This wasn’t supposed to be my new camera. I had written off the Fuji X100 for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that they’ve been so hard to come by since being first released last March. I still wanted one, but there were so many complaints being made by people who did manage to get their hands on one that I sort of lost the urge.

Instead, I bought an Olympus E-P3 with the add-on EVF and have been fairly happy. I had nearly forgotten about the little Fuji when one day last week I got an email from B&H; letting me know they had a few X100s in stock. About 30 seconds later I was staring at an order receipt email.

So what’s it like? After only a couple of days with the camera it’ too early to tell, but I’m inclined to think the X100 and I will get along just fine. Much of the chatter online about the camera’s idiosyncrasies is turning out to be accurate - both good and bad.

The Good

• Just look at it! Beautiful design based on such all-time classic cameras as the Canonet - my first rangefinder - makes me want to pick it up and take pictures.
• The unique hybrid OVF/EVF viewfinder is amazing. Used on Optical mode, it’s not far off from my M6’s viewfinder quality.
• High quality construction makes the camera feel great in hand.
• Image quality at higher ISOs is amazing. At ISO 3200 it’s not that far off from the D700, which is quite surprising.
• The “analog” controls for Shutter speed, Aperture, and Exposure compensation are top-notch and a real pleasure to use.

The Bad

• All the digital parts of the camera controls are a disappointment. Small, fidgety, and cheap feeling. Such a disappointment compared to the metal, precise, top-of-camera controls.
• Manual focusing using the fly-by-wire ring on the lens is futile. Unusable to the point of not even being a feature.
• The menu system is awful and needs a complete redesign in my opinion
• The contrast detect autofocus system is pretty bad in very low light. This is too bad, since with such great high ISO performance it should be the perfect low-light shooter.

How does all this leave me feeling about the camera? I’d say we’re getting along splendidly so far. Now that I’ve gotten things configured to my liking, there are few situations that require using the crappy parts of the camera. For just shooting, it’s a complete joy to use.

See DPReview’s ridiculously detailed review for all the nitty gritty. Also, it was Zack Arias’ X100 review that got me fired up about the camera originally, and it’s a good read from someone who simply uses the camera his way and loves it.