FujifilmX100 12.3 MP APS-C CMOS EXR Digital Camera with 23mm Fujinon Lens and 2.8-Inch LCD

Instead of an all out review I will try to list my top pro/con experiences with this camera.I wasn't expecting The X100 to be perfect, but some things on this camera are hard to get right. I think that this is mostly just because of the firmware/software, which is still at a very early version right now. So below I am first covering some of the negatives mostly because I want to finish with the positives. The negatives covered here were observed while using the camera instead of from the feature/specifications list.==FOCUSING==I understand that contrast based auto-focus would be slow and I have no problems accepting that and living with it, but the focusing still suffers from the following 2 class of issues which I think should not be hard to rectify:1) OVF focusing:OVF focusing could have been "PERFECT" if the camera always displayed the OVF frame-lines for the current (or last) focus distance when in MF mode. But it does not. You only get the correct frame-lines on shutter half press and then they move back to the default position as soon as you release the button. Whats worse is that the focus point doesn't move with the frame lines, so I'm never really confident of the object under focus. In other words, in situations where the parallax matters you can forget about one click auto-focus with the X100. You will have to use the EVF zoom focus check for important shots. In dynamic shooting situation you will sometimes have to trade-off sharp focus for just getting the shot. This overall is not a terrible thing, but its just something that could be fixed in software.2) Manual focusing:As expected low light auto-focusing is not one of the strengths of this camera, especially when you have the auto-focus assist light turned off for stealth. So the manual focus ring along with the distance display is a great idea for such situations. But the FREAKIN focus ring is so slow that it takes ages to pre-focus the camera to a particular distance. I can understand the need for smaller steps when in the macro focus range but for non-macro use this is just unacceptable. The user should be allowed to pick how much rotation (with the option of setting it to less than 1 turn for the full range) covers the non-macro focus. An extra treat would to zoom into the distance scale for macro focus. Again I expect this to be something that can be fixed in software.==INTERFACE==1) Auto Manual ISO toggle:There is no way to quickly toggle between auto and manual ISO. Again this would be something fixable in software.2) Dedicated controls for second level features:I like the dedicated controls for aperture, shutter and shutter compensation. But allowing users to quickly modify the second level exposure control depends on the shooting situation is also important and sadly somewhat lacking in this camera. Adding this kind of flexibility to the interface allows different people with different usage patterns to quickly adjust the interface to match their needs. The RAW button really should mean giving more RAW control over the camera. I know I'm not being very specific because I haven't completely thought through the possible list of suggestions here.3) Slowness:Pretty much any kind of mode change takes around 1 second (or maybe a little less than a second). Some of these are acceptable and other arent. And I'm pretty sure that not all of the interface slowness is necessary, and some of it might be fixable in software. Closing the viewfinder curtain in some situations doesn't really seem necessary. I think taking another pass at fixing some of this slowness will be useful.==JAPAN==I am amazed at how quickly Fuji delivered the camera pre-orders even after the massive natural disaster in JAPAN. The resilience of the people behind this effort is unbelievable.==HAPPY THINGS==An amazing amount of engineering and planning went into bringing this camera to life, especially being the first entry product by Fuji in a segment completely new to them. So I want to briefly mention some of the things about this camera that make me happy:0. I am able to achieve better results with long-exposures when hand holding the X100 compared to a DSLR1. I am very happy with the sharpness and color rendition of the photos & the low light high ISO performance2. I am delighted with the super awesome ultra quiet operation and the compact size3. I am happy with the OVF and EVF. I was expect 0.5x magnification to be somewhat dismal but it feels pretty good to me.4. It fits my hands well and most of the buttons are easy to get toThe camera is still at firmware 1.01 and with some more software changes Fuji can make this a 5 star product (at least for me).Please FUJI. Its only a few more steps to the top.

As a semi-professional photographer (I get paid for doing photo shoots, but it's not my main source of income), I've come to love this little Fuji X100 as my carry-around camera. For professional work, like shooting events, or for my passion of wildlife photography, the "big guns" are better. Those are big Canon pro-series DSLRs with long lenses, like a 70-200mm and and 300mm prime.For street photography, a day in the city, or just being casual, the X100 has displayed my previous smaller-format camera, a Canon PowerShot S100. Of course, if I don't want to carry any camera at all, that's where the cameraphone comes in. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you.About the X100: It has an AWESOME semi-wide angle prime lens. Zoom with your feet, if you need to get closer, but it's the perfect focal length for casual shooting. No, you're not going to do birds with it, but it's great for walking around.The X100 has excellent manual controls, similar to the old rangefinder cameras that I grew up with. No, the X100 is NOT a Leica rangefinder, and in fact it's not a rangefinder at all. It does have a unique viewfinder. You can use it as a plain old optical viewfinder, with digital information overlaid. That's fast and easy. If you want to see exactly what the image sensor sees, flick a switch and an LCD goes into the viewfinder, and you are looking out through the main lens. You can also view this information on the back of the camera, but I like holding the camera up to my eye, instead of holding it at arm's length like a cameraphone.Image quality is excellent, in part because of the outstanding prime lens, and in part because Fuji installed an image sensor that's not only high resolution but also has really good color rendering.My preferred way to use this camera is to have the ISO set to "auto" and use the physical dials for aperture and exposure time. Yes, it's just like an old-fashioned camera! If you use the camera this way, there is NO reason to ever have to use menus while you're shooting. Set the camera to auto-ISO, and control shutter speed and aperture with the knobs. Perfect, perfect, perfect.One small criticism, and it's a tiny nit-pick, is that the lens crap is really lousy -- fell off all the time. I purchased a metal screw-in lens cap, which truly protects the camera's lens. (I don't use a clear filter.) When I'm ready to shoot, I unscrew the lens cap and put it into my pocket. I leave it off until I'm through shooting.Another criticism is that battery life isn't great, especially if you're used to the long life you'll get on a Canon 5D3 or 1D4. No problem: Pick up an extra battery, put it into your pocket, handbag or camera bag, and you'll be fine for a day's worth of shooting.Other reviewers have complained that the autofocus speed is slow. Yes, it's slower than a DSLR, but that doesn't bother me. I'm not using the X100 to take action shots; rather, I'm using it like you'd use a Leica, to carefully compose and shoot. For that, the autofocus speed is more than fast enough for my purposes.Overall: This is an incredible camera, and I have more fun with it than I do with my big DSLRs, in part because it's small and light enough to take anywhere, and in part because it's so tactile, and in part because the 23mm (35mm film equiv) focal length is so good, and in part because the APS-C sensor is as good as the sensors on my DSLRs.The only reason I'd sell this camera would be to upgrade to the two-generations-newer X100T. That's something I'm thinking about, and if I bought the X100T, there would be no need to keep this one.