FujiFilm announced its new FinePix X100 retro-style digital camera, designed to be a slim, compact second camera for DSLR users. Though the X100 does look like FujiFilm’s weapon against mirrorless cameras such as Sony NEX and Micro Four Thirds, the X100 is an interchangeable lens camera system.
The FinePix X100 sports a 12.3 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, the newly-developed EXR Processor, and a 23mm F2 Fujinon Aspherical Lens. One of the main features of the camera is its Hybrid Viewfinder that “combines the window-type ‘bright frame’ optical viewfinder found in high-end film cameras such as 35mm or medium-format cameras, and the electronic viewfinder system incorporated in fixed single lens or mirrorless digital camera”.
FujiFilm’s offers 200-6400 ISO sensitivity. It has a 2.8-inch LCD display and supports SD/SDHC and SDXC memory cards.
Hybrid Viewfinder
The Hybrid Viewfinder on the FinePix X100 combines the window-type “bright frame” optical viewfinder found in high-end film cameras such as 35mm or medium-format cameras, and the electronic viewfinder system incorporated in fixed single lens or mirrorless digital cameras. By using integrating a prism for the 1,440,000 dot LCD panel image on the viewing screen in the reverse-Galilean optical finder, the Hybrid Viewfinder can show both the shooting frame and a variety of shooting data. Of course, it can also be used as a high-quality electronic viewfinder to compose or playback shots. With this ability to instantly switch between optical and electronic viewfinder images with simple “one touch” control. The new Hybrid Viewfinder offers users expanded freedom in the composition and enjoyment of photography in a range of challenging shooting conditions.
While digital compact cameras have become ever slimmer and more compact in recent years, composing and viewing shots on large, higher resolution LCD panels on the back of the camera has become the mainstream practice for today’s users. On the other hand, shooting with an optical viewfinder is the standard practice for conventional film cameras and the preferred method for large numbers of digital camera owners. Many prefer the finder to be as close as possible to the eye so the user can focus attention exclusively on photo composition to get a clear view of the subject without distraction.
While traditionalists prefer the clear, sharp view of an ‘optical’ finder, modern electronic displays, giving data like shutter speed, aperture, white balance, exposure correction and sensitivity can aid the photographer tremendously. The new Hybrid Viewfinder on the FinePix X100 aims to give the user the ‘best of both worlds’.
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