GFX 100RF OOBE

[JimKasson]

I’ve noticed this affects how the camera meters a scene, and it’s really frustrating. In Surround View, the EVF offers three display modes: BLACK, SEMI-TRANSPARENT, and LINE. But if you choose SEMI-TRANSPARENT or LINE, the camera still meters the entire sensor, including areas outside the cropped view. That skews the exposure and throws off the final image.
Aspect ratio doesn't matter here. It applies to any cropped aspect ratio.

I consider this a bug.

Why? It allows the use of the black mode to be used to estimate exposure in the cropped area in the case one has determined he/she wants the image cropped. The bright line, semi-transparent frame lines could be used as compositional aid but the user is intending to make the final decision later. The exposure could be different in those two cases - especially in a wide angle lens. So it gives the photographer another arrow in his quiver to estimate the best exposure for the final image.

As usual with most cameras, "one man's bug is another man's feature."

Well stated and you hit the points well. It is not a big but a well thought out feature.

I see several issues with the crop implementation.

You can't see the aspect ratio lines unless you are in a mode that records JPEG files. That limits its use as a compositional aid.

In crop mode, the histogram and the metering in the image area depends on the surround chosen. In what world does that make sense? If it's a compositional tool, you want metering and histogram that respects the composition. At least with a black surround, ETTR with the histogram still works right. But with the other surrounds, it doesn't.

 

[JimKasson]

I’ve noticed this affects how the camera meters a scene, and it’s really frustrating. In Surround View, the EVF offers three display modes: BLACK, SEMI-TRANSPARENT, and LINE. But if you choose SEMI-TRANSPARENT or LINE, the camera still meters the entire sensor, including areas outside the cropped view. That skews the exposure and throws off the final image.
Aspect ratio doesn't matter here. It applies to any cropped aspect ratio.

I consider this a bug.

One might argue that SEMI-TRANSPARENT and LINE reflects the possibility of including the whole sensor, while BLACK indicates a definitive crop.

I think GFX cameras use whatever is visible in the EVF to compute metering.

I set the 100RF on a tripod with a crop using the white lines with a very bright object in the lower left corner. When I switched to the Black the exposure changed values (SS in this case since it was aperture priority). When I switch to semi-transparent the exposure change back to what it was in the beginning.

So it seems to ignore everything in the blacked out area of the crop for exposure calculation.

That is my experience with the camera.

 

[jhunna]

I’ve noticed this affects how the camera meters a scene, and it’s really frustrating. In Surround View, the EVF offers three display modes: BLACK, SEMI-TRANSPARENT, and LINE. But if you choose SEMI-TRANSPARENT or LINE, the camera still meters the entire sensor, including areas outside the cropped view. That skews the exposure and throws off the final image.
Aspect ratio doesn't matter here. It applies to any cropped aspect ratio.

I consider this a bug.

Why? It allows the use of the black mode to be used to estimate exposure in the cropped area in the case one has determined he/she wants the image cropped. The bright line, semi-transparent frame lines could be used as compositional aid but the user is intending to make the final decision later. The exposure could be different in those two cases - especially in a wide angle lens. So it gives the photographer another arrow in his quiver to estimate the best exposure for the final image.

As usual with most cameras, "one man's bug is another man's feature."

Well stated and you hit the points well. It is not a big but a well thought out feature.

I see several issues with the crop implementation.

You can't see the aspect ratio lines unless you are in a mode that records JPEG files. That limits its use as a compositional aid.

I disagree with this on two levels. One, IF I am shooting raw I don't need the compositional aid of the aspect ratio lines. I am shooting for the entire range of the sensor and will crop when I start PP. Two, IF I must use this for composition, then I would simply record the smallest jpeg allowable. You have two cards, and can store jpegs on one, and raws on the other. Or simply export the raw files only.
I think the way fuji is doing this is pretty good, and I can see a lot of people thinking they are capturing 1:1 jpeg and getting the raw only, and being disappointed.

In crop mode, the histogram and the metering in the image area depends on the surround chosen. In what world does that make sense?

Think about it, in the simplest terms, I want to meter what I see. If I can see the entire sensor (lines and semi-transparent), meter for the entire sensor. If I can only see a portion (black surround) meter for what I can see. Also keep in mind the black surround is mimicking a zoom lens. You would not your 24-105 zoom to meter the same in 105mm vs 24mm framing. So Fuji is holding true to that paradigm.

If it's a compositional tool, you want metering and histogram that respects the composition.

It is a compositional tool for jpegs. What is the use case for using the zoom or aspect ratio as compositional tools for RAW?

At least with a black surround, ETTR with the histogram still works right. But with the other surrounds, it doesn't.

It will work correctly with spot metering, you will see the variance in metering with the other modes.

This is a jpeg workflow with some new paradigms, not all of the older methods of composition\exposure will work as one has come to expect.

 

[JimKasson]

I’ve noticed this affects how the camera meters a scene, and it’s really frustrating. In Surround View, the EVF offers three display modes: BLACK, SEMI-TRANSPARENT, and LINE. But if you choose SEMI-TRANSPARENT or LINE, the camera still meters the entire sensor, including areas outside the cropped view. That skews the exposure and throws off the final image.
Aspect ratio doesn't matter here. It applies to any cropped aspect ratio.

I consider this a bug.

Why? It allows the use of the black mode to be used to estimate exposure in the cropped area in the case one has determined he/she wants the image cropped. The bright line, semi-transparent frame lines could be used as compositional aid but the user is intending to make the final decision later. The exposure could be different in those two cases - especially in a wide angle lens. So it gives the photographer another arrow in his quiver to estimate the best exposure for the final image.

As usual with most cameras, "one man's bug is another man's feature."

Well stated and you hit the points well. It is not a big but a well thought out feature.

I see several issues with the crop implementation.

You can't see the aspect ratio lines unless you are in a mode that records JPEG files. That limits its use as a compositional aid.

I disagree with this on two levels. One, IF I am shooting raw I don't need the compositional aid of the aspect ratio lines.

Why not? See below.

I am shooting for the entire range of the sensor and will crop when I start PP.

You will likely stand in a different place if you are composing for a specific aspect ratio. You can't fix that in post. I sometimes use plastic masks.

Two, IF I must use this for composition, then I would simply record the smallest jpeg allowable. You have two cards, and can store jpegs on one, and raws on the other. Or simply export the raw files only.

That's a reasonable workaround, but it's a workaround.

I think the way fuji is doing this is pretty good, and I can see a lot of people thinking they are capturing 1:1 jpeg and getting the raw only, and being disappointed.

In crop mode, the histogram and the metering in the image area depends on the surround chosen. In what world does that make sense?

Think about it, in the simplest terms, I want to meter what I see. If I can see the entire sensor (lines and semi-transparent), meter for the entire sensor. If I can only see a portion (black surround) meter for what I can see. Also keep in mind the black surround is mimicking a zoom lens. You would not your 24-105 zoom to meter the same in 105mm vs 24mm framing. So Fuji is holding true to that paradigm.

I don't look at it that way. If I'm composing for a particular aspect ratio, I want to see the histogram for that aspect ratio. The workaround is to use black borders, but that's not my preferred solution. You can't see what's outside the frame that way. Think of the Leica M camera finders.

If it's a compositional tool, you want metering and histogram that respects the composition.

It is a compositional tool for jpegs. What is the use case for using the zoom or aspect ratio as compositional tools for RAW?

Optimizing the composition for the chosen aspect ratio.

At least with a black surround, ETTR with the histogram still works right. But with the other surrounds, it doesn't.

It will work correctly with spot metering,

Which I consider one of the least useful metering mode. The best is the histogram.

you will see the variance in metering with the other modes.

This is a jpeg workflow with some new paradigms, not all of the older methods of composition\exposure will work as one has come to expect.

And I think that's a shame. It didn't have to be that way.

 

[jhunna]

I’ve noticed this affects how the camera meters a scene, and it’s really frustrating. In Surround View, the EVF offers three display modes: BLACK, SEMI-TRANSPARENT, and LINE. But if you choose SEMI-TRANSPARENT or LINE, the camera still meters the entire sensor, including areas outside the cropped view. That skews the exposure and throws off the final image.
Aspect ratio doesn't matter here. It applies to any cropped aspect ratio.

I consider this a bug.

Why? It allows the use of the black mode to be used to estimate exposure in the cropped area in the case one has determined he/she wants the image cropped. The bright line, semi-transparent frame lines could be used as compositional aid but the user is intending to make the final decision later. The exposure could be different in those two cases - especially in a wide angle lens. So it gives the photographer another arrow in his quiver to estimate the best exposure for the final image.

As usual with most cameras, "one man's bug is another man's feature."

Well stated and you hit the points well. It is not a big but a well thought out feature.

I see several issues with the crop implementation.

You can't see the aspect ratio lines unless you are in a mode that records JPEG files. That limits its use as a compositional aid.

I disagree with this on two levels. One, IF I am shooting raw I don't need the compositional aid of the aspect ratio lines.

Why not? See below.

I am shooting for the entire range of the sensor and will crop when I start PP.

You will likely stand in a different place if you are composing for a specific aspect ratio. You can't fix that in post. I sometimes use plastic masks.

Two, IF I must use this for composition, then I would simply record the smallest jpeg allowable. You have two cards, and can store jpegs on one, and raws on the other. Or simply export the raw files only.

That's a reasonable workaround, but it's a workaround.

I would call it a new workflow.

I think the way fuji is doing this is pretty good, and I can see a lot of people thinking they are capturing 1:1 jpeg and getting the raw only, and being disappointed.

In crop mode, the histogram and the metering in the image area depends on the surround chosen. In what world does that make sense?

Think about it, in the simplest terms, I want to meter what I see. If I can see the entire sensor (lines and semi-transparent), meter for the entire sensor. If I can only see a portion (black surround) meter for what I can see. Also keep in mind the black surround is mimicking a zoom lens. You would not your 24-105 zoom to meter the same in 105mm vs 24mm framing. So Fuji is holding true to that paradigm.

I don't look at it that way. If I'm composing for a particular aspect ratio, I want to see the histogram for that aspect ratio. The workaround is to use black borders, but that's not my preferred solution. You can't see what's outside the frame that way. Think of the Leica M camera finders.

I thought this is what you were referring to when stating compositional aids. While I haven't set it up this way (not sure if you can), IF I really needed the correct, non-spot metering, I would set up a switch to swap between lines/semi, then press a button to get the black borders for accurate composition, then switch back.

I think if one REALLY needed the correct exposure and did not want to deal with jpegs, there is a path to get there, although I find discarding unused jpegs easier.

If it's a compositional tool, you want metering and histogram that respects the composition.

It is a compositional tool for jpegs. What is the use case for using the zoom or aspect ratio as compositional tools for RAW?

Optimizing the composition for the chosen aspect ratio.

Gotcha...

At least with a black surround, ETTR with the histogram still works right. But with the other surrounds, it doesn't.

It will work correctly with spot metering,

Which I consider one of the least useful metering mode. The best is the histogram.

Histogram isn't a metering mode, it is a way to gage the light in the scene. I think of metering modes as multi, center weighted, spot, and average. I use the histogram to determine if I need to make an adjustment, so I see it as a metering tool not a metering mode.

you will see the variance in metering with the other modes.

This is a jpeg workflow with some new paradigms, not all of the older methods of composition\exposure will work as one has come to expect.

And I think that's a shame. It didn't have to be that way.

I think things need to change as they bring a new way of doing things. RF is a unique beast, and one of the reasons I think it hasn't been as well received is because it takes longer to get people to sort out how they are going to do the composition.

 

[JimKasson]

Histogram isn't a metering mode, it is a way to gage the light in the scene. I think of metering modes as multi, center weighted, spot, and average. I use the histogram to determine if I need to make an adjustment, so I see it as a metering tool not a metering mode.

The histogram is the best way to set exposure for raw files, in conjunction with zebras/blinkies. I get what you're saying, but if you look at things that way, an extinction light meter isn't a light meter.

 

[NewCameraUser1]

If you see crop lines (e.g. 65:24, 1:1, 5:4), that’s the composition you intend to capture. Why should the camera expose for areas you’ve explicitly chosen not to include? If you’ve cropped to a 80mm panoramic frame, you likely don’t care how bright the sky above or ground below looks.

Yes, Fuji RAW keeps the full sensor, but that doesn’t mean exposure should ignore the crop.

If the metering doesn’t match what you see (and instead includes the faded, grayed-out border), then the camera is essentially exposing for something you aren’t composing around.

 

[JimKasson]

If you see crop lines (e.g. 65:24, 1:1, 5:4), that’s the composition you intend to capture. Why should the camera expose for areas you’ve explicitly chosen not to include? If you’ve cropped to a panoramic frame, you likely don’t care how bright the sky above or ground below looks.

Yes, Fuji RAW keeps the full sensor, but that doesn’t mean exposure should ignore the crop.

If the metering doesn’t match what you see (and instead includes the faded, grayed-out border), then the camera is essentially exposing for something you aren’t composing around.

And having the metering change with the mode that you use to show the crop is adding insult to injury. I think Fuji did it this way because they didn't want to tear up their firmware a lot to support the new feature, not because it's the high road.

 

[Oren Grad]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

 

[JimKasson]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

 

[SrMi]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

Controlling EVF brightness? Quickly switching between DCG ranges?

What I find more annoying is the top shutter speed dial. I prefer to change the shutter speed on the rear dial (quicker). To enable shutter speed control with the rear dial, I need to allow "Dial SS Operation" (default is enabled?). However, that means I can change the shutter speed with the rear dial even when it's set manually with the top dial. If I set 1/250 with the top dial, the shutter speed could be anywhere between 1/160 and 1/400.

 

[JimKasson]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

Controlling EVF brightness?

Once you've cranked the ISO up beyond base ISO and are no longer able to give generous exposure, you can turn off exposure simulation.

Quickly switching between DCG ranges?

I wouldn't call that tuning. Tuning to me implies small adjustments.

What I find more annoying is the top shutter speed dial. I prefer to change the shutter speed on the rear dial (quicker). To enable shutter speed control with the rear dial, I need to allow "Dial SS Operation" (default is enabled?). However, that means I can change the shutter speed with the rear dial even when it's set manually with the top dial. If I set 1/250 with the top dial, the shutter speed could be anywhere between 1/160 and 1/400.

There is that. But changing the shutter speed dial restores the shutter speed to what it says on the dial.

 

[SrMi]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

Controlling EVF brightness?

Once you've cranked the ISO up beyond base ISO and are no longer able to give generous exposure, you can turn off exposure simulation.

Yes, and I have a button assigned to it, but

- It works only for manual mode

- You have to roll over three options

- There is no indication in the EVF that exposure simulation has been turned off

Olympus has a much better implementation.

Quickly switching between DCG ranges?

I wouldn't call that tuning. Tuning to me implies small adjustments.

What I find more annoying is the top shutter speed dial. I prefer to change the shutter speed on the rear dial (quicker). To enable shutter speed control with the rear dial, I need to allow "Dial SS Operation" (default is enabled?). However, that means I can change the shutter speed with the rear dial even when it's set manually with the top dial. If I set 1/250 with the top dial, the shutter speed could be anywhere between 1/160 and 1/400.

There is that. But changing the shutter speed dial restores the shutter speed to what it says on the dial.

 

[Oren Grad]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

Yes, primarily.

 

[Oren Grad]

What I find more annoying is the top shutter speed dial. I prefer to change the shutter speed on the rear dial (quicker). To enable shutter speed control with the rear dial, I need to allow "Dial SS Operation" (default is enabled?). However, that means I can change the shutter speed with the rear dial even when it's set manually with the top dial. If I set 1/250 with the top dial, the shutter speed could be anywhere between 1/160 and 1/400.

The top shutter speed dial as well is useless for me. I've been using the camera exclusively in aperture-priority mode, so it sits at A. But even if I were using the camera in shutter-priority, I find the dial awkward to operate at eye level.

I have the front control dial set for ISO and the rear dial for exposure compensation (the top-deck compensation dial is awkwardly-posiitioned and a bit too stiff for my taste, while the rear dial is within comfortable reach and turns smoothly). The aperture ring does fall reasonably comfortably to hand the way I hold the camera, so that's fine as is.

*For my purposes*, the traditional-style top deck controls are purely decorative. But the nice thing about the RF is that there are enough additional controls and enough different ways of customizing them, that it's been possible to set up the camera for reasonably comfortable use even so.

 

[JimKasson]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

Yes, primarily.

That explains it.

 

[emdundronald]

Comment:
The ISO lift-up was standard on film slr shutter wheels.

But on those cameras, it was just a reminder. It didn’t actually do anything to the camera.

Can't speak to other brands off the top of my head, but on the Pentax Spotmatic series the lift collar is in fact how a variable resistor is set to tell the camera the ISO. The later MX (K-mount) retains the collar on the shutter speed dial but uses a lock button instead - need to push the button to enable twisting the collar, rather than lifting the collar to release it.

This was fine on film cameras where you set it once a roll at most - or once and never changed it if you standardized - as I did - on a single film and EI.

On the RF this is a useless feature for me, as I'm continually tuning ISO with the camera at eye level. So I have it assigned to the front control dial.

In a camera with so large an ISO-invariant range as the GFX 100RF, why are you continually tuning the ISO? Are you shooting JPEGs?

 

[highdesertmesa]

The Fuji GFX 100RF arrived from LenRentals today for a three-week stay chez Kasson. From the setup menus, it appears to be brand new. I’ll get to the testing soon enough, but I have a few thoughts on the design.

• It’s small. It weighs about the same as a Z7 and a small 35mm Nikkor, and it’s not all that much bigger.
• The on/off switch is too easy to move. I’ll bet some folks are going to have trouble accidentally turning the camera on when they put it into the bag.

My power switch is fairly stiff, and I do still accidentally turn the camera on but only when removing it from a bag. I assume it might loosen up over time, though. It's a mystery why Fujifilm can't do better to protect the on/off switch. They have the perfect implementation of this switch on the current and tiny X-M5 – it functions exactly the same way but it's set back from the edge of the camera body.

• The Q switch is flush. This should reduce the accidental activation of the Q switch, which has happened to me with other GFX cameras.
• Leaving the crop wheel aside for the time being, I love the way the controls work. The aperture ring on the switch has an A position which allows the exposure system to change it, which is perfect. The shutter speed dial has a similar A position. There’s an ISO adjust embedded in the shutter speed wheel that is so much better for me than the thumbwheel ISO adjustment of a lot of the other GFX cameras. And there’s huge exposure compensation dial that falls readily to thumb.

I love the controls on the RF, too. It's one reason why the X100 and X-Pro series have been so successful in my opinion.

• It looks like the lens has two knurled rings, but the front one doesn’t move. Pity.

It's the filter adapter ring and not connected to the lens otherwise. It can be removed to make the lens even smaller (and lose the weather sealing).

• The menu structure will be familiar to anyone who has used another GFX camera.
• The focus mode selection dial is flush with the body except for the part you use to adjust it.
• The joystick is not great. Fuji could do some work on the haptics. But the joystick has never been the GFX’s strong suit.

I much prefer the joystick design from their APS-C cameras. They at least should make the joystick from metal since the plastic part they have now feels really cheap.

• The front knurled dial is mushy. It needs some crisp detents. Same with the back knurled dial.

I feel the bumps as it moves, and if it were any more pronouced, it would lose its current fluidity of function when using it as exposure compensation. As much as I appreciate the rear EC dial, it's 1000x faster to set that to C and use the front cylinder dial to that function. Set that way, using A-priority with auto ISO is extremely fast to use without changing my grip on the camera.

• It’s got two SD card slots. I would have much preferred one XCD slot.

Not until Apple gives us a built-in XCD slot on the MacBook Pro.

• The lens hood is small, and that’s nice. It’s probably less effective than a petal hood, though.

I find myself shooting with the filter ring and filter and just leaving the hood in the bag.

• Now for the most controversial part of the camera, the crop dial. I’m a raw shooter, so I view the crop dial as a compositional aid, and nothing else. If you look at it like I do, it is way more prominent than it should be, and it needs a lock button.

The ratio/crop dial is the stiffest, most difficult to get to, and hardest to turn dial on the camera. I can't imagine needing a lock. I have the C position set to my favorite crop, and I can just bounce back and forth between 4:3 and C with a single click.

• The LCD tilts but doesn’t swivel. That’s fine with me.

I wish it had portrait tilt but I appreciate how flush it is when not deployed.

• The latch for the battery door is not self-engaging. Oops.

The orange plastic lock inside the battery compartment also doesn't reliably engage, but the camera still functions as long as the battery door is closed on it. I'm often opening the battery door to find that orange lock was not engaged and the battery pushed up as soon as the door opens.

• There are no detents on the SIO dial. Oops again.

The design philosophy is more akin to setting your film speed and sticking to it – or to Auto ISO.

• Access to the ISO dial by lifting a collar is brilliant.
• I’m not fond of the way the flash card access door works. Fuji could take a lesson from Nikon on how to do this right.

All the exterior doors should be metal or rubber and not the cheap stiff plastic.

• No IBIS, but then you probably already knew that.

To me, this is a modern digital embodiment of the Plaubel Makina 67 with a shorter lens. I would have preferred the lens be around 45mm instead of 35mm, but nobody asked me.

100% agree. Also reminds me of a mini version of the old Fujifilm 645 fixed lens cameras.

Questions? Comments?

I am very excited for Fujifilm to give other models the new classic view metering mode and information display from the X-E5 (digital version of the film camera exposure needle).