My x100 First 48 Hours

In Singapore there is a first wave of x100 being sold at our local IT Show much to the surprise of many. I for one has pre-ordered at Adorama but sensing that it will be delayed due to the high demand, I decided to buy it first and cancelled the order. I have never stopped smiling since getting the camera.

There are few things that I think would interest the advance photographer. Yes there are things that are skewed towards consumers such as the photo link below. It is called the motion panoramic.

Yes it is a feature in the Sony cameras as well as the new Fujifilm compacts but what it has going for the x100 is the ability to capture the intensity of the picture and then put it together in a pano. The result is simply satisfying to say the least.

As for Fujifilm's Skin Tone colour, I guess a lot of people out there really miss it since there was no successor to the S5 Pro (a bad decision to get the D200 over the S5 Pro haunts me till this day). I personally feel that the x100 has done a great job in this regard and as for the Bokeh at F2, it is quite ok...not too jarring and yet no too creamy.

The thing people has going for this camera would be the night photography. In quick summary, the camera does well and the ISO could be boosted up to a point a tripod is not necessary (but should be done correctly by bracing the camera on a wall or parapet/railing to stabilise the camera). I keep it at most 1600 at F2 and make it a point to focus 3/4 of the way. The result in terms of ISO noise, color rendition and dynamic range? See for yourself.

The other feature that was hardly said and perhaps even tested was the in-built ND filter that allows the use of F2.0 is harsh daylight. The following photo is done with the exact settings but Shutter is on Aperture with average metering. This is also to test the Bokeh quality as well.

Next test is on auto focusing for macro shots. I feel the focusing need a lot of work to get oneself acquainted to the x100 system. There is also a setting to set the focus area with a focus point in the camera so the focusing can be more accurate. But it was still a challenge for me and will still be 'training' with it more on this aspect including manual focusing. Still, I have a hunch that a firmware upgrade to tackle the focusing issue should be forthcoming.

I do want to add one more thing. Any close focusing of the camera that is about 10cm from plane to object will result in a dreamy image.

My macro close ups with my Omega (warning...in my books, it is a disaster).

Granted this camera is not designed for close macro work but more for street photography, it would still be great to improve on this aspect since the Ricoh GRD has done a great job with this aspect (

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I hope the above brief intro is helpful for all.

Will be back with travel photos to Bandung Indonesia. That would be real life example of what the camera can do.