Photokina: A Look Inside the Fujifilm X100

For a lot of people, the Fujifilm X100 has been the biggest news at Photokina this year.  The manufacturer was showing off a prototype on its stand.  The camera itself is still a long way from being finished (the final version won't on sale until February next year) but it gave us a chance to look at the most exciting new development: the combined optical/electronic viewfinder.


The prototype we were playing with felt very plastic, especially on the scroll wheel and the ring around the lens, but the manufacturer was at pains to to point out that the new camera is still at an early stage of its development, and that the final version will be built differently, including the use of a lot more metal.

On the other hand, we did get a change to play with the innovation that's brought so much attention to this 'mini-rangefinder', its new viewfinder, which is a hybrid of a traditional optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder.



In the two photos above, we're in optical mode on the left.  There's a 0.5x enlargement, which is easier on the eye than what most compact cameras offer, but (logically enough) less so than the Leica M9's 0.68x.  The view is clear and a treat to look at.  Thanks to the electronic elements, the various settings are super-imposed on the shot, including the current mode, speed, aperture and sensitivity.  Two frames are also visible: the smaller indicates the autofocus area and the larger one the zone actually captured by the camera.  As with a rangefinder, the viewfinder's field of view is larger than that of the lens.  And like on a rangefinder, this frame moves according to the focal distance to correct for parallax errors.  Anybody who's used a Leica M series camera will be right at home.

Viewfinder of the Leica M9: the external frame shows the photo that will be taken

On the right, we're in electronic mode.  A flap slides over the optical viewfinder to prevent any light getting in, so all you can see is produced by the electronic viewfinder.  There was no Live View available on the version that we tried, but trying it out on a static scene gave us a very good idea of the capabilities of the LCD, which has 1 440 000 pixels, six times more than a bridge's viewfinder.  Actually, we suspect that it's been lifted straight from the Olympus E-P2.

Lining up a shot is a little narrow, and of course, all that you see in electronic mode is what the sensor can see.  However, it's still bright even when light levels fall, and you can see the values of key settings straight away, including, notably, white balance.


The other big question mark hanging over the FX100 is how responsive it will be.  This is an area where its competitors like the Sigma DP and Leica X1 struggle a little.  We couldn't time exactly how long it took to power up, but the autofocus felt relatively fast, which isn't always the case on such early prototypes.  We can only hope this is a good sign of what's to come ...

Apart from the traditionally-styled, if not unattractive controls, it's clearly the viewfinder that separates the X100 from every other compact digital camera with a large sensor.  The journalists at Photokina we spoke to were generally positive about it, but the real unknown factor is the selling price.  This camera certainly doesn't have the prestige of a Leica, but remains something of a niche product reserved for a prestige market.  We wouldn't be at all surprised to see it retailing at a price to match.  For the time being, the rumours have it at below £1000, but who knows ...

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