90 replies to this topic

[Halfa]

Nearly everyday I have a look to see what looks like a good deal on eBay here in Australia and recently I've been very surprised to see how many X100S get listed - Leica X1s are rare and you virtually never see a Ricoh GXR.

Occasionally you see someone mention that they bought it for their wife thinking it would be perfect but she didn't like it but usually there's no reason given.

There is the possibility that just as everyone is selling off 5d2s and d700s for the new models Fugi owners are flocking to X-Pro1 - any ideas?

[MickeyT]

I sold my Nikon D300 to move into a Black X100. Awesome camera. Not sure why a lot of people are listing there X100 on ebay. Maybe the SAB problems have some thing to do with it. I have not had any problems with mine as yet, only time will tell I guess.

[flysurfer]

I suspect many are upgrading to the X-Pro1.

[MarcBC]

I am thinking of selling my X100. Purely and simply due to having the X Pro 1. As much as I love the X100, it now sits in a draw completelty unused.

I did try giving the X100 to my wife (a P&S shooter) but she had no interest due to the apparent complexity of using it.

Therefore I may sell it to recoup some of the X Pro 1 cost

[gjk]

I only know, why so many people are buying a X100, also via E-bay!

[JSRockit]

Nearly everyday I have a look to see what looks like a good deal on eBay here in Australia and recently I've been very surprised to see how many X100S get listed - Leica X1s are rare and you virtually never see a Ricoh GXR.

The Fuji X100 sold a lot more than the Leica X1 and Ricoh combined... a lot more.

Also, just because people are selling doesn't make it a bad camera or mean there is something wrong with it. Some people just are in a constant upgrade cycle. It is easy to buy and very easy to sell these days. Not everyone gets attached to inanimate objects.

[cfsalicath]

I would guess people are eighter upgrading to the X-pro, or they never got comfortable with the rangefinder-ish handling and are too unpatient to wait. Today, one hardly use a camera for any significant time, and once they really get to know it there is an upgrade coming to keep the market up. Leica hasn't upgraded the X1 yet - why would they, it's a great camera! That is probably why there are few selling them.

I thought of upgrading myself, but with the X100 being an awesome camera and the X-pro so expencive, I'll hang on to it. Also, I have used my X100 so much that it doesn't have any resale value next to cameras that have sat bored in someones wifes pocket for a year, mine is real battered!

[Matthew Richards]

Nearly everyday I have a look to see what looks like a good deal on eBay here in Australia and recently I've been very surprised to see how many X100S get listed - Leica X1s are rare and you virtually never see a Ricoh GXR.

Occasionally you see someone mention that they bought it for their wife thinking it would be perfect but she didn't like it but usually there's no reason given.

There is the possibility that just as everyone is selling off 5d2s and d700s for the new models Fugi owners are flocking to X-Pro1 - any ideas?

Maybe they never bothered to learn how to use the X100 and just loved its cool looks thinking it would instantly turn them into a photojournalist! Unlike the rest of us who use the X100 to make some of the best images currently being produced by a digital camera...just a thought!

[JSRockit]

Leica hasn't upgraded the X1 yet - why would they, it's a great camera! That is probably why there are few selling them.

May 10th for the X2 supposedly.

[Halfa]

Maybe they never bothered to learn how to use the X100 and just loved its cool looks thinking it would instantly turn them into a photojournalist! Unlike the rest of us who use the X100 to make some of the best images currently being produced by a digital camera...just a thought!

I think there may be quite a lot to this idea - I rashly bought an Olympus EPL1 sometime back thinking that it would a handy answer for quick snaps but I hated the thing from the moment I got it, fortunately my brother in law's P&S fell to bits roughly at the same time and given that he sees me as owning a camera shop I passed it on to him - he thinks its fabulous. The point of this story is that if I asked him to use the X100 for family pics with me in them, he would probably freak out when I started to explain what he had to do to take some pictures.

Yep I'm going along with the "couldn't learn how to use it" line

[mdwsta4]

Have been debating on what to do with mine for the last month or two. I love the look of it and it fits in well with my vintage camera collection, but it's an expensive camera to have sitting around just for show. While I love the 35mm focal length, I don't see myself really carrying it around when I have both 28mm and 50mm focal lengths on the X-Pro1.

[Bashar AR]

because most people assume its an SLR or a point of shoot and its Neither. Most people think of a camera these days like the one on there mobile phone, see a face and press a button...I know for sure that my mom would sell the X100 for a $100 point and shoot if i gave it to her!

[robertj]

I guess the same question could be asked of D7000s, T3is, 7Ds, and many other digitals that are all over ebay and are fairly contemporary to the x100.

[golgo13]

We are witnessing a technology culture where people are constantly buying and selling equipment because new equipment comes out. Look at how many reviews come out about every single piece of technology, especially cameras. All these people doing reviews on cameras and hardly anyone shooting work worth trusting their review. The manufacture knows this and keeps pumping out new technology that will eventually be old unwanted tech by the masses. People sell everything.

I would never buy and X-Pro1 over an x100 but I have strong reasons for that. Others would say they would never buy an x100 over an X-Pro1 and I would understand why. People will sell the X-Pro1 as soon as something new is announced. The key is to stop buying every camera that comes out and start investing in your photography education.

[Bonner01]

Mine now has around 13,000 shots on it and I am still learning how to use it. As long as it keeps working, I will keep it.
BTW, if a full frame version comes out some day, my wife gets it and I use the new one!

[Matthew Richards]

Mine now has around 13,000 shots on it and I am still learning how to use it. As long as it keeps working, I will keep it.
BTW, if a full frame version comes out some day, my wife gets it and I use the new one!

I would say that's much in keeping with my thoughts on this camera. I would keep this X100 until they no longer provide service for it, other than a full frame version, I see very little need to search for more - and i am still learning, even the other day i kicked myself for not having experimented earlier with spot metering!

[gojira]

I think there may be quite a lot to this idea - I rashly bought an Olympus EPL1 sometime back thinking that it would a handy answer for quick snaps but I hated the thing from the moment I got it, fortunately my brother in law's P&S fell to bits roughly at the same time and given that he sees me as owning a camera shop I passed it on to him - he thinks its fabulous. The point of this story is that if I asked him to use the X100 for family pics with me in them, he would probably freak out when I started to explain what he had to do to take some pictures.

Yep I'm going along with the "couldn't learn how to use it" line

I understand this - I own 2 EP-2 bodies and a few lenses, but the camera that goes with me all the time now is the X100. It's not that I love the Olys less, I just love the X100 more.

[masty]

I've have a love-hate relationship with my X100. I've even tried selling it. I've had offers but none to match my expectations. All in all, i actually love the camera (at the moment). It's the two emotional extremes i have for the camera that makes me keep it. It takes great pictures and it makes you work for your pictures too, which is part of the joy and pain of photography I suppose. If it was a camera i didnt give two hoots for i would sell it on.

I get the impression that most people sell because it just wasnt what they expected. Point and shooters found it too complicated, experienced photographers, found the operational side of things not to their exacting standards (hence all the firmware updates to get it to where it should be), and people expecting a rangefinder but realising it isnt one afterall. so that initial joy of getting one is soon met with disappointment I suppose.

That said, i reckon the reasons for people selling the X100 are no different thatn the reasons people sell on other cameras.

[Iansky]

I suspect the reasons there appears to be a lot of people selling their X100's are two fold:

1. A fair few X100 owners are moving to the X-Pro1 and using the X100 sale as collateral
2. A lot of people appeared to have purchased their X100 on either impulse from the hype, or on the looks and once they discover it is a camera that is not a "Point & shoot" but one that needs some thought and experience to get the best from, they are put off.

I am delighted with my X100 and since the latest firmware update, it now meets all my requirements and produces superb images that for me surpass those I used to get from my recently departed Leica M8.2 + 28mm lens.

It is a camera suitable for just about everything except perhaps sport and I have used mine for street/landscape/nightshots and portraits and cannot fault its performance or IQ (the AF is a very different animal now than it was with firmware 1.1).

I am still pondering the X-Pro1 but may well get rid of my DSLR kit that is now used twice a year and keep the X100 - more time needed to ponder and read real owner/user feedback.

[Krowland]

I sold my X100 along with my 5DII to fund the purchase of the X-Pro1 and 3 lenses. The X-Pro became my daily go to camera. My 7D remains my action/fast moving subject/sports camera.

Despite no RAW support yet, I love the X-Pro and can only imagine what will really be possible when we are able to dig into the details of those RAW files.

[mark_l]

The camera has a lot of hype and for many I’m not sure it lived up to it in use. It takes a competent knowledge of photography, some patience and some research to really get to grips with it and after the 100th shot of their kids was out of focus patience ran out.

There is now a lot of competition in the small camera market with most manufacturers jumping in seeing their low end dslr sales being eroded. The retail price has tumbled for £999 to £680ish and there are other models from oly, panasonic, nikon, sony and also fuji themselves. I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t rather have a NEX7 sometimes.

[davek]

The camera has a lot of hype and for many I’m not sure it lived up to it in use. It takes a competent knowledge of photography, some patience and some research to really get to grips with it and after the 100th shot of their kids was out of focus patience ran out.

The fact is that many people, like me, sold it on because of the poor autofocus performance. Completely unsatisfactory given the competition out there now (or indeed 3 years ago). Build quality not what it should be. A very poor diopter adjustment (but better then the X pro's!). Of course if your subjects are not moving then it's probably a great camera.

Every week my heart says "I should buy another" but my head says "don't!"

That OMD is looking good!

[Halfa]

The fact is that many people, like me, sold it on because of the poor autofocus performance. Completely unsatisfactory given the competition out there now (or indeed 3 years ago). Build quality not what it should be. A very poor diopter adjustment (but better then the X pro's!). Of course if your subjects are not moving then it's probably a great camera.

Every week my heart says "I should buy another" but my head says "don't!"

That OMD is looking good!

I've only had mine for a couple of weeks, my reason for buying it was that I'd changed over the lighting in my art gallery to low power LEDs and neither my M8 nor Oly E-3 could handle the drop in overall ambient light and pictures of opening events for our blogs etc became very difficult indeed. Like you I was surprised at its fairly ordinary build quality, how true the focus issues were and some almost fascist Fujisms that illogically demanded that I delve into the menus when I least expected to. But all that said when it comes to handling the low light stuff it's truly amazing - no more being forced to use the M8 + 35/1.2 wide open at ridiculous speeds producing pretty arty looking snaps of events.

The 35mm on the X100 is perfect for this kind of work - so I feel that I did the right thing, image quality is very good but I'm not going to be one of those that says its better than the Leica - I don't think it even comes close when the M8 is able to operate the narrow band that it likes.

Re OMD, I'm fairly suspicious of what Oly m43 does to reduce noise having compared EPLI-1 files to E-3.

[Ivophoto]

Isn't it a more realistic idea that a fair share of the selling peoples came to the conclusion the X100 is an unreliable, bloated and disappointing piece of shit? (I'm not saying the latter is necessarily 100% correct :-) )

It is almost pathetic to see how many X100 users keep turning in rounds to convince themselves they have the camera of the century.

If I read above that some still have the feeling not completely understand the X100 after 13.000 shots, it drops my pants off. (Freely translated Flemisch saying) Or one is completely dumb, or the X100 is a piece of wrongly engineered photo equipment. And without knowing the man in person, I'm pretty sure it is not the man who is stupid.

Photography is technically not difficult. A camera should not make it look like rocket science.

I understand the X100 does have a huge appeal to the gear sluts among us. If you don't have a clue what content to put on a picture, it is fine to loose yourself in the technical aspect of the gear, it still gives the feeling to be occupied with 'photography'.

In short, the reason why there are many X100 for sale is because it is not that photocamera that it could be.

I often compare the X100 whit the first version of the Contax G. A camera with brilliant aspects, but a few glitches what made the camera much less usable as it could be. Contax corrected a lot of the aspects in the second version. I'm pretty sure Fuji will do the same. And if the X200 (Or X101, I don't know) is on the market, you will see a huge amount of X100 for sale, including a lot of the X100 owned by the users on this forum.

Everything above with the necessarily amount of humor, relativism and capability to not take ourself to serious....

[videogamemaker]

Isn't it a more realistic idea that a fair share of the selling peoples came to the conclusion the X100 is an unreliable, bloated and disappointing piece of shit? [/i]

Since we're writing opinion pieces, I believe it's far more likely that many of these people thought the x100 would magically make them a better photographer, and when it didn't, they floated off to purchase their next piece of gear that will finally make them "complete". (wash, rinse, repeat)

The X100 is a great camera. I've had mine for a long time, made lots of prints, been freed from bags of gear on trips, and captured many images I would have missed with only my dslr (which would have been left at home). I'm still 100% satisfied with the purchase, and I have many photographer friends who also love to take photographs who are more than satisfied with theirs.

[Matthew Richards]

Since we're writing opinion pieces, I believe it's far more likely that many of these people thought the x100 would magically make them a better photographer, and when it didn't, they floated off to purchase their next piece of gear that will finally make them "complete". (wash, rinse, repeat)

The X100 is a great camera. I've had mine for a long time, made lots of prints, been freed from bags of gear on trips, and captured many images I would have missed with only my dslr (which would have been left at home). I'm still 100% satisfied with the purchase, and I have many photographer friends who also love to take photographs who are more than satisfied with theirs.

Yep +1

[Ivophoto]

Since we're writing opinion pieces, I believe it's far more likely that many of these people thought the x100 would magically make them a better photographer, and when it didn't, they floated off to purchase their next piece of gear that will finally make them "complete". (wash, rinse, repeat)

The X100 is a great camera. I've had mine for a long time, made lots of prints, been freed from bags of gear on trips, and captured many images I would have missed with only my dslr (which would have been left at home). I'm still 100% satisfied with the purchase, and I have many photographer friends who also love to take photographs who are more than satisfied with theirs.

Yep, there will be a fair part of this as well. And often , it is the same category I describe as gear sluts.

[Gipper]

There are probably some people who buy a Porsche for its styling and performance and then discover they can't drive a stick-shift and live in the city, anyway.

[davek]

I like ivophoto's no-nonsense summary!

[davek]

I like ivophoto's no-nonsense summary!




so much I repeated myself - oops!