Sean Reid Fuji X100 review - with X1 comparisons

[UliWer]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Pay sites are for gearheads... Don't get me wrong, I like gear, but once you start paying for reviews it seems to be a whole different level IMO.

 

Is there any printed magazine/book/or what so ever - which is usually paid for - and which has a content comparable to ReidReviews? I don't know one.

 

As far as quality of photographs is concerned I don't find the examples in Reidreviews any worse than those examples in printed media which deal with photographic gear.

[barjohn]

I have to disagree with some here as I find Sean to be a highly competent photographer with interesting images that tell a story and capture the moment better than 90% of the images I see posted on this forum. He doesn't revert to gimmickry like making a picture grainy or just shooting people in miserable circumstances but instead focuses on "real life moments" which he captures brilliantly, whether a wedding or a dance recital.

[prk60091]

W/flash any site is a non-starter. 99%of my surfing is done on my iPad which won't do flash. Any content provider has to consider the consequences of having content available only through flash. This is 2011 not 1996, multiple versions of a site for multiple browsers. This forum has mobile optimized pages.

[UliWer]

It's true that using Flash for the site makes it slower and less accessible.

 

I think officially Reid uses Flash to avoid illegal copying of his work.

 

Though I sometimes suspect there is another reason: He is just not interested in the quick and easy consumption of what he does. May be or not. I am glad that there are still people using the web, who insist that writing and reading is not about jogging but about working and thinking.

[timd.]

Though I sometimes suspect there is another reason: He is just not interested in the quick and easy consumption of what he does. May be or not. I am glad that there are still people using the web, who insist that writing and reading is not about jogging but about working and thinking.

 

if that's the reason he should change the language every two or three sentences.

honestly, slower and reading-device-limited access, provoke more thinking. you pay for the work sean has done, not for the work it takes you to read it.

[packlite]

Forgive me if I'm offtopic here, but .... never heard of Sean Reid so can't enter into that argument, but regarding the subject of "X100 review - with X1 comparisons" which is what brought me to this thread, is there any worthwhile info that anyone who has read the review can share.

 

Nothing detailed that might infringe on the person's privacy issues, but in general, does the review give the X1 positive comparison with the X100 and if so, in what way ?

 

I ordered and will receive my X1 this Weds. I am also atop a couple of X100 waiting lists here in the US. Even after all the verbiage and opinions thus far published on the web, I am still looking for more info to educate me on the two cameras.

 

thanks

 

charles

[wda]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Charles, welcome to the Forum!

With an X1 due in two days time and a Fuji X100 also in the offing, you will better placed than most members to form your own conclusions on their relative merits and, perhaps, share them with us.

[h00ligan]

It's simple: copyright issues! Writing nowadays is not considered by the majority to be real work and worth paying for. The everything-for-free-internet-culture makes it hard to stay objective, put a lot of work into some project and be able to make a living out of it for a considerable space of time. All those other free websites posting camera comparisons and insights are heavily ad-financed and therefore not objective.

 

So you have to choose: Cope with Mr Reids suboptimal flash-format or read articles for free where you don't know who paid for.

 

I wish people would appreciate that and stop beating on him.

 

Mike

 

P.S. I know flash is not a real protection against copyright breeches, but it seems to raise the bars enough for most of the average surfers to keep them from copying his writing and putting it to some other webpages and/or forums.

 

Fwiw if I wanted to I could use a readily available flash decompiler to extract the text. There are also many many pay wall sites that have much larger copyright issues, but don't limit to the primitive method.

 

I see some citing they base m lens purchases on his site..I can see that..and if one is primarily an m shooter, it's probably helpful. For the rest, not so much.

 

I don't think anyone beats on him, even with the flash layout there are modernizations he could make...split the article, don't preload everything, and add some design to the site. It's a bad site (not speaking content here) and could use a serious redesign. That's pretty indisputable. The value of reviews will vary per subscriber, I just think it's important to put forth an opposing view when so many seem to think it's the grail.

 

No harm was meant, just offering an opinion, as did the op...though probably not a popular one. I do think trying to assign any more thought or assumption about his intentions to keeping the site as is aside from, it's easier..is stretching it.

 

There are plenty of ways to slow down readers..first and foremost, write well.

[TEBnewyork]

I see some citing they base m lens purchases on his site..I can see that..and if one is primarily an m shooter, it's probably helpful. For the rest, not so much.

 

 

I think Sean is very committed to compact cameras with large sensors so X1, X100, Sigma(s), Ricoh GXR, m4/3 etc. If that is the the type of camera you are looking for there is a wealth of information and the pros and cons of each relative to each other get discussed. So, yes M lens buyers have a lot that they can look at to evaluate lenses but it is not the only focus of his site.

[eelekim]

Isn't this thread about X100 and X1?

 

Anyway, I like Reid's reviews and articles on general photography topics. They're helpful to me.

[gjames9142]

Charles. You're going to have to subscribe to find out the fine differences between the two cameras. Sean actually warns people that this one is a long and difficult read and they are going to need a lot of time to process the information. Generally I get the sense that this camera needs a firmware update even more than the X-1 did. In general I have great respect for Sean. He is a serious photographer in a certain tradition that is not too popular around here. I do not look to this forum for any kind of aesthetic advice or even interesting photographs. But it is really good if you need to get the dust off your sensor or buy a sexy strap.

[UliWer]

After reading so much about the slowness of Reidreviews, I looked on my watch when I started the article about the X 100. It was about 32sec until I had it completely on my desktop. The X100 takes about 2.2 sec.to wake it up - according to Reid's article.

[stunsworth]

It takes 32 seconds to activate a camera???

[TEBnewyork]

It takes 32 seconds to activate a camera???

 

no

[delander †]

I used to subscribe to Reid Reviews but found the flash format very annoying making the site difficult to read etc.

 

I dont mind paying for content but having paid then I expect access to it, not just for one year. My magazines dont self destruct 1 year after I have bought them.

 

Jeff

[dkCambridgeshire]

you call something that makes you buy additional lenses you wouldn't have missed otherwise cost effective?

 

The reviews have identified lenses with possible/probable production QA issues and thus I avoided buying them and considered alternatives. One wide angle lens in particular has known QA issues ie ok if you get a good'un but could be a load of rubbish if you end up with a Friday afternoon job.

 

Read Sean's reviews to find out which I'm referring to.

 

dunk

[Matus Kalisky]

The technical aspects of the webpage aside, Sean does write his reviews in a bit round about way. If you just want to browse quickly through to pick some main points you may be disappointed. But if you have the time and patience (I needed more than half an hour for the current version of the X100 review ..) then I find that he actually does a very good job on giving you the feeling how the camera actually feels and behaves in use. Combining his opinion together with review from Steve Huff and DPreview one gets as close as possible to what the camera actually can do. The next step is to get one and try yourself

[niarfe]

h00ligan, I agry whit you , I was suscribed and it was a time and money wasted.

One question to you, I see you live in Scottsdale, AZ I´ll be in Phoenix next May 28, pickup a Harley in Eagle Riders rentals and cross the country , is there a good place to buy film and some more stuff ??

 

Best

[glenerrolrd]

i only trust a reviewer if he is able to take great pictures...

 

Wow that is pretty much nonsense . I know half a dozen quite famous and competent photographers that know less about current equipment than the average forum poster . Its simply not the center of their world . In fact when I do workshops and have portfolio reviews most ask me questions about my 2 M9s .

 

Ultimately only using the camera in the style that fits your personally will provide the answer. But I have found that understanding the reviewer and their perspective can be critical in understanding the reviews.

 

Sean Reid enjoys street shooting and clearly is a big fan of the Leica M s . His testing is very rigorous ..yet he provides a personal perspective that is priceless (to me). Because he has used M s forever ...thats his standard and he can compare and contrast everything to an M . That works for me .

 

Diglloyd also has excellent reviews of Leica equipment and others . His type of shooting is however very different than mine. He shoots primarily landscape and is bothered by anything that steals from ultimate edge to edge image quality.

 

Contrast the two reviewers ...of the new Noctilux ... for a street photographer a Noctilux is about available light photography . For a landscape photographer its about working with a limited DOF .

 

Both are very competent equipment reviewers and I have learned a lot from them . Yet I would not book mark their websites as examples of great photography . (and they both may have great stuff but they aren t selling their photographic skills ..they are equipment reviewers ).

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[phancj]

Mods,

 

IMHO shouldnt this thread be in the x100 thread?

 

CJ