Fujifilm X100 Macro Shot Samples

I’ve had a few people ask about the Fujifilm X100’s macro capabilities. If anything the macro is one of the weak points of the X100 firstly because Macro must be initiated from 80cm and closer and at the end of the range the camera can only get within 10-15cm of an object before being unable to focus. So in a sense its not really a “Macro” mode as I don’t consider shooting from 80cm out with a 35mm equivalent to be “Macro”.  A minimum focusing distance of 80cm is definitely quite poor. So while you can certainly get close ups to some extent, you’ll be limited by the focal length and minimal distance.

Some users online have said its not a good idea to shoot in the Macro mode up close wide open at f2.0 or f2.8 as it can get rather soft.  Its certainly not terrible and the lens is a bit softer at those apertures regardless of whether its in Macro mode or not. I decided to shoot side by side with the Panasonic Lumix GF1 with 20mm f1.7 pancake in an unscientific comparison. This combination can get almost as close without being in a macro mode as the X100 in Macro mode.

Both above images are raws converted to jpegs with no alterations of any sort. Obviously resized for the screen they both look good save for some differences in color and the different aperture ((23)35mm vs (20)40mm) resulting slightly different field of depth. How about if we get a bit closer.

The Lumix GF1 100% cropped actually looks a tad sharper though it has more noise at the same ISO (500) than the Fujifilm X100. So the verdict on the X100 in its so called Macro mode is still up in the air as this is just a basic comparison. Those who say the X100 is softer up close in its Macro mode may in fact be on to something. Then again it did go up against a very highly regarded and one of my favorite camera lens combos in the GF1 with 20mm pancake. The X100 does still have great noise (or lack of noise rather) performance and is without a doubt capable of taking wonderful photos as I noted earlier in my review. Out of Macro mode, the Fujinon lens is deadly sharp at f4 and especially f8.  I wish I still had my Nex-5 and a33 here to compare more. In the mean time here are a few more macro shots below all shot at f2 or f2.8… admittedly looking pretty good when resized. (^_^)

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