Fujifilm X100s Resource Page
This is a moderately well-curated list of resources for the Fujifilm X100s camera. I also have one of these for the newer sibling, the Fujifilm X100F
Direct from the manufacturer
Fujifilm X100s Support & Updates
Tips and Tricks
Induce your own lightbulb moment with these illuminating tips and tricks.
Using the camera
Jane, stop this crazy thing.
- A new book titled Photographer’s Guide to the Fujifilm X100s is now available from White Knight Press, and I purchased it today but haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet. Will likely post a review or something when I have an opinion about it.
- V. Opoku has an excellent write-up on the use of the optical viewfinder (OVF) on the X-Pro1 and X100s that will answer any questions you have on using the OVF effectively. It is aptly titled: Fujifilm OVF Focusing and is a must-read if you ever use auto-focus and the OVF.
- Rico Pfirstinger wrote a fantastic article on some of the nuances of Using the X100s, including the new auto-focusing system, OVF/EVF, and good explanations of shortcuts. His book on the X-Pro1 is also largely applicable to the X100s as well, I’m still reading it and have enjoyed it a lot so far. Rico Pfirstinger for Fujirumors
- a very well-done Guide to custom settings Kevin Mullins.
- Expert light-chaser and strobist David Hobby drops the science on using flash in daylight — Leaf Shutter + ND + Flash: A Fuji X100s Daylight Primer David Hobby
- Using the X100s for Street Photography the Phoblographer
- Exploring the focusing system, back-focusing, use of custom settings, manually adjusting white balance and using control-dial and jogger for making small adjustments are covered in Photo Madd’s Fujifilm X100s Hints & Tips Photo Madd
- Don’t be scared! This video on the YouTubes is useful for learning more about the focusing system, and has some other tips and some work-arounds for the more headscratch aspects of the camera. Dave Cheung
- Long-exposure landscape photography with the X100s and the Seven5 system David @ Flixelpix
- Finally, an outdated carry post on Carrying the Fujifilm X100s, which needs a few more additions and options presented as time permits. Emory (Me!)
Post-Processing and Software
My tools
I intend to document my workflow at some point soon, especially how I use redundant rot-proof storage and off-site archiving. This short list is just what I use personally and have had a lot of fun with.
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Adobe has supported the X-Trans for a while in Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom 4 and Lightroom 5 work very well with it.
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Speaking of Lightroom, I have written about the exceptional plugin, ExifMeta for Lightroom, which allows you to pull some very interesting information from your Fuji’s JPEGs and RAF/RAW files. It is kind of nerdy and you’ll be doing some reading, but it’s worth the effort in my opinion.
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The VSCO filters are outstanding, but I use the Nik Collection for nearly all of my final photographs. I am especially fond of Dfine, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, and Viveza. The film emulation is exceptional in the Efex apps, the noise reduction of Dfine is superlative, and the ability to use control-points to make tone and exposure adjustments in Viveza are an exceptional value if you buy the whole damned set. The other included apps are equally good, I just don’t use them as much.
About Aperture
I used to use Aperture & iPhoto for a lot of stuff, but I have been using Lightroom 5 and making some adjustments to my workflow for the sake of sanity. I’m not sure how I feel about Lightroom compared to Aperture, but there are a couple of things about Aperture that really bug me (such as sometimes handing off the wrong version of a file to an external editor) and Adobe’s Camera RAW support has improved a lot and my early gripes about the interpretation of the X-Trans sensor are largely moot.
More importantly though is that Aperture is end-of-life’d by the vendor now.
If I had to make an obvious recommendation, it would be this: Don’t bother learning Aperture now if you aren’t already using it since it’s been discontinued. The RAW sensor capabilities of Aperture and iPhoto will likely be inherited by the next generation photo software in Yosemite (Mac OS X 10.10), but I suspect most enthusiasts will find it limiting and would be better served with Lightroom or an alternative.
Other people’s tools and workflow
Lightroom (and Adobe Camera RAW)
- Fredrik Averpil’s Fujifilm X100s Camera Profile Fredrik Averpil’s Fujifilm X100s Camera Profile for Lightroom 5 is awesome and produces great results for a film-like look, and now he’s made it available with some additional updates and presets on his Github repository! Bravo! I wish more plugins and profiles would end up as Github repositories because it’s a great way to keep track of them and ensure they’re up-to-date.
Iridient Developer
- Processing X100s RAW with Iridient Developer and part 2 of the series — the Visual Experience
Reviews
Industry Reviews and News
“Fujifilm has also made a number of detail changes, many of which may look obscure but will be warmly welcomed by X100 owners. Some of the most notable here are that the live histogram now functions properly in manual exposure mode, and the minimum shooting distance using the optical finder to has been reduced to 50cm.”
“If you’re looking to find 90% of a Leica at 20% of the cost, the FujiFilm X100S is a your camera.”
End-User Reviews and Comments from Professionals, Hobbyists and Amateurs
“As someone who used many different Leica M film rangefinders, this thing is more Leica M than any digital camera Leica has made yet. By a long shot. And at a small fraction of the cost. If you woulda just used your film M camera with a 35/2 lens permanently on it, as many did, this is your camera.”
“…this will be the personal, auxiliary camera of many a working photographer and photojournalist. Heck, it’ll be the prime body for many, as this is a camera you could build a career on. David Alan Harvey spent several decades toting around just an M6 and a 35 Summicron. I am enjoying watching him get to know the Fuji X100s. As for myself, I am starting my 2013 round of HCAC assignments and many will be shot with this camera. It’s that good.”
“The X100S is the world’s best digital camera for travel, family and candid photography. It is so much better handling and gives far better images under a far broader range of conditions than any DSLR, mirrorless, compact or even LEICA camera. There is no contest, the X100S wins.”
So. The Fuji x100s. Capable on jobs? Hell yes. The AF is so much better than the first version. The image quality is great. Shooting RAW or JPG. Fuji has been working with Adobe on the RAW conversions and things have gotten much better on that front with Lightroom 4 and 5. High speed sync is fantastic.
The fact that all the major problems with the original X100 have been addressed in such a short time speaks volumes about Fuji’s commitment to the platform. It is so refreshing to see a company that actually listens to photographers and reacts to their concerns.
Because this is a romance-rekindled kind of article, a lot of what follows focuses on improvements on shortcomings over the X100, and things I would still like to see improved. All of that might give the impression that the X100s isn’t a great camera in it’s own right. It ain’t so. If this were a stand-alone review of a brand-new machine, without a rich family history, the bottom line would be this: the X100s is the best rangefinder-style camera Fuji has made.
It produces superb images, focuses fast, processes fast and breaks every meaningful barrier to working in low light. All-around it is all good. That said, my detailed review follows.
Brutally Simple & Highly Effective (Even If You Didn’t Want to Admit It)
This camera has made shooting fun for me again.
Alex Cican including a video
Other Reviews
It turns out that Wolfgang Simon already has an excellent list of reviews archived online, you can find more reviews and impressions from a broad spectrum of users there.