LC1, f2.4, 1/160, ISO 200, RAW, 90mm
The latest Focus in Birmingham did not present much new and was pretty boring compared with previous years.
Maybe it was manufacturers not releasing any new products during the show or maybe it was lack of interest from my part in anything but the Fuji X100.
Since Photokina in September last year I could not wait to see a working X100 and I am sure I was not alone. This was the main reason to go all the way to Birmingham for me this time around. Unlike a few years ago when I was excited about the Sigma DP1, the Fuji X100 did not disappoint.
Ever since Fuji stole the spotlight at Photokina with the X100 people have been constantly talking about it and have been analyzing and scrutinizing every piece of information released. In recent weeks there have been more and more sample images released so the excitement was very high. The expectations of some people were so high that no camera can realistically fulfill them so some people are bound to be slightly disappointed.
So let me say that while I think the Fuji X100 is one of the best looking cameras and I will end up buying one just for that point alone even though it has a few problems. Some can be fixed in firmware and some will need to be changed in the X200 but overall it's great to see that Fuji has let the right people design a camera and has made one of the best enthusiast cameras you can currently find. Let's hope this inspires more manufacturers (Panasonic I look at you here) to pay more attention to design and controls on cameras, so far it seems only Ricoh, Leica and now Fuji have figured it out, I could also include Epson with the RD1 here but this was a one off like the Panasonic LC1.
What a lovely black and white....
ReplyDeletePicture
Thanks for your comment Ronald!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the...picture. ;)
Cristian
ReplyDeleteGood to see some new posts, looking forward to your review of the 28mm.
You found a few issues with the X100, will you be detailing what you think are its not so brilliant points in the near future?
Matty
Thanks for your comment Matty and glad you keep following my blog!
ReplyDeleteThe main issue with the X100 is the slow RAW write speed which makes the camera mostly inoperable during the time.
The other issue was the less than intuitive menu system and the close focus ability when using AF.
I hope to get my hand on a production X100 and will be writing more about it.
Matty asked what I was going to ask.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to your review of the X100 when you finally manage to get your hands on one.
As this shot shows, the LC1 can still deliver the goods.
So why do we keep buying new cameras? ;-)
Calvin, I do like the X100 and unless I can control myself or Fuji send me one to test I will probably end up buying one. At the least I will try to play around with one in a shop where it's a bit quieter to get some better impressions and write them down.
ReplyDeleteThe LC1 is a very capable camera and if it weren't for me liking new gadgets I would have probably stopped at the LC1 and GRD I since both make a great combo together and do everything I really need.