The X100 philosophy

So then - here it is. The Fujifilm Finepix X100, probably the most raved-about camera of last year. What makes it so special? Its design philosophy, its inspiration, reaches back over half a century to what was one of the very greatest (if not the greatest) camera ever made, the Leica M3 (in production between 1954 and 1966).

In terms of visual comparison, here's the X100 (below)...

...and below, my well-loved Leica M3 from 1959, unused since I made the switch to digital photography five years ago. Both cameras in the same scale (see checked cloth background as reference).

Although Leica continues to manufacture M-series camera in film and digital versions (the M7 and M9 respectively), they are so mind-blowingly expensive as to put them out of reach of all but the wealthiest photographer, with the price of an M9 body (lenses have to be bought separately) costing over 24,000 złotys here, £5,000 in the UK, €6,000 in Germany, $8,000 in the US.

For those who know what Leica photography can offer, the X100 is a capable substitute at one-sixth of the price. It has a 12.2 megapixel sensor and a fixed 23mm f2 lens (the equivalent of 32mm on a full-frame camera).

Above all, the rangefinder camera is discreet, unobtrusive and quiet. It does not bring attention to the photographer the way a fully-featured single lens reflex does. So for street photography, the inconspicuous rangefinder is king. Rangefinder cameras are good for people, architecture and landscapes, no good for wildlife, aviation or anything calling for long lenses.

The X100 brings autofocus to the game (the M9 is still manually focused). Now, maybe my digital Nikons have made me lazy, but I've got used to letting the camera do the focusing for me. The X100 is also much lighter (and slightly smaller) than the Leica Ms. It weighs 440g, compared to 570g for my M3 with 35mm f2 lens, while the digital M9 body with that same (manual focus) lens would weigh over three-quarters of a kilo - which gets a bit much after a day around the neck.

However, the Leicas feel more robust. My M3 is now 53 years old and as sturdy as it was the day it left the factory. I wonder whether how many X100s will still be around in 2065...

My main gripe with the X100 is the lack of lens filter. Without a UV or Skylight filter, the lens is naked and vulnerable. On a camera with a fixed lens, it means that if you scratch the lens, the whole camera is useless. Now, Fuji make a filter mount adapter, but it is expensive (159 złotys/£30), non-standard and near-impossible to come by in Warsaw shops. You cannot simply screw in a standard 49mm filter into a threaded mount around the outside of the lens. There are hacks, involving removing the lens front trim ring, screwing in a 49mm filter backwards with the glass removed, then a second 49mm filter on top of that one, then replace the trim ring. There's the risk that if the filter rings are too narrow, the lens will jam against the filter glass when focused out. (Read about it here.)

Next gripe - the shutter button (which, incidentally, features a screw thread for a release cable - nice touch!). It is not positive enough. On my first outings with the camera, I found myself thinking I'd taken a picture (camera discretely round neck, not at eye-level) and discovering I hadn't. Not possible on a Leica.

Cameras commonly known as 'point-and-shoot' should be called 'point-and-wait-and-shoot'. DSLRs' greatest advantage over compact cameras is that they respond instantaneously. Now, the X100 is not quite there when it comes to that instant and direct feel of a single-lens reflex. There are electronic sounds that can come to your aid, confirming that a shot has been taken - but they rather give the game away. Because the X100 has a leaf shutter (rather than the Leica's focal plane horizontal shutter), you have to listen hard for any sound - a whir-whir of the autofocus and a near-silent 'sst' as the exposure is made. This is exactly what's wanted in street photography - if only the shutter offered more positive confirmation that a photo has being taken via your fingertip.

To give you an idea of lens sharpness - here's a wide shot of one of my bookshelves, taken on the X100...

...and a four-times magnification from it from the centre of the above photo (below). Hand-held, 1/20th sec, f2 (lens wide open), 800 ISO. Click to enlarge.

So - do I buy the X100 at a good price - or wait until Nikon's D3200 comes out? More tomorrow... The X100's outstanding hybrid viewfinder, its poor battery, complicated menu, lovely controls...

This time last year:
Reason vs. Emotion

This time two years ago:
The civilisational effects of frequent flying

This time three years ago:
A week into Lent