X100 in the post

Saturday evening I buckled. I ordered the X100, and not just any X100 (no, not that X100 either, I have that already), I ordered the black limited edition Fujifilm FinePix X100. They say that many of the quirks that people complained about in the original reviews have been improved upon in the upgraded firmware, so that's good. Earlier you had to test stuff, now with the Internetz you can just read a ton of reviews.

The online photographer:
Fuji Finepix X100 Review by Ken Tanaka.
Shooting with a Fuji X100 by Robert Plotkin.

Luminous Landscape:
Fujifilm X100 On Test by Michael Reichmann.
Fujifilm X100 Follow-up Report by Michael Reichmann.

Reid Reviews (pay-site, but well worth it):
Fuji X100
Fuji X100 at the "Strolling Of The Heifers"
Fuji X100 New Firmware
Fuji X100 (Four Window-finder Cameras)

Zack Arias:
Fuji X100 :: Review

Steve Huff Photo:
Everything tagged X100

I have also had a touch and a feel. Both on the X100 and the NEX7. The NEX7 sits more like a small SLR in hand than I would have thought. You automatically grip the lens with a solid under-grip because otherwise it gets front-heavy, while the X100 have an excellent one-hand balance. Like a rangefinder, but lighter, much lighter. In my book that was 1 - 0 to the X100.

Then we have the finders. In my limited, in-store, testing I would say that the electronic part of the finders are about equally good. Keep in mind I couldn't test them both at once because I had to go to different stores. However, the window-finder in the X100 with digital overlay is possibly the best new idea in photography in ages. It's not as large and bright as a Leica finder, but it is not bad. That's 2 - 0 to the X100.

Then the NEX7 has a higher resolution, and a better sensor-score at base-ISO. So 2 - 1. But the X100 has a much better high-ISO performance, 3 - 1.

Finally the Black, limited edition X100 is just so much sexier than the NEX7, or the the silver X100 for that matter, or any non Leica M. That makes it 4 - 1.

It ships today.