Fujifilm 12.3 Megapixels FinePix X100 Final Review by DCR With Rating 4/5

The FinePix X100 is aimed at the professional photographer looking for exceptional quality pictures from a compact camera. The priority for this model is picture quality, so it was decided to make the highest quality possible lens and sensor combination. The lens chosen is a fixed, prime F2 lens, made by Fujinon. In additions to the newly-developed EXR Processor, it also comes with the new Hybrid Viewfinder, which combines the window-type 'bright frame' optical viewfinder found in high-end film cameras, and the electronic viewfinder system incorporated in fixed single lens or mirrorless digital cameras. By using integrating a prism for the 1,440,000 dot LCD panel image on the viewing screen in the reverse-Galilean optical finder, the Hybrid Viewfinder can show both the shooting frame and a variety of shooting data. Useres can instantly switch between optical and electronic viewfinder images with simple 'one touch' control. You'll also get a 2.8-inch display on the back.

You can visit the X100 microsite here, or download the product brochure from Fujifilm here (PDF: 4.5MB in size). The X100 is currently selling at around $1200. Here is the summary of final review by DigitalCameraReview, giving the camera a rating of 4 out of 5:

"Cropped sensor DSLRs of the latest generation have shown some significant ISO noise improvement over their predecessors in low light conditions, and with the X100 packing a DSLR style APS-C sensor you'd expect it to perform pretty well in the low light arena. Your expectations have been met. The X100 has a nominal 200-6400 ISO sensitivity range, with extensions to 100 and 12800 available. There's really nothing to be gained by shooting at 100 on the low end, so we didn't. But you might come upon a scene where 12800 is the only way to get the shot, so we did take a look at that sensitivity. ISO 200, 400 and 800 are really hard to tell apart - 1600 is the level at which some deterioration becomes more easily visible, but even then it's pretty mild. ISO 3200 shows a more marked decline over 1600, but it's still quite good and I'd shoot it without hesitation if the situation required. ISO 6400 is the clearly the most dramatic drop off to this point, with noise on the increase accompanied by increased smudging and loss of fine details. This sensitivity is best left for small print/internet work. ISO 12800 is worse still, with only the grossest of details holding up - clearly the choice of last resort. I've had the opportunity to review the Nikon D7000 and Canon 60D DSLRs for this site and their APS-C sensors have had the best cropped sensor low light performance I've had my hands on. The X100 looks very competitive to my eye, certainly through 1600 ISO. The Fuji seems to take a slightly different tack than the Nikon when ISO hits 3200 - there seems to be more noise reduction at work in the Fuji, which produces a smoother looking file at the expense of fine detail. The Nikon looks grainier, but sharper with better fine detail. Some of that may be due to the 16.2 megapixel resolution of the D7000 versus 12.3 in the Fuji, but it also shows the high bar set by the best cropped-sensor equipment today in the low light arena.

The Fujifilm X100 is here, offering DSLR-like image quality and noise performance in a decidedly un-DSLR-like package. The classic rangefinder look is smart and relatively compact, at least compared to the typical DSLR. Materials, fit and finish are quite good. The camera packs some interesting touches, like the hybrid viewfinder arrangement, and a wide range of settings and image adjustment tools set this camera up to appeal to serious shooters who aren't looking to just point and shoot. Image quality and the ability to extensively customize image parameters make this an easy camera to like, but I found the experience tainted by the controls, and to a lesser extent some menu operations. The control dial/OK button is the major source of my displeasure - I just can't seem to consistently get the input I want to make without suffering through a number of inadvertent activations first. The design of these controls looks no different than those on many digitals, but I've never had the problems I'm experiencing with the X100. Maybe increase the height of the OK button so the finger is less apt to hit the control dial as well? And once I did get to the menus via the control dial, the secondary screens reverted to the primary screen within a couple seconds - practically before you could sort out the options and start to select one. Software fix, anyone? Shutter lag is good, AF time is so-so, write times are slow, manual focus is really slow and I still like this camera. Funny how a dose of very good image quality cures a lot of ills. 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."