Leica style Fuji Finepix X100 price €1000. News and picture gallery

Fuji Finepix X100 news report

Fuji Finepix X100

Leica-like Fuji Finepix X100 price ?1000

Fuji?s forthcoming Finepix X100 APS-C digital compact camera will be priced around ?1000 when it is launched in spring 2011, according to a spokesman on the Fuji stand at the photokina show in Germany. The classic rangefinder style 12-million-pixel X100 will feature a dual optical/electronic viewfinder that will combine the best of both worlds, Fuji says, and will be fitted with a non-interchangeable 23mm f/2 Fujinon lens that will perform as a 35mm focal length would on a 135-system camera. Designed as a luxury body, the camera will be made with magnesium alloy top and bottom plates, and will have full-metal dials and a high quality optical system.

The new 12.3 million pixel CMOS sensor has been designed with off-centre micro lenses over pixels at the corners of the frame. This is to enhance light collecting abilities in areas that can suffer from shading (vignetting) in systems in which the rear lens element is close to the imaging sensor. A similar design was used in the Epson RD1 rangefinder and is still used in Lecia?s M9 camera. Fuji says the sensor has a completely new construction that aims to reduce noise, enhance dynamic range and to perform high speed readout for controlling the AF system. A spokesman for Fuji told AP that he expects the dynamic range performance to exceed that of the company?s last digital SLR, the Finepix S5.

The MTF charts show the point at which the corner pixels are fitted with shifted micro lenses as the resolution begins to fall but then picks up again

A lever switch on the front of the camera, where the bright line preview lever would normally be, can be used to alternate between a standard optical viewfinder and the camera?s 1.44 million dot LCD electronic viewfinder. In normal mode the camera displays brightline guides and shooting information projected into the viewfinder?s optical path, but by pulling the lever an electronic viewfinder is displayed that will give the user a better idea of exposure levels, white balance accuracy, depth of field and, in close focus situations, a parallax-free view of what will be captured by the sensor.

The electronic viewfinder will also feature a virtual level, though it isn?t clear at the moment whether this will offer forward-tilt directions as well as left-right rotation. An ambient light sensor will regulate the brightness of the projected information display in the optical viewfinder to suit the shooting conditions.

The camera?s new powerful EXR processor will control the focusing system using information gathered by the imaging sensor, and Fuji claims AF will be very fast and shutter lag extremely low.

The f/2 23mm lens will be constructed using eight elements in six groups, and will be fitted with a nine-blade iris for smooth rendering of out of focus highlights. The fixed lens will be ready to shoot from the moment the camera is switched on as it will not need to shift itself into position. A closest focus distance of 10cm is listed, and a built-in 3EV neutral density filter can be used to extend the range of conditions in which the f/2 aperture can be used as well as allowing longer shutter speeds when they are required.

Fuji S-Pro rumours emerge last Aprilcolor>