I also would like to share some first impressions, please note I haven't fully gotten used to the camera as of yet and might update this in the future, so these really are just some initial few days impressions, mostly compared to my Pen-F.
As a short backstory, there were a few reasons why I bought this camera. First off, I've been intrigued by Fujifilm's X-System for a while, I'm interested in the more retro styled controls, the Film Simulations, the hybrid viewfinder, build quality as well as performance and last but not least weather sealing.
Weather sealing:
As you might know, the body is fully weather sealed to a similar extent as the XT and X-Pro series, however the front of the lens isn't fully sealed due to the external focussing mechanism. You'll need to buy an adapter ring and a protective filter. There are a number of 3rd party counterparts, but none of them says anything about weather sealing. It took me a bit of research to find out, the official Fujifilm products have no special parts to them, they are just bare metal items, without any o-rings, rubber seals or silicone layers.
In short you can buy any adapter ring and a filter of your choice to achieve the same level of weather resistance as you'd get from the more expensive Fujifilm add-ons. Personally I went with a square hood / adapter ring combo from Haoge and a B+W Nano UV filter. Haoge's adapter actually does have an o-ring which sits between itself and the hood, further securing the latter but also helps keeping it water tight.
I just wish this kind of information was easier to get, I guess the 3rd party brands are just careful of not getting into any warranty trouble in case of water damage to the camera.
Now on to a few thoughts:
- The camera is very well built, as expected. There are some minor downsides, some buttons have a rather stiff and mushy press to them, especially the Q-button.
- The AF joystick is great! I got used to it so quickly, I now miss it on my Pen-F.
- The ergonomics are a mixed bag, while the camera does have a small frontgrip, the rear thumbgrip isn't really well thought out in my opinion. My medium sized hands can hold the Pen more comfortable thanks to the near perfect thumbrest compared to the X100V.
- Low-light AF! There is almost a huge improvement when it comes to low-light AF compared to the Pen-F. I often shoot at or after dusk and that's when the Pen starts to struggle quickly. The X100V's focussing slows down quite a bit, but it still is getting focus, in some extreme conditions it hunts a bit, but still manages to get at least a usable focus on the selected subject. The Pen often just hunts back and forth a number of times and gives up.
- At the same time, it's kind of ironic there is no image stabilization, be it optical built into the lens or some sort of IBIS. So while the X100 manages to focus, yet actually shooting often is at ISO 5000+ to achieve shutter speeds of at least 1/30s. The Pen-F in combo with a 17mm I can shoot at about 1/10s without any issues and already got sharp enough shots at 1/2s.
- The EVF is pretty large and the quality is great. Although I have to say the step up from the Pen-F isn't quite as dramatic as I expected.
- The OVF is a nice thing to have and I especially like using it in lower light conditions, the small focus patch is very helpful in this regard, I was using the hybrid viewfinder much more than I thought I would.
- A reliable working eye-sensor! Both my Pen-Fs struggle with their eye-sensors and strong, direct light. While that might not be a problem for left-eye shooters, it is for right-eye shooters.
- Fujifilms menu system looks a bit more modern, but I didn't find it any better at all compared to the often dreaded Olympus menus. Olympus even has a small benefit: Pretty much every option on Oly cameras has a quicktip available, giving you an idea about what the setting is used for. On the X100 you'll need to grab your manual.
- Speaking of manual, the camera comes with a fully sized, detailed printed instruction manual. Which is great, however it doesn't come with any battery charger, which is a real bummer. You either have to rely on the camera's internal charging or buy your own charger.
- The Film Simulations are fun, but they aren't quite as superior as I thought they would be. Fuji uses a very different approach compared to the Color Profiles used by Olympus. While on Olympus you create your profiles purely by color saturation, Highlights, Shadows and Midtones, on Fuji you really rely on each Film Sim as a base which you can only futher saturate or desaturate globally, change Highlight and Shadow control (no Midtones). There is no way of changing individual colors. On the plus side, you have more advanced WB options, have better artificial film grain control (which isn't limited to Monochrome only), as well as additional effects like clarity levels or chrome color.
The camera offers seven IQ profiles which you can save and even (re)name, I keep one profile as a standard, neutral setting, while I have configured the others from Film Simulation recipes I found across the web. As said, Fujis approach is very different than Olympus' and maybe it just takes some time getting used to it.
- As expected working with the RAW files is more inconvenient due to the X-Trans sensor. My go to processing software, DXO Photolab, is out of the question - no X-Trans support. So I downloaded the free Capture One Express, which gives basic controls over processing, however it really pales when it comes to noise reduction.
- So far I barely take advantage of the retro control scheme, which is a huge surprise, in most situations it's just slower and more cumbersome to me. Maybe I'm also just used too much to traditional PASM style with front and rear dials. Essentially I'm mostly using aperture priority by indeed using the actual aperture ring on the lens, however shutterspeed is mostly on auto, while ISO is either on auto or is adjusted via the front dial - just like on my Pen-F.
- The leaf shutter! I never used a camera with such a shutter mechanism, so it is new to me. The shutter is so quiet and subtle, it's almost inaudible and you can barely feel it. No need to use the silent e-shutter: Maybe a person sitting next to you in a quiet library could hear it, but outside or a few meters away - no chance. Fujifilm actually has set a digital shutter sound by default, something you'd usually find on smartphones or some typical compact P&S cameras - of course you can disable the sound completely.
The downside of course is the more complex shutter speed: At f.2 you are limited to 1/2000s max, as you stop down, it gradually increases to 1/4000s - which the camera also doesn't seem to use on auto in my experience, you have to set it manually. From what I understand, very fast speeds can mess with out of focus areas and give them a motion blur-like look. If you are shooting wide-open in daylight, 1/2000s often isn't fast enough, in these cases the lens can enable a built-in 4-stop ND filter. It can either enable it within the menu, add it to the Quick Menu (Fujis counterpart to Olympus' Super Control Panel) or assign it to a button for quick access.
Keep in mind I've been shooting more or less exclusively the Pen-F for more than five years now, a camera which by now I more or less know blindly and which became natural in terms of use to me. Having said that, I really like the X100V: It's a handsome, very capable and somewhat unique camera, very fun to use. It is now my "
take everywhere" camera which I pretty much carry with me all the time, something I've previously used my second Pen-F plus the 17mm f1.8 for. Yet as I said that combo isn't weather sealed and the X100V simply gives that additional "peace of mind" when using the camera in stormy rain.
It won't fully replace the Pen-F though: It still is much more flexible due to the fact you can use any lense you want. Working with the RAW files is much easier, the IBIS really helps in a number of situations. I actually prefer the fully articulated screen, as I sometimes shoot close-ups on ground level in portrait orientation - the FAS makes looking at the screen so much easier.
In addition the Pen-F, while being heavier with a lens, isn't actually bigger than the X100V. Combine the latter with a lens hood and it is almost as long as a Pen-F with a small f1.8 prime without a hood attached.
