My Fujifilm x100s Has Arrived Today!

My Fujifilm x100s has arrived today. Very nice! As I mentioned in my earlier posts the camera is great and I had a chance to test it even before the official launch of sales earlier this month in Dubai. Now there is a great new addition to my camera/gadget family. Here is a photo if you wonder what's in the box. I have also ordered additional batteries, filter and lens hood, but they are extras. Actually, (for Fujifilm) including the lens hood in the box would be great.

Desert Safari with Fujifilm X100S

As promised I am sharing some color images taken recently with new Fujifilm X100s during my trip to Dubai. You can also view some toned monochrome photos in my previous blog post. Enjoy and feel free to share and leave your comments!

Fujifilm X100S Hands-On And First Impressions

Fujifilm launched the world's fastest autofocus camera X100S. I got my hands on the new model at Gulf Photo Plus 2013 in Dubai last week. I was honored to be invited by Fujifilm ME team to participate at their presentation of new x series cameras and joined them on safari trip afterwards. Here are some photos I took with X100S during this trip. I'm posting some artsy toned photos now and will also share some images in color in the next post. I have to admit that I was quite surprised with the camera performance and image quality.

Fuji’s engineers equipped the X100S with two auto focus systems - contrast and phase-detection. The new hybrid system is designed to ensure quicker and more accurate focusing in a variety of lighting conditions. There are also two new manual focus–assist features, both of which greatly improve the user experience. Now I can say with full confidence that Fuji accomplished what it set out to do.

By the way, David Hobby (Strobist) who also was in Dubai for Gulf Photo Plus 2013, had the privilege of purchasing the first Fujifilm X100S before the official launch of sales. This is what David told about the camera.

1. The chip is fantastic. I was worried that higher pixel density (16mp vs 12 mp) would bring noise problems. Nope, it’s truly awesome. With respect to noise, I estimate it to be one stop better than the X100 chip, a pleasant surprise given the increased pixel density.
2. Autofocus was a relative weak link with the X100, but the X100s is remarkable. Super quick, confidently grabbing focus in low light. Wonderful.
3. Manual focus is not only useable (which I did not consider it to be in the earlier model) but downright fantastic. It sees in the dark. The focus peaking works wonderfully. The changed pitch of the manual focus ring was much-welcomed and is, in my opinion, perfect. Bravo.
4. I found the crossover point for macro focusing to be too far out in the previous model. Thanks so much for letting me focus much closer before going into macro. This is a great evolution from before.
5. The redistribution of the menu controls was both thoughtful and elegant. The “Q” button was an inspiration. Fast, and all of the go-to items right at my fingertips. Great choice on the new location for the AF and Drive buttons, too. Again, very well thought out.

The conclusion: “This camera is pretty close to perfect for what it purports to be”.

Gulf Photo Plus 2013

I wanted to attend Gulf Photo Plus last year, but missed it for some personal reasons, so this year I made my best to be a part of this event. If you love photography, you will really love Gulf Photo Plus. GPP2013 annual event is the region's biggest & only photography festival bringing the world's best photographers and instructors to Dubai to share their knowledge and experience with the Middle East and Africa's professional and amateur photography community. Alongside the awesome workshops at GPP2013 there were lots of other special events and activities (many of which were completely free of charge).

I had a chance to attend Joe McNally's "Telling Stories With Light", Peter Hurley's "The Art behind the Headshot", Gregory Heisler's "A Philosophy of Light" seminars and John Keatley's "Lighting for editorial portraiture"  workshop. Below are some photos taken during GPP2013 workshops. 

The funniest part of GPP2013 was the legendary Shout Out. Three of the visiting photographers competed against each other in a battle to make the best photograph of an undisclosed subject. They had just 20 minutes to shoot and process their image live on stage, with commentary (and the obligatory heckling) from their fellow photogs Joe McNally and David Hobby. Zack Arias, John Keatley and Lindsay Adler were put under pressure this year and the challenge was to make a portrait of Gregory Heisler. 

... and here is the winning photo of GPP2013 shoot out by Zack Arias

Photo Courtesy Gulf Photo Plus

It was a wonderful week and unforgettable experience with amazing people.