Steve Kelly
Prominent Member
(‘Long post’ warning...sorry in advance.. I do love a bit of detail, aka waffle!)
So my trusty little XZ-1 isn’t giving me the quality I want out of my pics these days, so as decent as it’s been for a little old compact, it’s time for an upgrade for me.
I started research on this over the last few days, seeing what my options are, etc. Changing my mind a few times along the way.
One thing I have decided though, is that I’m not ready for the SLR scene right now. The whole ‘big kit/swapping lenses/not-very-portable’ thing is just not for me (for now).
I have also contemplated going the CSC route, but I’ve concluded that apart from being ‘a bit’ smaller kit, and a bit more portable, it carries the same elements of SLR-user’ship that I'm not interested in.
(BTW, no offence meant to the SLR users there, I know full well of all the wonderful merits of shooting with them, it’s just not for me at this time.)
What I (think I) am after now is a high-end compact... and after much scouring around, the best quality/price balance one I can find is the Fujifilm X100S. And I really like the look of it, and I really think it’s the next camera for me.
The only possible downside that I can see of this camera is that it’s a fixed prime lens. Which I guess is why I’m sounding it out on here.
I’m 80-90% decided already, but open to advice...
So the obvious questionable thing about the lens is having no zoom. But for me I don’t think it will be an issue. I’m not really a zoom-er anyway, and I long ago worked out for myself that compacts with big zooms are generally only good at that one thing (zooming big), and the general IQ tends to suffer as a result. So unless one has a decent SLR with super-zoom lens (in which case, zooming + wildlife, etc = great!), then zooming’s all a bit ‘novelty’ to me.
The flipside to ‘having no zoom’ being (I assume) that you get better image quality. And also I’ve read many different reviewers that have said without having the (“lazy”) zooming options, it actually makes you think more about composition, and you learn/think better about what your lens is actually doing, etc.
...so that’s the fixed lens bit safely negotiated, the only thing I think I have left to answer is... is the ‘35mm equivalent’ lens going to be good enough for the types of photography I like to do? It seems to be a good jack of most trades.
I did a quick scan of my library in Lightroom, noted the types of photography I do in general, then gave each type a number from 1 to 10, based on how much/often I take pics of each type (10 being ‘a lot’, 2 being ‘the odd one here and there)
- Landscape – 10
- Portrait – 10
- Nature/Wildlife – 8
- Street – 8
- Night – 7
- Macro - 6
- Indoor - 4
- Car – 3
- Action – 2
...I’d still like the capability of covering all of the above.
Reading/watching all the reviews, I know that the X100S has got a fair few of the important (to me) ones of the above-types covered! (Portraits, Street, Night/Low Light/Indoor). My main concern was about the landscapes, as I do love a landscape.
So I researched “35mm landscape” and there’s many reviews/blogs/tips pages that say 35mm is fine for landscapes, albeit at the highest end of the wide-angle spectrum. It’s even the preferential lens for landscape for some of them!... which does alleviate that concern somewhat.
The other thing to consider on that point, is that if I find that I’m not happy with 35mm for landscape stuff, there is a 28mm adapter accessory for the cam. Not cheap, but an option down the line if it were the only gripe I had about the camera.
Other Requirements not stated already: Top priority for me is image quality, so I want at least an APS-C sized sensor; cam without AA filter.
I think I need to go and try one out. No cam shops near me unfortunately though, but will take a trip soon.
So what do ya think? Anything else I should consider? Any of my research led to misunderstandings/wrong assumptions?
Cheers gang.
Steve.
PS @Dancook – I did a search on here for threads about the X100S, there was only 1, and you posted in it, expressing interest in the camera... so was just wondering, did you ever try one? and if so, what did you think of it?
So my trusty little XZ-1 isn’t giving me the quality I want out of my pics these days, so as decent as it’s been for a little old compact, it’s time for an upgrade for me.
I started research on this over the last few days, seeing what my options are, etc. Changing my mind a few times along the way.
One thing I have decided though, is that I’m not ready for the SLR scene right now. The whole ‘big kit/swapping lenses/not-very-portable’ thing is just not for me (for now).
I have also contemplated going the CSC route, but I’ve concluded that apart from being ‘a bit’ smaller kit, and a bit more portable, it carries the same elements of SLR-user’ship that I'm not interested in.
(BTW, no offence meant to the SLR users there, I know full well of all the wonderful merits of shooting with them, it’s just not for me at this time.)
What I (think I) am after now is a high-end compact... and after much scouring around, the best quality/price balance one I can find is the Fujifilm X100S. And I really like the look of it, and I really think it’s the next camera for me.
The only possible downside that I can see of this camera is that it’s a fixed prime lens. Which I guess is why I’m sounding it out on here.
I’m 80-90% decided already, but open to advice...
So the obvious questionable thing about the lens is having no zoom. But for me I don’t think it will be an issue. I’m not really a zoom-er anyway, and I long ago worked out for myself that compacts with big zooms are generally only good at that one thing (zooming big), and the general IQ tends to suffer as a result. So unless one has a decent SLR with super-zoom lens (in which case, zooming + wildlife, etc = great!), then zooming’s all a bit ‘novelty’ to me.
The flipside to ‘having no zoom’ being (I assume) that you get better image quality. And also I’ve read many different reviewers that have said without having the (“lazy”) zooming options, it actually makes you think more about composition, and you learn/think better about what your lens is actually doing, etc.
...so that’s the fixed lens bit safely negotiated, the only thing I think I have left to answer is... is the ‘35mm equivalent’ lens going to be good enough for the types of photography I like to do? It seems to be a good jack of most trades.
I did a quick scan of my library in Lightroom, noted the types of photography I do in general, then gave each type a number from 1 to 10, based on how much/often I take pics of each type (10 being ‘a lot’, 2 being ‘the odd one here and there)
- Landscape – 10
- Portrait – 10
- Nature/Wildlife – 8
- Street – 8
- Night – 7
- Macro - 6
- Indoor - 4
- Car – 3
- Action – 2
...I’d still like the capability of covering all of the above.
Reading/watching all the reviews, I know that the X100S has got a fair few of the important (to me) ones of the above-types covered! (Portraits, Street, Night/Low Light/Indoor). My main concern was about the landscapes, as I do love a landscape.
So I researched “35mm landscape” and there’s many reviews/blogs/tips pages that say 35mm is fine for landscapes, albeit at the highest end of the wide-angle spectrum. It’s even the preferential lens for landscape for some of them!... which does alleviate that concern somewhat.
The other thing to consider on that point, is that if I find that I’m not happy with 35mm for landscape stuff, there is a 28mm adapter accessory for the cam. Not cheap, but an option down the line if it were the only gripe I had about the camera.
Other Requirements not stated already: Top priority for me is image quality, so I want at least an APS-C sized sensor; cam without AA filter.
I think I need to go and try one out. No cam shops near me unfortunately though, but will take a trip soon.
So what do ya think? Anything else I should consider? Any of my research led to misunderstandings/wrong assumptions?
Cheers gang.
Steve.
PS @Dancook – I did a search on here for threads about the X100S, there was only 1, and you posted in it, expressing interest in the camera... so was just wondering, did you ever try one? and if so, what did you think of it?