Fujifilm X100F Mirrorless Digital Camera, Silver

Product Information

The only positive aspect is that the entire three frame AEB sequence can be triggered with a single press of the shutter release or the self-timer, allowing the camera to grab all the frames without further presses. The X100F shares the retro-style philosophy of its predecessors, greatly influenced by classic Leica cameras, and which will delight enthusiasts who are hard-wired to like this kind of thing. This is incredibly useful for confirming the focus, whether you’re using Auto or Manual focusing and further enhances the optical viewfinder experience.

Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) is available but remains surprisingly modest with just three frames at increments up to 2EV, making it little more capable than a point-and-shoot for HDR fanatics. Fortunately, on the X100F it’s possible to reconfigure the camera so the sensitivity can be changed using the newly added front electronic control dial when the ISO dial is set to the A position.I think I’m used to switching the aperture now and just use my thumbs when the camera is up to my eye. They’re neat, but I think if I were seriously considering using both lens converters, I reckon I’d be better-served by an interchangeable lens camera instead like the XT20.

It is expensive, and you can get more for your money elsewhere – but no other camera (except the Fujifilm X-Pro2) gives you the same shooting experience as this. As such the X100F’s speed – not to mention its coverage – aren’t ideal for sports, action or even enthusiastic kids and pets, but you could still exploit its burst speed for grabbing the decisive moment in street photography and use the continuous AF to maintain focus on small movements. It’s great for those shots you would ordinarily take with your phone; your lunch, your beer on the table, quirky interiors, a view out of the train window. All the dials are precisely milled and operate with satisfying precision, while the leatherette covering and subtle handgrip make the camera feel secure in your grasp. I love USB charging as it means I can topup or even completely recharge without having to carry an AC adapter and look for an AC socket; instead I simply connect the camera to my laptop, a vehicle adapter or a portable USB battery (like my Anker PowerCore 10000) and I’m good to go.There’s no doubt that this is the best looking camera out there and what you have is essentially an X-Pro 2 with a tiny 23mm f/2 lens that can fit into your pocket. It’s fair to say that this approach divides opinion among photographers; it mitigates against changing the ISO setting accidentally, but it’s also awkward to change with the camera held up to your eye.

If you’d like to see a formal report on the high ISO performance, I’ll direct you to the quality pages of my Fujifilm XT20 review as it shares the same sensor and image processor. Once the app’s connected, you’re offered four main options: Remote Control, Receive, Browse Camera and Geotagging. However, if you want to attach filters or a hood, you’ll need the AR-X100 adapter, which provides a 49mm thread.

But it’s the most radical overhaul yet, acquiring most of the same updates as we saw on its interchangeable-lens big brother, the X-Pro2, last year. There is however an important catch: the app may deliver the location for up to 60 minutes worth of shooting, but the actual co-ordinates themselves won’t be updated during this time – even if you move from the original position where you initiated the process. Built in Neutral Density Filter – The X100F has a three stop neutral density filter built in which essentially blocks the amount of light reaching the sensor. The difference now is the image resolution has increased from 4896×3264 to 6000×4000 pixels, allowing you to output 2in taller and 3in wider than the X100T at 300dpi. Autofocus – Whilst I’ve never been let down with the autofocus speed from the X-T2 with the 23mm f/2, for some reason I was expecting the autofocus to be much slower with the X100F.

Not only is the camera small but there’s no thumb grip or hand grip like on the X-T cameras so I have, a few times, almost dropped the camera. Again, it’s a camera designed for street shooting at subject distances of a couple of meters or more, and I should add it can deliver sharp results at large apertures, but again only for subjects that aren’t too close. What makes it really special though is Fujifilm applies a transparent electronic overlay showing not just a wealth of exposure and shooting information, but also a thin frame indicating the actual coverage corrected for parallax due to focusing distance, and the focus area too. The X100F is also a pretty fair size for an APS-C fixed-lens camera, but that goes well with its retro styling and analog controls.

The default setting is Provia, and that’s what you’ll see in all my sample images unless otherwise stated; it delivers a good balance of contrast and colour without being too punchy or saturated. It’s also possible to apply the grain settings after the event in playback to RAW files using the RAW conversion menu; this also lets you adjust the Film Simulation, White Balance (and shift), highlight and shadow tone, saturation, sharpness, noise reduction, colour space and whether the lens modulation optimiser is enabled or not; it’s also possible to ‘push-process’ the exposure by up to -2EV or +3EV in one third increments. There is a slight lag as the camera has to switch from OVF to EVF and that lag takes longer than I expected.