Fuji FinePix X100

Subscribed to keep me going until I can get this camera

ugh, I'm about this: >< close to selling my NEX5 for a X100... I had a GF1 before the NEX and neither are fast enough in low light to shoot my kids around the house. The X100 seems to have clean enough ISOs (3200 w/f/2 should work) but I wonder if it can AF? I wonder if this is just the sex appeal of this camera coming through or if it will be any better/different than the NEX for me? I use my small camera for skiing and sailing and it lives in a pelican 1050 or my jacket pocket the entire time, so size matter.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #12958648
ugh, I'm about this: >< close to selling my NEX5 for a X100... I had a GF1 before the NEX and neither are fast enough in low light to shoot my kids around the house. The X100 seems to have clean enough ISOs (3200 w/f/2 should work) but I wonder if it can AF? I wonder if this is just the sex appeal of this camera coming through or if it will be any better/different than the NEX for me? I use my small camera for skiing and sailing and it lives in a pelican 1050 or my jacket pocket the entire time, so size matter.

I had this camera with me at an indoor swim meet recently and it is quite a performer versus carrying the 7D around. Same size sensor with low noise and IQ is quite amazing... I'm considering it as my point and shoot replacement.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #12958648
ugh, I'm about this: >< close to selling my NEX5 for a X100... I had a GF1 before the NEX and neither are fast enough in low light to shoot my kids around the house. The X100 seems to have clean enough ISOs (3200 w/f/2 should work) but I wonder if it can AF? I wonder if this is just the sex appeal of this camera coming through or if it will be any better/different than the NEX for me? I use my small camera for skiing and sailing and it lives in a pelican 1050 or my jacket pocket the entire time, so size matter.

I have a three year old and focus on it is definitely easier than my G12. ISO and RAW image quality approach the 5D MKII and 35L combo far more than I would have believed.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #12958648
ugh, I'm about this: >< close to selling my NEX5 for a X100... I had a GF1 before the NEX and neither are fast enough in low light to shoot my kids around the house. The X100 seems to have clean enough ISOs (3200 w/f/2 should work) but I wonder if it can AF? I wonder if this is just the sex appeal of this camera coming through or if it will be any better/different than the NEX for me? I use my small camera for skiing and sailing and it lives in a pelican 1050 or my jacket pocket the entire time, so size matter.

The poor AF in low-light is what prompted me to sell the camera. It's a beautifully crafted camera. But I was rather disappointed by it. I never expected it to focus in low-light as well as a DSLR. But to not have it focus at times where lighting didn't seem all that bad was rather disturbing.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #12958648
ugh, I'm about this: >< close to selling my NEX5 for a X100... I had a GF1 before the NEX and neither are fast enough in low light to shoot my kids around the house. The X100 seems to have clean enough ISOs (3200 w/f/2 should work) but I wonder if it can AF? I wonder if this is just the sex appeal of this camera coming through or if it will be any better/different than the NEX for me? I use my small camera for skiing and sailing and it lives in a pelican 1050 or my jacket pocket the entire time, so size matter.

I just found out the x100 is available to rent from borrowlenses.com if you want to try it out as it still a back order item. http://www.borrowlense​s.com …ct/Rangefinders​/Fuji_x100

same here, sold min X100 because it sucked at low light focus.... Super slow.... and it died the first week i had it, had to send it to Fuji in Edison NJ for repair....
once i got ti back it went on the market.. lol

my wife just ordered herself an Sony NEX-C3, i'll fiddle around with that for a while...

but i'm def. looking forward to the NEX7

jwcdds wrote in post #12958818
The poor AF in low-light is what prompted me to sell the camera. It's a beautifully crafted camera. But I was rather disappointed by it. I never expected it to focus in low-light as well as a DSLR. But to not have it focus at times where lighting didn't seem all that bad was rather disturbing.

But this is where the beauty of rangefinders come in. Set it to manual and pre-focus to a useful distance and allow for just enough DOF to have a few feet to play with.

Worked great in the film days, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work now.

quiksquirrel wrote in post #12958862
But this is where the beauty of rangefinders come in. Set it to manual and pre-focus to a useful distance and allow for just enough DOF to have a few feet to play with.

Worked great in the film days, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work now.

Shrug, I'm sure that works. Problem was *for me*, that didn't work. Chasing around my 18 month old son in our condo under ambient lighting while he can run anywhere from being a foot (30cm) from you, to 10-15 feet away (3-5m) distance within a second. Sure, I'll get something... but it won't be what I'd want.

I have noted in previous responses in this thread that it's a great camera... if you don't find yourself in low-ish light environment (and we're not even talking about candlelight level) needing the autofocus to work. I was just dumbfounded by how poorly AF was.

For example:

matthew.saji wrote in post #12958679
I had this camera with me at an indoor swim meet recently and it is quite a performer versus carrying the 7D around. Same size sensor with low noise and IQ is quite amazing... I'm considering it as my point and shoot replacement.

my iPhone is my P&S replacement. My NEX5 is my go anywhere DSLR (now EVIL). And my DSLR is "oh, you're paying me to shoot?" camera (or for when none of the others can handle the low light).

Rezolution wrote in post #12958754
I have a three year old and focus on it is definitely easier than my G12. ISO and RAW image quality approach the 5D MKII and 35L combo far more than I would have believed.

Right, but a G12 isn't exactly fast now is it? My NEX5 CAN AF fast enough, it's just a bit slow with "only" a 2.8 lens... The second part is what has me though, everyone with a X100 (who's kept them) says the IQ is there with a 5D or 5Dii... That's exactly what I'm after. When I look at my own galleries on my site the switch from a 5Dii shot to a NEX5 shot sticks out instantly, at least to me.

jwcdds wrote in post #12958818
The poor AF in low-light is what prompted me to sell the camera.

dtufino wrote in post #12958853
same here, sold min X100 because it sucked at low light focus.... Super slow....

like, how slow are we talking? Assume we're in a dimly lit living room. 3200 f/2 1/90th dimly lit (I shoot it at 3200 f/1.4 and 1/125th with my 5Dii and 24L). Will it be able to focus at all? Are all the points the same? I'm a 5D shooter, so I'm used to using the center point and recomposing.

matthew.saji wrote in post #12958820
I just found out the x100 is available to rent from borrowlenses.com if you want to try it out as it still a back order item. http://www.borrowlense​s.com …ct/Rangefinders​/Fuji_x100

I figure I can sell it used for what I get one for if I wait, but the thought had crossed my mind.

dtufino wrote in post #12958853
but i'm def. looking forward to the NEX7

look, I love the NEX, but they've just dropped the ball on lenses. I've had the 16 as my only option for a year now. The kit lens is too big (thickness is what kills these EVILs for me) and the new 50 and 24 are just as big as the kit now. Nevermind that a NEX7 and 24mm (same effective FL as the X100, just a tad faster) will cost ~$2000.... But yeah, adding a touch to the height of the body, but keeping the thickness where it's at (-vs- the NEX w/16mm) is crucial for me.

The NEX need(ed) some more pancakes and they need(ed) one of them to be fast. They shrunk the body too much so they can't get pancakes to work. The tiny body doesn't mean much when the primes are as big as the kit zoom....

jwcdds wrote in post #12958928
top = x100, bottom = 7d

I mean this is even a static object and AF could not lock on it whatsoever. Out of the 10 or so attempts to lock, 0/10. I mean unless someone wants to tell me that the keys lack sufficient contrast...

OK, but how were you focusing? And let me be the first to say, a $1200 glorified P&S camera shouldn't need help or settings to AF (what the haters say), but I've read some options can be changed that greatly help in that (close range) situation... First off is use it in M focus mode. When in M the rear AF button still focusing the camera (which is EXACTLY how all my DSLRs are setup). Second is make sure the firmware is updated as it could be a paralax error with the OVF... The firmware upgrade shows where the AF point really is -vs- where it shows it is assuming it's longer ranger.

If you were doing all those thing though, then yeah, it's hopeless. But that's exactly why I want to try it. I've been using a 5D and 5Dii for ~4 years now (ignoring my D700 hiatus) and have always been able to make it work, so I'm wondering if it's a learning curve thing (as a lot of owners will say it is) or if it's always crap or what...

jwcdds wrote in post #12958928
I mean this is even a static object and AF could not lock on it whatsoever. Out of the 10 or so attempts to lock, 0/10. I mean unless someone wants to tell me that the keys lack sufficient contrast...

Julian, were you using the OVF or the EVF for those shots of the keys? Did you have it set to macro?

If you were using the OVF, that could explain the backfocus.

jwcdds wrote in post #12958928
top = x100, bottom = 7d

I mean this is even a static object and AF could not lock on it whatsoever. Out of the 10 or so attempts to lock, 0/10. I mean unless someone wants to tell me that the keys lack sufficient contrast...

crcal has some good point there..

Under the described conditions, you would need macro mode, silent mode off (to get the AF assist) and EVF.

Haven't tried it myself, but every source seems to agree on those things. Even Fuji.

jacobsen1 wrote in post #12958988
OK, but how were you focusing? And let me be the first to say, a $1200 glorified P&S camera shouldn't need help or settings to AF (what the haters say), but I've read some options can be changed that greatly help in that (close range) situation... First off is use it in M focus mode. When in M the rear AF button still focusing the camera (which is EXACTLY how all my DSLRs are setup). Second is make sure the firmware is updated as it could be a paralax error with the OVF... The firmware upgrade shows where the AF point really is -vs- where it shows it is assuming it's longer ranger.

If you were doing all those thing though, then yeah, it's hopeless. But that's exactly why I want to try it. I've been using a 5D and 5Dii for ~4 years now (ignoring my D700 hiatus) and have always been able to make it work, so I'm wondering if it's a learning curve thing (as a lot of owners will say it is) or if it's always crap or what...

crcal wrote in post #12958997
Julian, were you using the OVF or the EVF for those shots of the keys? Did you have it set to macro?

If you were using the OVF, that could explain the backfocus.

I was using the EVF, focusing w/ the back LCD on live-view (per se), and not w/ the OVF. For that particular image, I was shooting in macro mode. Oh, now that you've reminded me, the macro mode is rather irritating, I might add. It will cycle through the entire range and then literally "jump" to where the focus locked. So as you're holding the camera and looking at the EVF, you see the focus rack from one side to the next and you think, "Damn, what's it doing? It's gone too far!" and then you get the AF beep and voila, image appears focused on the LCD.

In any case, back to my example, Macro mode, EVF, attempted that shot 10x and got 0 out of 10 tries. It wasn't an issue of violating MFD because the x100 actually can focus very close in macro mode. Much shorter MFD than the 24L that I was using on the 7D.

No idea what it was for you, but it focuses fine for me.

It is slow though, slower then a 5d, but i can get it to focus in low-light without too much trouble, even -without- the AF Illumination seizure.

For normal focusing, i found going into EVF, and just shrinking the AF selector to a smaller size helped me nail it much better.

But its slow. Make it no mistake about it. Its slow.

However it never bothered me, i would certainly not try to chase a 7 year old in ambient light with this camera.

The reason you can do that easier with a p&s is because the focal plane is much larger, theres not as much critical focus on it or as much to focus in terms of glass either.

For a 1,200$ camera the AF on this sucks horribly, but thats okay with me, it shines elsewhere.