Just about perfect

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Fuji X100s
★★★★★
5.0
From 2 reviews
100.0% of users recommend this
  • Image Quality

  • Battery Life

  • Features

  • Ease of Use

  • Value For Money

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Redhenry's review of Fuji X100s

“Just about perfect”

★★★★★

written by Redhenry on 17/12/2015

For many years in the film era, photographers split into those who took lots of equipment everywhere and those who liked to travel light. I was in the latter group. In the 1960s and 70s especially, there were some wonderful small 35mm rangefinder cameras available - the Canon QL series, the Olympus 35RC, the Yashica Ministers and GT series to name just a few. These were capable of producing professional results but were small and light. If you were happy with a modest wide angle lens and didn't mind walking around to ensure the best composition, you only needed one small camera. The Fuji x100s fills that gap now. It even looks the part. 35mm equivalent fixed lens, APS-C sized sensor, viewfinder as well as rear screen. Of course, the Fuji is much more capable than the rangefinders of old. There's a wide range of film simulations, you can adjust the dynamic range, it will function of shutter or aperture priority, or full manual, or full auto. I've had mine for about a year and here are my findings:
Image quality - with a little care, superb. I am much better with a tripod than hand-holding and find that even at quite high shutter speeds, the results are softer at 100% if I hand-hold. With a tripod, or resting my hands on something, the pictures are pin-sharp. Exposure is usually spot-on, too, although I use the auto-bracket feature if exposure is tricky, such as high contrast scenes.
Focusing is usually fine, the autofocus works well and I usually use the green moveable focus box where I want something particular in focus. Manual focusing, I have found to be a bit hit and miss sometimes.
The range of features is excellent for me - I do not require GPS.
The quick menu is indispensable.
Build quality is wonderful. It has something of the feel of a Leica M3.
I am an otherwise amateur photographer who earns some pocket money with a stock agency and have found the x100S to be easily the best camera I have ever owned. Get a case for it and you will always have a top quality camera to hand. I traded in a Nikon DSLR and two lenses for this and have never regretted it. I would add here, though, that it is not for the novice. If you have a good understanding of the relationship between shutter speed and aperture, fine. If not, get a small point and shoot.

  • 6 - 12 Months

    Time Digital Camera Owned

  • Image Quality

  • Battery Life

  • Features

  • Ease of Use

  • Value For Money

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