Pixiq

Oh my! How retro-tastically pretty is the new Fuji FinePix X100? We’ve been drooling over the 23mm fixed focus compact camera here in the Small Aperture mansion, and whilst we might not be able to lay our desirous and grubby paws on it until early 2011, it is high on our wish lists for its aesthetics alone!

Fuji's gorgeous-looking FinePix X100

Fuji seem to be ludicrously proud of this new offering. They really think that its 23mm f/2 lens, along with an APS-C sensor and the new hybrid viewfinder is going to be the pocket-sized alternative for photographers who usually favour an SLR. Fuji say that they’ve built this one from the bottom up, focusing on the lens and sensor to ensure that picture quality is as high as it can possibly be. And there’s something else that the Fuji peeps are very excited about.

It’s the hybrid viewfinder. It combines a traditional window-type ‘bright frame’ optical viewfinder with an electronic viewfinder. And they’ve managed this by integrating a prism for the LCD panel image on the viewing screen in the optical viewfinder. Maybe a diagram’s what you need?

Fuji's new hybrid viewfinder, combining optical and electronic modes

If you’re wondering what this offers, you can use the hybrid viewfinder to see the shooting frame together with all sorts of interesting information—you know, aperture, ISO, shutter speed, even a horizontal level—or you can play back your images. And you can switch between optical or electronic viewfinder images at the flick of a, ehm, switch.

From the back

The sensor is a 12.3 megapixel APS-C one that they’ve developed just for this camera. And they reckon that in combination with the 23mm f/2 lens you’ll be capturing great images, whatever ISO you’re using. Oh, and because the lens doesn’t retract, it’s ready to go as soon as you press the power button.

You can shoot on auto mode, or change to manual, aperture priority, or shutter priority mode. You can customise some of your settings, too, which generally makes life a little bit easier. Of course you get an HD movie-recording function, too; it even has stereo sound.

Whether or not a 23mm fixed focus lens is what people will be looking for in a compact camera remains to be seen, but oh it is pretty!

More information from the Fuji website, but sadly nothing that indicates price.