Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Fuji X100


The release of the Fuji X100 has been carefully planned. Technical information about the camera was made public in limited doses, so as to keep everybody interested and eager for more. The official web site makes vulnerable souls like me drool uncontrollably. I am a sucker for that classic design and manual controls.

However, Fuji's promotional video goes a bit overboard. OK, the camera features an innovative hybrid (i.e. switchable optical/electronic) viewfinder, but that's no reason to write: "Make the ordinary become extraordinary just by looking a it through the hybrid viewfinder." Also, the supposedly good image quality of the APS-C sensor does not justify bewildered affirmations like "The sensor captures incredible beauty in every picture." As good as those viewfinder and sensor might be, I don't believe they can actually transfigure reality and make a pile of trash look like a delicate still life.

Such an elegant and sober camera deserved a bit more temperance from the marketing team.

2 comments:

Tyler said...

When I saw this picture in DPReview, my enthusiasm for the Fuji X100 diminished.

It is not a retro Leica, but a Canonet.

Personally, I wish the designers and engineers would forget about film cameras, and try new ideas, like shake reduction and articulated LCDs.

Frank M. said...

Yes, the design is "inspired" by those old film cameras. It looked good on the Canon then and looks good on the Fuji now.
But it is not only a question of looks. For one, the manual controls and levers on the X100 seem actually more ergonomic and reliable than the rotating dial and buttons on my EP-2.
Some times innovation may just be taking the old ideas that worked and use them on new products.