Newbie question about X100V

[Rene Theberge]

Hi,

I'm on the verge of purchasing a new X100V after looking at it for some time.  I'm coming from the Olympus M4/3 system which I've been very happy with for several years.  My reason for wanting to switch is simple: weight!  I've developed enough arthritis in my hands and wrists that holding my current system is getting difficult.  The X100V will be almost half the weight.  

My question is how difficult is getting  a new X100V up and running.  I read through the manual  (at least as much as I could stand) and it seemed that setting up the camera to one's specs is not for the faint hearted.  This camera seems meet all my needs, but  I guess I'm wondering what people's experience is coming to it from another system.  This would be my first Fuji camera, so no prior experience.  I ask, in part, because the Oly menu system was no joke and took quite awhile to get used to.  

Thanks for your help.

Rene

 

[miketrank]

Hi Rene. There is a learning curve but not so bad. There are YouTube videos on settings and discussions and tips on forums.  You can start simple choosing a simulation you like, go fully automatic or shutter or aperture priority mode, turn the exposure compensation dial as desired and start taking brilliant photos; then grow from there. 

[Herco]

My suggestion would be to go to a good retailer and bring your Olympus as well. They can help you transfer your preferences to the Fuji menu. When you buy a $1400 camera these days you're entitled to some support and at the same time you help your community retailer against the moguls like Amazon or similar. That's usually worth the extra $50 or so...

In my experience at least 90% of all options are set once and never touched again. That remaining 10% can be handled through the Fn buttons or in My Menu and be direct accessed from there. 

[abmet]

I just picked up my X100V a few weeks ago so I’m still getting used to it. I came from Nikon SLRs for last 25 years and hasn’t been too difficult. I watched few videos around settings and setup and have been tweaking the function buttons to the things I’ve found myself changing the most. I’d definitely watch some videos, as that helped me a lot with the settings and Q menu. I’m sure I’ll continue to try different options as I use it more. It hasn’t been too difficult so far and actually for me has been fun messing around with the different settings and simulation recipes.  I had not been taking my DSLR with me as often so part of my reason for looking at the X100V was it’s size and the rave reviews I was seeing. Has me excited to shoot again.  
I’ve also been playing around with the Fujifilm X Raw Studio software since it uses the camera for raw conversions and can easily save different film simulation recipes I’ve found on various sites and try them with saved raw photos to see if want to save them into one of the 7 custom slots.  
 

edit-

I forgot one thing that I struggled with initially was after using one of the 7 custom settings the settings would stay when changing the built in film simulation. Meaning if my custom setting 5 was using Classic Chrome had grain on or shadow adjustments and I wanted to change to use Provia with no adjustments, those settings were still applied.  I wanted there to be a default, so I changed the custom settings slot 1 to have all shooting settings set to their default and can apply with quick button press. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by abmet

[Herco]

On 4/3/2021 at 4:55 PM, abmet said:

I’ve also been playing around with the Fujifilm X Raw Studio software since it uses the camera for raw conversions and can easily save different film simulation recipes I’ve found on various sites and try them with saved raw photos to see if want to save them into one of the 7 custom slots.  

You may also want to check-out the free version of Capture One Express for Fujifilm. It lacks a few pro-features that can be found in the paid version, but it has all the film simulations and doesn't require the camera to be connected. Good to know about X Raw Studio: it only works with the exact same type of camera with which the image was shot. So if you ever upgrade your X100V to another Fuji model, you can't reprocess your X100V images through X Raw Studio anymore.

[Herco]

On 4/3/2021 at 4:55 PM, abmet said:

I forgot one thing that I struggled with initially was after using one of the 7 custom settings the settings would stay when changing the built in film simulation. Meaning if my custom setting 5 was using Classic Chrome had grain on or shadow adjustments and I wanted to change to use Provia with no adjustments, those settings were still applied.  I wanted there to be a default, so I changed the custom settings slot 1 to have all shooting settings set to their default and can apply with quick button press. 

Correct. Whenever you've defined a custom profile under the Q menu and you make one-off changes to that (e.g. change the film simulation or the shadow value) the camera will remember that setting. You have to actively select the original custom profile again to go back to it. The active profile is called Base (e.g. C3 Base) whereas the original one is just 'C3'. A bit confusing, but it is designed on the idea that the current camera setting should always prevail if you switch off and on your camera. 

[abmet]

10 hours ago, Herco said:

You may also want to check-out the free version of Capture One Express for Fujifilm. It lacks a few pro-features that can be found in the paid version, but it has all the film simulations and doesn't require the camera to be connected. Good to know about X Raw Studio: it only works with the exact same type of camera with which the image was shot. So if you ever upgrade your X100V to another Fuji model, you can't reprocess your X100V images through X Raw Studio anymore.

That’s good information, thanks!

[BillB.]

I've been shooting Micro 4/3 with Olympus E-M1 and Olympus Pen-F.  Last June, I decided to purchase the Fuji X100V. and I'm glad that I did.  I'd say that the set-up for the X100V does take some time.  In fact, you may well change your mind two or three times along the way about how you'd like to set the camera.  I'd predict that it will take some weeks for sure until you're comefortable with the camera.  But it really is a wonderful machine.  Especially if you're into .jpeg shooting and film simulation.

As far as use of a light weight camera.  Do you own, or have you tried the Olympus Pen-F.  If you don't care about film simulation (a Fuji strength), the Pen-F is a small camera that takes interchangable lenses.  And the Olympus menu is far easier to navigate and the camera far easier to set-up.

Bill