I may have managed to find the one remaining X100s here in North America. It arrived yesterday and I started getting used to how it operates. Quirky would probably be the best word to describe the operation of the camera.
I spent a lot of time with the optical and electronic viewfinders as well. The OVF isn't connected to the focus point at all so it can't be used for manual focus, of course. The EVF is pretty laggy, particularly wrt brightness changes. The digital split image MF focus aid is neat and it does work. I find it a little large in the frame.
AF is not overly quick at all. Not nearly as quick as my D800 or D700. The LL review,
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/fuji_x100s_review___fallinin_love_all_over_again.shtml indicates that the two aren't all that dissimilar in terms of focus speed. I have to disagree. Where I really have to take issue with the LL review; however, is with the low light focusing ability. I know it's probably a bit of hyperbole on Nick's part but this camera can't focus in the dark. Not even close. In fact, I'd say the low light AF capability is pretty poor. I tested this in my family room with the TV on, a light on a side table beside my chair on and the room has a small window at the top of one wall - the small, typical basement emergency egress window. The room really wasn't all that dark and the camera struggled to focus. Really struggled. I also tested it in my office which has two computer monitors and a small light that shines through a heavy frosted glass shade. Again, not all that dark and the camera repeatedly couldn't attain focus. I've got the most current firmware, 1.03, installed so any AF updates have been applied. I will add the caveat that I was working with the camera in silent mode. In addition to turning off all camera sounds, this mode also disables the flash and the AF assist light. I'm going to do more testing with the AF assist light enabled. I really don't like all the beeps and chirps the camera makes, hence the preference for silent mode. I think it would be a welcome firmware update to disconnect the flash and AF assist light from the camera sounds being on or off. That said, if the camera truly could 'see in the dark' it wouldn't need the AF assist light. One feature that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere is the DOF indicator in the viewfinder distance scale. The distance scale itself is cool, allowing you to easily pre-focus. But the DOF indicator is also a neat feature that places a white band around the distance mark. This band adjusts as you change focus distance and aperture to give you an 'on the fly' estimate of DOF. Handy.
No images to show as I haven't used it for anything other than grab shots around the house. Hope to get out with it this weekend to put it to use in the field.
In terms of handling, it is small. I have fairly large hands with long fingers and it's a bit of work to hold it comfortably, but certainly not unworkable and over time it'll get better as I get more used to it.
