Round The Front Of The New Fujifilm Camera - Day Two of Fujifilm Week

The new Fujifilm X100 F is a handsome beast by any standards. Indeed, as soon as the staff at Camera Electronic saw the first DP Review pictures of the dear old X100 back in 2011 we know they were onto a winner - it just ticked the style box with all of us.  And we were all coming from different systems as users...

Well, the X100F shifts the elements of the design quite subtly - look at the direct front view to see that the AF assist light has moved, the on-board flash tube has climbed to a position closer to the vertical axis of the lens, and the EVF/OVF switch has acquired a center button that you can push it. It lets you shift the operation of the lens control ring to several functions. The front panel has also picked up a finger wheel - the instruction booklet says that it takes you through menu selections and formatting the cards amongst other things.

The top plate is cleaner ( well, let's face it - the floor is cleaner than the top plate of my old X 100...) but I mean that the layout is neater. The inclusion of a dedicated mechanical ISO selector inside the shutter speed knob is inspired - it is what we came to expect in the SLR days and we get a firm physical lock on it. The knob is easier to turn with the fingers. and thankfully has 1/2s second and full second markings - the X 100 stops at 1/4 second.

On the top plate you'll see that you get more positions in the exposure compensation dial and that you can twist the entire thing around to a custom position - and then it combines with the front finger wheel to get up to + or - 5 EV . That is a heck of a lot of power in one exposure meter. You still have to recognise the situations that require a change and the rationale behind which way to spin the dial. But that is part of becoming a photographer - we used to do it with little paper charts from Kodak and great deal of guesswork.

Under the baseplate there is the slot for the larger battery. The X100F team has still been able to put in the card slot in such a way that the user does not have to have fingernails like a Disney villain to get the SD card out. I wish they had been able to have a serious discussion about this at the time with the team who did the X-T10...

And lastly. The feel of the skin of the X 100F is altogether different to that of the X100 - it has a slightly roughened feel like a sintered surface. It feels a lot more secure to hold. 

I don't have a Thumbs Up for the X 100F but I daresay there will be something of that nature appearing. Note that the aftermarket aluminium cradle grips from Knockoff Kong that fit the other models of the x 100 series interchangeably do not fit this camera - a new product will have to be machined. 

Oddly enough the black ever-ready case I have for the X100 does fit the X100F -  a bit squeezy but it  works. So don't throw out your old case.

Also, the accessory wide and tele lenses for the X 100 will go on this. New ones with auto recognition are also to be made, but if you have the old ones just carry right on.