FujiFilm FinePix X100 announced

Fujifilm is “getting back to basics and writing a new chapter in the history of cameras.”

Look at the great deals on the FujiFilm X100 from Noyo eStore at Amazon!

FujiFilm has a long and outstanding history in the world of photography and imaging devices. For many years the FujiFilm brand has dominated global markets for slides, negatives and prints. Their quality and colour in professional labs is legendary.

Since the dawn of digital imaging they have been been pioneering, innovative, thinking “outside the industry box” and setting new standards. These have not always been well received with their SuperCCD technology being the subject of great debate among lovers and nay-sayers alike since its inception. Was the resolution real or fake? That debate has never really ended. Such controversy may have damaged the FujiFilm brand among those who decided it was a marketing ploy too far, but the colour, dynamic range and smooth analogue film-like look of their digital camera images has set them apart from the other brands and won them many loyal adherents.

FujiFilm DSLRs have been the camera of choice by wedding professionals who recognise the superior image characteristics, the benefit of low work-flow and minimal post processing required, compared to other more popular mass market brands.

Although there has been a series of budget consumer models released, not releasing any new professional models for several years has left many wondering if the brand was finished for digital cameras. This newly announced Fujifilm X100 indicates they are still very much in the “serious” part of the market. Not only that but they have been listening to what photographers really want.

The Fujifilm X100 has a photo-sensor chip and accompanying electronic processing that should provide similar image quality to DSLRs yet in a compact camera format and size. Compact digital cameras usually have tiny image sensor chips in them. While the imaging capabilities of some of these little cameras are stunning for what they are, the technical specifications they employ to sate the mass market lust for pixels, zoom range, etc. simply cannot match the image quality of a good DSLR. So the Fujifilm X100 DSLR sized chip (APS-C, not “Full Frame”) should deliver the same image quality possible with a comparable DSLR.

The fixed non-zoom lens will disappoint some who want the “all-singing all dancing” camera but the benefit is a quality lens that should delight the perfectionist.

The serious amateur who appreciates quality and the essence of real photography as an art, yet doesn’t want the bulk of a DSLR, the cost, complexity, weight or baggage of its associated lenses,etc. will be drooling at the Fujifilm X100.

The professional who wants a small camera that can easily be carried either on assignments as a back-up or as a more discrete form factor than a DSLR will also be interested.

Serious amateurs and professionals alike will probably love it as a take everywhere, take on holiday camera allowing the DSLR kit and baggage to be left at home.

Another exciting feature is the viewfinder. The trend for many compact digital cameras is to have a large LCD display and no optical viewfinder. Most LCD displays are practically useless outside, except on the dullest of days. The Fujifilm X100 has made a feature of this by not only having one but also having an electronic view via the viewfinder. This is innovative.

An issue of the rangefinder camera format is that of parallax, where the viewfinder shows a view slightly offset from the “true” view that the main lens “sees”. This is a relatively small compromise. Most of the time the difference is negligible in normal use. It only starts to be an issue when the subject is very close to the camera. One of the benefits of SLR and DSLR cameras is that the viewfinder shows the “true” view. With the Fujifilm X100 electronic viewfinder option the photographer has the choice of using the normal rangefinder optical view or the electronic view derived from the chip. This will make macro photographs at 10cm possible. So we can expect the benefit of some DSLR style features via the viewfinder as well as DSLR image quality.

As always, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” We haven’t seen the real-world results yet but the specification and reputation of FujiFilm suggest the Fujifilm X100 will “deliver”, be ground breaking and a delight for those who have been wanting something like this for years.

Sometimes you just know when something is right.

Would I like some optical zoom on it? Yes, but this looks to be a “no compromise on quality” camera. Photography has often been about living with compromise and using it creatively. Looking positively at this, the compromise is to obtain outstanding quality at the expense of zoom versatility. It can be good discipline to shoot with a fixed lens.

You can download the FujiFilm brochure here or view the official microsite, when it hasn’t crashed due to its current popularity. (These links open in new windows).

Read the full press release and specifications.

With its styling looking very “retro”, the FujiFilm FinePix X100 is a camera “in a class of its own.”