First X100S Urbex Test: Life Amid the Ruins

entropic remnants

Hall of Famer
Name
John Griggs
Made a deal with Luke to get his X100S and he my X100. I decided to do a test to get some shots for my "Life Amid the Ruins" series in which I shoot urbex handheld in dark places. The X100S should improve the quality of the shots even without stabilization.

This was a quick lunchtime trip so I didn't get a lot and some things simply didn't work out. I was able to get some shots at slow speeds but unlike Zack Arias, I couldn't get down to a 1/4 second hand held, lol. Two of these are ISO 6400, one is ISO 1600 and one is an ISO 12800 shot. One is ISO 800 but it's from an HDR bracket.

Here's what I got.

ISO 6400 first

9736511841_ccb1d315b0_b.jpg

Life Amid the Ruins: Wheeless Chair by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

ISO 800 HDR bracket.

9736511429_c8208fa630_b.jpg

Life Amid the Ruins: Seeing the Now from the Then by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

ISO 6400 again

9736511113_038d3f5348_b.jpg

Life Amid the Ruins: Larkspur #414 by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

This next one is the ISO 12800

9736511029_b3b5301628_b.jpg

Life Amid the Ruins: Yazoo by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Next is ISO 1600

9736510855_6b058e1d8f_b.jpg

Life Amid the Ruins: Couple of Hosers by Entropic Remnants, on Flickr

Overall I'm quite impressed. Everything was shot JPG but I did post process. I only had to manual focus a couple of times the whole day though I had to pick my point to focus on carefully. Still, I don't think the X100 would have focused at all in many of these situations.
 
I still remember seeing your shots the first time. They were the LX7. And I was thinking "how the hell does he may those look so good". Now they look several steps cleaner, and I'm still asking the same things. Good to see you're putting the extra IQ to good use. Some of us overprocess and shed IQ (me) and others process hard to extract the most IQ (you). I think the trade worked out well for both of us. And now your wide-angle adapter is going to BB to re-ignite her X100 passion. Everyone wins. Keep up the great work.
 
Thanks, guys! Much appreciated!

Great, Luke! It is an win-win situation and I'm glad the wide converter is going to a good home. I know some (Like Ray for instance) vastly prefer a 28mm fov in a fixed lens camera.

I want to add, that I'm so impressed by the Fuji processing that keeps high ISO shots from looking flat. It's amazing how much pop they still have even before I tweak them. I furthermore can't believe I'm still shooting in JPG but that's "The Fuji Experience", lol.
 
That second shot is my fave.

I agree. Amazing image. Is that in Chester?

John, what are your "rules" for this photography in terms of interaction with your scene? Do you only capture what you discover, or tweak scene a little, or totally arrange things for some of your shots? They all look totally natural to me, so impressive no matter how you work it.
 
I agree. Amazing image. Is that in Chester?

John, what are your "rules" for this photography in terms of interaction with your scene? Do you only capture what you discover, or tweak scene a little, or totally arrange things for some of your shots? They all look totally natural to me, so impressive no matter how you work it.

Rules? There are rules? lol -- thanks by the way.

I don't move things around as a rule (there's that word again) -- it's not that I feel like I can't, it's just that I like to "find" the shot in what's there. I would not be averse say to changing the angle of the wheelchair (I didn't in this case) or something like that but I rarely "build" a scene. It's standard stuff: practicing "exclusion" to try to find something that has nice light, a discernible subject of some kind, and so forth -- while not including too many (or any if possible) distracting elements. I try to find an angle that gives some kind of context, but not too much if that makes any sense?

It's in Marcus Hook, PA, just south of Chester.
 
Rules? There are rules? lol -- thanks by the way.

I don't move things around as a rule (there's that word again) -- it's not that I feel like I can't, it's just that I like to "find" the shot in what's there. I would not be averse say to changing the angle of the wheelchair (I didn't in this case) or something like that but I rarely "build" a scene. It's standard stuff: practicing "exclusion" to try to find something that has nice light, a discernible subject of some kind, and so forth -- while not including too many (or any if possible) distracting elements. I try to find an angle that gives some kind of context, but not too much if that makes any sense?

It's in Marcus Hook, PA, just south of Chester.


Makes sense, I think. I recall a shot you had posted of an asylum (maybe). A shot of a hallway where all the doors were open at pretty much the same angle. Very cool shot. I wouldn't blame you a bit if you arranged that one!

OT, the original Hershey Chocolate plant has been shut down for a bit now, and is undergoing some sort of repurposing. I'd love to see what you could do with that setting. Iconic smokestacks at the east end of the plant came to mind when looking at shot 2 above.
 
Your work blows me away, John. You really deserve to be making some good money with photography. Oh, BTW, would you say it's worth saving for an X100s versus going for a leftover X100 if one found one at a lower price?
 
Your work blows me away, John. You really deserve to be making some good money with photography. Oh, BTW, would you say it's worth saving for an X100s versus going for a leftover X100 if one found one at a lower price?

They are both very good and both unlike anything else -- but IMO for many of us the X100S is worth the wait and the cost. However, X-Trans does have a certain look and some don't like it. I think it behooves you to really look at photography from both cameras and think about it.

Mainly, other than X-Trans, the X100S brings in some significant operational improvement, and a more sensitive sensor as well. Some of those improvements may be included in that new X100 firmware that is on the verge of being released, but not all of them and of course you can't get X-Trans with a firmware update.

Either camera is worth having, IMO.

And thank you, Steve!
 
Back
Top