X100F - Leica slayer?!?!?
Product shot from the FujiFilm X100F website
I'm always on the hunt for a camera that can de-throne the Leica digital range finder from its throne and take the reigns as my go to camera. Can this be the one?
Background
My journey into photography started about 6 years ago. I picked up a refurbished 5d Mk II. I loved the camera and the canon glass but I didn't love the bulk of carrying it around. My photography changed from landscapes to more of a street and daily life photography. I started to look for a camera that would give me great quality and in a more compact body.
I started to look at the Leica M9. I hadn't owned any Leica cameras and didn't buy into the branding much. It was priced more than I had paid for my car. I would look at it and never did more than that. It was just too much. I stuck with my 5d Mk II and kept shooting.
Then, when I was buying a new camera strap at one of the local shops, I saw that they had a brand new camera... a FujiFilm X100.
The X100
I saw it and did a bit of quick research on it and was impressed by the image quality and it's compact size. It was also incredibly quite. I went back a couple of days later to the camera shop and started to talk with one of the employees. He pulled the X100 out and let me handle it and take it on the street. It was great! I was hooked. I purchased it that day and spent the next several months getting to know the camera.
It didn't take long for my initial infatuation with the X100 to fade. There were just things about it that bugged me. The menu layout and the slow auto focus were killers. The manual focus was horrendous. It wasn't long before I was leaving it a home and most of the time just not taking a digital camera with me.
The Next Step
I started to focus more on film photography. I was enjoying taking my Rollei TLR out and shooting around town. I did miss the convenience of digital and the expense of shooting medium format added up but there just wasn't anything in digital that was keeping me shooting like the TLR. I got to know the guys in the local shop. This local shop just happened to be a Leica dealer. From our discussions, they kept suggesting I try out the M9. After handling it and looking at it many times, I still wasn't convinced. One day someone who's opinion I value greatly told me I should quit looking at it and just buy it. Something as simple as that set me down the Leica path.
The M9 was nearly perfect for me. I really only had three issues with it. One, high ISO was respectable for the time but didn't quite hit the mark. Two, the shutter sound was a bit too loud for my taste. Three (the most important one), the cost was way too damn high!
Everything else was perfect. I didn't stray too far from the Leica path after that with the exception of a try of the Sony A7R. This was a bit of a disaster which I'll have a separate write up on in the future.
During this time thought, I held on to my X100. And Fuji continued to amaze me. They continued to release firmware updates for the X100 for years after it was originally released! They were quality updates that incorporated the feedback of the users! Who could imagine.
I went on to the M240 and then even pre-ordered the M10. During this time my wife decided she was going to upgrade cameras. Her Sony A7 had the 35mm lens die during a trip. When she was looking for her next camera, she decided on the X100F. She had always been a fan of hte X100 (minus how slow it was) and decided to give it a try. It was compact and quite with great image quality. Aesthetically it's a beautiful device as well which made the decision easy.
X100F
I used my wife's camera and bit and was impressed. It seemed all the issues I had before had been at least progressed. Honestly, the only thing that hadn't been completely addressed was the manual focus and that was worlds better than it previously was. It was great...it could be a Leica killer for some but it wasn't quite the Leica killer for me...why???
The fixed lens of the X100F was quite for me. Sure I shoot 35mm most of the time but I also shoot 50mm and 28mm. The X100F just couldn't do that.
The Twist
I set off for a Magnum workshop in Tokyo with my Leica in hand. It was during the workshop that I started to recognize one of the limits of the Leica. Though the optical view finder and manual focus were things I really loved about the Leica, it does have some limitations. Framing isn't always very accurate. In addition there was some rain. Though the Leica M240 does have some weather sealing, I've always been a bit hesitant to take it out in the rain. It is way too costly of a tool to have it destroyed by the rain. While I was there, I went into Bic Camera one day and but my hands on a different Fuji. The X-T2. It was nice. Pretty compact (about the size of my M240) with an EVF (no more framing issues) and great autofocus and manual focus was nice as well. The real kicker...it also does great video!
The X-T2 hit all of my sweet spots. I've only been using it for about a month but it's been a solid camera and my M10 pre-order has been canceled and the M240 hasn't gotten much use. The quality of the files form the X-T2 are remarkable.
I can't say with 100% certainty (it's a bit too soon to tell) that I'll never purchase the M10 but I think it is becoming less and less likely. I'm still a Leica film user (though honestly I even questioned that for a bit with the TX-2) but I'm not sure that I'll be sticking with the digital Leica camp. I can't see anything at this point in time that would lead me to shelve the X-T2 . I'll put up another review after some more time with it.
Here are the top 5 things I've got to say about the likely Leica killer (X-T2):
- The price / weather sealing - this goes hand in hand for me. The A7R / A7 were supposedly weather sealed but that didn't pan out. The Leica M240 weather sealed and never had any problems but it was babied. It never saw much rain because I was afraid to toast it and at the cost of replacement it was a bit too much to take. The X-T2 is weather sealed and the cost not so much that if the unfortunate did happen that it would be too painful.
- The video - 4k view on this is impressive. It's clean an with those film presets it's usable without color grading for those who aren't professionals or real critical hobbyists. There are options to extend the capabilities dramatically if you're interested (grip and external recorder will get you F-Log and 30mins of recording)
- The glass - it's amazing! Sharp and compact. The value (performance relative to cost) is great! This is even with weather sealed lenses. Aperture rings on the lens are a nice touch as well. It's an easy transition from my Leica glass.
- Those files - are great. They work much better than my original X100 in lightroom. This waxy looking file of the old X100 seems to have been resolved. Throw in those film presets and it means you've got beautiful images that are ready to share straight out of camera.
- Fuji backing - I'm a big fan of Fuji. They keep supporting their products. They listen and they seem to be excited for not just fixing bugs but actually introducing major improvements. They are a company / brand that I want to support...I want to like this camera...I want it to be the replacement to my digital Leica.
