FujiFilm FinePix X100 Pro Reviews

The X100 is a great camera to use – fun, involving, and capable of very good images in all sorts of light. It’s well-constructed, and although the retro design won’t be to everyone’s taste, I love it. Finding a compact that forces you to engage with manual photography is a novelty that doesn’t wear off, and the result is a camera that’s intensely satisfying to use. But at a thousand pounds it’s next to impossible to recommend.

With the FinePix X100 it's quite clear that Fujifilm has pulled out all the stops when it comes to this camera. The look and feel of the camera is superb - as soon as you pick up the X100, it's obvious that you're dealing with a quality photographic tool. The stripped-down controls make the X100 easy and quick to use, while the unique Hybrid Viewfinder works a treat, though the AF can be a touch slow. All of this is backed up by fantastic images straight out of the camera, delivering some of the best results yet from an APS-C sized sensor. It's not for everyone however, and those looking for a creative compact-sized camera may find it hard to justify over a Compact System Camera, but once you pick up the X100 and see the results, you'll want one.

After all I'd heard, I expected to write a short list of complaints about the Fujifilm X100 and move on, but as soon as I started using it, I discovered what the buzz was all about. The Fujifilm X100 is not made for everyone who ever liked the look of an old camera. Neither is it made for every hobbyist who likes to tinker. A good selection of the photography-loving populace will hate it. Anyone shooting at night would do well to avoid it, as would most people shooting on a tripod in a studio. But there is a set of photographers, journalists, bloggers, and storytellers who will find the Fujifilm X100 an ideal companion. Once you get over its nostalgic appearance--and you will have to get over it because it's not quite as good on close inspection as it seems in pictures--it's about what the Fujifilm X100 can capture that matters. Image quality, even at very high ISO, is remarkably good. Optical quality, too, really does shine. Users will need to spend time with the Fujifilm X100. They will need to take a lot of pictures, use it often, maybe even take it with them everywhere to truly get familiar with its quirks--and its rich potential. They will also have to learn to zoom with their feet, and to be quick with the Macro button, because many of their subjects will enter into that range without their noticing. They will also have to accept that they cannot always zoom with their feet, and that they can't capture everything they see, as they might with a zoom lens. I fear many will abandon the Fujifilm X100 in favor of cameras with more convenient optics and an easier interface, but I heartily recommend it to the photography student (one not on a budget) who wants to learn the craft of seeing in photographs.

It’s a niche product for sure, and one that the most seasoned of photographers will be excited by for good reason. But if you don’t consider yourself one of these brave souls or intend to dedicate copious amounts of time to learning to many, many ins and outs of this camera, then we’d advise admiring its beauty from afar.

Fuji's FinePix X100 is a high quality, rangefinder type digicam with outstanding performance and quality. A lack of various automatic shooting modes makes this a camera for more advanced users, and the price tag of around $1,200 US means that this camera is not for everyone.

The FinePix X100 has a retro look, fixed lens and extremely solid build, but carries with it a number of ultra-modern innovations including a dual function viewfinder, wide ISO range and a powerful large sensor that creates astonishingly detailed photos.

The X100 isn't perfect, but it's a very good start and if Fuji makes some fixes to the basic platform it won't take another natural disaster to make these cameras hard to find.

If you have the bucks and you want the best photo quality possible, the Fujifilm FinePix X100 delivers. But definitely try before you buy to make sure the focusing systems won't make you crazy.

It's easy to like the X100 and give it a good general recommendation. It's absolutely essential to be aware of what the camera can do, but there's so much power inside that it feels like the last compact camera you'd ever need. It almost pained us to have to hand the camera back, and that speaks volumes about what Fujifilm has done. The company still has a long way to go in establishing itself as a premium camera maker; nonetheless, the X100 makes a tremendous leap forward in the right direction.

As a high-end retro-styled camera with a fixed focal length lens, the X100 was always going to have niche appeal. Sadly the way its firmware and behavior have been implemented limit that appeal still further - quite likely ruling out many film enthusiasts attracted by its styling and manual controls. It's too flawed to earn our outright recommendation, but if you're prepared to tolerate its manifold foibles as the price to pay for its superb image quality, it's a camera you can easily grow to love.

The only major fly in the ointment is the sky-high price-tag. £999 / $1299 is straying well into prosumer DSLR territory, so you really need to ask yourself if the X100 suits your particular needs, or if a DSLR or compact system camera with their interchangeable lenses would be a safer bet. On the other hand, for those of you who have been wishing that one of the camera manufacturers would deliver a compact, quiet and intuitive camera that takes great pictures, that price tag probably looks like something of a snip (or at least just about bearable). So despite the high cost of admission, the Fujifilm Finepix X100 joins the handful of cameras that have won our coveted Essential! award.

The Fujifilm X100 certainly isn't for everyone with its fixed lens, sizeable body and even more sizeable price tag. However, its rock-solid build quality, superb image quality – with exceptional low light performance – and more compact stance than an equivalent DSLR means it will have pride of place for many enthusiasts and pros as a back up to their main kit. However, if in the unlikely event that you're considering this camera without already owning a DSLR, then we'd have to concede that any one of many low- to mid-range DSLRs, such as the Nikon D3100 or Canon EOS 550D, would be a more sensible bet. The Leica X1 offers an almost directly comparable alternative but at several hundred pounds more, the X100 is the clear choice of those two.

We’d love to see 50mm and 85mm versions in the future, as the X100 looks to pave the way for a very strong path in the high-spec compact market for Fujifilm. This could be the beginning of something all the more spectacular. The X100 is an undeniable belter of a camera.

In summary, the Fuji X100 is a well-crafted camera with a range of useful functionality and excellent image quality. It's only really let down by slow writing times and minor operation issues, but otherwise it truly delivers.

The Fujifilm FinePix X100 is a unique camera in an increasingly competitive category. For a long time the difference in image quality between compact cameras with small sensors, and Digital SLRs with much larger sensors has been well known. The Fujifilm FinePix X100 aims to bring the image quality of a large sensor to a smaller camera, and should also bring the speed of DSLRs with it. Thankfully Fujifilm has delivered both excellent image quality with extremely low noise levels, as well as high speed performance, such as 5fps shooting, quick focusing, and extremely quick shutter response.

The Fujifilm FinePix X100 is the newest entry into the mirrorless fixed lens category, and adds an entirely unique feature of not only an optical viewfinder, but a hybrid optical viewfinder with electronic overlay, or alternatively you can just use the electronic viewfinder.

From what the world knows about the Fujifilm FinePix X100 there is every reason to be excited. It looks good, it’s well designed, it does everything you could want from a stylish compact and it simply has one of the best viewfinders we’ve ever seen anywhere full stop. If it all comes off as it should, then we’re looking at a Leica for those that could only dream before. Fingers crossed and time to start saving the pennies.