Almost Friday Show Episode 61: X100 Review

[aiktai]

you really are a winer:p Al the thinks you find bad about the camera I don't care about. They really aren't importend. Ok the speed is a little bit, but it isn't a sport camera, and you learn to take less shot's. I think for an artist and a traveler this is an perfect camera.

[GianpaoloLaPaglia]

intersting review, thanks

[manchumuq]

1. X100 does have a low-pass filter, which is thinner than a typical one.

2. If you want a GH2-like (Which is not featuring a ovf) viewfinder experience, just switch it to the evf.

3. The shutter speed limitation was for the full-opened aperture at f2, they don't have to remove the 1/4000 cuz others would read the manual.

4. The raw file size doesn't vary depends on it's pixel quantity but the information that actually makes sense to the resolution.

[trvrolnk]

"why does my $1200 SLR not do that." this camera is not an SLR...

[1440hk]

I HAVE OWNED THIS CAMERA NOW FOR 3THS AND RUN 1.13 FIRMWARE. I HAVE NOT HAD NEAR THE PROBLEMS THIS REVIEWER HIGHLIGHTS. THIS CAMERA IS DESIGNED FOR A CERTAIN TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND A CERTAIN TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHER. THE BOTTOM LINE IS YOU NEED TO 1ST READ THE MANUAL AND YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAD MANUAL PHOTOGRAPHY. SURE WHEN 1ST RELEASED THERE WERE BUGS AS IS THE CASE WITH ALL CAMERA'S HENCE UPDATES. NOW WHEN YOU BALLS UP A REVIEW HAVE THE DECENCY TO AMMEND YOUR ERROR.

[CaptainMacNasty]

Despite the gripes about the review, I'm glad to hear a review that is not the gee-whiz garbage of most of the videos about the X100. I'm considering purchasing one, now that some of the problems have been partially addressed with firmware upgrades. ..but only partially.

[EclecticPixel]

IF "small" things can be refined. + image stabilization, +FPS. I will buy one. I think that this review was in direct weaknesses point on this machine. For this value, we must be demanding and realistic. This is not a camera to be used occasionally during the holidays, but to use often and quickly. Street photo. =fast action/response

We have to know their virtues, but we must not hide their defects. Be realistic and don't try to fool someone who look for information about a camera before buying.

[allusernamestaken01]

Awesome review, I don't understand why did you get so many dislikes. Perhaps you did tell the people what they WANTED to hear.

[nuttyboyo]

He's a bit of a backside.

[eddielikesyourhat]

This boy is a joke.

[LesMauvaisMessieurs]

I'm pretty sure I've seen this dude work at henry's.

[Kaisersozze]

Not too impressed with this camera. All images I've seen dont apear sharp.

Maybe the Fuji XPro1 will be better.

[vivianyeap]

what do u know。。

[FrKAnc]

we are here to listen to someone else point of view in the matter and not necessarily to criticise him. I personally liked his review.

[russellwarner1]

this guy doesn't understand what it is he is reviewing, its not for sports photography...duh, cant be that slow

[zhemin]

This is not a Rangfiner LOL, if it was i would pay the price for it ;D.

Hell ill buy 5 ^.^

[roger767]

great review, why so many dislikes?

[climls73]

@roger767 Unfortunately a lot of his criticisms really just show that he didn't read the fine manual. For example:

Complaint about the framing lines: First off, the offset VF already makes an accurate frame line pretty difficult. Secondly, if he read the manual he'd know that the frames represent 90% of the total picture. This is a conservative approach taken by Fuji to ensure that whatever is within the box will be in the picture, given the parallax inherent in the VF.

[climls73]

@roger767 Shutter not going past 1000. Again if he had read the manual, it's stated that the shutter cannot open and close fast enough for all speeds when the aperture is wide open. He'd also have noticed that the shutter speed in the VF would flash red when this happens to warn him of the over-exposure.

Shooting in raw takes some time to save, but it doesn't affect shooting. You can shoot IMMEDIATELY while it is saving. I use a 20 MB/s card without problem.

[climls73]

@roger767 Focusing isn't that slow either. It's worked well for me in the streets. Besides, you can always do zone-focusing if that's really a problem.

I also question his statement that he can pick up any point and shoot that will automatically switch to macro. My S100 definitely does not.

And c'mon, calling the X100 a $1,200 SLR? Does he know that the "R" refers to the mirror ("reflex").

Sorry, complete fail on credibility.

[climls73]

@climls73 I stand corrected: My S100 is able to focus on close objects automatically. But I think the rest of my criticisms are fair.

[climls73]

@roger767 If he wants to do a decent review, at least RTFM. That's why this video has so many dislikes.

[jazzysnaps]

In a nutshell it is a camera for people who know photography and how to use a camera old school style, not really a camera for a novice, it is a great back up on a shoot , great if you want no shutter sound a great asset on a pro on the movie set, i do disagree you can use it on a pro shoot and i paid for mine with 1 shoot, how ever you are right there are some of the most annoying things on any digital camera i have ever used since 1998, but i love it.

[bjoran83]

This guy is kind of cute. He doesnt know what SLR stands for. : )

[brunorigoni]

Awesome review cause he said the truth, this camera is really too slow for its price in year 2011. I am afraid firmware is not gonna change too much and even more at such price fuji could relase the camera with already a good software without us have to wait for firmware. Thanks for the honesty in your review.

[1440hk]

Why not install firmware 1.11 and do a more up todate review also use the ND filters or better still read the manual

[effyleven]

What the heck is a "two point oh" lens.....? (does he mean an "eff two" lens?)

And it isn't a "twelve hundred dollar SLR..." (it isn't an SLR at all)

[DarkSnailPhotography]

Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once: Very Bad Review! ! !

[petchharrison]

this camera is like adapting a bicycle and flying it to france,can not see the point of a range finder camera now it should me mothballed .. jeff ..

[KRE8TVT]

Whoever's watching this, go watch DigitalRecTV. These guys are shit compared to Kai and Lok. PERIOD!

[dwnthk]

Thx dude. After watching your review, I will keep my GRD instead of buying this X100 at this moment. Hope they are gonna have a next generation of X100 pretty soon.

[Markofnikoff]

Sorry but this is weird I've been watching for 4 minutes now, and the the amount of faulty stuff you say in the review.....well here it is:

- It is a rangefinder style, where the frame lines indicate 90%, to be sure that what you frame is certainly in the final image. And maybe you wanna check on Parallax error....

- It is no CCD but CMOS, and it doesn't use the EXR color array but normal RGB, bayer array.

- There is no DSLR out there that has the AA filter removed.

And now I'm out of characters

[ganalisto]

You mention the x100 has a CCD sensor. It has a CMOS sensor, not CCD.

[de50199]

Give me a real optical focus system with focusing screen

[iamjaddda]

I like how you ended this. It really is a good camera for a street photographer. For weddings I have D700 and I wouldn't change it for X100. On the other hand I wouldn't go out taking street photos with my D700. And personally I don't mind even if X100 is a bit slow on saving photos. That forces you to think what you shoot. There are already enough "machine gunners" out there. With X100 it is more like shooting in film and I like that.

[wondnaereh]

Have they yet corrected ANY of these issue with firmware updates since this video was made? Can someone please tell me? I am considering buying this and this would be a very important issue I need to know before I make my final decision. Thank you.

[iamjaddda]

@wondnaereh Well they have. A little google search should tell you what the latest FW update does.

[wondnaereh]

Best critique I have seen so far and I am watching them all. You touched on a couple of things that nobody has mentioned. One being, that you can frame a picture with the viewfinder and yet they camera chooses a different frame which is pointless if you are trying to get that perfect composition thus making you a better more artistic photographer. Imagine the same scenario if you were a marksman with a gun. Would you want the gun to make the final decision when the trigger is pulled?Deal breaker

[36Bananapies]

Regarding your framing issues...you should look up parallax. This is the entire reason SLR camera's were invented--because you are looking through the lens you can see the exact frame you are going to get.

Fuji created the digital viewfinder overlay that "fixes" it by showing you what you are going to get.

You bring this up in the video, but I'm not sure you understand it by your comments. Plus you call it an SLR at 7:22. It isn't an SLR, it is a rangefinder. Thanks for the review though.

[Sufibooks]

Great informative video - I think I will wait for next version

[artsilvaphoto]

0:45 second mark it was mentioned that we haven't seen anything like this in digital, Ever...ummmm Leica M8 and M9?!

The nature of rangefinder photography is well represented in this model. Oh btw, that little lever on front, that switches optical view to digital live view in the view finder I believe.

I think to review a product one should know the product and purpose.

[GTBizo]

@artsilvaphoto exactly...ignorant people making reviews are all over youtube anyway.

[kerdeboer]

you lost all credibility when you started complaining about live-view. if you depend on live-view to take a decent picture, obviously you need more practice. this camera is not for beginners.

[jazzysnaps]

Anyone who cant pull off a great shot on this gem is not a photographer.

[marike1100]

If the X100 isn't "improving" the reviewers photography, as he states in the video, he must be doing it wrong. All the images I've seen from this camera, even mediocre ones, look amazing. Seems like the guy would be happier with a P&S or a poser Canon Rebel. And he acts like he just bought the most expensive camera in the world, a Leica: "For $1200 I should be able to pick-up girls and shoot 60 fps without parallax. And I'm not going to actually WAIT for a firmware update. Not for $1200".

[lighthunter1980]

what watch are you wearing?

[Zebracakes305]

Amazing review, honest, well spoken and detailed.

[Rwmhos]

I don't think the reviewer is nitpicking. People tend to like the camera they own, and for weird reasons, especially if they are not very photo-literate; that's not an argument. He makes well-targetted comments and criticisms, keeping in mind the price of this camera. If iX100 costed half the price the review would be different. The firmware update fixed a fraction of this camera's quirks and problems. Sorry, Fujifilm, like Leica, your camera fails where $400 cameras don't.

[ngso0009]

@Rwmhos u failed to differentiate the major different between this camera and $400 camera. The size of sensor, depth of field, and circle of confusion are the major factors why autofocus of x1 and x100 perform slightly sluggish than those cheapo compact camera.

[camosplater]

So would you recommend it for natural shots like forests ETC ?!

[mikeos]

If you're using this for street then who cases about auto focus? Your going to be prefocused at f8 or f11 anyway, adjusting the shutter speed according to light with the dial on the top. Despite your critical review you have made me want one even more. You sound a bit like a pc user who nitpicks at macs too.

[SLRist]

This is one of the greatest street shooting and candid portrait cameras available. As has been said - you're nitpicking based on playing around with it for a bit, and not appreciating where it really shines. I use it in preference to my D700. No other pocketable camera even comes close to the quality I get from my X100. Based on many of your statements, it's apparent that you haven't read the camera properly and don't understand what 'rangefinder' means.

[T80069]

As others have noted, it is not a rangefinder. Have you ever used a proper rangefinder camera? (I'm not saying you have to have shot a Leica MP or something expensive, I'm just wondering if you've ever shot using a rangefinder of any sort? Worked with the composition process, even with a used film camera like a Yashica J film or similar?

[krejerki]

I own one, and really, you're nitpicking. A lot.

It's a photographic tool, and no, it isn't a leica M, but it's a good tool. And if you learn to use it instead of trying to find how it doesn't, you can take great photos with it, as far as I know the sole most important thing about a camera.

If you want perfect, go spend 10.000 on a leica M with a fine 35mm lens.

(And please do your research, it's not a rangefinder camera, it's a viewfinder camera, you could at least get that right)

[funkapotamus1]

have you ever used a 35mm film camera?

[sexualfuturist]

As an average camera user, I didn't understand a lot of what you were saying, but I was riveted throughout the entire video.

[mrnicekevin]

This guy just doesnt get a rangefinder.

[willteeyang]

to answer your question on 2:00 its called parallax! its just how rangefinder's viewfinder works.

[ryanryanryan]

The majority of the issues just seem like it's more his shooting ability than the camera. I'd say he could get "oout and aboout" more to shoot. heh? heh? Am I right?

[anubizz3]

i am confuse? to which camera you compare this camera to rangefinder, dsrl, point of shoot? every camera system has their weakness and strength, this camera is not perfect nobody say that, i thing you just overblown this camera weakness, oh is it only me that thinks the biggest weakness of this camera is the battery life and the manual focus not that the camera cannot automatically switch to macro mode? oh btw iam not fujifilm fanboy, but iam KFC fanboy

[fvgotch]

This video is kinda like communist media full of false information. X-100 IS NOT a rangefinder camera! Fuji never claimed it to be a rf camera although it looks like one. Go research what rf camera is especially during focusing before you create and distribute trailer trash generalization.

[ngso0009]

u definitely do not appreciate the rangefinder-style shooting method, we got it, perhaps you should use EVF and stop whining. Format your card, the writing time would improve tremendously. For f2, the maximum shutter speed is 1/1000, read the manual b4 making this video. Tell us which camera is able to automatically advance our photography skill? I would love to buy that magic camera. Sorry man, appreciate your effort but I must say this is just a half-ass review

[Tope021109]

i've played around with the x100 i have to say that the negatives pointed out here are exagerated the af is faster than my leica x1 the buffer speeds are bareable im not the kind of shooter than fires off photos. im still used to winding that film. i think this camera is for people who can shoot full manual and is comfotable shooting all the time. i think the problems you are having is more on your ability to shoot. the camera has great performance that already makes life so easy for this optio

[jpizzzle]

Um $200 for a uhs? I bought my 8gb san disk pro for $30. How large of an SD card do u need?

[weboo15]

5:07 you are using $1200 worth of camera and a $200 worth of card is a big deal with you? common bro!

[weboo15]

you are using $1200 worth of camera and a $200 worth of card is a big deal with you? common bro!

[SUPERCOCKROACH666]

Great Review!

Thanks for the upload and info.

Keep up the good work!

[BoxxyFan]

Also Fujifilm announced the news that they would make a new firmware for it on the 31st of May, before you uploaded this video. Try to be more informed next time.

[AlmostFridayShow]

@BoxxyFan Just to put a timeframe into your head, this segment was filmed on May 25th, edited into our full show which was uploaded on May 29th, and then uploaded as a individual segement last night, so unfortunately we were unaware of the announced firmware at the time. Also, although Fujifilm have announced the firmware, they have not stated a date or which issues will be fixed, so we feel our opinion is still presently valid until confirmed otherwise. Thanks though.

[BoxxyFan]

@AlmostFridayShow The fact that Fujifilm has confirmed and will be releasing a firmware update to fix many of the problems that people have been complaining about the camera makes most of your 'negative' points of the camera pretty redundant. Yeah, great review guys! Way to totally mislead people who are interested in potentially purchasing this camera. Epic Fail.

[AlmostFridayShow]

@BoxxyFan I don't see how we are being misleading. If you were to walk into a store today and buy or play with an X100, it would have these problems. And again, since we don't know for sure what is going to be fixed in the new firmware, and when it will be available, some of these problems could still be there. We'll be happy to relook at it once it is updated, but as it stands on store shelves today, these are the problems you'll face. Being a fanboy doesn't make it a better camera then it is.

[johngarth]

Why would anyone think an X100 is an Single Lens Reflex camera? And why talk about parallax error - if it's a problem switch to the EVF in the viewfinder. Some of the worlds greatest photographers seem to get pretty good results with their M series rangefinder Leicas, and the optical viewfinder in the X100 is just as brilliant, with the bonus of autofocus, so there is no need for a rangefinder.

[BoxxyFan]

Fujifilm have announced a firmware update where they will be fixing almost all of the issues you have mentioned, so shut the fuck up. Thank you.

[catherineroxit]

Loved the honest appraisal of the pros and cons of this awesome looking camera. Nice work!