Fuji x100

Hi Allan..so far very happy indeed with the fuji.I was a bit concerned about focus speed before i got it but I did update firmware straight away and af speed is fine for me.Not sure how much slower it was before but as it is its great.My only niggle is battery life and the tiny ok button but its no big deal.
Image quality is very impressive and find I dont have to do much to the jpegs straight from camera.Its certainly up there with the quality of a dslr and prime.Build quality is fantastic feels solid but not to heavy and layout of controls is good with 2 buttons that are fully customisable the raw button and function button.I read a lot of people saying its has its quirks but tbh once you get used to it it all becomes second nature.I cant see me getting another dslr soon if I am honest.Even the macro mode is pretty impressive!
Heres a link (you may have seen it) to Steve Huffs comparison between the leica and fuji..there is also another page comparing raw files.(y)
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/...-fuji-x100-comparison-photos-and-my-thoughts/
..and his standalone review http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/...gital-camera-real-world-review-by-steve-huff/
 
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Picking mine up tomorrow. Will compare it to my gh2 and A850. Fancied a change and something to take when I travel and don't want to hassle of bringing lots of stuff.
 
I hope so. Got it for a good price so will have no problems selling it on if it's not to my liking.
 
What cases/bags are you all using?..I decided against the fuji case and opted for a small lowepro shoulder bag.I went for the ILC Classic 50,fits nice and snug even with lens hood on,room for battery and memory cards to.Also went for the jjc filter adapter and hood.very pleased only very slight difference in colour but feels well made and is also a 3rd of the price of fujis own!
Anyone here using the cheaper alternative batteries you can get of amazon for about £7?
 
Looks like I am going to get myself an X100.
I just bought a screen protector for it so I reckon I'll have to order a camera for it to go on now.....:naughty:

Allan
 
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I was like that! Got book, lens hood, case and eventually succumbed to the need for a camera ;)
 
StuartH said:
What cases/bags are you all using?..I decided against the fuji case and opted for a small lowepro shoulder bag.I went for the ILC Classic 50,fits nice and snug even with lens hood on,room for battery and memory cards to.Also went for the jjc filter adapter and hood.very pleased only very slight difference in colour but feels well made and is also a 3rd of the price of fujis own!
Anyone here using the cheaper alternative batteries you can get of amazon for about £7?
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I re-read an article warning against using unbranded non-tested batteries recently and decided to get a Hahnel battery which has overcharge and discharge protection.

So I don't know which batteries you are referring to from Amazon but I bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370547899607?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_854wt_1165

The capacity isn't very high but then at least you know you are getting what is advertised...! I wouldn't be very happy with a fried x100 and from my previous experience of third party LPE6's its worth getting a proper one from the start (both of those batteries died mysteriously)
 
Like your style allan lol...regards to battery think I will just get a Fuji one to be on safe side,too nice to break! Have to say not missing my dslr at all yet.
 
I have a Delin battery and it's pretty pants.

It loses a lot of charge even when not in use or even in the camera and from full charge seems to go flat a heck of a lot quicker than the genuine.
 
travellingcello said:
Oh and I'm expecting one of these at my door tomorrow, but in black ... and significantly cheaper than that price!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Billingham-Hadley-Digital-Canvas-Leather/dp/B001JQLGFM
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I have a Hadley original, I quite fancy the Digital version myself though. Significantly cheaper sounds good, where from?

With regards to batteries, a while ago, I bought a 3rd party battery for my Leica X1 for about £11. It worked fine and was made in Vietnam. The original supplied battery was also made in Vietnam, but cost over £50.

Anyway, just found some good advice about looking after your new battery.

"Lithium battery charging time are generally more than 8 hours, while the Ni-MH battery charging time are generally more than 16 hours. To achieve the best results, that is, the FUJIFILM NP-95 battery reached its maximum power, there are generally three or more times repeated charge-discharge can. Batteries in use three times, the best place to find the opportunity to make a further charge fully recharge, so as not there is residual power in the battery when the repeated charge, or will shorten battery life."

Allan
 
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StuartH said:
What cases/bags are you all using?..I decided against the fuji case and opted for a small lowepro shoulder bag.I went for the ILC Classic 50,fits nice and snug even with lens hood on,room for battery and memory cards to.Also went for the jjc filter adapter and hood.very pleased only very slight difference in colour but feels well made and is also a 3rd of the price of fujis own!
Anyone here using the cheaper alternative batteries you can get of amazon for about £7?
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Good question Stuart.

My X10, the little baby brother to your 100 series currently resides in my ThinkTank Skin 50 which is a component of a belt-based modular system. It does have loops to which I could attach a shoulder strap. The fit is just perfect and I imagine this or a Chimp cage would work for the X100 too. I actually ordered one of these Case Logic messenger bags which should hopefully arrive in the next few days. It's smaller than what I would call a pukka messenger bag and has the added bonus of not looking like a camera bag.

Keep enjoying your X100 (y)
 
My Expert Shield LCD cover arrived this morning, despite Royal Mails best efforts to destroy the whole lot!
So, looks like I need an X100 to fit it on.....

I am currently waiting for a small matured investment policy to be transferred to my bank account before I bite the bullet ( should be in the next few days) but would welcome any suggestions for a best buy.

I know Fuji do refurbs, are they worth buying seeing as they are only a bit less than new ones?

Allan
 
Houston1863 said:
Good question Stuart.

My X10, the little baby brother to your 100 series currently resides in my ThinkTank Skin 50 which is a component of a belt-based modular system. It does have loops to which I could attach a shoulder strap. The fit is just perfect and I imagine this or a Chimp cage would work for the X100 too. I actually ordered one of these Case Logic messenger bags which should hopefully arrive in the next few days. It's smaller than what I would call a pukka messenger bag and has the added bonus of not looking like a camera bag.

Keep enjoying your X100 (y)
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I certainly am enjoying it mate!:D

allanm said:
My Expert Shield LCD cover arrived this morning, despite Royal Mails best efforts to destroy the whole lot!
So, looks like I need an X100 to fit it on.....

I am currently waiting for a small matured investment policy to be transferred to my bank account before I bite the bullet ( should be in the next few days) but would welcome any suggestions for a best buy.

I know Fuji do refurbs, are they worth buying seeing as they are only a bit less than new ones?

Allan
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I looked at the refurbs but as you say not much cheaper so know what I would prefer.I got mine from Clifton cameras.They do 2 years warranty and even in the second year any repairs are done by fuji themselves.Great service from them as well.If you can get one with a serial number starting 21 as this means was made this year and shouldnt have any trouble with sticking blades.
 
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allanm said:
My Expert Shield LCD cover arrived this morning, despite Royal Mails best efforts to destroy the whole lot!
So, looks like I need an X100 to fit it on.....
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And I don't think you'l be able to get (m)any good pictures with just the LCD shield Allan ;)

I know Fuji do refurbs, are they worth buying seeing as they are only a bit less than new ones?
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I think the refurbished units are pretty good value when you factor in the additional 10% discount which Fuji are running and available through the site below -

http://www.hotukdeals.com/vouchers/fujifilm.co.uk

Your doubly-checked X100 will be just a shade under £594. Remember that if you are buying the optional lens hood, filter etc, the price takes on the guise of commercial rent reviews being upwardly rising..... A few of us have been sourcing our X10s from Fuji in this manner and thus far the consensus is very impressive. Mine didn't have the ORB issue and some members have been gifted spare batteries by Fuji.


As they say you pays your money and takes your choice.

Good hunting(y)
 
Arent some of the fuji refurbs coming out with quite high shutter counts?..
 
StuartH said:
Arent some of the fuji refurbs coming out with quite high shutter counts?..
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Mmm, I didn't think of that. I would assume that since they are refurbs and there is or was a sticky shutter problem, that they all have new shutters.
I would also like to think that a refurb will have been checked over and any dodgy parts replaced whereas acamera straight of the line won't be individually checked.
Allan
 
Quoth said:
On that note, is it possible to tell shutter count on the X100?
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:thinking:Mmm seems shutter count isnt embedded into exif data on x100!!!.Think that would sway me towards a new model even more regardless of how thorough they are with refurbs
 
StuartH said:
:thinking:Mmm seems shutter count isnt embedded into exif data on x100!!!.Think that would sway me towards a new model even more regardless of how thorough they are with refurbs
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That's what convinced me to buy new (well, that and a great deal from Stuart at DigitalDepot!). I went to look at one in Calumet and it was over-exposing on every shot which I now know to be the SAB problem; a used one I looked at in ApertureUK in Museum St, London was listed as "mint -" and looked as if it had been battered around the bottom of a bag of tools for a month. The writing was worn off the buttons and the screen was covered in scratches. Sadly it put me off purchasing anything from ApertureUK given that sort of description.

I know how many mine has taken from the day I unpacked it and that gives me some confidence in it.
 
I saw one advertised at aperture for £580 wonder if it was same one!..
 
StuartH said:
I saw one advertised at aperture for £580 wonder if it was same one!..
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Don't think so; the one I saw was around Christmas time and a week later was off their site. I was looking for something else and saw one there again recently.
 
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I thought something was amiss today when I went out with my x100 and I am 99% sure I have the SAB issue.

Will be calling fuji tomorrow... I had a refurb unit as well so would have thought they had this sorted and checked out.

Disappointed to say the least....
 
StuartH said:
Out of curiosity whats the serial number start with?
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13N... :thumbsdown:

I would have thought refurbs would have been checked already but obviously not.

Seems careless on their part really!

I would really recommend anybody buying this camera to buy it new (or refurb with warranty), and not used.
 
Thats a shame mate but hear the repair time is pretty rapid from fuji so shouldnt have to wait long hopefully,give you time to read that book.(y)
 
I bought a new one (serial 21N) from John lewis last weekend, and have subsequently returned it - luckily I bought it online as there was no instore stock so was able to use the cooling off period. With all the SAB problems, getting a refurb one didn't seem like a brilliant idea to me.

I really can't see £700 of value in it, let alone the £1k or so it was originally - I think it's pretty awful! I think if it were around the £300 mark, it would be more realistic.

I guess maybe my expectations were too high, but it was woefully slow, even with a 95mb/s card and had so many other foibles over the ones I was aware of when I bought it that I was quite amazed to be honest. In the short time I had it, some dust appeared in the lens as well, which, on doing some digging, seems a common problem which I wasn't fully aware of.

I guess if folk are happy with theirs, then full power to them, but if anyone is reading this and considering buying one, I'd strongly urge to you beg, borrow and steal one from someone you know first so you can try it out for at least a day in anger. The novelty of it looking pretty and the hybrid vf wore off very quickly for me.

I find it hard to justify it's existence solely as street camera - sure, you can set hyperfocal etc and just shoot away, but you could do that with a GX1 or G1X as well and have a competent machine for other purposes. I think even the X1 was better in most instances than the X100 to be honest, and I thought that was pretty poor (although iq wise sensational when used correctly).

I know people get some great results from it, so I'm sure it will continue to do well, and have it's followers. This is really just a note to anyone considering buying one though - please do try it first properly, not just for 15mins in the shop!
 
py6km said:
I bought a new one (serial 21N) from John lewis last weekend, and have subsequently returned it - luckily I bought it online as there was no instore stock so was able to use the cooling off period. With all the SAB problems, getting a refurb one didn't seem like a brilliant idea to me.

I really can't see £700 of value in it, let alone the £1k or so it was originally - I think it's pretty awful! I think if it were around the £300 mark, it would be more realistic.

I guess maybe my expectations were too high, but it was woefully slow, even with a 95mb/s card and had so many other foibles over the ones I was aware of when I bought it that I was quite amazed to be honest. In the short time I had it, some dust appeared in the lens as well, which, on doing some digging, seems a common problem which I wasn't fully aware of.

I guess if folk are happy with theirs, then full power to them, but if anyone is reading this and considering buying one, I'd strongly urge to you beg, borrow and steal one from someone you know first so you can try it out for at least a day in anger. The novelty of it looking pretty and the hybrid vf wore off very quickly for me.

I find it hard to justify it's existence solely as street camera - sure, you can set hyperfocal etc and just shoot away, but you could do that with a GX1 or G1X as well and have a competent machine for other purposes. I think even the X1 was better in most instances than the X100 to be honest, and I thought that was pretty poor (although iq wise sensational when used correctly).

I know people get some great results from it, so I'm sure it will continue to do well, and have it's followers. This is really just a note to anyone considering buying one though - please do try it first properly, not just for 15mins in the shop!
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I think if it were a £300 camera Canon and Nikon might be in trouble....!

I agree with most of what you are saying but at the end of the day this isn't the camera you are going to use for that decisive moment.

And most importantly like you said, the IQ is amazing.
 
py6km said:
I bought a new one (serial 21N) from John lewis last weekend, and have subsequently returned it - luckily I bought it online as there was no instore stock so was able to use the cooling off period. With all the SAB problems, getting a refurb one didn't seem like a brilliant idea to me.

I really can't see £700 of value in it, let alone the £1k or so it was originally - I think it's pretty awful! I think if it were around the £300 mark, it would be more realistic.

I guess maybe my expectations were too high, but it was woefully slow, even with a 95mb/s card and had so many other foibles over the ones I was aware of when I bought it that I was quite amazed to be honest. In the short time I had it, some dust appeared in the lens as well, which, on doing some digging, seems a common problem which I wasn't fully aware of.

I guess if folk are happy with theirs, then full power to them, but if anyone is reading this and considering buying one, I'd strongly urge to you beg, borrow and steal one from someone you know first so you can try it out for at least a day in anger. The novelty of it looking pretty and the hybrid vf wore off very quickly for me.

I find it hard to justify it's existence solely as street camera - sure, you can set hyperfocal etc and just shoot away, but you could do that with a GX1 or G1X as well and have a competent machine for other purposes. I think even the X1 was better in most instances than the X100 to be honest, and I thought that was pretty poor (although iq wise sensational when used correctly).

I know people get some great results from it, so I'm sure it will continue to do well, and have it's followers. This is really just a note to anyone considering buying one though - please do try it first properly, not just for 15mins in the shop!
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Well, worried as I am about your experience, I have just paid £8.65 ( soon to be £3.65 with £5 refund) for a new screen protector so can't afford to not buy the camera now!

But, like you, I will buy online and if it all goes Pete Tong I will return it and maybe think about another X1

Allan
 
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You may love it Allan, it might just be me. I have to say I was disappointed though. It is a shame because it is a lovely looking thing. As I said though, that novelty factor soon wore off.
 
This was the first post in this thread......

Phaedrus said:
It looks as if the price of this camera will be £1000 when it goes on sale next month; any guesses what the price might be in six or twelve months time?
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Shall I tell him?

Allan
 
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py6km said:
It was the X1 I was referring to there actually. The X100 was good, but I think the X1 was better.
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I had the X1 and really liked it despite the naysayers ( most of whom had never even seen one!) It was expensive, yes, but the camera produced some of the best images I have ever taken. Whatever people say, that lens ensures those images have something special about them. And the packaging was really something too - including the leather neckstrap in a silk pouch!

I sold it for £300 less than I paid for it after 8 months or so, but I did keep Lightroom 3.

The reason I want the X100 is that I want a large sensor compact camera with a decent viewfinder. I think the X100 is the only one of these out there, simple choice really. For a "Compact camera" I currently use an Oly E-PL2 with 14mm lumix lens that is going to be hard to beat

I am still worried about the various niggles, SAB, long start up, etc, and although the high iso capability is famed, I have read that its just a different type of noise reduction and some other apparently less than capable cameras produce images that are just as good.

What put me off buying one originally ( apart from the price) was that I had just bought the X1 and all the new X100 adopters were directly comparing it to the X1 and slating Leica at every opportunity. After looking at all the images and comparisons from the Fuji, I kept a smug smile on my face because I didn't really see what they were seeing. My X1 still seemed to get better results. Then the stories came out about the bugs and other niggles the camera had and I stopped even reading about it.

Anyway, I sold the X1 to help out my finances as they were not doing so well then, and only recently started looking for a proper replacement.
I would have another X1 in a shot if it had a built in viewfinder, but, after reading some more about the Fuji and its latest firmware updates, I decided I would give it a go. That and its classic looks which I have always loved.

So, I should have the cash in my bank next week. After reading PY6KM's story about his new camera failing with SAB problems and stories of refurbs having the same problem, there doesn't seem to be much reason to just buy new, so I will probably save £100 or more and get a refurb.

Whatever happens, I am here for the duration. I am looking forward to getting my hands on an X100. I know it has its problems but as long as they aren't insurmountable, I will give it a go.

Allan
 
Well, I just looked at three or four X100 vs X1 reviews and all concluded that the Fuji x100's ISO performance, image quality and AF was better ? :shrug:
 
On the face of it, the high iso looked better to me as well, but looking in more detail against the X1 shots I took I could see no appreciable difference after noise reduction. To be honest, both cameras had their flaws. From a pure iq perspective I think my X1 was better. Af on the fuji is faster and it has a built in vf. For street though, where the fuji is most at home IMO, the Leica optical vf was perfect. Pays your money, makes your choice etc
 
py6km said:
Pays your money, makes your choice etc
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Quite right, I think most recent top spec cameras have pretty good high iso capability, its not a deal breaker for me, the images from the X100 look great at almost any setting, which is what I am after.

I think I probably have less than 150 images that are shot over 1600 iso, out of a total of over 16.000 on my computer. Ive just been looking at some shots I took indoors at 1600 iso with my old D80 and they are very good with lots of detail. Its only when you enlarge to full size you see the noise, but it doesn't destroy the detail.
If the X100 is as good as that ( and I know its much better) I will be happy.

I'm going to have a ring around today to see if any of our local camera shops have one in stock. I prefer to buy face to face if the price is good, other wise it will be online.

Allan
 
Just to update on Fuji's handling of the SAB problem, I phoned them yesterday and they said they would send me a prepaid parcel to me within 3-7 days and I received it today!
 
travellingcello said:
Just to update on Fuji's handling of the SAB problem, I phoned them yesterday and they said they would send me a prepaid parcel to me within 3-7 days and I received it today!
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Any idea how long the repair will take?
Allan
 
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