Why I Hate the Fuji X100

I lusted over the Fuji X100 from the day it was announced in 2010. The Fuji with it’s reto looks and compact form seduced me from the beginning. The only problem was at the time I already had a Canon 5DMkII and a Canon EOS 50D as a backup body. I also had (have) several lenses, flashes, etc. I wanted the Fuji, with it’s APS-C sensor and fixed lens, but had no real reason to buy it. 18 months later, I still had no reason no buy it. Then I saw one in person. I bought it. I had to sell a Ricoh GRD IV and a little-used Nodal Ninja setup to afford it, but I did it.

Years ago I saved and saved and finally bought 2 used Leica Cameras – an M3 single stroke and an M2. While not the equal of those cameras, the Fuji does remind me of them to a degree. It’s a decent little camera. It focuses mmm… medium quick. The high ISO performance is great, it’s a pleasure to hold, it’s lightweight, and it looks great. The viewfinder is welcome after DSLR’s. It’s bright and the data displayed there is helpful and unobtrusive.  I really like it. It suits me. Or at least I want it to. The problem is, it’s no 5DMkII.

Sure, the 5DMkII kills the Fuji in the bokeh arena, creating images that the Fuji simply can’t compete against.

But the Fuji is capable of capturing high quality images, there’s no doubt. The images below are from the Fuji, and have only been edited slightly. They’re nice files.

It’s like comparing apples to oranges. I know. But how does one come from a full-frame quick(er) focusing camera with “L” glass and 1.4 aperture to the Fuji without noticing the shortcomings first and foremost?

On top of that, I’m tired of the cycle of new cameras and software. The Fuji requires a whole different treatment in Adobe Camera Raw than the Canon. I like photography. I like editing on the computer (a little better than the darkroom). But I like editing with my current workflow and I like being familiar with what settings work best and I hate having to tweak everything and learn Photoshop over every time I buy a new camera. That’s the main reason I hated the EOS 40D and 50D. They were different than the 20D. It’s the reason I hate the 7D – it’s different than the 20D. I actually think half the reason I love the 5DmkII so much is the develop and print settings are, in my opinion, pretty close to that of the 20D.

The problem with the Fujifilm X100 isn’t that it focuses a little slower and has a smaller sensor, it’s not  so much the lack of bokeh or limitation of the single focal length. It’s that the buttons are in different places and the curves settings look different on the computer. It takes months to feel at home with a camera from a different manufacturer. I spent that time. Problem is, I spent it on a Canon. I can work a Canon in the dark with one hand frozen to a ballhead in sub-zero temps. As familiar as I am with the button layout, I’m equally familiar with settings in Photoshop that make images from my Canon look decent. The way I tweak the curves and the sharpening scripts I labored over don’t work the same on the Fuji as on the 5D. It’s not “home” the way the Canon is. I like travel, but I really like being “home”. And “home” is the 5DMkII.

Okay, maybe the MkIII if I can find a used one.

Sorry Fuji…