Last Updated on 01/11/2013 by Chris Gampat
The Fujifilm X100s might have been the most exciting announcement at CES 2013; and perhaps every photographer out there may agree and thank Fujifilm for making the show a tad more exciting for the industry. Indeed, the X100s is the follow up to the highly revered and much used X100: which despite having many problems at first were mostly corrected with firmware. Indeed, very little has been changed on the outside. It’s the new 16MP X Trans II sensor and the new processor that have changed.
So how did Fujifilm improve on their award winning formula?
Tech Specs
Specs taken from the B&H Photo listing of the camera.
Memory | |
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Built-in Memory | Not Specified By Manufacturer |
Memory Card Type | SD SDHC SDXC |
Recording | |
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Video Recording | Yes |
Resolution | 1920 x 1080: 60 fps, 30 fps |
Video | |
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Video Clip Length | Not Specified By Manufacturer |
Audio Recording | With Video, Stereo, Via Optional External Mic |
Viewfinder/Display | |
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Viewfinder Type | Optical, Electronic |
Diopter Adjustment | – 2 to +1 m |
Viewfinder Coverage | 85/100% |
Screen | 2.8″ LCD Rear Screen (460000 pixels) |
Connectivity/System Requirements | |
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Connectivity | HDMI C (Mini), USB 2.0 |
Environmental | |
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Operating/Storage Temperature | Operating 32 to 104 °F (0 to 40 °C) Humidity: 10 – 80% |
Power | |
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Battery | 1x NP-95 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack, 3.6VDC, 1800mAh |
Physical | |
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Dimensions (WxHxD) | 5.0 x 2.9 x 2.1″ / 126.5 x 74.4 x 53.9 mm |
Weight | 15.70 oz / 445 g |
Ergonomics
There is little difference between the X100 and X100s besides the new “S” designation next to the X100. The camera is still very much so a modern version of a Hexar AF. It still includes the lovely aperture ring around the lens, the EVF/OVF switch, the flash with some weak game, a new S designation on the front, and the same leather feel that makes this camera ooze luxuriousness.
The top of the X100s is also just like before: hot shoe, shutter dial, exposure compensation dial, on/off switch, threaded shutter release, and Fn button which I’ve typically assigned to ISO.
Dear readers: thanks for the catch. We’ve fixed and replaced the image above.
The back of the X100s will make Fujifilm camera users and X100 owners feel right at home. The EVF/OVF still incorporates the eye-sensor and the diopter and there are some controls to the left of the LCD screen such as playback, metering mode, drive mode, and white balance control. To the right of the LCD are a fine tune dial for shutter, Auto Exposure Lock/Focus Lock, four way control with a dial around it to also fine tune your exposure, quick menu button and the display button which also lets you go back in the menus.
Indeed, very little has been changed on the outside. It’s the new 16MP X Trans II sensor and the new processor that have changed.
Build Quality
The X100 was a very solid camera; and I’ve hung out with various street photographers in NYC who swear to the camera. I’ve seen it taken through the rain and snow with little issues of the camera acting up. Despite the lack of weather sealing, the X100s still retains an extremely durable build quality and is solid to the touch.
Autofocus
Fujifilm stated in their keynote that their autofocus was one of the major problems with the X100. In my opinion, they fixed the problem with firmware and the camera somehow or another became faster with the addition of the WCL.
The X100s is much faster than the X100. It still isn’t up to par with Olympus and Sony, but it is surely on par or maybe even a bit faster than Canon or Nikon’s DSLR’s.
Bravo, Fujifilm. Bravo!
Ease of Use
I haven’t handled an X100 in a couple of months, but using the camera to grab an exposure was like second nature since I’m a trained rangefinder shooter and despite this not being a rangefinder, it is very much like one in terms of ergonomics.
The other settings will take some time for me to wrap my head around again. In some ways, I believe the X Pro 1 to be easier to handle (perhaps because I own one.)
Image Quality
We saw prints from this camera: and when blown up to an astronomical size, they looked damned good. But at an 8×10, they weren’t so wonderful. We will need to call the camera in for review to see. We couldn’t put a card in the camera because it was a pre-production unit.
First Impressions
Overall, we’re excited to see that the X100s will continue to do what the X100 did very well and even better. But what I’m personally yearning for really badly is the same camera with a full frame sensor. That would be a great feat; and only Sony is doing that at the moment.
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