Fujifilm X100S: From Snapshots to Great Shots (Inglés) Tapa blanda – 15 jun 2014

"Fujifilm X100S: From Snapshots to Great Shots," by Kevin Mullins is a very good photography guide targeted towards owners of the Fuji X100S. It is not really a camera manual, as it doesn't exhaustively detail every feature, every setting, or every menu option, but it covers all the important aspects of this great camera in a manner that compliments the User Guide that comes in the box.

It is hard to say that this book is better than the other two guides available for this camera ("The Complete Guide to Fujifilm's X100s Camera (B&w Edition)," actually titled "Fujifilm's X100S Camera: Professional Insights for Experienced Shooters," by Tony Phillips and "Photographer's Guide to the Fujifilm X100S: Getting the Most from Fujifilm's Advanced Digital Camera," by Alexander S White), as its focus is different, but it is certainly much more successful at achieving its intended goal than those other two books, which are hobbled by significant flaws, which I detail in separate reviews (follow the links above). I would rate this guide at a 4-4.5 out of 5 stars.

If you are an amateur photographer who just purchased a Fuji X100S with the intention of learning the fundamental concepts of photography (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, depth of field), understanding the various types of images (portrait, landscape, street/candid), and studying approaches to photographic composition, then this guide is for you. It is like a really good basic to early advanced photography course designed around the Fuji X100S camera. But if you a maturing photographer who is well past the beginner stage, who is adept at using a camera in manual mode, and for whom the rule of thirds is very old news, then you might find this book too basic to be useful.

While it doesn't try to cover every aspect of the X100S, this guide does try to explain all the most important functions and settings. The descriptions of many of the camera's features are done in context, for example the use of the built-in neutral density (ND) filter is explained in the chapter on landscape photography, and the different metering modes are explained in the chapter on portrait photography. This is not really a problem, but it does mean that when you have questions about various aspects of the camera, you would better refer to the index than the table of contents. Fortunately, this book has a thorough index to help you find the answers you are looking for.

The book is a comfortable read, and the text is well-edited with very few typographical errors. The writing style is relaxed without being too chummy, and technical without being overly complex or wordy. The text is organized well, with brief introductory chapters that get you going quickly and subsequent chapters on clearly defined subjects such as portrait photography, landscape photography, lighting techniques, advanced X100S features, etc. What really stands out about this book, especially compared to the other available guides for the X100S, is the size, quantity, quality and educational value of all the images. A few photographs are perhaps just fair to good, but the majority range from very good to excellent. They are laid out tastefully and in generous sizes. Every image is accompanied by a legend with the basic camera settings used (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length); too many camera guides don't reveal such details. Even better, quite a few also have notes on the choices made by the author in technique and/or image composition. Rather than just a display of the quality of the camera or the cleverness of the author/photographer, it feels like this book's images are all a part of the learning process.

There are a few minor problems with this guide. First, while it touches on a wide range of topics, at times the discussion feels a little thin. For examples, the description of the use of flash really doesn't go into much detail, and so this important concept doesn't feel well fleshed out; the critical question of white balance is barely touched on, which is surprising given the target audience; and while Film Simulations are mentioned and the author shows how to select them, there is almost no explanation of the individual Film Simulations (What is Velvia, and how does it differ from Astia? When would you use PRO Neg. Hi?) other than the demonstration of Sepia in the chapter on portrait photography, and Sepia is a simulation that many photographers would consider the most trite and least useful of all of them. Second, some of the frustrating quirks and oddities of the X100S are not well spelled out. This camera can sometimes inexplicably refuse to take a shot, and the other guides (notably the guide by White), do a better job of explaining these issues.

Overall, this is a very good photography guide for users of the Fujifilm X100S camera, which perhaps was a bit overly long in coming out. The extra time taken was put to good use, as the quality of the text and imagery far outstrip the other two available guides.

Note: this review is of the 2014 paperback edition, which covers firmware version 1.10.

I bought this book after I saw how minimal the owners manual was for my new X100T. There are a few places where the new firmware and new model have superseded the information in the book but it is very much applicable to both models. Kevin Mullins' writing style doesn't presume too much prior knowledge and does a good job of engaging the reader. The examples and assignments in each chapter really help define the technical points made. Fujifilm should include a copy with each camera they produce.

I've owned the x-pro1 and xt1 and can't believe it took me so long to migrate to the d100s. But having done so, I love it? I bought and downloaded all the books on the x100 and x100s. I read the others first, and guess I saved the best for last. This book is both comprehensive, yet easy to understand. It is very organized, describing a function/feature, with illustrations, communicating the advantages or disadvantages of a setting, providing pictures that demonstrate the results of the setting, and finally, providing assignments to reinforce what was taught. And, everything was written without typos, or references to other cameras! Of course you say? But honestly, one of the books is read discussed locking the mirror up - obviously copied from a section on dslrs! Not this book. From start to finish, this book was conceived and written with one camera in mind - the x100s. If you own the camera, buy this one book!

I've been shooting for a long time, and recently got a Fuji X100T. Although this book is made for the X100S, the content is still 90% pertinent to the X100T. Kevin has a way of explaining things that makes it easy to understand and usable in real world situations. His example photos, end of chapter exersises (take the time to do these), help anyone get back to basics and get the most out of this of the Fuji X100S or X100T. Highly recommend it.

Surprised by how dull and lifeless the writing and the images are in this less than satisfactory book. It tries to be a basic guide to the specific camera and a general guide to photography in general with a digital rangefinder and in that dual quest the author ends up in a sort of middle road to nowhere. The more basic guide by White is better and at times even the manual that comes with the camera is more lively.