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Post by nikonbob on Feb 7, 2011 14:42:25 GMT -5
Micheal
You make a good point in that a camera that you like to use, as in has old style controls etc., can greatly increase your pleasure in the act of taking a photograph. As great a camera as the Nikon D700 is there are times when a smaller camera with more old time controls would be appreciated by me. There is nothing wrong with my film bodies but I prefer digital and really don't want to get into developing film and darkroom printing. I would appreciate a digicam that gave me more of a retro feel though. As to the price being too high, I think if you compare it to the Olympus EP2 with EVF then it is pretty competitive price wise to a similar product aimed at a similar market. To me the trade off there is giving up inter changeable lenses for a larger sensor and different form factor. To me a larger sensor almost always wins in the digital world and I like the Fuji's form factor much better. Not that the Oly EP2 is any slouch in the form factor department. If I keep this up I'll be talking myself into one.
Bob
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Post by sfpeter on Mar 6, 2011 8:45:25 GMT -5
I think the X100 is aimed at the older retro user who remembers and likes cameras from the metal body era, when the camera looked and acted the way it did because that was what the technology of the time required.
However, in retro it's form fitting idea, not function, and there's always problems trying to make that happen--some things are faked to be convincing. The worst example I remember is one of those miniature Rollei replicas that was a digital, and had knobs that didn't work and required the "advance lever" to be rotated for each shot.
But even the stuff from the "good old days" was faked in some degree; how many of those black and silver cameras had real leather for the covering, or tried to hide that they used an electronic meter? Even my father's 30 year old AE-1 has plastic body parts that were painted to look like metal.
That said the X100 is interesting but overpriced. The thing I find most useful would be the hybrid viewfinder, a concept I think is long overdue. Two of the more irritating trends I see in cameras is trying to make them too small and doing away with eye level viewfinders. Composing from the screen is always awkward, and now matter how much they improve things it's still hard to see them in bright sunlight and they're a distraction in the dark.
My idea of a retro concept is to go back to the idea of form following function, and if it had to be a compact then something like this:
Hybrid viewfinder but SLR style, and interchangeable finders for waist level/sports shooting. If they built the electronics in the body it could be feasible. APS or full frame sensor Big enough to take a large battery that could last forever External knobs and dials to set functions Interchangeable lens mount
I also imagine such a camera would cost much more than an X100 and have an even smaller market share.
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Post by nikonbob on May 13, 2011 5:51:26 GMT -5
Yesterday I had a chance to hold an X100 in my hands. All I can say is that I was impressed with it's overall looks and size. The OVF/EVF is a thing of beauty to view through. I did not take photos with it but there are enough on the web that seem to indicate it is more than good enough in that regard. My only concern was that my thumb rested partially in the command dial and I wondered how easily I could accidentally change setting and such. The only way to really find out would be to use it for a bit. As an added bonus some retailers in the US and Canada have boosted the price $200.00. As much as I like the camera that action alone has me thinking about telling Fuji/retailers to poke it by refusing to buy it. That really rubs me the wrong way.
Bob
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Post by nikkortorokkor on May 13, 2011 15:04:46 GMT -5
Bob, thanks for the impression. That bites about the inflated price though. I would have thought that the design of the F100 and the way Fuji resisted rushing it to market - so it should be a fully realized product, unlike the 1st Oly Digital Pen - means that it should have a stable price rather than adhering to 3 tier marketing. I guess it is hard to stop some dealers reverting to type when they get wind of a 'see-want-must-have-it' buzz.
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Post by nikonbob on May 14, 2011 15:27:28 GMT -5
If anyone is looking for a modern digital take on a RF style camera using autofocus like the Contax G1/G2 series this is worth a look. It is very similar in size to a Leica M. Anyway, if you wait a bit I think things will normalize with the pricing. For what it is it is a cracker if you can live with a fixed lens.
Bob
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Post by nikkortorokkor on May 14, 2011 17:27:21 GMT -5
A reviewed feature which intrigued me is the ability to select the 'film' effect which you want to shoot with - provia, velvia, superia, etc. I guess that for the generation raised on digital, this won't mean much, but I suspect that Fuji is aiming this camera at the generation for whom film selection was an important part of the picture making process. For me, it would be a plus. I'm often guilty of adding extra contrast post production in order to replicate the 'punch' of Provia or Ektachrome E100, which is what I loved about shooting E6. Having the camera do this for me would be a 'natural' way of working.
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