Fuji FinePix X100

Recommend to a friend? Yes

"The Fuji X100, the camera that does it all?

The Fuji X100. To say I was excited when this camera launched is an understatement! As soon as stock became available I bought one from Castle Cameras and have never looked back.

As a professional photographer I have a selection of fantastic cameras, however I wanted something a little more discrete, and a little more portable for the times I wasn’t working but still wanted to shoot high quality photographs, such as time with the family, holidays and street photography. I also had to have a camera that was aesthetically very pleasing too.

The X100 more than answered the brief. It is compact, it is discrete, very quiet and a pleasure to carry around all day. The image quality is astounding, giving very sharp images, even wide open at f/2 due to the fixed lens being perfectly mated to its sensor. The APS-C sized sensor provides images that are noise free up to 1600 ISO and images are very useable even at 3200 ISO, in fact noise control is superior to my Nikon D300s at these levels.

The JPEGs that the X100 provides are so good, that I now only use JPEG when shooting with my X100, favouring this over my usual method of shooting purely RAW files. The film effects are great, the ASTIA setting being a particular favourite.

The X100 also has a built in 3 stop ND filter, which allows you to shoot at f/2 in broad daylight with ease, and provides you with some creative long exposure options too.

All of the above features are fantastic, but the absolute killer feature of this camera is the Optical View Finder. This is a piece of exceptional design, and makes this camera stand head and shoulders above all others in this class. The joy of being able to see an ultra bright image in your viewfinder along with the electronic heads up display information is a revelation. Leica really could do with taking a leaf out of Fuji’s book with its next M camera, it really is that good. The first version of the firmware gave some problems with close range focusing when using the Optical View Finder, but subsequent firmware updates have addressed this, along with other minor issues.

I did have concerns when I purchased the camera about the fixed lens, but this proved to be unfounded. The 35mm equivalent is a great focal length and has proved be very versatile.

I have pushed this camera way beyond it’s intended use. I have shot weddings with it alongside my Nikon gear from which many of the images made the couples final selections and ultimately their albums. It provide particularly useful for bridal prep and in the church where discretion is important. I have also used it for long exposure landscapes, which have yielded very high quality prints.

Could this camera replace a professional DSLR? No, but it could comfortably be any serious enthusiast’s main camera, and a very worthy second body to a professional. Indeed I know of several professionals who like me do exactly this.

I would heartily recommend a Fuji X100 to anyone. It is a beautiful and very capable camera which surpassed my expectations in every way.

Graham Fry
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