Clicking has never been so hassle free. The Fujifilm FinePix X100 is a large, high-end, compact camera with a large sensor. The 12 mega pixel (Sony) APS sensor, fixed 35 mm (equivalent) f/2 lens and a newly developed hybrid viewfinder coupled with the rangefinder-retro design make the X100 one of the unique entries in compact cameras.
The main highlight of this camera is its breathtakingly beautiful retro design. This Fujifilm X100 is a blend of old and new, bringing together a very traditional control system with some distinctly cutting edge features. Another feature that make this camera very unique is the inclusion of the quiet leaf shutter, which make this X100 the most ?silent? camera.
The Fujifilm Finepix X100 is an amazingly well-built camera, with absolutely no flex or movement in it chassis thanks to the die-cast magnesium alloy top and base plates and machined control dials. There is a subtle but effective hand-grip at the front and a space at the rear for your thumb, with your grip helped in no small part by the textured faux-leather surface that runs around the full width of the camera. The combination of the F/2.0 aperture and the extensive ISO range of 100-12,800 makes the X100 very well suited to low-light shooting.
Despite having a fixed focal lens, the X100 still offers a respectable close focusing distance of 10 cms with Macro mode. The camera?s LCD screen is large enough at 2.8 inches and of sufficiently high resolution (460k dots) to match the rest of the device?s high specification. The Fujifilm Finepix X100 can record 720p movies at 24fps with stereo sound.
We got crisp, clear and noise free photos from ISO 100?all the way up to ISO 3200. We can easily compare the image quality with DSLRs; even though it is not as good as DSLRs, it is comparable. This camera offers a very wide aperture, which means that we got a lot more area covered in wide angled shots, as compared to other compact cameras. The videos shot are in full HD and are of average quality, but the auto-focus is not robust enough for shooting videos. Also, the camera does not support zoom in video shooting mode.
Look wise, this is the most attractive compact camera which you will love to carry around. However, you may find the operation of this camera a bit frustrating. It has certain flaws, including the inability to manually focus or change the ISO or AF point while it is writing to card a process that can take an inordinate amount of time. Lastly, it is a bit too pricey.
SPECS
Dimensions: 126.5 x 74.4 x 53.9 mm (W x H x D)
Lens: Fujinon single focal length lens
LCD monitor: 2.8-inch, approx. 460,000 dots, TFT colour LCD monitor
Aperture: F2?F16 1/3EV step
Number of effective pixels: 12.3 million pixels
Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.8 mm (APS-CMOS with primary colour filter)
Focus (mode): Single AF/Continuous AF/MF distance indicator
Internal memory: Approx. 20 MB (SD memory card/SDHC memory card)
Estimated street price: R66,999
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