Three years have passed since the X100 was announced at the photokina 2010 (and, as you know, three years are a long time in the this business). Now, I don’t think that many X100 photographers expected such a major improvement for their camera after all these years.
But Fujifilm did it. The company invested time, effort and money to give your classic X100 a fresh, new software look. The camera is now significantly better than before.
diyphotography said here: “So why would a company release an update that is not going to generate any sales or hold users from moving to another system? If anything this update might slow down the move to Fuji’s X100s. They do it because they care about their customers. […] Fuji is the only one doing it. I would love this to be industry standard. Release new features on old cameras. I really can’t see why this would be too hard on camera makers. […] It is not enough because the camera can do more. This is just my wild guess here, and since the X100 is not firmware broken yet, we can’t really tell. But I think it is not pushed to the limits yet. […]”
Another feedback of long time X100 photographer Luke Bhothipiti can be read over here at Craig Litten’s website: “WHOA. Manual focus WORKS now. Like. . . it WORKS. […] However, all is not well with 2.0 as now the meter that was so fantastic before is now a little dodgy. Shooting from the hip in aperture priority, I found that the camera was dramatically underexposing the images in bright scenes, regardless of which metering mode I was in.”
I’ve already shared the AF comparison firmware 1.30 vs 2.00 here. Many of you were enthusiastic about the new firmware, other still have some firmware wishes for the future. So, given Fuji’s Kaizen spirit (listen to feedback of customers and continuously improve its products through firmware updates), why shouldn’t we ask for more?
Now you know it, Fuji is listening. So don’t hesitate to extend the “TO DO” list in the comments! 😉
Here is some feedback from the previous comments about the X100 firmware.
DONE
– “AF in low light seems much improved. MF works waaaay better, and the peaking is nice. General operation feels faster. I’m super pleased.”
– “The turn-on process is improved also, but it is not as impressive as the Af performance.”
– “Seems that the focus ring sensitivity was also improved. Chapeau!”
– “Manual focus actually works now! You don’t have to strain your arm turning the focus ring anymore!”
– “I have to say this is a spectacular improvement!”
– “So hats off to the team at Fujifilm, this is an amazing update! My X100 just got about 50% better and just feels faster overall. Thank you very much!!!”
– “New life for that little guy.”
TO DO
– “[…] the Q function […] (for the 3.0 version 😀 ).”
– “Perhaps a “final”update with red focus peaking?”
– “Unfortunately, with all the nice things in FW 2.00 there also is a rather severe bug that renders manual focus highly unreliable, for detailed description see for example here (focus shift issue at fujix-series)”
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46 Responses
Although I don’t need this upgrade since I don’t have a X100, that’s the kind of thing that makes me want to stay with a Fuji system and not move to Sony or else.
I didn’t test it under the same conditions as the ones Luke refers and wait for his new testing, but if that’s the case (hope not) maybe Fuji addresses it and offers us a correction.
If that happens and if it depends on firmware, why not adopt the same Focus Selector as the one of the X100s (MF/AF-C/AF-S)? I wouldn’t mind the letters mismatch as it would make operation much better.
Just to add that I thank Fujifilm attitude very much and as the previous comment’s author says it was very important to my decision to buy an interchangeable lens body, being it the X-E2 or a future update of X-Pro1.
Fuji obviously decided to avoid any inscription mismatch.
I agree with you, they could have improved the camera further without this constraint (e.g. one handed focus point selection).
But on the other hand, mislabelled buttons would have been rather misleading, so I think their choice is fully rational. 🙂
Hi.
I agree with the above said, that this mostly was a Very Good update on the focus side.
However it seems to me that the improvements on focus is “only” made on Manual focus and AF-S AF mode Area focus.
AF-C I still find not very usable, but maybe that was not expected to be solved in a firmware update.
AF-S AF mode Multi focus shows no improvements to me. It mostly finds a good target, but still can’t focus closer than roughly 0.7 meters. I can’t imagine why the improvement in AF mode Area shouldn’t spill over to the AF mode Multi. This feature I Would like to be able to use more freely.
Best regards
Jan
@ Jan
AF-C has always been one of the weakness of cameras that use contrast to focus, depending on hardware.
Maybe the new sensors used in the X100s and X-E2 improve on that as those sensors use also phase detection, and if the number of pixels used to phase detection is large enough firmware can play another role there.
Yes, I realize that was probably the case with the AF-C, and would only find it useful in video.
But having a Multi AF as good as the revised Area AF would be Really Great!
Fujifilm aren’t the only ones who do this… Ricoh have been known to release firmware updates that improve camera performance and introduce new features too.
Love my X100 (and love my Ricoh GR too!) and thanks to Fujifilm for this!!
Yes, I realize that was probably the case with the AF-C, and would only find it useful in video.
But having a Multi AF as good as the revised Area AF would be Really Great!
Sorry, wrong post. That’s a very thin line there… 😉
Any likelihood of an update to the X10? Adding focus peaking to that would make an awesome machine even more awesome.
Also, they should figure out how Iridient and PhotoNinja are demosaicing their RAW files for the X-Trans, and put that into their X cameras.
easy auto ISO on/off is something i have wanted since i first picked up the camera. its such a paain to have to dive so deep into the menu to get it on and off. i would also like multi exposures.
I agree. All the other X cameras have an easier way to turn AutoISO on/off. This is the most frustrating aspect of using the X100. They tout manual controls, but I am constantly diving into the menus for ISO.
Sorry this is total bull!
We shouldn’t be patting them on the back for releasing an UNFINISHED product to the market full of bugs then taking 2 years to get it right.
Clearly Fuji doesn’t believe in QC or testing their products before releasing them, so instead they come up with some BS pseudo philosophical Japanese nonsense rather than just release a decent working product in the first place.
For the price points the issues with the X100 and Xpro1 were and STILL are inexcusable.
So no I won’t be praising KaiZen because to me it just tells me a total culture of laziness and incompetence at Fuji and clearly a total clueless approach in how to design and implement software.
The X series has been a massive disappointment, promised so much and delivered but missing the minor important details.
Auto-ISO still doesn’t work right, movie mode is still useless, the x pro & x100 have ZERO ability for any sort of interval shooting, the XE-2 has a useless WiFI mode without any remote control (typical of the glass is half full approach fuji seem to take)
Really had enough, love the camera’s image quality but sick to death of Fuji failing to deliver decent software to drive it.
I would be very satisfied with my X-Pro 1 if they would provide minimum shutter speed settings in auto ISO, but it is shockingly missing. If they don’t provide this and they don’t introduce the X-Pro 2 with significant improvements soon, I will be very disappointed. That said, there is no other camera that I am interested in at the moment.
I’m surprised you find the image quality as good, coming from such an “incompetent” people…but you achieve to “demonstrate” how wrong are so many people that like the cameras and praise the attitude of the manufacturer to listen to customers to design the products and being ready to improve them, even after discontinuing one as they did with the X100.
Hi Matt
You are so negative. I was so sure to buy Sony Nex that I bought two lenses. Then I got a X-E1 into my hands and I fell in love with it. Sure there are some points that should be fixed. I hope they will do it. On the other hand when you look at sony? Any regullar updates there? They seem to be happy to establish new systems every year. Having those lenses useless in the drawer does not hurt. I have a Fuji (with qualty optics). Taking phantastic photos – at least from a technical point of view.
Have fun.
So Matt,
Let me get this straight, when you bought your Fuji it was still a ‘unfinished’ camera, yet you still bought it knowing how slow it was going to be. And now Fuji just released a massive update 3 years down the track that made the x100 even better when you first bought it and now you complain that they are updating it still.
So would it have been better for Fuji not to update the x100 and just let the users believe that the x100 was only capable of slow AF and no focus peaking, because if they update the x100 to increase its performance from when it was first released, people are going to be questioning why is it only this good now and not when it was released.
I know if Fuji keeps updating the x100 I won’t be complaining. I bought my black x100 for $700 and now it has af similar to a x100s in daylight.
Hey Matt — go buy a Sony A7. I hear Leica are good too.
Then don’t buy them… Everyone is doing this now, put out a camera and it needs a few firmware update.
It means cameras are in your hands, on the street shooting 6 month quicker.
Why do you think most people wait for the second batch before purchasing a digital camera???
At least Fuji cares to update it 3 years after. That’s a LOT more than any other manufacturer! Heck some will leave it like that, and you can go suck on your thumbs unless you want to buy the slightly upgraded version, ouch!
Fuji certainly did not update it 3 years after the camera was discontinued. Transparent exageration ruins your point.
You’re absolutely right, we should boycott them all…unless we blame ourselves because most of us look for an “upgrade” as soon as getting a brand new camera causing the manufacturers to come to market in a rush, just to fill the sales forecast before the actual sales and financial performance are disclosed.
I wonder what kind of photography you’re on that drives you to call “incompetent” to a manufacturer that allows you to say, according to your own words, “love the camera’s image quality but sick to death of Fuji failing to deliver decent software to drive it.
If you love the image quality but you fail to drive the camera, did you ever compute the percentage of that failure hat eventually comes from your skills?
(Sorry, I don’t want to be rude but such a negative attitude seems a bit too much for me and I wonder if it’s all Fujifilm responsibilitiy)
Very interesting point.
Love the new firmware, but why was it not possible to produce a camera that could manual focus properly in the first place? Firmware is only a fancy name for “software” afterall, it is not a hardware issue that the mechanics were not capable. Bottom line is they released a camera for the enthusiast that was not capable of doing what it said on the box, and now we all think they are wonderful!
What a world we live in.
You said it all – What a world we live in
Fuji X100 was a very innovative product.
Did it come to the market with a lot of issues? Sure, but the same goes for a lot of products from other manufacturers in a very competitive market where the pressure of consumers for new products is tremendous – just look at the time it takes for a camera to be considered as “old” and the manufacturer blamed because the competition has shorter product “renovation” cycles.
And when a product is introduced to the market the number of people that start making comments pointing out “failures” and “problems”, a lot of times even before someone has the chance to buy and experiment the final product.
Fujifilm introduced the MF aid via the AF-L/AE-L button and it worked from the beginning if you leave only the micro adjustments to the focusing ring. However a lot of people complained only about the infinite number of turns required by the ring.
Now it’s much better and with focus peaking MF really works. Shall we appreciate that or keep blaming the initial “shortfall”?
If the camera included the ability to auto wipe your backside people would complain that Fuji didn’t choose the brand of toilet paper they like to be loaded into the camera’s wiping function.
Seems like far too many are just never happy with anything. No matter how good a camera is someone, somewhere will find something to complain about “I’m missing my right index finger I wish they’d place the shutter button in a location I can reach easier”. Camera’s are built and designed for the masses. They are not one off customized pieces of electronic art designed and built to your personal likes and specifications. If you want a hobby where you can have one off’s, take up pottery.
Friggin BINGO~!!!!
The whiners can wipe their tears with the paper your comment is written on~!!!
I’m guessing you’re using some sort of computer right now. Let’s see, everything worked great on that with the very first release, right?
Not to be a Fuji apologist, because for one thing, there are still features I would like that I’m sure are doable via firmware, I have not had a camera from another manufacturer (digital, obviously, and my experience with them over the past 20 years is Apple, Fuji, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and now Fuji again) that came out of the box with as usable an interface. Over the sumer I was on vacation with a good friend who is still mainly a film person (Mamaya 6×7 and Hassy) but who uses NIkon for DSLR. He swooned with the interface on my X-P1.
love to see fuji bring digital split image to the x-e1 in a firmware update
As far as I know split image relies on PDAF which is only in the new models. That is ok because it is hardware based – unlike Auto ISO minimum shutter speed which is a small easy software tweak – and still not added to X-P1 and X-E1.
This is becoming moderately delusional.
But anyway, lots of fun, so enjoy!
No dramas here with exposures, the I want more brigade will never be satisfied
All a bit overly positive in my eyes: They may have given the x100 a general overhaul, but only after possibly a large percentage of the X users have migrated to larger models.
Same for X-E1: Since day one, many big review sites have asked for minimum shutter speed in Auto ISO, and much more in forums – now all the new models, even the low end ones have the feature (that probably requires not more than a few lines of firmware code), just not the former “top models” X-Pro1 and X-E1.
Once all who want that have bought an X-E2, they will probably deliver the feature after 2 years (which means in 1 year).
So I see a lot of light and shadow side to side. Just like the silver and black finish wearing off after as little as 6 months on the upper rounded corners of the X-E1. My 6yo DSLRs still look better…
Why aren’t cameras the same as iPhones in this regard? Cameras up to several years back (which use the same software stack) get every update, with each generation adding features that the hardware permits? For example split screen focusing requires PD pixels, so that wouldn’t be available on the X-E1 but is available on the X-E2. Minimal shutter speed for Auto ISO does not require any new hardware.
Since the X-E1 and X-E2 (and X-M1, X-Pro1, etc.) all use the same family of processors even if not identical ones and share some of the hardware, when an update comes out it would be an X-System update which would apply to several models rather than be tailored to one of them specifically.
Take the iPhone – iOS 7 runs on iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 5C and all the iPads, even though they vary greatly in terms of hardware – CPU, camera sensor, camera lens and other hardware capabilities.
Obviously the code itself is aware of the capabilities it has, but what Fuji is doing is impressive only in the context of cameras, not in the context of iPhones or Windows Phone 8, where the norm is much better than this as it doesn’t require consumers to wait for their specific device software update.
Does this cause people to not upgrade their iPhones? Not according to iPhone and iPad sales. The hardware upgrades are reason enough to upgrade.
This upgrade scheme also makes it easier for the manufacturer to work like that. Instead of multiple code bases there is a lot in common for all cameras, which makes any development and testing teams much more productive and efficient.
Just imagine how would the PC market look like if you had to get the specific Windows, Mac OS-X or Ubuntu upgrade that was only for your specific configuration. Sounds crazy, but that’s how it is still acceptable with cameras, even those which are built on 90% of the same platform (many Nikons, many Canons, now many Fujis, many Sonys, etc.).
And his my friend is why the Japanese are losing/lost the electronics race and the dominance they’ve had on the industry, they still do not get the importance of software.
The obsession with monozkuri aka making things is one of the many cultural issues Japanese manufacturing faces. The fact is they are brilliant at physically making high quality products, I cannot fault the build quality of the fuji x lenses and bodies, let me be very clear.
But in the software department they are totally clueless and they should’ve learned from the likes of apple here.
It’s amazing look what magic lantern has been able to do with the canons even able to get video on the 50D, too bad canon or anyone else decided to hire these programmers rather than make it harder to modify the cameras.
As much as I hate android I think the future of cameras will be the android road, samsungs started it, sony already has made the slow move with apps.
Not everyone thinks iOS is brilliant, even if it applies to multiple iterations of hardware.
Hi Patrick,
I truly appreciate the firmware update of my X100, but I also have to say that I never felt the need for firmware update of my older Nikon D200: sometimes the reasons for not upgrading, is that some companies to the things right the first time.
With the original firmware the X100 was almost unusable.
Upgrade is good, making it right the first time is even better 🙂
Just my 2cents.
typo: meant “some companies do the things right the first time” instead of “some companies to the things right the first time”
Yes do it right to begin with, anything else afterwards are improvements but don’t release a product to the market, charge premium, have it riddled with bugs then explain it as some BS philosophy.
I like Canon/Nikon in that sense, no nonsense.
The Fuji apologists here are absolutely hilarious especially sticking up for bugs that were CLEAR oversights from the engineering team in the first place.
The cameras were released with very CLEAR problems as many reviewers noted, there wouldn’t be any need for this Kai-Zen crud if they just did it right in the first place.
There shouldn’t have to be a billion firmware updates, get it RIGHT to begin with not fix it afterwards.
Completely agree, the camera was released with some deficiencies that were sub-par for the late 2000s.
These firmware updates can be partitioned into:
1. Bug fixes
2. Deficient features (like that auto ISO or remembering the last used shutter speed)
3. New features like focus peeking
4. New features that depend on hardware like Wifi or split screen manual focus
#1 we expect, #2 we want (and don’t usually get, e.g. bracketing is one of those that Nikon uses as tier differentiation – only pro cameras have 5-image, “lower end” have 3), #3 is unexpected in the camera business (but IS expected in the smartphone business for example), #4 is impossible.
I think that Fuji has been giving us #1s, #2s (though still could do better there) but it also gives us #3s, which is the unique aspect for camera manufacturers.
Beyond the bugs was the hype.
Fuji created a website touting the wonderfulness of this camera months before its release. In my memory, one of the most over hyped camera launches ever.
Fuji should have learned some humility before spiking the ball like this.
You guys are more than welcome to buy some other superior camera system that is never updated. Please do, in fact.
I am wondering about the following: wouldn’t it be much simpler for Fuji to maintain one common core firmware, that works and looks exactly the same across all cameras? So all cameras would be different only in terms of hardware, but not in software. This way older cameras would still be maintained at no additional costs, and there would be fewer bugs and no inconsistencies across models. And the choice among cameras would be in terms of actual hardware (do I need an OVF, how good an EVF do i need etc), but not in terms of which bug is fixed in which camera (e.g. the auto ISO issue would be consistently solved across all X cameras).
This is how iOS works, and of course Linux. It is better for both manufacture and customer, and also for the environment, because you will only need to replace your camera when the hardware becomes insufficient for you.
As stated, Fuji is not the only one doing this. Many manufacturers have released firmware upgrades to discontinued models. Nikon even did it with its lowly CoolPix P7000.