Thursday, July 10, 2014

Torn between X100S or X-Pro1

I am heading to London later in the evening, and surely this long haul flight is gonna suck *$$. I love travelling but i hate the flying part. One, there's the long flight, crammed in a confined space, cant straighten your legs, and the elbow resting invasion. its either you or him, that get to rest their elbow on the elbow rest. i love the aisle but this time i got checked in the middle like sandwiches, sitting next to a stranger. I'm socially retard and i'm not good at making small talks. breaking the ice is worst. Two, there's that thing called turbulence. Man, i hate it when the plane trembles, shaking like you're in a cocktail shaker. Thats when you'll remember god. Oh please god, save me. Third, take offs and landings, especially take offs, my mind goes wild when the plane starts rising at 45 degree angle, the plane at full throttle against the wind, i hate my life for seeing that youtube video where the plane take offs and rise to an angle of 90 degree upwards (thats a straight line upwards) and goes round all the way till 180 and boom. i'm not sure if i was looking at a real plane or a big scale model that looked like the real thing. but still that thing look real as sh!t. and me being a worrier, i have a lot of negative things in my mind when flying.

Travelling to London plus Italy, is a photography opportunity, be it street, buildings, landscape and snapshot photography. and dont forget food photography! So which camera is the best? I have the x100s and the X-pro1 but bringing both is not an option. i dont want to lug 2 cameras for travelling. Just not my style. i love photography but i'm not really that 'serious' into it, what it really means is that i'm not about to bring a tripod, 2 cameras, few lenses, and do long exposure shots. Mostly i just get away with snapshots. I want to enjoy more on the travelling, exploring the city and the camera is just for recording the memories. I dont want it to be a burden. and i'm not about to sell a poster of the tower bridge or the tower of pisa. I just need one camera. The ultimate camera.

Both have their pros and cons. I've already decided to bring the X100S but i'm having second thoughts.  I prefer the JPEG images that i got out of it compare to the X-pro1. I found that there's more headroom for editing the X100S Jpegs. and its more punchy and contrasty compare to the X-pro1 but to be honest they're similar but x100s is better/cleaner. Speaking of cleaner thats also the cons of the X100S, the noise reduction is too aggressive at high ISOs. Skins would turn to plastic or wax. I love shooting low light and indoors, thats the worst light for taking pictures of humans with the X100s, ISO bumped up to 3200 - 6400 and humans turns to mannequins. I used to love Fuji skin rendering and when my eyes were 'open', it was actually the effect of aggressive noise reduction. i wish i could turn off the NR or turn off my NR 'eyes'. Maybe future firmwares but i doubt it, it seems that the NR is built into the sensor. Oh wait, they said RAW did not have this wax skin problem. I havent try it though.

The X-pro1 is much more versatile as the lens can zoom. i have the 18-55 kit lens. and its also one of the reason that i didnt want to bring it with me. its just too long. Not DSLR long, but its no compact too. I want a smaller camera, thats where the X100S shines. Its size being smaller than the X-pro1 makes it much easier to bring it anywhere. But since i acquire the Wide Converter Lens, it's always on the camera. and it adds a considerable amount of length. I love 28mm. Just nice wide angle. Really good for taking pictures of the city. More objects/subjects to fit in. But the size of the X100S is now similar to the X-pro1. Arghh. Choices, Choices.

If i remember correctly, the reason i bought the X-pro1 is for this planned trip and GAS. I have a love and hate relationship with this camera. I love it and then i hate it. I just recently used this camera for my evening coffee with friends. and i'm in love with it again. its like an old fling. Sometimes the feelings just comes back. LOL. I love how it feels good in my hands. But i also bought the WCL for my X100S for this trip. WCL is a much more recent purchase. and i love the versatility. 28mm? no problem. 35mm? perfect! But i have 3 batteries for the X-pro1, surely thats enough. I only have 2 for the x100s which i still doubt if its enough for a day. The battery life on the X100s sucks.

Looking at both cameras, i love how handsome the X-pro1 look and i kinda have a change of heart.
Sorry X100s.

You're still coming with me.

Below are photos taken from iphone4 OOC.
Almost similar in size but the X-pro1 is bigger. Sorry for that messy desk.

 X-pro1 is definitely longer and bigger

The WCL fitted to the X100S makes it similar in size to the X-pro1.
Choices, choices


I'm stopping by Dubai on the way to London, i might get myself a Ricoh GR.

Oooops.

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