FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/5.6, 1/300 sec, ISO200)
I just realized how seldom I post images of Vienna. The town I called home for half of my life. And I guess I know why.
I travel too much
I got used to it’s attractions
But why now? The answer is simple. I played the tourist guide for my colleague from Malaysia. She is in Austria now for our export meeting so now it is me showing her around. The bad thing is that our export meetings always take place in November. Not exactly the best month to visit Vienna. But this year seems to be different. Especially yesterday. The weather was just unbelievable. A rather warm and cloudless day. So I decided to show her the hunting hut of the Austrian Emperor.
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/4, 1/680 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO320)
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/4, 1/200 sec, ISO200)
The castle of Schönbrunn. This is such a great place. When I lived in Vienna this was the place to enjoy the first sunny day in spring. Nothing has changed. On a sunny day in early spring or on a sunny winter day thousands of locals join the visitors from foreign countries.
Yesterday was such a beautiful day and the only reasons why there are not thousands of people in the pictures is that it was a working day. On a Sunday it would be completely different. After I used the Ricoh GR for all evening events I decided to take my Fuji X100 with me this time. I recently started to pick it up more often after I almost exclusively used either my Fuji XP1 for my Asia trips or my Canon 6D for portraits.
The X100 is a wonderful camera. Putting all things together it gives the most satisfying shooting experience of all cameras I have ever used. There is only one condition! If you take some time to take the shot. It is not a snappy camera. It is not an action camera. It’s a wonderful quiet machine where every know has the right amount of weight and hadles just beautifully. The aperture ring is just perfect. I really wished the Fuji X lenses would have the same quality feel in that regard. I would ditch the 1/3 stop settings of the aperture in a minute. All controls, the quality feel, the weight and of course the wonderful hybrid viewfinder makes this an outstanding camera. This is the digital version of a Contact G series.
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/4, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/2.8, 1/1250 sec, ISO200)
Now what was planned as I celebration of a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon at a magnificent location turned into a love letter for a camera. That must seem very strange for most people but I think that those who own or shoot a X100 or X100s will understand.
I like my XP1 mostly because I can shoot the fantastic XF 14mm but I love my X100. It is a different feel. It feels like a much more expensive product. This is a product that describes the Japanese pursue for perfection better than a thousand words. Put it in your hands and you are lost. Get used to it’s quality and it will be hard to use a lesser product. And practically almost all other products feel cheaper compared to the X100. I’m not talking about cameras only. It’s like a ride in a new Ranger Rover. When you get home you find out that not everything is executed with the same level of love to detail.
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/5.6, 1/340 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO500)
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO200)
But all that would be meaningless without good image quality. The good news is: the image quality of the X100 and X100s is excellent. The X100 already surpassed my Canon 5D in low and high ISO shots. Not to forget to mention Auto-WB which simply is better than ob any other camera I have used so far including the Fuji XP1 and JPEG that is good enough to satisfy die hard RAW shooters like me. In one sentence: The Fuji X100 is one of the most capable and satisfying cameras to shoot with.
One word regarding the flare in the garden shot. It is intentionally. I don’t use the lens shade and I pointed the camera towards the sun to produce as much flare as possible. I love that I can make the Fuji lenses flare if I like to do so.
FUJIFILM FinePix X100 (23mm, f/5.6, 1/280 sec, ISO200)