We saw the 12.3 megapixel retro beauty at CES last month, it combines a Fujinon 23mm single focal length fixed F2 lens, a 2.8” LCD screen and the world’s first hybrid viewfinder with an internally optimized APS-C CMOS sensor to capture both crystalline photos and professional/luxury status. And with the stylings of ’70s era SLRs, it almost seems to, paradoxically, belong in front of the lens.

“It has always been important for Fujifilm to introduce products that are in a class of their own and with the FinePix X100, we have achieved that level,” said Go Miyazaki, division president of FUJIFILM North America’s Imaging and Electronic Imaging Divisions. “The combination of a hybrid viewfinder, large APS-C sensor and a precisely matched prime lens, make this camera unique to anything else in the market, and is presented within a rangefinder design that makes it an instant modern classic.”

According to Fujifilm, the hybrid viewfinder combines the window-type “bright frame” optical viewfinder of classic 135-size and medium-format cameras with the electronic viewfinder system found in most compact digital cameras. An integrated prism for the 1,440,000 dot LCD panel image on the viewing screen in the reverse-Galilean optical finder allows the Hybrid Viewfinder to show both the shooting frame and a variety of electronic shooting data.

What makes it really stand out is its ability to both compose and playback shots, switching from electronic and optical viewfinder modes at the flick of a switch.

In optical viewfinder (OVF) mode, the brightness of both the “bright frame” and text data is automatically adjusted according to the brightness of scene area, ensuring that shooting information is always easily and clearly viewable. Also, the displayed shooting data is constantly updated according to changes in shutter speed, exposure, sensitivity and other settings, so that the user’s eye never has to leave the viewfinder. In electronic viewfinder (EVF) mode, the photographer can preview the picture or playback the result with the “through the sensor” image review and high-resolution 1,440,000-dot quality. With a flick of the one-touch lever, the user can switch to EVF to preview and confirm exposure settings, depth-of-field, and white balance – an especially useful capability when shooting macro shots and other scenes that are hard to confirm with only an optical viewfinder.

And for the vegan photographers out there, don’t worry. Those are “leather-like” accents. No animals were harmed in the making of this camera.

The X100 will cost about $1,200 once released this spring.

[Fuji X100 Page]

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Truth be told, I’m a sucker for a beautiful camera. And Fujifilm’s FinePix X100 is something I can’t stop thinking about. Announced in September of last year, and now taunting us once again at CES 2011, the FinePix x100 is a beautiful piece of hardware, combining digital power with beautiful retro good looks that we can’t wait to get our hands on.

The 12-megapixel DSLR contains a hybrid optical viewfinder that overlay’s information like an EVF but is still a real image. The lens is 23mm F/2 which was evidently custom-made for this particular body and sensor.  The camera will shoot 5FPS and the built-in ISO ranges from 200 to 6,400 (but expandable to 12,800), plus video shoots at 720p which is fantastic.

Last but not least you can’t help but be impressed with the 800×600 pixels in the 2.8” LCD screen.  To put that into context, the pixel density is similar to the iPhone 4.

But even ignoring all the wonderful stats, just look at it! The classic design and lines on the body are stunning. The composition is largely metal which will certainly give it a nice feel and harkens back to a great generation of camera technology.

If you’re at CES it’s worth checking out for yourself otherwise it should be available for purchase in the early part of this year. We have no doubt it’ll be snatched up by hipsters and cameraphiles alike.

[CrunchGear via FinePix x100]

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