Fujifilm ’s X100 serial cameras are not for the masses . They are expensive , do n’t zoom , and do n’t fit in your pocket . And yet , if there ’s a single modern digital tv camera that has reached near cult condition in the past few years , it ’s the X100 . Enthusiasts flock to the retro - styled , fixed - lens triggerman in drove . The in style looping , the X100 T , adds a handful of improvements that may go unnoticed by most , but to the veteran photog they are heavenly additions to an already hallowed firearm of gear … but does n’t pay back one shrewish flaw .
2011 ’s X100 , follow by last yr ’s X100S , collect most of their latria with fashion appeal . I ’m not suppose they are n’t great cameras functionally , I ’m just enunciate that if they looked like , say , theNikon Coolpix A , they would n’t quite be the same object of desire . The $ 1300 X100 T uphold all those gorgeous Leica - esque qualities along with the same 23 mm ( 35 mm full - frame equivalent ) f2 lens , same 16 megapixel APS - C sensing element , while tot up some additional usability in the human body of ascendence tweak , speed , and one or two brand - new lineament .
Over the vacation , I ended up total around the X100 T almost exclusively , even though I stubbornly lugged six television camera to my folks ’ blank space for the week . Yes , I have a nausea .
It ’s just that the X100 T has this enormously seductive quality . You feel cool , like one of those snobs who still inject film ( me ) . But beyond the looks , it has all the makings of a photographer ’s dream compact , starting with controls . They are unmediated , customizable , and clear .
The improvement are all welcome additions ; from the re - tooled buttons on back to the more incremental aperture registration ( the control hoop moves in 1/3 halt instead of full stop like on the X100S ) . Every button is prissy and clicky , including the terrific and super unsounded shutter button . There are six transferrable buttons for customizing to your centre ’s mental object . You somehow feel like every option is at your fingertips without feeling like the camera is littered with buttons .
The X100 T next to my Leica M6 .
The one thing I ca n’t get used to , which is present on all Fujfilm ’s X - series cam , is the shutter f number ascendence . I have qualms with that parallel - style dial on top . I find it slow and annoying . I will say , however , that most masses like it . The superpower electric switch is also way too easy to flip on accidentally . I did this myriad times .
The most stand - out new feature of the X100 triiodothyronine is in the viewfinder . This camera has always been known for its hybrid system which let you switch between an optical window and a 2.3 million - dot EVF , which is larger and clean than before . The job with the optical pick on premature X100 models was that you had no way of checking focal point . On the X100 T , however , you get a bantam small electronic EVF in the corner of the optical view that shows a magnified percentage of the image that you could chink for precise manual focal point . It work really great , actually . And it ’s something you wo n’t encounter on any other camera . I also love how the superimposed frame - billet shrink and get to decline for parallax . So peachy .
There are a few execution areas where Fujifilm has still not caught up with the eternal rest of the pack . rivet go on to improve year - by - year , but it ’s still not as tight as the systems found in theSony a6000,Panasonic GH4 , orOlympus OMD - EM1 . The X100 T just hunts around a bit . Continous tracking is just bad . Also , the EVF . It ’s excessively contrasty and a turn noisy in scurvy light when compared , again , to Sony or Olympus EVFs . These are minor quibbles though .
When it amount down to the business of assume high-pitched calibre motion picture , the X100 T has serious chops . The 16 megapixel X - Trans sensor has always been lauded . large in humbled illumination with excellent color reproduction . But I must say , there is one thing that bugs the crap out of me which is the intellect I would never buy this television camera despite how much I like it . you’re able to see the problem when examining the altogether files .
Take this ISO 400 picture of a stark winter forest ( cluck Expand for a larger view ):
Looks fine when viewed modest . But if you blow it up to its full - sizing and get nice and intimate , busy sphere of item have this odd swirly character . Look at this crop !
Is it just me or does it expect a chip like the world Frodo picture when he puts on the One Ring ? I ’ve seen this come along on multiple Fujifilm X cameras , and it has something to do with how the altogether information is being interpret by the package , in this case , Adobe Camera RAW . I tried sue the same image with Capture One , a popular Adobe alternative , and the termination was marginally better , but I still was n’t happy with the way detail was being resolved . It look like some sort of smoothen or noise diminution algorithm is being applied to the RAW data . This eccentric of smudging only shows its slimy face on a little fraction of icon , but when it ’s there it badger me to eminent - Eden , and I ’m not able to look past it . That ’s why I would never endue in this tv camera . It may be an overreaction , but by golly , I am who I am .
Other than that , I just love shooting with a prime lens , and the X100 T ’s 35 mm tantamount lens is just what you want . You frankly do n’t need anything else for good old - fashioned reportage or street photography . I have sex moving my body to change authorship as react to merely twisting a zoom ring . It ’s like a dance with reality . Spend some clip mother to have intercourse the 35 mm focal distance and you will find yourself a effective photographer . It ’s also the perfect camera for those wanting to ascertain how to shoot with rangefinder . Of of course , the X100 T does n’t have honest range finder focusing , but learing to utilise an optical viewfinder and balancing exposure with nothing but meter readings is great practice for shoot on moving picture with an onetime Leica .
The following are RAW single file converted to JPG with no processing other than the default Lightroom colour dissonance reduction . consider ourFlickr galleryfor full - resolving power rendering :
If you ’re looking for brassy alternatives to the X100 T , there are a couple that come close , but none that really double the combo of fast prime lens with a viewfinder . I personally love theRicoh GR . It ’s pocket-sized and half the price of the Fujifilm while packing crazily sharp images . But it has a 28 mm equivalent lens whose images can be a tad unnatural looking compare to received 35 mm . It also lacks any case of build - in viewfinder . Ditto the similarly spec’dNikon Coolpix A. The only succinct shooter with a fixed 35 mm equivalent lens system is the full - frameSony RX1 , which is extremely costly with extremely inert AF . That leaves the X100 deoxythymidine monophosphate in a unique piffling street corner of the photo world . It ’s definitely an expensive camera at$1300 , and you’re able to economize a bundle by work with the still - awesome X100S track , at time , for about$850 .
I would gladly husk out for the X100 T if not for Fujifilm ’s weird detail interpreting problem . But for those that do n’t like about such stratum of pixel - peeping , the X100 T ’s excellent usability and attention to detail make it a dang hunky-dory photographer ’s pecker .
photographic camera
Daily Newsletter
Get the good tech , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox day by day .
News from the time to come , have to your present tense .
You May Also Like
