Luckily enough I've waited long enough that the successor to Fuji's upstart digital rangefinder, the x100s is now available and is going to be my Christmas present this year!
My usage theory goes like this:
 |
| David Hobby's x100s in it's Lo-Fi travel duct-tape camouflage. |
My usage theory goes like this:
1. Canon 5DmkII for assignments and clients and weddings etc.
2. Fuji x100s for holidays, short trips and places where too much gear is a burden.
3. iPhone5 for everything else.
David Hobby [Strobist] has been using the x100s for a while now and has an excellent series of posts covering it's flexibility and attraction to photographers everywhere:
And his YouTube run-through of the features is worth a look if you need a sense of what the camera can do and where it fits into his world: Click on the image below to visit YouTube and watch:
And if you wanted more, a search on Flickr shows plenty of examples by others.
I think my biggest stumbling block is going to be the x100s' excellent in-camera processing and jpeg output. This may mean not shooting RAW files as the increase in shooting speed and flexibility afforded is pretty impressive. I... *think* I'm going to have trouble committing to this over the xmas break and won't have my computer to compare images on, so maybe RAW+jpeg it will have to be.
I make use of the iPhone5's panoramic shooting mode regularly:
and so I'm pretty stoked to read that the x100s has a mode for shooting this way too. It should mean higher res and sharper images in this format.
The way the lens flares out is great. The built-in ND filter is good. The ergonomics are very nice. The shooting modes and film emulation is fantastic. The leaf-shutter and wide aperture should mean much more interesting looks outdoors in full sunlight. In short, I cannot wait for Christmas Day this year!!
I hope your Christmas is filled with family, fun, sun and good cheer!
-j
