are some very good groups who are filled with X100 photographers.
 
I'm not concerned with the avalanche of used ones hitting the market. I wanted one from the moment I set eyes on it (long before it was out), but it was out of my price range....and it was only a single focal length, etc, etc. In the meantime, I've bought a few used micro 4/3 cameras and a few lenses. The quality for the size is great. And I have to say that in general, I'm not a pixel peeper, but with the announcement of each new camera in the format, I wait to see if I can shoot noise free shots in low light. And each time I am disappointed. Every year or two, they get a little bit better, but I want leaps and bounds better. I want usable 1600.....or dare I dream....even more.

I don;t always have as much time for photography as I'd like, and it seems like more often than not I'm just using the gf1 with the 20mm attached. Now cue the arrival of the E-P3. The E-P1 was what had dragged me into this smaller, but not quite better than DSLR world, but this promised to fix everything that was "wrong" with that camera. The speedy focus sure looked great. Same good looks. Better IQ, but still noisy.....even at fairly low ISO. Noise isn't the be-all-and-end-all for me, but by the time I buy a new camera and a cool half-case, and a viewfinder, I'm knocking on the door of $1,500. All for a step or a step and half better IQ. I looked at my cameras and lenses and realized that they worked fine. Good enough for a lot of what I do, but I wanted better low light performance and better high ISO IQ. I considered a DSLR and actually went to a few stores to handle some figuring I'd be seduced by the large viewfinders (something I really miss in mu43 world). I did love looking through one, but none of them really felt right in my hands and I have pretty big man-hands. I also felt like an imposter. You see, I'm not really a photographer. I'm an overgrown kid who is still discovering photography (I'll probably describe myself the same way in 10 years). I've seen people like me carrying DSLRs and frankly, they look silly....they look like imposters.

I'm well aware of the X100s quirkiness and am aware of its' shortcomings. But before it gets here, I'm so taken by everything it offers, I'm quite blinded. I'm willing to put long hours learning to live with its' limitations. I look forward to using only one focal length for a least a month or two and learning to "see" in that focal length. I've been shooting and learning a little more about photography for the last year or two and don't feel like I've grown much. I'm hoping by pouring myself into some constraints and re-focusing (pun intended) on taking my time to get the shot right, that maybe the tool can become the teacher. I expect a certain amount of frustration and think that if I can deal with the growing pains involved in a new relationship, perhaps I can create some lasting images.

I'll peek my head in once in awhile with ridiculous questions. I'll share a few images when I think I have created a good one, but hopefully most of the time, I'll be working on my relationship with the X100 and learning how to create great photographs with it.
 
Thanks, BB. There are more X100 users on here than I realized. Goes to show you how busy I've been with work and how much I miss only checking in from time to time. I wasn't so much worried about anything when I posted my message as intrigued. It amazes me how quickly a camera can fall into and out of grace. Technology moves awfully fast and new cameras are released all of the time, but internet forums make it seem like it moves all that much faster.
 
The initial buzz of the X100 has worn off, some folks have moved on from it, others are staying with it. The X100 is not my most used camera, but it may be my favorite camera. Hard to imagine what it would take to get me to sell it. And I'm one to go through cameras fairly quickly sometimes. But I've had that one since mid-April and I don't see it going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

If you like the focal length and you like an eye level viewfinder, there's not much NOT to like about this camera. I like the focal length and usually don't like an eye-level viewfinder, but sometimes I still love it and there's none better than the OVF in the is camera, IMHO.

-Ray
 
I was on the fence after initially getting one. But each time I use it, I like it more and more in spite of the menu and AF quirks. For a small camera (relatively speaking), the image quality is undisputed. The way it handles high ISO, to my eyes anyway, it's as good as the Pentax K5 all the way up to ISO6400. My X100 won't be going anywhere now. Until the X200 arrives that is!

- The King of G.A.S.
 
Beautifully written, Luke. Please don't hold back on the pictures. We're all on a learning curve here.

My X100 won't be going anywhere now. Until the X200 arrives that is!

- The King of G.A.S.
Armando, you are The King and the court Jester, as well!:friends:
 
I just sold mine. Not that I did not like it, it's just that I happen to be a downsizing period of my life, trying to de-clutter and simplify. I sold off more than just the X100. At the same time, I found it difficult to learn my cameras when I had such a variety of user interfaces. I'm now down to my Ricohs and Olympus E-P3 (and Olympus E-5, but that may go soon too). Also, 35mm is not my favorite focal length and I never quite got used to that.

But I find the Ricohs much easier to use and customize, and I can quickly and easily get down to shooting and adjusting on the fly. I just never got the X100s ways of doing things. I'm an interaction designer by trade and it frustrates me that the UI is so wonky.

But I agree with PDH. The X100 was new and very interesting, a camera that a lot of photographers simply had to try. Some tried it and liked it and decided to stay, some tried it and moved on for whatever reason. The X10 seems to be creating the same excitement, but I think people are realizing it is just another competent camera. So many to choose from these days.

I recall seeing a picture of the used X100 display at a Japanese camera store. There must have been a hundred of them.

If the X100 had been a 50mm camera it probably would have turned out different for me.
 
I'm not sure anything has happened. People tend to talk about the SAB problem, often with quite some hysteria involved, but my X100 is still working fine. Sure, this could change any moment, but hey, I could wake up tomorrow and find out that I'm dead... ;) Life is deadly! It has killed everyone, so far.

I'm very happy with my new X10, it's my new all-round camera, offering amazing versatility and picture quality in a small and affordable package. I have always regarded the X100 as something more special, actually not a camera to use everyday for everything, even so I ended up using it almost on a daily basis due to my little horse project that would not come to an end.

So the X10 was and is the current scoop and story in the compact camera arena, and not only in this forum. But then again, there are situations where the X10 simply won't do, where it doesn't have enough horsepower, literally speaking. Like this shot I took tonight with almost no light, ending up with ISO 3200, f2.0 and 1/8s handheld:

View attachment 44428

You can't even think of pulling off anything like this with a X10 or pretty much any compact camera, including the Leica M9, which is terrific, but not so great at ISO 3200.

So my X100 is certainly here to stay.
 
I am still fascinated by the X100... every couple weeks, for some reason, I find myself checking out the Fuji product webpages.

Maybe I have waited long enough now, that I can hold out just a while longer for the Fuji ILC or maybe a X100 version 2.
 
Still love mine for its IQ, which I consider the best among compact aps-c offerings and because of the brilliant VF. However, recently I flirted with the thought of selling it to free up funds for the upcoming Fuji mirrorless camera system. Fuji has done such a brilliant job with the X100 that I expect them to surprise us again in 2012.
 
Still love mine for its IQ, which I consider the best among compact aps-c offerings and because of the brilliant VF. However, recently I flirted with the thought of selling it to free up funds for the upcoming Fuji mirrorless camera system. Fuji has done such a brilliant job with the X100 that I expect them to surprise us again in 2012.

Yes, the MILC looks tempting. I'd expect some Thailand flooding related delay, though.
 
I sold the X100 for financial reasons, not that there wasn't other issues, there was.
My strongest issue of discontent was the finder. It works great, both do. Mine was a physical issue not a mechanical one. I started feeling uneasy in the street with the camera at the eye. This is after over 45 years on the M. Then again, with the LCD, I became very comfortable over the last decade or more. I felt a freedom with my subject and my creative consciousness. The eye finder hindered that.

The focal length is perfect for me and I struggle with the GXR A12 28. It's a struggle I have to work out because I prefer this camera and the screen and interface.

I think it's normal to see many abandon the X100. Focal length being fixed will separate the avid users from the casual users. The repair issues will pass as Fuji will step up and handle their business. So, I would think many will stay with the camera that can afford another system type camera. Then there's the shooter that just is happy with a single FOV and loves the IQ etc. that person will keep it longer but for how long is anyone guess.

The camera is great at everything it does. It delivers the image beautifully. This alone should make it a keeper and hopefully for some it will.

For me, it doesn't work simply because of the finder to the eye.
I struggle with the GXR but I can live with it.
I struggled with the X100 but couldn't live with it.
 
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