Hubs' new toy!

What did i get for Hubs birthday this year?

A Fujifilm FinePix X100
click here for more on Review Cnet

The good: Cool retro design; great picture quality even at high ISOs; unique hybrid viewfinder; leaf shutter mechanism for quiet operation.

The bad: Confusing menu structure; rear controls a bit messy; performance a bit sluggish.

The bottom line: The X100's design, hybrid viewfinder and image quality are its strengths, but it won't satisfy users who want a camera that delivers snappy performance.

Review:

Looking at the FinePix X100 is like peeking into a page of the history of cameras. After all, it was modeled after old rangefinder cameras, such as the Canon QL17 and Minolta Hi-Matic 7, which were popular in the 1970s. The retro styling brings about a sense of nostalgia for older shutterbugs, while the trendier crowd may find such a design to be unique and cool.

Given that retro seems to be the trend for camera designs nowadays, it's no wonder that the X100 made waves in the imaging industry and among enthusiasts photographers when it was unveiled at last year's Photokina. Its specifications, such as the APS-C-sized image sensor and hybrid optical viewfinder, are also strong features that pit the Fujifilm against the likes of the Sigma DP2s and Leica X1.

The FinePix was scheduled to ship in March, and few shipments made their way around the world before Japan, where the X100 is manufactured, was struck by the massive 9.0 earthquake. Production was halted for a short while, and this drove up the FinePix's price on eBay. Some units were selling for US$2,000, much more than its recommended retail price of US$1,299 (S$1,699). At the time this review was published, a quick check on the Web confirmed that Fujifilm's factories have resumed production of the X100.