Alexander S. White - Photographers Guide to the Fujifilm X100S: Getting the Most from Fujifilms Advanced Digital Camera

Photographers Guide to the Fujifilm X100S

Getting the Most from Fujifilms Advanced Digital Camera

Alexander S. White

WHITE KNIGHT PRESS
HENRICO, VIRGINIA

Copyright 2013 by Alexander S. White.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except for brief quotations used in a review.

The publisher does not assume responsibility for any damage or injury to property or person that results from the use of any of the advice, information, or suggestions contained in this book. Although the information in this book has been checked carefully for errors, the information is not guaranteed. Corrections and updates will be posted as needed at whiteknightpress.com.

Product names, brand names, and company names mentioned in this book are protected by trademarks, which are acknowledged.

Published by

White Knight Press

9704 Old Club Trace

Henrico, Virginia 23238

www.whiteknightpress.com

ISBN: 978-1-937986-20-9 (paperback)

978-1-937986-21-6 (e-book)

Printed in the United States of America

To my wife, Clenise.

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Authors Note

I n November 2011, I published Photographers Guide to the Fujifilm FinePix X100, a guide to the earlier version of the X100S camera. After that book, I moved on to write about other cameras from Fujifilm, Sony, Canon, and other makers. When the X100S was released, I did not immediately decide to do a new book about it, because it was difficult to fit into my schedule. I kept receiving questions from readers about whether I would be doing an updated book, though, and the more I heard and read about the X100S, the more it seemed that a new book would be a good idea.

I went ahead and started this book, and as soon as I spent some time with the new camera, I became very glad I was doing this project. The newer model has several welcome improvements over the FinePix X100, and the X100S has turned out to be a great pleasure to work with.

I would like to express my appreciation to Jill Cooper, who was unfailingly patient and thorough as she helped me navigate through the complexities of the Adobe InDesign software package to accomplish the design and layout of the book.

Finally, as with my earlier books, the greatest support in every possible way, from joining me on trips to take photographs for this book to editing and proofreading the final text, has come from my wife, Clenise.

Introduction

T his book is a guide to understanding the controls, menus, and features of the Fujifilm X100S, one of the most desirable advanced compact cameras in the marketplace today. Although the X100S, likes its predecessor, the FinePix X100, attracts a lot of its attention because of its stunning retro appearance, looks alone do not tell the story of this camera. The X100S is one of very few compact cameras that are equipped with the same large (APS-C) size of image sensor that is found in many mid-range DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras, such as the Canon EOS 70D, the Nikon D7100, and the Sony Alpha A3000.

With this sensor, which is several times larger than the one found even in high-quality compact cameras such as the Canon PowerShot S120 and the Panasonic Lumix LX7, the X100S takes images of superb quality that can produce prints at substantial sizes. And, besides the quality made possible by the large sensor, the X100S offers an excellent lens with a very fast f/2.0 aperture. With that wide aperture, the lens of the X100S gathers light efficiently, allowing you to shoot high-quality images in fairly dark areas. In addition, the wide aperture gives you the opportunity to produce photographs with the pleasing look provided by blurring the background while leaving the foreground sharp.

The X100S also offers sophisticated features, including drive modes for burst shooting and bracketing; a useful set of film-simulation options that let you vary the look and color density of your images with in-camera processing; shutter speeds as fast as 1/4000 second and as long as 60 minutes using the Bulb setting; a built-in flash; Raw format; and just about every feature a serious photographer would ask for in a camera of this class. Along with its standard LCD display screen, the camera offers a bright optical viewfinder as well as an excellent electronic viewfinder, giving you three options for viewing your scene. The camera is equipped with a hot shoe that accepts external flash units, and the X100S even has a shutter release button that is threaded to accept a traditional cable release, allowing you to trigger the shutter without shaking the camera. The camera also offers a good set of options for capturing high-definition video clips.

Of course, as with all cameras, there are some trade-offs with the X100S that could be considered drawbacks, depending on your needs and preferences. The lens, while excellent in quality, is non-interchangeable, and has a fixed focal length of 35mm equivalent. Thus, the photographer has no ability to zoom or to vary the focal length in any way; you are limited to taking photographs with what could be considered a wide-angle lens. Also, although many photographers may not consider this point a negative one, the camera offers no fully automatic mode of shooting, and does not offer any scene modes that are oriented to particular types of subject, such as portraits, sports, beach, landscape, or fireworks. The X100S does, however, offer an excellent array of menu options and controls that will let you deal with such subjects with no problem; you will just have to figure out what settings to use to get optimal results for any given subject. One other limitation is that the camera does not offer any type of image stabilization system to counter camera shake.

This discussion of the cameras features is, of course, not complete, but it serves to illustrate that the Fujifilm X100S is equipped with features that should be attractive to serious photographers those who want numerous options for creative control of their images in a camera that is small enough and light enough to be carried around at all times, so they will be ready for action when a picture-taking opportunity arises. The X100S should be of particular interest to those photographers who have an interest in street photography and other forms of candid shooting, but it also is an excellent choice as an all-around photographic Jack of all trades.

My goal with this guide is to provide a thorough introduction to the cameras features, explaining how they work and when you might want to use them. The book is aimed largely at beginning and intermediate photographers who are not satisfied with the technical documentation that comes with the camera and who would like a more user-friendly explanation of the cameras many controls and menus. For those who are seeking more advanced information, I provide some discussion of topics that go beyond the basics, and I include in the appendices information to help you uncover additional resources. I will also try to provide updates from time to time at whiteknightpress.com.

One note on the scope of this guide: I live in the United States, and I bought my camera in the U.S. market. I am not familiar with variations (such as different chargers) for cameras sold in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere. The photographic functions are not different, though, so this guide should be useful to photographers in all locations, apart from that narrow range of issues. I have stated measurements of distance and weight in both the Imperial and metric systems, for the benefit of readers in various countries around the world.