The Phoblographer

Photography: Think Simpler

Photographers will <3 the Fujifilm X100; Price not so much

with 24 comments

The Fujifilm X100 is the rave of the photo world right now. It appears as if Fujifilm might have gotten it right the first time with loads of photographers. However, reports are saying that it will cost $1,500-$1,700; which many photographers will not be happy to pay.

Let us know your thoughts. We talked about mirrorless cameras yesterday, do you think this is a game changer? That viewfinder sure as hell is.

Edit: The camera will cost approximately $1,000 and be released in March 2011.

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Written by Chris Gampat

September 20th, 2010 at 9:04 am

Posted in Cameras

Tagged with , , , , ,

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  • dan carr

    I love the look of the camera like everyone else. And I’m sure that people will be making a fuss about how expensive it is, but really how can you do that without seeing how good it is. If the price is reflective of the quality then it might be totally justified and we just dont know that yet. I say save the ranting until we have seen a full review of a production version. Neither the DP-1x of leica x1 set the world alight with image quality maybe this x100 will?

    • http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat

      Hey Dan,

      Point taken. You’re right, the quality may well be worth the price. However, most prosumers are very budget conscious these days when dropping that much money. Take the Canon 60D and 7D dilema right now for example.

      Personally, I hope the image quality on this blows everything else out of the water. Remember Fuji’s S5 and the ridiculous high dynamic range?

  • mike

    The price is too high. I expect it from Leica, but not Fuji. I don’t understand why they going the fixed lens route. Its basically a pricey point and shoot with a inique viewfinder. Also, the retro styling shows the market they are aiming for: older, well-heeled “photographers” who probably miss the mythological “good old days” when every photojornalist wandered the world with a Leica.

    • http://www.seanmolin.com Sean Molin

      You expect $1000 from Leica? Their version is $2000, and isn’t spec’d as well.

  • Christof

    Hi,

    I have been using analog film cameras for a few years now (Leica, Rolleiflex) for the lack of, what I think, a compact camera like the X100. I develop and print myself and have my negatives scanned, use small digital compacts as well for point and shoot. However, I do not use film cameras for the fun of it but just for the lack of an alternative. What I am especially mssing in digital compacts available at the moment is the possibility to play with a shallow depth of field. I still think that even 4/3 sensors are still too small for that.

    This cem looks a bit like my M2, The hybrid viewfinder seems a great and practicl thing and the controls seem very well designed….just as the Leica. Nothing for beginners though as it seems.

    I do not need a zoom lense as I am used to fixed focal length. My feet are my zoom. Fixed focal length lenses naturally result in a better quality image.

    Will be interesting to see how the competitors react, especially Sigma.

    It was only a metter of time that compacts would also use APS-C sensors. I am really curious to see if this camera is a milstone in these efforts or just a gadget to show off. In the first case I would be willing to pay quite a sum for it!

    • http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat

      Hey Christof,

      Thanks for the comment and unique perspective. So are you excited for Fuji’s mimicking of film emulsions as they stated in the press release?

      • Christof

        Hi Chris,

        Just reread the press release but somehow didn’t find the part where they talk about this. I understood they were just bragging with the names of all the films (such as the famous Velvia) they have produced during the “analog era”…;) Did I miss something there?

        However, I feel that this would typically be something I would leave to post processing the image. I use lightroom together with NIK silver / color effex pro which has a feature like the one you mention. So my idea would be to take a “clean and unbiased” RAW and then take care of the rest later on…

        THe ND filter inbuilt in the lense might come in handy though!

        What is your feeling about this cam? What do you expect from the first reviews? Will it keep what ir promises. After all making a nice promo video seems the easiest part!

        p.s.: The Leica X1 was never an option for me (allthough great Leica fan) as I think it is nothing more than an expensive toy…

        p.p.s.: Interesting in how many forums people already speculate about the price…:)

        • http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat

          Hey,

          Via DPReview: “Fujifilm has closely studied the current line-up of professional cameras and feels that there is a strong need for a compact high-quality (APS-C based) camera as a counterpoint to an SLR. Using the experience of working with generations of photographers using famous emulsions like Velvia, Provia, Astia etc., Fujifilm engineers distilled this knowledge into months of careful study to create the perfect compact-sized professional camera.”

          My feelings? First off, thank god someone finally made it. I’m personally getting frustrated waiting for Canon and Nikon to make theirs and as you’ll see in the field reviews to come, the staff here isn’t totally in love with the current mirrorless options though we acknowledge their strengths.

          I hope it will keep the promises. I almost bought the X1 but I’m still in the mentality that if I buy photography gear that I should be able to make the money back from it. So I just bought a Canon 35mm F/1.4 L.

          My gut tells me it will be about $1,700 and will come in different colors actually.

      • Christof

        Same topic, different question. For compacts with small sensors I am quite a fan of the Lumix series and the Canon S90.

        Now I read that Panasonic with their new LX 5 as well as Canon with their S95 are presenting new small sensor compacts. What I am asking myself is why in all the world 2 big players on the market still present new small format sensor cams with a lot of useless features while the future with APS-C sensors in compacts is already to begin!

        1700$ is quite some money though. Probably it would be worse waiting until the end of 2011 to see how the market develops.

        However, I am just about to buy myself a Sigma DP1s for about 250$ to start shooting with a large format sensor getting the best out of the RAW format. Nothing with shallow depth of field with an f4 lense though…:( but for the price. Heard that people get addicted to the Fovoeon technology! The slow speed is not a prob for me.

        • http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat

          Why? They’re pocketable for the most part and still a lot less intimidating than the larger APS-C cameras. Plus they’re more affordable then some of the Micro Four thirds and other EVIL options.

          We reviewed the Sigma DP2s a bit. I like it, wonderful camera with amazing color and very versatile raw files. Problem is that then I had the NEX5 for about a month and it blew the DP2s out of the water.

      • Christof

        sorry meant WORTH wating until the end of 2011…

    • Christof

      Don’t get me wrong. I like both of these cameras. As a pocket cam I got my Lumix FX 48 with me which cost less than 200$.

      disadvantage: less flexibility, no RAW.
      advantage: classic point and shoot, low price.

      I was thinking about buying the Canon S90 but then I somehow didn’t want to pay 150$ more for it! A friend of mine bought it and loves it.

      Have to read more about the NEX 5, thanks for the hint!

      • http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat

        If only Panasonic had their own CHDK, it hacks any canon camera to shoot RAW and do lots of crazy stuff. Then you’d get RAW.

        We’ve got a comparison of the S95 and LX-5 and our complete review of the NEX-5 is coming in a couple of days. It was originally scheduled to be published tomorrow but something else is taking priority. Look forward to hearing more from you though.

  • http://chrishunterphotography.com Chris Hunter

    Honestly, this seems like a nice camera but it lacks in a few areas. I actually find the price very reasonable. It offers the same picture quality of my Nikon D300 at half the price. It does suffer from lens flexibility, and comparative ISO drawbacks but if I had the money I would absolutely take this camera along on weddings and photojournalism jobs. The ability to be inconspicuous while still producing an image more than suitable for a feature pic seems well worth $1,500 – $17,000 to me.

    • http://chrishunterphotography.com Chris Hunter

      $1,500 – $1,700 not $17,000 :) If I had $17,000 to blow I would finally buy a leaf back instead of renting.

      • Christof

        oh,there is a new Chris…:) Sorry I have not realized that somebody else has joined the discussion. Good thing!

        So which cam were you referring to?

    • Christof

      in your last post are you referring to the NEX-5??ß Sorry but I somehow lost track ;)

      I have read a few reviews on the NEX-5 now and all of them come to the conclusion that it is a good camera with a good image quality BUT the lenses are not very good. From the prices of the lenses they also seem quite cheap to me for a high quality lense.

      I don’t know but I still associate Sony with anything else but cameras…what can I do about it?

      Somehow the Sony NEX seem to me like cool design objects with a lot of fancy features (the fexible display, etc.) but the SIGMA DPS really seem the somehow bulky but – to me – much more sympathetic working horse to me.

      What count to me in the end is the quality of my image, nothing else!

      • http://thephoblographer.wordpress.com Chris Gampat

        Yes I am. ThePhoblographer does field reviews, we do a review and break it up into parts. We agree. The lenses are lacking and Zeiss needs to come in and help with this. Images are stellar though.

  • Marco

    1000 dollars!? Ahahahah… Fujifilm is crazy!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/paparazzi666/ paparazzi666

    hi Chris, in your suggestion “Let us know your thoughts”, here’s mine:

    1) The camera should have a SILENT shutter.
    2) There should be a black or grey version
    3) We dont need 99 af points, just 1 great AF point
    4) Super fast face detection is nice to have
    5) Spot metering and AF in one half press of button
    6) Auto ISO should work well like the ep2
    7) ISO6400 should be detialed and noise free else, provide built in IS. 8) Keep it under US$1k.
    9) Better to have manual focus feel like manual focus, good to have a distance scale on the lens.
    10) I think fuji can do better with a 23mm f1.4 lens, or maybe an f1.7 lens. Faster the better, without compromise on the compact size.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/paparazzi666/ paparazzi666

    This replaces my beloved olympus xa with a16 flash, my rollei 35S. my leica m6 and my leica digilux 2. it will replace my olympus ep2 for travel. However, please fuji

    - make the shutter SILENT
    - we dont need 99 af points just one damn good af point
    - make auto iso work like ep2
    - make it in black and grey as options
    - face detect focus and exposure work fast
    - make manual focus feel like it should
    - have a faster lens like f1.4 or f1.7
    - have iso6400 noise free and very detailed
    - show the distance scale on the lens for pre-focus work
    - make sure flash works with slow shutter sync
    - make the battery last for 1500 shots.
    - make it less than us$1k

    this will be the ultimate street camera. and yet work well as an environmental portrait lens/camera with the fast lens.

    i think i can do 80% to 90% of my shooting with this camera.

  • Pingback: B&H is Listing the Fujifilm X100 on Their Site at The Phoblographer

  • Phillip Habib

    Dear Fuji, a retro metal compact body with a super prime lens, aps-c sensor size and a few exciting hi tech options made in japan are well worth the price of 1200-1400 usd, not a penny more. If it feels like a rip off it ruins the experience of buying it and becomes an objet of a poshy attitude. won’t survive for long and un-popular.

  • Adam

    I was excited when I heard about the X100. I went to dpreview.com to see what they had to say. Fuji had given them a working prototype that wasn’t necessarily the final version, in terms of the possessor, firmware, etc. I thought it looked great, and had good specs. For $500, it would be a nice little camera. Now I come to this site and see that it could very well be priced between $1000-$1700?

    dpreview.com also posted sample images that they took with the prototype…and while they may not reflect the final product’s model accurately, the image quality would have to change dramatically in order to be worth the high price-tag.