Earlier last week, a retro-inspired digital camera has dropped by our HQ – the Fujifilm FinePix X100s and is looking to impress us right from the get go. We immediately took it for a spin and here’s our initial thoughts about it.
For those who’ve already seen or used (or still using) the X100, the X100s will be a familiar sight as not much have changed on its design. However, for the benefit of those who haven’t used any of these cameras, let me give you a quick tour on the X100s’ body.
Design and Construction
Both top and base of the camera is made of die-cast magnesium alloy that is both durable and lightweight. Together with the black Polyurethane grip and old-school layout, this gives the X100s a retro look and feel that is reminiscent to a 70’s camera.
Differentiating the successor from the predecessor can be quite tricky. In fact the only immediately noticeable difference between the two is the “S” logo at the bottom right of the latest iteration. This logo is placed on top of the Polyurethane grip which pretty much covers the bottom half of the front portion of the camera.
Over to the right side of the S-logo is the Focus Switch that lets you choose from three focus settings; Manual Focus, Autofocus-Continuous and Autofocus-Single (in descending order). The arrangement of these selections is another minute adjustment that Fuji has done to improve the X100s’ overall handling.
A good portion of the front panel is occupied by the X100s’ fixed 23mm (36.8mm, 35mm equivalent) f/2 lens which is divided in two segments; Manual Focus ring (top) and Aperture control ring (bottom). There’s also a removable ring at the base of the lens that you can unscrew should you wish to attach a lens hood to the unit.
Adjusting the aperture ring was rather easy thanks to a pair of tabs placed on its side. Unfortunately, the ring only allows full-stop aperture increments, so fine tuning is done through the jog-lever and/or the 4-way mode dial at the back.
Above the lens is small flash unit accompanied by a tiny hole for the microphone. These components sit in between the front end of the see-through hybrid viewfinder and AF assist lamp and a red-tipped lever. The lever is used to switch from the optical and the hybrid viewfinder.
The top portion of the camera is divided in two segments which are parted by a full-sized hotshoe in the middle. The left side is reserved for brandings and is deserted of any camera controls.
Meanwhile, the right side is peppered dials and buttons that are easily accessible with the use of the index finger and/or the thumb. This is where the two big knobs for Shutter Speed and Exposure Compensation are situated. The former, like the Aperture ring, only offers whole-stop increments, while the latter offers 1/3 stop.
There’s also nipple-type button for the shutter release with a power toggle switch around it and an Fn (Function) button beside it. The shutter button is threaded so you can attach an accessory like an external button or mechanical shutter release. The Fn button, on the other hand, can be assigned to several on-camera functions like ISO.
Flip the camera on its back and you’ll be greeted with another slew of buttons and dial that would surely delight any photo-enthusiast out there. First off is the 2.8-inch LCD display which occupies a good portion of the camera’s posterior.
On the left side of the LCD screen is a strip of four vertically-aligned buttons for Playback, AE (Automatic Exposure), AF (Autofocus) and View Mode. Above the quartet of buttons is the other end of the camera’s hybrid viewfinder which is flanked by two components on each side namely the eye sensor (right) and the diopter correction (left).
Over to the right is LED indicator and another set of multi-function buttons which comprises of AFL/AEL, DISP/Back and RAW/Q. In the middle of the action, there’s the Menu/OK button which is surrounded by a 4-way scroll wheel for Erase/Drive (Top), Flash (Right), White Balance (Bottom) and Macro mode (Left). There’s also a jog lever situated at the aluminum portion of the camera right below the Shutter Speed and Exposure Compensation dials.
Rounding up the tour is the threaded hole for tripod and battery compartment that also plays host to the SD card slot. Both of which are located at the bottom portion of the camera.
Handling
Because the design of the X100s is near-identical with its predecessor, we expect that the feel of the camera in our hands will be the same as when holding an X100. True enough, the newcomer delivered the same retro yet professional feel that made its older sibling popular among photographers.
On a physical standpoint, the term “Sexy” is not what I’ll use to describe the X100s. It’s actually a bit stocky and has a good amount of heft to it. It’s also worth noting that front portion of the camera is rather flat, which may present some concerns when gripping the camera.
However, after using the X100s for little over a week, we can definitely say that X100s’ shallow grip didn’t bother us one bit in being able to hold the camera with one hand. This is due to its reassuring weight, coupled with its stocky frame and the front surface that gives a rubber-like feel which more than makes up for the lack of depth in camera’s grip.
Another thing to point out is the amount of external controls that are readily available and easily reachable with both hands (esp. the right). While we don’t expect Point & Shoot users to appreciate this feat, we like to believe that a lot of dSLR shooters would certainly enjoy the full suite of manual controls that the X100s has to offer.
If there’s anything we’d like to see improve is the 4-way mode dial that’s not only a bit small for our liking, but is also unresponsive and inaccurate at times. We’re hoping that the next iteration of this camera will sport a dial that provides a clicking feedback rather than this free-turning dial.
Summary
As mentioned earlier, the Fujifilm X100s doesn’t stray too far from its predecessor in terms of design. It still has that same retro look and feel, not to mention a barrage of controls that made many photographers around the world drool over it.
So why make two identically-looking cameras, you might ask? Well it’s all about fine tuning an already great camera. Fujifilm has already got the design aspect pretty much squared away with the X100, so all that’s left for the firm to do for the next iteration is to make sure that all the other bases are covered and address some of the concerns that users presented during their time with the X100.
The bottom line is that although the X100s may look a lot like its predecessor on the outside, it’s certainly a totally different beast on the inside. These improvements and other aspects of this camera will be discussed during our full review which will come in a week or so.
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