Fuji Early Fuji X20 thoughts

teddoman

Regular
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nyc
Didn't think I was going to wade back into compact cameras, but got a deal on an X20, and even after owning the X-E1, I am pleasantly surprised with the X20. I love how the zoom doubles as a power button and also the fact that it didn't have the sluggish startup time of a power zoom. I still have my EF-42 flash, and some flash assistance goes a long way.

It's great to have Fuji jpegs SOOC that are so presentable. There's a definite look and feel to Fuji images that contrasts with, say, the Ricoh GR that I was shooting with today as well.

I don't really shoot with zooms much, but I have to say it's nice to have one lying around. The satisfaction is so quick and instant. Set focal length, snap, you're done!

One thing I've noticed is the rear dials are a bit touchy. Too much pressure one way or the other and you have to redo your attempt. Slows thing down more than it should.
 
I had the X20 for a short while but kept my X10 in the end as I'm strangely attached to that snapper. However, I like both Fujis a darn lot and if I ever get a good deal on an X20 I won't say no. There's an incredible amount of details hidden in the X20's RAWs and there are much better X-Trans converters available now than back then - unfortunately not for the X10 (EXR).
 
I shoot more and more with primes too, the X1 or primes on my E-M5, but I do like having a compact zoom around to take everywhere, to have with me even when my intention isn't to go shooting. I loved my X20. I moved on to other cameras because, well, that's what I do when it comes to compact zooms. The search for the perfect one has presently brought me to the LX100, which won't be perfect, but is getting awfull close. Nonetheless, I thought long and hard about another X10 or X20. I prefer the jpegs of the former but the raw files of the latter, and usually shoot raw. Both are very capable cameras. Congratulations on yours.
 
I want an X30 to hand my wife when she travels somewhere. It's got to have wifi... she's always posting straight to Instagram for her website, so she wants to take the XT1 with her (vs my other camera, the original X100), but doesn't want to deal with all the knobs and whatnot. I sent her last time to San Diego with the XT1 and the 27 pancake, and she got along pretty well, but I loaned the 27 to a friend. This trip, it's Washington DC, and when I showed her the XT1 and kit zoom, she flinched at the size of it. So she took the X100, and will do without wifi.

The X30 would be the sweet spot. I just don't want to spend the money, nor does she.
 
me no comprendi wifi or cloud- give me a lead to plug in & I'm happy

Having used wifi from the camera now, I kinda like the option. It's really nice to be able to email someone a full-sized copy of my picture right there on the spot, for example. Or to use the phone as a remote shutter release. Now for HER purposes, it would have an integrated interface on the camera that links from your mobile device, and mirrors its apps. So if you're on Instagram, you could launch it right from the camera, select a picture, and post it, all ported through your phone. That would be a slick workflow.
 
The LX100 I just got apparently has a wifi option, but I plan to reprogram that button for it to some other function I use. I have wifi at home for using my laptop, etc. around the house when I'm not at the main computer, but taking the sd card out of the camera and putting it into the computer is so simple that wifi just doesn't grab my attention. I'm glad those that like it like it, but I suppose it will become de rigueur and drive the price of cameras ever higher. Sigh.
 
The LX100 I just got apparently has a wifi option, but I plan to reprogram that button for it to some other function I use. I have wifi at home for using my laptop, etc. around the house when I'm not at the main computer, but taking the sd card out of the camera and putting it into the computer is so simple that wifi just doesn't grab my attention. I'm glad those that like it like it, but I suppose it will become de rigueur and drive the price of cameras ever higher. Sigh.

The wifi only becomes a thing you care about when you want to have a phone in your pocket and a camera around your neck, and no laptop in sight, and yet get all them purdy pictures offa there and onto the innerwebs. We used it traveling by train a great deal this past summer. If it's something that fits your shoot-store-share workflow, that little feature can make a laptop vanish from your bag. If, of course, you don't do that, it's of no use to you.
 
The wifi only becomes a thing you care about when you want to have a phone in your pocket and a camera around your neck, and no laptop in sight, and yet get all them purdy pictures offa there and onto the innerwebs. We used it traveling by train a great deal this past summer. If it's something that fits your shoot-store-share workflow, that little feature can make a laptop vanish from your bag. If, of course, you don't do that, it's of no use to you.

And I have nothing against it. Most of the features on current cameras are things I don't use, but I'm glad the things I do use are there -- like image stabilization, for instance. I find I like and use pretty basic stuff, most of which has been around for many decades. For me it makes things easier, but I've learned to speak only for myself. I'd be very happy with a digital replica of the Olympus 35SP rangefinder, a camera released the year I graduated from high school -- and I am now 63. The original features with nothing else added would be fine by me, although I know such a camera probably wouldn't sell in todays market, at least not in the volumes Olympus depends on to survive. Leica could get away with it.

I always travel with a laptop, so the convenience of wifi doesn't really present itself to me, and it would probably matter more if it did. Cameras now have so many functions that using what you need and ignoring the rest seems to me wise. The LX100 is loaded with stuff I'll probably never use; what drew me to it was its larger sensor and its wonderful manual controls. A dedicated exposure compensation dial on a point and shoot compact is a wonderful thing!

Oh! I just got back from my Mum's funeral in Massachusetts. How can you people continue to live in that climate? I thought I was going to die of the wind and cold Thursday night on Boylston Street walking up to meet a friend for dinner.
 
So many good comments in this thread. :)

And hey, the daffodils are peeking out of the soil next to my house, as of Monday. It's gonna be 46 today!! That's crazy. I am beginning to think that Spring might actually be a thing that exists, and that it might be here eventually.

Also, we may get another 2 inches of snow this weekend.
 
The X10/X20 were fun to use in a way that few cameras are, but I am really enjoying the direct controls on the LX100, and the bigger sensor certainly gives it a leg up in low light and at bigger viewing sizes. The X10/20 2/3inch sensors were about as small as I ever really liked, though I had a XZ1 and XZ2 and got lots of good shots with them. The LX100, like the little Fujis, can become addictive, though it is bigger. They all go on my belt, so the size issue doesn't much matter.

If I had extra money and saw one of the Fujis at a really good price, I'd probably pick one up again, but I wouldn't let the LX100 go. I suspect it will be with me for some time.
 
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