Fujifilm X100 discontinued, making way for the X200?

News

  • July 30, 2012 at 4:34 pm

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Screen capture from Crutchfield's website showing that the Fujifilm X100 has been discontinued

It’s pretty hard to hold back on our love for the Fujifilm X100. The compact mirrorless APS-C shooter received a glowing review from us and was one of our favorite pieces of tech for 2011. This is no small part because of its innovative hybrid viewfinder, traditional control layout and awesome image quality. In fact, the shooting with the X100 was the most fun we’ve had in a while with a digital camera.

Well it seems that Fujifilm might be getting ready for a successor of this popular camera, if this product page on Crutchfield is to be believed. The vendor has marked the X100 as discontinued. As if that’s not enough evidence, the X100 has received a pretty remarkable $200 price drop on Amazon, B&H and Adorama coming down to $999.
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The Fujfilm X100 is beautiful on the inside too

News

  • May 20, 2012 at 3:21 am

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Fujifilm X100 teardown reveals hundreds of parts

If you’ve read our review of the Fujifilm X100 digital camera you’ll know how much we love this little wonder. Well now we know how beautiful it is on the inside too.

After a fishing trip, photographer James Maher found his gear soaked in salt water in what was supposed to be a dry container. This unfortunately also included his trusty Fuji X100, which is not weather sealed, and the experience proved deadly for the camera.

So what do you do when you have a dead $1,200 camera? You take it apart of course.
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Fujifilm announces 28mm equivalent wide angle conversion lens and v1.30 firmware for X100

News

  • May 15, 2012 at 3:34 pm

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Fujifilm WCL-X100 wide angle conversion lens - silver and black

Fujifilm has just eliminated one reason why we would want to upgrade to the X-Pro1 from the X100 — you can read our in-depth real world review of the latter right here. The camera maker has just announced a new wide angle conversion lens for the Fujifilm X100.

The WCL-X100 conversion lens attaches directly onto the X100 and effectively multiplies the camera’s focal length by a factor of 0.8, converting it from a 23mm (35mm equivalent) focal length to a 19mm wide angle (28mm equivalent).

The wide angle conversion lens is made of four glass elements in three groups and Fujifilm promises comparable image quality as the X100’s excellent fixed lens element. Fujifilm also mentions that the WCL-X100 will have no negative effect on autofocus speed, the X100’s 10cm macro capability and the hybrid viewfinder.
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Manfrotto Nano VI and VII camera pouch review: budget, stylish protection for your mirrorless camera

Reviews

  • April 15, 2012 at 2:51 pm

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Manfrotto Nano VI and VII camera pouch one on top of each other

If you’ve been into photography long enough you would have encountered the name Manfrotto. The Italian company is most famous for its quality tripods, but that’s not all the company does. Manfrotto also makes some really cool-looking backpacks, cases and pouches especially with camera gear in mind.

At Stuff-Review we like to keep our gear safe and stylish, so we’re always on the lookout for nice-looking and functional cases. I’ve also long pronounced my love for compact mirrorless cameras and when I came across the Manfrotto Nano pouch range I knew that I’ve just found my new favorite small camera bag.

The Manfrotto Nano range starts from the Nano I, suitable for tiny point-and-shoot cameras, and goes up to the Nano VII, the largest of the pack. We’ll be looking at both the Nano VI and the Nano VII, which are suitable for mirrorless cameras.

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Fujifilm X100 v1.20 firmware update brings control refinements and AF improvements

News

  • March 23, 2012 at 3:12 am

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Fujifilm X100 digital camera - customized looks with Kaza case, Bop soft release and filter adaptor

We thoroughly reviewed the Fujifilm X100 here, which we loved for its amazing image quality. Our main gripe with the camera was its secondary controls. Well, Fujifilm has just released a new firmware v1.20 for the X100 that tackles these specific issues.

First of all, we asked for the ability to be able to customize the RAW button in the back, i.e. use it as second function button, and it seems we got our wish. Next up, ISO Auto Control has now been moved to the more logical ISO menu. Unfortunately however, it is not accessible from the FN/RAW buttons when you pull ISO settings, you still need to go into the menu to enable or disable it.
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Fujifilm X100 Black Limited Edition shipping now for $1,699.95

News

  • March 9, 2012 at 7:17 am

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Fujifilm X100 Black limited edition in leather case

Let’s just say that the we respect the 12.3-megapixel APS-C sensor, 23mm f/2 lens Fujifilm X100 digital camera immensely; but for a more in-depth look better have a read at our lengthy review here. After almost a year since the original X100 was released, Fujifilm is following up with an all black edition of only 10,000 pieces worldwide.

The appropriately named X100 Black Limited Edition set includes a sweet black X100 digital camera, black leather case, adapter ring, lens hood and a 49mm filter. The package can be had for $1,699.95 over the $1,200 which would buy you the plain old two-tone X100. That’s a hefty premium considering you can get the leather case and the adapter ring and hood for less than $300.
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Fujifilm FinePix X100 digital camera real world review

FeaturedReviews

  • March 5, 2012 at 8:35 am

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Fujifilm X100 digital camera - top front

I have to foreword this review of the Fujifilm FinePix X100 by saying that I am not a professional photographer or a camera expert, nevertheless I think there is value on a review done from the viewpoint of the average user. Thus, this review will be very different from other technically focused reviews; instead I will tackle the camera from a real world perspective.

I’ve tried to balance the review with a healthy number of sample shots. To depict the camera’s image quality, rather than my Lighroom skills, the images in this review have not received any software treatment, except from the odd straightening/cropping. The shots are mostly out of the camera JPEGs. Rather than photographicw merit, I’ve tried to include shots that demonstrate the camera’s capabilities.

It’s also good to note that this review of the Fujifilm X100 comes late to the party; the camera has been out for almost a year now, though initially it was impossible to get hold of one. I’ve had my own unit since late last summer. I do consider however that despite more recent mirrorless camera launches, and even Fuji’s own X-Pro1, the X100 still is a very unique camera with a very unique offering.
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Your Fujifilm X100 overexposes images? How to check for the sticky aperture blade issue (video)

Guides

  • February 19, 2012 at 9:51 am

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Fujifilm X100 sticky aperture blade issue, close-up of lens at F16 shutter button pressed

The Fujifilm X100 is an amazing camera (and you can read our extensive real world review here), but it is plagued by one well documented manufacturing defect — at least the early batches of this mirrorless camera. The ‘sticky aperture blade’ issue results in the lens diaphragm blades not closing down as they should and hence leaving the aperture wide-open even at increasing f-numbers f/8, f/11 and f/16.

The first indication that your X100 may be suffering from the sticky blade problem would be if it tends to overexpose images. Because the aperture doesn’t close as it should on high f-numbers, more light reaches the sensor and results in an overexposed image. The issue won’t be apparent at wide apertures, like f/2 for example.
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Fujifilm X10 v1.03 firmware update released, brings a bunch of improvements

News

  • February 9, 2012 at 12:36 pm

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Fujifilm X10

Fujifilm has just released a firmware update for its retro-looking X10 enthusiast point-and-shoot camera. The update to version 1.03 brings a host of fixes and improvements to the excellent X10 including compatibility with Mac OS X Lion, better face detection and the ability to customize the “RAW” button’s function. The update also promises to reduce the ‘white orb’ blooming effect that many users have complained about, though it doesn’t eliminate it.
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Fujifilm sold 100,000 X100 cameras in nine months

News

  • January 31, 2012 at 6:28 pm

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Fujifilm X100 top

A hundred seems to be Fujifilm’s lucky number. The Japanese camera-maker slid an interesting piece of info in its third-quarter earnings presentation. Sales of the X100 high-end compact camera surpassed the company’s expectations, with Fujifilm selling 100,000 units in just nine months.

It’s quite an accomplishment considering that the X100 is selling for around $1,200 and that it’s a niche camera product with a fixed prime lens and not the most straightforward controls. Bear in mind that for the first few months of its release, it was practically impossible to get hold of one. No wonder that every other camera manufacturer is trying to get into the same bandwagon, i.e. release a retro-styled high-end mirrorless cameras.
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Our favorite gadgets from 2011

EditorialsFeatured

  • December 27, 2011 at 6:41 pm

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Our favorite 2011 gadgets

The holiday season is a period for introspection and some quality time with our favorite gadgets. As a gadget blog, looking back into what we have covered during 2011, there are a few pieces of tech that really stand out. These are the gadgets that got us excited because they were pushing new boundaries, or they instantly became an integral part of our lives because they perform their task really well. Here are our favorite pieces of tech for 2011, they might not be the most obvious choices, but if you read through you’ll find out why they earned a place in our hearts.
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Panasonic GX1 vs. Sony NEX-7 vs. Fujifilm X100 vs. Olympus E-P3 comparison

The Lab

  • November 7, 2011 at 10:47 am

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Panasonic Lumix GX1 MFT camera black and silver side-by-side

With the successor to the GF1 finally announced, Panasonic is coming back strongly to the space it helped create. The Panasonic GX1 is the company’s new high-end rangefinder style mirorrless camera. But, as we’ve discussed in our initial in-depth coverage, unlike its predecessor it’s coming up against some very serious competition.

To put things into perspective, we’ve the GX1 against the top competitors from Sony, Fujifilm and Olympus. Our comparison includes the super-high-end NEX-7 with an APS-C sensor and the amazing OLED EVF, the excellent fixed lens APS-C Fujifilm FinePix X100 (full review here) and a fellow Micro Four Thirds camera, the Olympus E-P3. So, read on to check out how our new MILC holds up.
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Fujifilm X100 startup time and SD card write speed tests; how to make the X100 faster

GuidesThe Lab

  • October 23, 2011 at 4:47 pm

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Fujifilm X100 startup time and SD write speed test

The X100 shoots amazing photos, in general, and some of the best low-light pictures of any compact camera — it looks the part too. You can read our in-depth real world review here. Unfortunately, it’s not a speed demon; specifically, auto focus, startup time and SD card write speeds are relatively slow. This means that it’s not the ideal action shooter.

Nevertheless, there are things that you can do to get the camera to perform faster. The X100 includes a ‘Quick Start Mode’, which Fuji claims to reduce startup time to about 0.7 seconds compared to about 2.2 seconds when the mode is off. This mode is accessible on page 3 in setup. Fuji however, warns that, setting the mode to on will drain your battery, reducing the number of shots per charge.

It’s also been suggested that a fast SD card will help reduce startup times and of course file write times. So, with this suggestion we set out to test the X100’s performance with three different SD cards: a top of the range SanDisk Extreme Pro card claiming 45MB/s write speeds, a SanDisk Extreme III card with 30MB/s write speeds and finally a cheaper Transcend 16GB Class 10 card.

We measured the amount of time between switching the camera on and the camera becoming responsive, i.e. being able to focus, first, with the quick start mode off, and again with the quick start mode on for each of the three SD cards.

Then, we shot eight continuous RAW files, with each of the cards, in burst mode, and measured the time between pressing the shutter button, taking the 8 shots and the camera becoming responsive again, after writing the files to the SD card.

You can see the results, of our lengthy tests, below — note that we examined the video of our tests in slow-motion to assess the time better and avoid reaction time errors:
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Fuji updates FinePix X100 to v1.11 with better macro auto-focus and fixes

News

  • October 20, 2011 at 8:27 am

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FinePix X100 ~ top view

The Fuji X100 is a fantastic camera that takes amazing low-light pictures, but like most works of genius, it has its quirks. The most frustrating of all, as we’ve found out, is macro (close-up) auto-focusing, it’s really slow and it doesn’t always focus correctly.

Fujifilm has just released an update for the camera which is said to improve macro auto-focus performance and also includes a couple of software fixes — full info after the break.

To check which firmware version you are running, turn on your camera while holding down the ‘DISP/BACK’ button. To update, download the update file here, copy it to an empty SD card, insert the card in your camera and then switch it on while holding the ‘DISP/BACK’ button. The camera should then guide you though the firmware update.
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