Looks like a really nice alternative to lugging my DSLR.

But is pretty expensive & I’m not sure weather it’s the best camera for mountain biking / climbing. More the later where it’s definitely a faf to pull the DSLR out of the bag while holding on…

Should I go for an x100? or should I be looking at something like an Canon s100?

What do y’all think?

Ken Rockwell raves about it: http://www.kenrockwell.com/fuji/x100.htm

Personally I think it would be great for landscapes but I use large telephotos for biking action shots and I don’t think you can get them for the X100….

Yeah I usually go to Ken Rockwell for my camera advice (he doesn’t geek out on the tech).. hence the X100 & s100 options.

Any other cameras I should look at? I don’t want anything larger than the X100.

.. preferably with a view finder.

A quick google will pul up a lot of praise for the X100, a lot…
That said, for your requirements I’m not too sure – as it’s a fixed lens, of a wide’ish (35mm in full frame terms) angle you’ll either be looking at ‘the bigger picture’ type stuff or getting in really close – if that’s how you work then it may be worth a punt?
If possible maybe try your dslr with the equivalent lens and see if it works for you?

Does the Fuji x10 come close enough?

Actually I like the look of the X10.

It’s always going to be hard when you’re used to a DSLR. But It seems reasonably quick to start and I just don’t know if I’d get along with a fixed length lens.

More investigation on this one I think…

i have the X10. I always carry it. I only use the D5000 when i go out to ‘do’ photography. Otherwise, the X10 is great for snapping, but more importantly, it is also very good for taking nice shots at nice places, which is when i used to carry the DSLR.

x100 has very good image quality, but that’s about it. You can’t change the lens, which would be a killer for me, and it’s very expensive.

I’d far rather have an Olympus OM-D E-5.

Get an X1-pro and make us all cry

1 Week into x100 ownership and I can’t believe I left it so long. It absolutely spanks my 1DsII for iso noise above iso400. It’s perfect for when I don’t want to carry an SLR, particularly casual events, holidays etc. So light, such good image quality, damn cool to look at too!

The latest firmware has addressed most of the bugs that the early reviews slated it for (doesn’t lock up easily now, focus speed seems perfectly acceptable and now has second customisable button). Fixed lens isn’t an issue for me and for what I shall be using it for.

The S100 is supposed to be nice though and is extremely compact ‘pocketable’ in a way that the x100 isn’t.

Yeah I just read about the x1-pro. Wow! Don’t think I can stretch the budget quite that far.

I really do rate it. Had a few months now. Definitely a marmite camera.

My keeper rate has improved no end. dynamic range, fidelity and ‘signature’ are more than acceptable – I can rarely improve on out of camera jpgs – which oddly made shooting fun again – in a measured plan your shots ‘film days’ kind of way.

Some of it’s operating modes and focus hunting can be a bit slow or infuriating but once you work to it’s strengths – handling and results are a delight! I don’t find it as readily portable as s100 etc. in practice though (I deludedly kidded myself I’d carry it everywhere anyway 🙂 like s95 etc. anyway )

Seems odd but I’m now kind of fond of it’s foibles. I read somewhere to regard it as a pretty good lens – with a really quite good jpg widget box thrown in for free!

I only find I do candid or landscape with it if that helps. Lens doesn’t really work for full frame portrait style, but you prolly know that already..

For me integrated fixed lens was kind of the attraction – so many other good choices for interchangeable lens I guess.

Found myself running a pancake on my dslr a lot before I got it though.

Oh yes your question!

mountain biking / climbing

Not for in the field (I don’t think)

Very good for candid moments or vistas around the day – but not for in scene action – handling, focus etc. would drive me crazy for that I think..

That wee Nikon with superfast AF might be a good choice?

For sports I’d hesitate to recommend a MILC. They only use contrast detect AF which means that they can’t track focus on moving objects very well.

However the AF on Oly EP-3s is extremely quick, so you might get away with it for that reason.

I looked at the X100 and the EP-3 when choosing a new toy recently, in the end I went for the EP-3 as I just couldn’t justify spending so much on one camera.

The EP-3 is taking some getting used to and its one major annyoing trait is that it doesn’t cope with taking photos of people in poor or fluorescent light! It seems from the reviews that the one thing the x100 does do is just what I really want!

I’m still in two minds on whether to stick with the big 4/3 cameras (I have an E3), or to go further forwards with the M4/3.

I do love my cameras and having seen an x100 in the flesh last year I really thought the lady using it was actually using a classic Leica at first, especially as I was using my Leica M2 at the same time!

I’m still in two minds on whether to stick with the big 4/3 cameras (I have an E3), or to go further forwards with the M4/3.

.. and sell my old 4/3 kit to molgrips for peanuts….

Getting my 9-18mm in 2 weeks’ time by the way 🙂

Surely an OM-D is what you want anyway?

Surely an OM-D is what you want anyway?

Not sure I’m going to stick with Olympus for my next digital SLR, I’ve got loads of Nikon lenses knocking around, I may take a punt on an older D90.

You don’t need my lenses anyway, especially now you’ve got the 9-18mm coming so soon!

All I’ve got left that’s fun is the MK1 50-200.

I would be tempted by another body but that’s waaay overkill for me and plus I can’t pay what your E-3 is worth anyway.

Although just googling, the 50-200 looks nice.. wish my 70-300 had a tripod mount.

one year into the X100 ownership and it has sadly died of mechanical failure!

BUT, its a great camera, it accompanies me everywhere, takes great pictures, especially in low light conditions. Its not fast so not great for action pics, but for street action and general camera, its hard to fault.

I look forward to getting a replacement from Jessops.

It’s a tricky one; I’ve only borrowed a friends a few times, but it can take stupidly good images. It’s just it doesn’t always make it as easy as a DLSR. However, it is much more portable.

So it’s a balance between speed of use and size/weight – as it always is!

As usual when people post up great images taken with such and such a camera, they would have been great with any camera.

Lovely shot JPR but the main factor there is the bit to the rear of the viewfinder.

Yea, but it would have sucked trying to do it with a 5×4 view camera and I wouldn’t have been saying prayers to the god of accurate focusing if I’d been using a DSLR.

Molgrips – let me have some details about the 9-18mm your selling

Wait, no, I’ve bought, I’m not selling.

PePPeR has talked about selling some stuff in the past, I think he has shifted most of it now though by the sounds of it.

X100 snaps here

Image quality straight from the camera is very usable

Its slow to focus, but you can work around that as above

X1pro is better again

But I’m happy to still use my old Canon G9 whilst out on the bike as below

since buying these I rarely use my D3 unless I’m being paid

and for real world info on smaller cameras try Thom Hogans Sans Mirror site

http://www.sansmirror.com/

I haven’t been in these parts for years, but when I was buying my Fuji I could find no current reviews, so here’s my current take on it.
It takes gorgeous pics just straight out of the camera, however, focussing needs a little thought and fast moving things need planning and pre focussing using manual and ‘back button’ style shooting.
Exposure and auto wb metering is spot on.
Needs a really fast sd card.
Film settings and esp’ b&w change the way you see the world (I see in black and white, but save a RAW for colour)
Viewfinder info overlays and the whole eve/ovf thing is superb.
Battery life is poor, buy a spare.
It’s not as fast as some of the new 4/3rds cameras and it’s not going to replace a DSLR for sports shooting, but to make you fall in love with the whole process of taking a picture again it’s absolutely fabulous.

aviemoron’s photos on Flickriver

Which ‘film’ do ppl prefer/use most?

I tend to jpg as find pp somehow detracts from process when I use x100 –

odd huh? Seems to go full circle from dslr zoom, spray, dodge burn, crop – assess umpteen minor variations and repeat.

Still end up with my share of self important textures and shadows though. Always loved colour from my Oly dslr and Fuji seems to manage it also 🙂