GazChap wrote:
Forgive my ignorance Pete - not helped by me not being able to watch that video here - but what is it about that camera that is "better" (for lack of a better word) over your existing dSLR?
No worries Gazchap.
Technically my D90 is actually superior to the X100 in a few catagories. Its focusing is a smidge faster and more accurate. Its menu controls are more flexible and the D90 has the ability to use a wide range of lenses going back to the 1970's. It also has the same number of megapixels and the manual focus is far superior whilst there are generally no quality limitations in whatever speed or aperture mix you care to go for - the D90 has you covered.
So what do I get with the X100? Well firstly it is distinctly smaller, which is key for the candid documentary and street work I want to do. The D90, even though it is smaller than the bigger DSLRs such as the D3 and D700, still alarms people when pointed in their direction. The X100 is half the weight, half the size and with a pancake fixed lens that is almost invisible.
Furthermore the X100 is silent. The leaf shutter cannot be heard which really lowers your profile when out on the streets. The X100 looks pretty gorgeous too - just like an old film camera, and that fools people into thinking your just some art project student with a shiny old thing. It can also sync flash to 1/4000sec, whereas normal DSLRs can only do 1/250. This makes for easier and more dramatic flash lit portraits in full sunny light.
One glorious element to the X100 is its fixed lens. It's a 23mm f/2 Fujinon (translates as 35mm on the crop sensor) and it is rightly raved about in photography circles. Not only is it super sharp at ALL apertures but it gives a lovely creamy bokeh. The lens itself is almost worth the rest of the camera.
Next we have the sensor which is designed to work in perfect harmony with the fixed lens, giving overall a better quality than the D90's interchangables. The sensor has no AA filter either, which boosts sharpness. The ISO is amazing with the camera too, with very little noise up to 1600 ISO, and once you hit 3200 what noise there is looks like fine arty film grain due to the unique design of the sensor. Even 6400 is usable in black and white. That essentially adds two stops to my usual shooting range. Not only that but the dynamic range of the sensor is really well designed which means that skies burn out less easily and when highlights are clipped, they roll off smoothly.
There are also the controls - a numbered old skool shutter speed dial and aperture dial which give a more tactile and faster experience. I've no idea why modern cameras ditched that system. It also has a Hybrid Viewfinder which switches at the flick of a switch from ordinary optical to electronic - so you can see the final result as you take the shot. And since its a rangefinder design (albeit without the decent manual focus, blub) you can see what happens as you take the shot, and what is happening around the frame. No blackout - it's uninterupted.
Finally its small size and lightness means that I can take it anywhere, tucked under my jacket or in a big pocket.
It won't replace my D90 for gig work or US Civil War stuff where I need the range and flexibility, but this will be perfect for everyday shooting and street-street-street! (Landscapes and portraits are pretty neat too!)