Fujifilm Finepix X100 targets hipsters - review
2012-09-05 14:57
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Pictures taken with the Fujifilm Finepix x100 pictures
Cape Town – Always dreamed of a world where old school photography was more integrated with digital? Enter the Fujifilm Finepix x100 – the future mixed with the past.
The Finepix x100 is one of Fujifilm's latest inventions. A camera with the best of modern technology combined with the look and feel (and even smell) of old analogue cameras.
With the Finepix x100 you can lurk around art buildings, while taking pictures of plants and nobody would be the wiser as to the technology you have in your hands.
This hefty piece of technology sports a APS-C CMOS sensor with 12.3 megapixel of resolution, a quick switch to RAW mode, a macro photography switch, HD video capabilities and a high ISO.
Combined with this, the Finepix x100 brings back those features of analogue cameras people often miss the most: it has retro-styled 'manual dials' where you can set your shutterspeed and exposure and even has options of buying leather casings.
The x100 comes at the right time - with "hipsters" uploading Instagram pictures online by the thousands, the trend is definitely reverting back to retro-styled photography mixed with great technology. With this in mind, it's almost disappointing that the camera doesn't have an instant Instagram-uploader.
Compact, zoom
The camera definitely has the compact convenience the designers have been aiming for. It won't necessarily fit into any handbag, but no more strained backs from lugging a heavy camera around all day. This camera can be used on the go.
In terms of speed, the Finepix x100 has a fixed superfast lens of 23mm F2 (field of view equivalent to a 35mm lens on full frame) which Fujiifilm is calling the "solution to the challenge of achieving high performance with a compact body".
There are options of adding wide-lens converters, but don't expect zoom capabilities of other cameras in the same price range. This might be the biggest downfall of the camera: in the quest of being compact, Fujifilm has focused on the lens they deem will be most used. There are naturally (retro-styled) converters, but the zoom has gone missing.
And at a recommended retail price of R13 599, this is a big problem. This camera might make you "fall in love with photography again" as the manufacturers are hoping, but whether the price is worth it, remains to be seen.
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