The release of firmware 2.0 for the X100 was a very welcome present from Fuji that a lot of people thought wouldn't happen. They've replaced the X100 for the X100s, so why would they update an older model and give it a bit of what entices people to upgrade. Because they're Fuji, that's why.
So on the morning v2.0 was released, I got ready for the upgrade by playing around with the focus so that I could compare the difference after upgrading. I got my Fuji branded 4gb card that I keep just for firmware updates and reformatted it in the camera. I put an original Fuji battery, fresh from a full overnight charge, into the camera. I then put the downloaded file on the SD card (checking that the file size matched the download page) and placed it into the camera. After the ritual was complete and I started the update. I placed the camera on the desk to avoid pressing anything and watched the progress bar on the LCD move from right to left. But just after about quarter of the way through, the LCD went dark. It had never done this before, but I left it for a few minutes incase it was a new way updates worked. Nothing, Nada, Wala. I picked my X100 up and lightly half pressed the shutter button, expecting to see the camera coming out of sleep mode. The write lamp on the back blinked red and I knew something was wrong. I turned it off and then back on, but the same thing, nothing but the blink of a light on half pressing the shutter. My X100 was dead. This was an ex-X100
A couple of shots of Hong Kong International Airport from the X100. No hassle from security with this camera.
After sending a tweet to Fujifilm UK, I got a phone call from a nice man from the Service Department, who said it would have to go in to be looked at. After the weekend a box arrived from Fuji. I packed up my X100 and waved it goodbye. In my mind, I imagined the full town lining the street and throwing flowers on the Royal Mail van as it moved slowly through a prearranged route, but people have no respect these days!
My trusty X100 returned a few days later when major brain surgery had been performed and v2.0 firmware had been installed. It was back, but it wasn't the same (I did say major brain surgery for Fuji's sake). My X100 meter was way off and everything was over exposed by two stops. The preview image in the viewfinder was also very blue. I dragged the beast outside and chained it to the barn. Slowly I raised the shotgun up and took aim, my finger trembling on the trigger. The X100 flickered it's EVF screen at me and I could see the glint in it's lens. I went to the shed and bent the barrels of the shotgun in a vice, so that I could never be tempted again.
Luckily, Fuji had some sort of glitch in firmware 2.0 and they released v2.01 a few days later. Although the problems I was experiencing had nothing to do with the glitch in v2.0, the update to v2.01 gave it a reset and the meter and EVF were back to normal. But like The Six Million Dollar man, the X100 would never be the same. Start-up is quicker, Auto Focus is quicker in all situations, it now has Focus Peaking and Manual Focus has gone from the worst of my three Fuji cameras to probably the best. The main reason being that the focus ring only needs to travel a short distance, rather than the multiple rotations it did before the update.
A big thanks to Fujifilm UK for their first class customer service. It's second to none. Customer support is also amazing, with updates that take our cameras from great to amazing! Not many companies produce updates for legacy products.
This is the camera that I shot the photo above with, and won Professional Photographer of The Year in 2012 (News category), but I don't think I would enter any competitions with it after the v2 firmware. It probably wouldn't pass a drugs test...too many steroids in that little X100 now!