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If X100 offered lenses I'd have bought them all

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photo perzon

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Fuji marketing department, instead of selling me $ 1200 you'd have sold $ 8000

Just saying...
 
Of course, assuming it's all quality optics.

And at that range, you might start considering the M9 and glass. ;)
 
The appeal of the X100, at least for most I'd say, its being able to get both a good quality compact camera with a nice lens all in one package for $1200.

If you've got $8k to spend and want to change lenses why not go for a Leica system ? M8 or M9. I had a M9 and it was fantastic. Best IQ of anything I've ever owned and the glass was amazing as well. I actually used a lot of Zeiss glass, couple of cheap voigtlanders and a couple of Leica lenses.

You can make a system as expensive or inexpensive as you want and can have a bag full of glass or just a few lenses

X100 made more sense to me though as it was affordable, a focal length I liked and freed up thousands of dollars in my bank account selling the M system

If I wanted to change lenses and spend that type of money I'd certainly go back to Leica over Fuji

Not saying the FUji isn't good, but if we are talking $8000 worth of gear, I'd rather have a fullframe Leica
--
http://www.millsartphotography.com
 
Correct. No manual focus.

I'm sure the X200 will have lenses.
 
I know this very well. I've tried to price it many times. I can never go below $9k for a used M9 with 35mm Cron. Throw in the 90mm, and we're looking at $12.5k for a used system. Then there is the issue of actually finding a used 90mm on sale anywhere.

The X100 may not be M9 + Leica lenses, but it's lighter and I can enjoy the savings on travel and food.

I think we're all assuming the X300 will have interchangeable lenses and new generation Sony sensor. Fuji is definitely on the cusp of greatness. They just need to kick the door wide open and walk through. They have an amazing opportunity to own the mirrorless market. I think they know this and are working very hard on the interchangeable lens model. I think we're all assuming they are working on it.
 
An X100 with 35/2, X200 with 90/2, and X300 with 24/2 would be a very, very sweet set that would still be way cheaper than just an M9 with one lens. I would not mind carrying all three of those. All three may still add up to be under 3-4lbs. No worries for dust.
 
I don't really think Fuji can "own" the mirrorless market. I mean the x100 is that good on IQ because the optics can be tailored specifically to the sensor (optimized microlenses on sensor + glass actually very very close to sensor + shutter in the middle of the lens, they could do whatever was needed for IQ). You cannot do these things with exchangeable lenses, so an hypothetical x200 would not be as much optimized.

So that would take a lot of effort to Fuji while competitors already have a broad panel of lenses, good sensors and electronics, and would only need to add an OVF to get something quite close to what an "x200" could be.

For instance I think a EP-4 with OVF + lumix pancake 17mm would appeal to a lot of people looking for an x200.
 
Fuji is a very capable lens maker but the real trick is to produce quality at an affordable price as far as the average consumer is concerned. Provided that they take an integrated approach to making a small system which does not attempt to do too much ie. very long telephotos & extreme wide angles etc then they could make a very fine system camera.

The sensor & lenses need to be matched ,with in-lens ROM data which can be used by the camera to correct for any vignetting & CA. They have shown themselves able to master in-camera Jpeg processing & if they take time & get it right then they will have an undoubted hit on their hands. The styling emphasis should be on crisp , neat design with a retro appeal.

I would like to see silver & black versions with a choice of coloured 'leather' finishes to enhance consumer choice.













--
Keith-C
 
Then it wouldn't be the X100. And don't discount the level of difficulty associated with trying to make the hybrid EVF/OVF work with different focal lengths. Look at the issues people are having with parallax with a single focal length (I understand how it works and it doesn't bother me in the least, but a lot of folks get pretty lathered up about not being able to focus with the OVF on close up subjects). Then try changing focal lengths. Will you be satisfied with a different set of framelines for each lens, down to a pretty small frame in the middle of the OVF when using a longer lens? Or will you want the OVF to magically enlarge the scene to match the lens? I suspect most users of DSLR OVFs and of EVFs will want the latter, but I don't think its even possible, let alone doable for a reasonable price.

The X100 is a very specific camera with a very specific audience in mind. I'd love to have another with a 28mm effective focal length and I'm sure others would like to have one with a 50mm effective focal length, but I don't know how you combine them into one camera with the technology of the X100. Maybe someday, maybe Fuji is working on it. And if they can pull it off, I'm sure they'll sell a lot of them to a different audience. But I personally like the freedom from having to think afforded by a fixed focal length - just incorporate that frame down to the level of DNA and go shoot the thing! I love it as is. And will love it more with a few of the warts removed, but I don't want them to change the fundamental nature of the beast.

-Ray
-------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/collections/72157626204295198/
 
I predict it won't be long before your wish comes true, though I'm not sure it's Fujifilm that will do it. Personally, I'd like something like a digital version of the Contax G2. In the meantime I'm loving my quirky X100.

My first camera was a hand me down from my dad--a fine and well used Minolta SRT-101. It came with the same 50mm f1.8 lens that had been on it the whole time he had it. I'm guessing one of the things he liked about it is that it had interchangeable lenses ;-)
 
If they did that, from me they would get $0 instead of $1200. I wager that goes for a lot of other people as well. The main selling point of the X100 is the amazing IQ in the tiny package, and that's just not doable for that kind of money if you abandon fix lense.

Plus, in my walkaround I need 28-35 or so, fix lense, and that's it. Why get a camera which compromises IQ for something I will never use? If I want to lug lenses, I'll take my DSLR. It's much better for that than anything micro - so far, although I hope that will change.

Jesper
 
Me too.

Notice though that 1/3 or 1/2 of the X100's lens actually extends inside the body.

I suppose you can do that with an interchangeable mount, have the lens mount half-way up the side of the barrel, but it sure makes lens construction a lot more complicated, and therefore probably more expensive.

The Mamiya 7II lenses are like that - the lens extends inside the body of the camera with the mount some way down the assembly.

Also it means the angle of incidence of the light on the sensor is going to change - at least to some degree.

I suppose that they might be able to come up with a set of 4 or 5 lenses that would work reasonably well: say an equivalent set for 24, 28, 35, 50, 70 or something like that. But to do anything much wider or much longer would probably be impossible with the sensor/body combination they are using at the moment, and even the above set would like involve some IQ compromises. Still even a 28/35/50 set would be quite nice I suppose.

But as it stands 35 is a pretty good compromise, I certainly don't walk around wishing I had other lenses.

Other options are additional versions of optimised cameras X100W -> 24mm equivalent. X100L -> 50mm equivalent. I could be in the market for an additional camera at $1,200.

--
X100 blog -> http://peri.org.uk/wp/?tag=blog
 
My M9 I paid $5500 for used

Plenty of great lenses out there as well. Zeiss Biogon C, one of the sharpest 35mm's I've ever used was $700

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1.5 ASPH was $450 used, next best 50mm to a Leica 50 ASPH

Zeiss ZM25 is a fantastic wide for $900

Leica Elmarit M f2.9 90mm is $1200, and plenty of Summarit choices as well

For $9000 you can get a nice system with 3-4 lenses

M8.2 is also an option, around $2k for that body and its great for the money
calxn said:
I know this very well. I've tried to price it many times. I can never go below $9k for a used M9 with 35mm Cron. Throw in the 90mm, and we're looking at $12.5k for a used system. Then there is the issue of actually finding a used 90mm on sale anywhere.

The X100 may not be M9 + Leica lenses, but it's lighter and I can enjoy the savings on travel and food.

I think we're all assuming the X300 will have interchangeable lenses and new generation Sony sensor. Fuji is definitely on the cusp of greatness. They just need to kick the door wide open and walk through. They have an amazing opportunity to own the mirrorless market. I think they know this and are working very hard on the interchangeable lens model. I think we're all assuming they are working on it.
Click to expand...
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http://www.millsartphotography.com
 
Respectfully since I've never even seen a Leica, I am not comparing the X100 to a Leica (which is a small niche market)

I come from the DSLR Nikon world and the P&S Olympus/Panasonic/Canon world.

my E-pl2 does not compare to the X100, X100 allows for much more cropping there is more resolution in the X100 pictures

So if I could buy lenses for the X100 I would

Now the e-pl2 with the Panasonic 20mm is good...but the X100 is much better. The X100 is also much better than the NEX5 I don't know why that 16mm NEX is disappointing
 
The X100 sensor's micro-lens array is custom designed to match the angles the light rays exit the fixed lens rear element. This means changing lenses means changing the sensor. Otherwise the image quality suffers. Fuji deliberately designed a fixed lens camera to give the best possible image quality in the smallest possible camera. They chose performance and convenience over flexibility. People who prefer flexibility over performance and convenience should just stay away from the X100.

Fuji could make the camera larger (the distance between the lens and the sensor increases so micro lens customization becomes less crucial). They could make the sensor smaller. I prefer they did neither.

It will be interesting to see if Fuji decides to sell a X100 based camera with a longer focal length lens. An angle of view equal to a 50 mm focal length in 135 film format (33 mm focal length with the X100's sensor) is a classic package . I'm not sure if a Fuji body with a fixed-focal length 33mm lens could be as compact as the X100. I do know I would not carry two different bodies around all the time.

A Fuji mirror-less camera with interchangeable prime lenses would be nothing like the current X100.
 
What I meant by owning the mirrorless market is that Fuji is the first company to make the camera with almost everything that people like me want in a mirrorless camera. All the other guys like Sony, Panasonic, and Olympus make very compromised cameras. Whether it's lack of viewfinder or lack of manual controls or just the form factor or image quality. I'm not a fan of any of their mirrorless cameras. Olympus EP series was kinda close but compared to the Fuji, it might as well be a toy P&S. The GH-2's form factor is not to my liking. Those other guys are targeting P&S upgraders or gadgeteers. Fuji is targeting experienced shooters.

Somebody will eventually target serious shooters with a mirrorless interchangeable. A company needs that halo product for marketing. I was expecting Canon or Nikon to eventually do this, but if Fuji does this before them, they can have my money.
 
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