image courtesy: Mike Kobal
(the X100S will blow you away 😉 )
MIKE KOBAL: Very solid, increased refresh rate and resolution when in EVF mode, better feel of the focusing, aperture, shutter speed and +- control rings, “in good as well as mediocre lighting conditions auto focus can be blazingly fast. Nikon V1/V2 fast. [shoplink 8520]Olympus OM-D[/shoplink] fast. Yes, my friends, it is that good!“
And here is the video where Mike compares the [shoplink 8518]RX1[/shoplink] and X100S. He will, among the others, show you the AF-performance in low light. The X100S is a bit faster. In his RX1 review here he says that”Auto focus performance is the Achilles heel of the RX1 with non static subjects […] Battery life sucks on the X100S, not a big deal, I have two spares on me when I am out.” A detailed comparison will follow in the next days. I’ll keep you updated.
BRIAN KRAFT: You know, Brian updates continuosly his website, with his findings about the X100S. Look at the updated PROS and CONS section here. This time he photographed a wedding. Just click here to see read his considerations and the images. Here an extract:
“I’ve never been much of a manual-focus-photographer, but I was really surprised how often I found myself going to the manual focus with focus peaking yesterday.[…] Since it was so dark and using the OVF is not helpful in that situation, I was using the EVF. However, for flash photography, your camera settings are not set bright enough to very effectively use the EVF either. Except… with focus peaking engaged, you could see those white contrast lines show up in the dark and could know whether you had focus or not. Loved it! Also, please note for those wondering about the low light ISO capabilities (FYI- I did shoot RAW). I happen to love the grain structure of the X100S and so I did very little noise reduction on these– most have no noise reduction at all, even many of the ISO 4,000, 5,000, and 6,400 photos. If you’re looking for the cleanest shots possible– the camera can do it very well– […] The camera is capable of producing an amazing dynamic range.”
And here you can make your guess. There is the same picture shot with the [shoplink 7748]Canon 5D Mark III[/shoplink], Fuji [shoplink 8618]X100S[/shoplink] and [shoplink 9135 ebay]Fuji X100[/shoplink].
X100S: BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonUS / AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / your ebay / your Amazon
X20: BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUS (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / AmazonDE / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / your ebay / your Amazon
image courtesy: Brian Kraft
GERMANY:
X100S: At ebay, but you have to pay €140 extra. If you can’t wait for it, then click here for the ebay store.
X20: There is one black in stock here at AmazonDE for €555 (third party reseller). Also ebay has it here for €549.
ITALY:
X100S: At ebay here or here or here (delivers in 16-18 days).
X20: At ebay here (€529) or here (€495 – delivers in 16-18 days).
13 Responses
Awesome! Arnold swarztineger does camera reviews? Just kidding, Mike always does an great review and I always appreciate them.
One note, in the video he mentions face detection on the x100s. I can find no reference to this in my manual or in the Menzies of my x100s. Just a mistake or am I missing something?
I think he talks about phase detection
How does the manual focussing, either split or peaking, work?
Is one of those or both somehow using the AF to assist?
Or is it only using the “mechanical” focus distance and emphasizing OOF area to do the calculation?
Important to know as it might defeat the idea of pure MF.
IIRC split uses the phase detection pixels and peaking is done by firmware. AF plays no part I’m sure.
Would be interesting to know if the split focus works in low light.
It just the accent that makes it sound like “face detection” but it’s actually “phase detection” he’s referring to.
Thanks Tim, sounds good!
The issue of the Fuji ISO inflation shows its face…again.
Dont worry about it. I tried to explain that here but no one pays attention to it. They still think ISO 3200 or 6400 or 1600 is similar to ISOs from other cams and so they compare as if they were like for like…but they are not.
Bias begins on opening his mouth two for the price of one
then again he is a wedding photographer
Asking all Fuji insiders: Can we expect a X-E1s with the sensor of the X100S? I’d like to change lenses…
Mike,
What is the strap / handgrip on the Fuji, and how do you like it? I’m #258 on the Adorama wait list, and to distract myself I’m trying to decide what accessories to get. Great article, btw!