Trying an X100s

I've finally succumbed to trying out a competitors wares, in my case, the X100s after being nothing but Canon for 20 years.

So far, odd, I'm really loving the EVF in B&W for example, but, it's also making me appreciate how good the DSLR system is, fits better in the hand, much better auto focus, a nice layout which isn't cramped etc.

I bought it second hand, and I'll sell it on second hand as as well if I get rid, so the loss in value, if any, is nothing, I'd just look at that as a rental cost, but as much as I'm enjoying playing with it, my gut reaction is, I'll stick to my DSLR kit and invest the money there, which I wasn't expecting!!!

Man, my keeper rate has plummeted, the auto focus isn't great is it, quite often way off the mark. But, when it gets it right, impressed!

I think this camera has an auto focus problem in bright conditions. For me I couldn't get passed the retro look just didn't like it so went down the road of the Canon M.

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #17722175
the auto focus isn't great is it, quite often way off the mark.

I could be very wrong, since I have the 100T (and maybe AF was improved in that model), but maybe you got a bad copy which is why it was put up for sale by the previous owner. The 100T hits focus right where I set the AF point very consistently and reliably. I would never look at the 100T as a replacement for a DSLR. It's a great candid/carry anywhere camera that's inconspicuous and can produce fantastic images for its compact size. the XT-1 gets close to replacing a DSLR, but still won't replace my Canon.

Have you the latest firmware?

Yes, from what I've read the AF was heavily improved on the T variant.

yup, latest firmware, only hit's the mark, literally 10% of the time, and those are great, but the others.....

Then it sounds like a defective camera to me.

Alveric wrote in post #17722848
Then it sounds like a defective camera to me.

Bingo.

Changed from AP-S to AP-C, much much better....

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/zb2F​rR

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #17723671
Changed from AP-S to AP-C, much much better....

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/zb2F​rR

Wonderful image! Perfect timing capturing that expression.

Cheers, just mucking around with a new X100s and got lucky. Most of the shots have been out of focus for some reason, but when they're in focus, wow............

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #17722476
yup, latest firmware, only hit's the mark, literally 10% of the time, and those are great, but the others.....

That's definitely not normal...

Alveric wrote in post #17722848
Then it sounds like a defective camera to me.

+1

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #17723671
Changed from AP-S to AP-C, much much better....

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/zb2F​rR

That's very strange... I had an X-E1 for a while and it's AF was much more accurate in AF-S. It was slow to focus, but I rarely found that it missed once locked. Did you change the size of the focus square? I used mine with the center mostly and focused and recomposed.

Lovely shot btw

Ah ha, didn't know you could do that! Definitely better now, it was at the smallest setting, thank you Also, looking at various 'X100s top tips' websites, notably;

http://virtser.net …lm-x100s-tips-and-tricks/

http://www.fujixseries​.com …r-x100-experience-better/


One of the best tips I found in M focus is to press 'AFL/AEL' which will focus for you, so, back button focusing like my canon

Pressing in the command wheel to instantly zoom in to check your focus before you take the shot is great, as is pressing play to review your shot then moving the command wheel to the left which shows where it focused, a real bag of tricks this thing!!

Yeah, but for some reason it uses a really large focus square when you do that. And the larger the square, the more chance that it's focusing on something other than what you want it to. As a dedicated back-button focuser with my Canon DSLR, I'd use this mode with my X100S all the time if I really trusted it to get the focus right. Also, this function won't work if you've got the MF-assist mode set to digital split-image. With it set to focus peaking, if you've got time to push the command wheel to check and adjust focus, it's great. But if you don't have time, you're taking chances.

Thanks. I knew I'd used that last trick before and was going crazy trying to figure out how to do it.

welshwizard1971 wrote in post #17729150
Pressing in the command wheel to instantly zoom in to check your focus before you take the shot is great, as is pressing play to review your shot then moving the command wheel to the left which shows where it focused, a real bag of tricks this thing!!

Yup, I wrote for one of the big negatives of my a7R review was having to press a button twice to do this where on my X-E1 it was just one press... it sounds like such an insignificant thing, but in practice the Fuji's are far faster for focus zoom checking. I wish Sony would fix that, all it would take is a firmware update...