REVIEW: FUJIFILM X100VI - Is it better than you smartphone?

FUJIFILM X100VI 40.2MP APS-C with 23mm f/2 Lens

It’s been since 2019 that I’ve reviewed a Fujifilm camera and that’s a shame. I forgot how much I’ve enjoyed the Fujifilm platform. If my memory serves me correctly the original X100 was the first X series camera I ever reviewed!

While there are numerous improvements that addressed my complaints of the early x100 and x100s, the form factor and purpose remain the same – and that’s a good thing. What’s more, the support for teleconverters means that you can get a little more functionality out of this fixed length permanently attached lens – if you so desire.

Overview

You can click the photo at the top of the article to get all the specs at B&H, so I’m not going to bore you with that. I’m also going to get closer to the modern era by introducing this camera with a video overview instead of a wall of words:

It’s a super well built and designed camera that really has few faults for someone interested in this formfactor and feature set.

Real World Images

Click here to see a gallery of some of the photos I took using the X100VI during my time reviewing it. As usual, these are all straight out of the camera with one notable exception. This camera supports HEIF, but Zenfolio doesn’t provide a good way to give you direct access to them, so I had to convert all HEIF files to JPEG (when applicable). Inline images were resized by Zenfolio, but you can download full size originals of the images that Lightroom converted from HEIF to JPG for inclusion in this gallery.

Here are my thoughts on a few photos that I found worth discussing:

Here’s one of the first pics I took with this camera right out of the box with the camera default settings and before I bothered to read the manual to refresh my memory on how to set the autofocus point:

f/2 @ 23mm for 1/125 sec at ISO 1250

As you can see the bokeh is fabulous and the detail is quite good in the raindrops despite, literally pointing and shooting like a newbie to cameras would do! If you want to know what do you really get over a cell phone, here’s a good place to start looking!

I was also pleased that for ISO 1250 that it looked this good to begin with. This particular photo was the exact in-camera JPEG as I hadn’t discovered yet that it supported HEIF at this point in the review.

Here’s another impressive handheld shot at only 1/35 sec yet the gloomy day required ISO 8000! The detail and default processing was amazing:

f/5.6 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 8000

I was super impressed with the detail of the fine grain details in the center of the flower that didn’t get destroyed by in-camera noise reduction, and the default color was fantastic!

Here’s a jaw dropping example of the quality of this lens and the in-camera images event at ISO 5000:

f/6.4 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 5000

I’m very pessimistic these days about lugging cameras around as cell phones have become so good, but this definitely reminded me that I might need to spend more time with the latest cameras again as this was a very impressive result!

Here’s a pretty boring photo, but again these were camera default settings doing pure point and shoot (except I did manually set the aperture). In this case I was too lazy to lay on the ground, so I just held the camera down at the level of the slug, tapped the screen like I’d do with my phone and took several photos:

f/8 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 5000

This did pretty good knowing how I took the shot – especially with a 23mm lens not known for being a good focal length for macro photography.

On a camping trip to the North Cascades in Washington, I woke up to see this beautiful scene so I grabbed the camera and just did a quick snap before going back to bed.

f/16 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 800

This shot would be one of my first experimentations with a large f stop number to see if there have been massive improvements with diffraction, but ultimately that didn’t appear to be the case.

A little later I’d try again (below), but still the trees in the background are pretty soft for f/16:

f/16 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 500

In brighter conditions at a low ISO, the f/16 results were significantly better so the poor quality of the previous two photos may have been attributed to the fog and losses caused by noise reduction.

f/16 @ 23mm for 1/40 sec at ISO 125

By this point I had also enabled the Velvia film simulation mode which Fujifilm is famous for, and it did not disappoint. The colors were amazing for this scene – if you like vivid images. If not, there’s a wide variety of film simulations to suit your taste.

I love the Velvia film simulation in the woods, but some might be turned off with how it crushes some of the shadow areas as shown at the base of the trees in this shot:

f/11 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 2000

It also gives the water a more of an unnatural tint so some might find it better to manually process a shot like this from raw to get the best results.

Without resorting to manual settings or flash, I just took this picture of Kai (yeah, he’s grown up) the way a newbie would using default settings:

f/2.8 @ 23mm for 1/150 sec at ISO 125

This is a type of shot where modern phones with their in-camera HDR can’t be beat – the results are very disappointing, so amateurs will need a better understanding of light (e.g., turn Kai into the light and avoid harsh backlight) or they’ll be frustrated compared to what they see they can accomplish with their phone.

Case in point, here’s what a iPhone 13 Pro photo of Kai taken in the same exact spot looked like straight from the phone:

Apple iPhone 13 Pro f/2.8 @ 9mm for 1/121 sec at ISO 64

So, if your goal is to take advantage of the shadows and get a more creative lighting shot then iPhone will be frustrating, but if you want a no brainer shot that is easy and just does HDR perfectly, it’s still tough to beat the best smart phones.

Here’s another example where the lighting was much more favorable:

f/4 @ 23mm for 1/250 sec at ISO 125

Yet, despite great light and God’s soft box being out in full force, with no exposure compensation the image was rather dark. Again, compared to the iPhone where the results were much more pleasing:

Apple iPhone13 Pro f/1.5 @ 5.7mm for 1/1377 sec at ISO 50

Right after this shot I started experimenting with the eye auto focus feature and got a much better result:

f/2 @ 23mm for 1/480 sec at ISO 125

This made me suspect that the default metering was to blame, so had I changed that setting I could have got results that are actually superior to the iPhone.

This also made me think about selfies – the feature that smart phone users seem to love the most. While I was out on the lake with my wife, I took a shot of my ugly mug completely blind but using the eye auto focus feature:

f/4.5 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 160

This time, despite the sun setting with mediocre light, it did great. I’m also pleased to report that my old face didn’t destroy the camera. The Velvia mode made my skin appear a little more red than I’d like, but the rest of the scene looked great.

I was very satisfied with the quality of the lens and the super sharp details found in so many of the photos I took:

f/8 @ 23mm for 1/35 sec at ISO 500

This combined with great high ISO performance and visually satisfying colors (IMHO), made me happy to have this camera with me for my trip to the mountains.

I got a chance to give the burst mode a shot out on the ice, and while my framing was terrible, the results were good for this class of camera. Shooting on ice is tough so this is where you’ll need to experiment with the exposure compensation (+2 in this case), the white balance (florescent), and much more:

f/2.2 @ 23mm for 1/500 sec at ISO 1250

For the shots in this series I used the eye autofocus to see what it could do and I was satisfied with the results. I sucked, but the camera did its part. The iPhone was much easier to use, but I preferred the color I got using the X100 VI.

Video

While I did experiment a little bit with the video features, those who know me know that I’m not really a videographer. As a result, I can only say that it offers a wide variety of formats and settings that are certain to be superior to results found on a phone,

Viewfinder

The viewfinder on this camera supports both optical as well as digital, and that’s a good thing. The optical offers a traditional photography experience whereas the digital offers a way to see photos as they will appear on your computer or phone even in the harshest sunlight. It also provides a way to save battery when you elect to enable the EVF and turn off the rear display.

Conclusion

Once again I was reminded of the magic of Fujifilm and wasn’t disappointed one bit. Thanks to the Q menu, the touch screen and great controls, I was able to quickly dial in my favorite settings in a hurry to get the shots that I wanted. While I haven’t included many of those photos here for personal reasons, I do find this to be an extremely easy camera to use for those who understand the settings and features it offers.

I never had any battery life issues and could easily go a few days under normal usage without having to worry about recharging. When I did, I appreciated the support for USB-C to get a quick charge right in the camera.

Overall, this is a camera for photographers – not newbies – mainly because the best results will be achieved by knowing how to dial in the best settings. If you want smartphone results, use a smartphone, but if you are wanting better control over the lighting, color, shadows, and shutter speed, then this camera is going to be much more satisfying to use. If that's you, then I highly recommend this camera. 

Where to Buy?

CLICK HERE to learn more or buy today, or click here see other great cameras in the Fujifilm X-Series line up.

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles

Thoughts on the new Fujifilm X100T, X-T1 Graphite & More announcements

Ok, I’ll admit it – I’m a bit of a Fujifilm fan boy because I’ve had quite a bit of enjoyment out of reviewing and owning X-series cameras. As a result, I get excited to hear about what’s new when new models are released. Amidst all the hoopla around the iPhone 6 announcement, I almost missed this one!

Fujifilm X100T Digital Camera

The Fujifilm X100s is a very good camera that I enjoyed reviewing quite a bit. I was very surprised when I had discovered a new replacement was already being released. The full press release is here, but the highlights are an improved rear LCD & hybrid viewfinder, finer grain control on things like the aperture ring, exposure compensation dial, and up to 7 programmable buttons. While interesting, I’m not seeing anything here that makes this camera worthy of an upgrade so this one will be lower on my review priority list than the new lenses mentioned later.

When I see the back of this camera I get concerned as it appears they’ve decided to standardize on the X-T1 selector buttons that didn’t work very well on the X-T1 unit I reviewed.

X100T Rear View featuring X-T1 selector buttons :(

Here’s the X100s Rear Screen view which shows a smaller screen than the new X100T but a new button layout which means some relearning for loyal X100 users. While I welcome the new display, I much prefer the x100s rear view design. From what I see everything on top and in front of the camera on the X100T improves for the better, so this may not be an issue for some.

X100s Rear View

One thing that perplexes me is why can’t Fujifilm just settle on one design? In my opinion, the best rear panel design in the Fujifilm line up is the X-E2, which is why I bought one myself:

X-E2 Rear View

This was a good design that worked and people liked it. I’m all for innovation and trying new things, but the new body changes seem to be making things worse rather than better.

New X-T1 Graphite Edition – Now Featuring Hard To Read Controls!

Fujifilm X-T1 (Graphite Silver Edition) - Rear View
Pay $200 more to have harder to read controls – hum?

I think one of the things that gets people excited about the Fujifilm X series cameras is their cool retro style, and the silver editions are always a big hit. Over time I’ve discovered that the black ones are infinitely more usable in the real world because they resist scratches better and are easier to read in the bright sunlight. However, I’d still call all of the past silver editions as usable. However, I’m really perplexed by the press photo shown above of the rear of the X-T1 because even in the photo the controls are hard to read. Perhaps it is just a bad photograph, but I can certainly imagine that the black on graphite text is going to be a challenge to read in the real world use.

I’m also saddened to see that in designing a new camera body that they didn’t use the opportunity to come up with a better selector button design like they have in the X-E2.

As a camera, the X-T1 is fantastic – one of my favorite Fujifilm’s – but this edition doesn’t inspire much confidence. My advice is to stick with the black X-T1. At the time of this writing it is $200 cheaper and has easier to read controls.

Now for the really fantastic news – finally the ultimate zoom lens for portrait photographers!

Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens

Without question, my most beloved lens for real world shooting is my 70-200mm f/2.8 with image stabilization. As a result, I was thrilled to see Fujifilm XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Lens which has an 35mm effective focal length of 76 - 213 mm – close enough!

I want this lens big time as it’s the perfect zoom lens for how I enjoy photographing people. Granted, the 56mm f/1.2 I’ve tested has been one of my favorite thus far – it’s tough to live without a zoom in a camera system that is designed to be compact. Of course, some might say that this lens is too big for that reason, but personally I’m glad to see see it added to the line up.

Here’s more info on Fujifilm’s site about this cool new lens.

New 56mm f/1.2R APD – for bokeh junkies who thought the current 56mm f/1.2 wasn’t good enough

Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD Lens

The still fairly new XF 56mm f/1.2 R is a fantastic lens, so I’m perplexed why a company with so many other needs in the lens department would release a new variant so soon. The answer lies in the APD designation which is supposed to offer much better bokeh than what is possible in the regular version – at a $500 premium. I’ll definitely have to test this lens because I was extremely happy with the bokeh of the non APD version that I tested as shown in the photo below, so I can’t see how the new one will really be $500 better.

However, for some more is better, so it’ll fun to be give it a try and see how it goes. However, it would have to be pretty incredible for me to recommend it over the existing 56mm which is a brilliant lens.

Here’s more info on Fujfilm’s site about APD.

For the record, I saw no problems with the bokeh from the original:

The original XF56mm f/1.2R does NOT have APD,
but I thought its bokeh quality was outstanding
(FUJIFILM X-E2, f/1.2 @ 56 mm, 1/300, ISO 400, No Flash – Unedited)

Conclusion

I’ll definitely get the lenses in for review, but I’ll not bother with the hard to read X-T1. The X100T will be in the queue for when I’m done with the lenses, or sooner if I get enough requests.

Share your thoughts – is this great news or would you have rather seen something else by Fujifilm announced?

[NOTE: Comments are not auto approved due to spam bots, so please only submit once and be patient for the comment to appear – sometimes days later. I do read every one!]

Where to order

Click the links above learn more or order from B&H. My friends at Adorama have a cool landing page for all of the new Fujifilm products featured here as well.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Fujifilm X100s
• Fujifilm X-E2
• Fujifilm X20 (X30 Review coming later this year)
• Fujifilm XPro-1
• Fujifilm XQ1 (vs X20 & Canon s110)
• Fujifilm X-S1
• Fujifilm X-T1 (includes 18-55mm & 23mm lens reviews)
• Fujifilm X-E1, X100s, X20 & X10 Compared
• Fujifilm XF 56mm & XF 10-24mm Lens Review

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

REVIEW: Fujifilm X-E2 – A DSLR Replacement?

Fujifilm X-E2

When I first shot my first X-Series camera, the x100, I was instantly in love with the charm of this compact Fujifilm series. However the x100 was a nightmare to use indoors and its fixed focal length lens turned me off. When the X-Pro1 came out my expectations were high as my lens concerns were addressed by a camera with an interchangeable lens, but despite the great in-camera results I got with that camera I still cursed it’s AF system. The price of the X-Pro1 was a tough pill to swallow for many, so they ditched the expensive hybrid view to make the super successful X-E1.

Fast forward to today and the X-E2 is one of the hottest cameras for the holiday season because of the incredible performance of the x100s.The x100s seemed to address all of the sins of past Fujifilm cameras and add much improved AF performance, so I highly anticipated getting my hands on the X-E2. I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint in that it is a fantastic cameras with some of the same quirks as its predecessors.

I’m a big fan of the X-series so this is one that I was saving for this holiday season. Read on to see how I liked it and if I decided to get it. You can also check out a gallery of sample images at http://photos.ronmartblog.com/fujifilm/x-e2.

Video Overview Review

I hate doing video, but I’m testing a video lighting product right now so I’m including a simple overview review video:

View X-E2 Video Review on YouTube

Compared to the X-E1 & X100s

Honestly I didn’t see much beyond speed and image quality improvements to set the X-E2 ahead of the X-E1. Wi-fi is a new addition over its predecessor, but from a shooting perspective the two cameras feel identical.

When compared to the x100s, I find the X-E2 to be identical in nearly every way except the viewfinder & fixed lens. Personally I prefer the X-E2 viewfinder, so I’d advise those deciding if they should get a x100s or X-E2 that they should go for the X-E2.

Bookshelf Test

My bookshelf shots are taken with camera default settings but at ISO 200 (the native base ISO for this camera). As you can see below the color and quality of the image are very solid, but it’s rather dark in the shadows despite the in-camera Dynamic Range setting being set to Auto.

f/2.8 @ 18 mm, 1.7s, ISO 200, No Flash

The image quality is excellent even with the kit lens, and the color is outstanding. Click this article to see how the Adobe raw processing works with the X-E2.

If you turn off RAW you can go to ISO 12800 and 56000, but the results aren’t that impressive from a color and detail standpoint:

f/2.8 @ 18 mm, 1/80, ISO 25600, No Flash, AWB, Standard Film Simulation, NR=0

You’ll definitely want less aggressive noise reduction, so I recommend setting the NR setting to –2. Here’s how detail is obliterated with the in-camera noise reduction:

There’s no RAW after ISO 6400, so if you use ISO 12800 or 25600 you’ll want to turn noise reduction off to avoid the smearing shown here at ISO 25,600

Even at f/22 I found the image quality to be excellent when a tripod and low ISO were used. The lack of obvious diffraction certainly puts this camera ahead of most at this price range and sensor size.

From an image quality standpoint, this camera is definitely on par or better than many DSLR’s with APS-C size sensors. It’s certainly on par with the x100s (which you can compare against by downloading images from here). Click here for a gallery of x100s images.

Sample Images

Click here to go to my Real World Sample Images article

Observations

The ability for the auto focus to lock in low light seems to be lens dependent as I’ve seen consistent poor performance with the 18-55mm lens, but good performance with newer lenses like the 55-200mm seems to be more reliable. That said, the pre-release X-E2 seemed to perform better than what I see with the released version, so I’m suspecting there will probably be a firmware update in the future that improves upon the low light auto focus problems I continue to see with this model.

The built-in flash height still hasn’t changed so it will get the job done, but you’ll get shadows on longer zoom lenses with hoods as shown below…

Popup flash gets the job done but it's nothing to write home about

Remove the hood from the 18-55mm when using the popup or you'll get shadows like this

There’s also some carryover body design problems from the X-E1. They include an AF illumination lamp that is easy to block with finger, and the AF mode switch is easily bumped with the finger. I also find the in-camera noise reduction to be horrible (it destroys detail), so when not reviewing for the blog I prefer to set Noise Reduction to –2 and use Noiseware to eliminate noise better while still preserving detail.

The Velvia film simulation is still my favorite for everything but people where it seems to do a skin softening effect on people that make them look very plastic like. Here’s an example that shows how reds look using standard film simulation:

f/4 @ 44.4 mm, 1/60, ISO 2500, No Flash, AWB, Standard Film Simulation

and here’s the vibrant Velvia film simulation (no edits):

f/4 @ 44.4 mm, 1/60, ISO 2500, No Flash, AWB, Velvia Film Simulation

Here’s the problematic face smearing (even when in-camera noise reduction was off):

f/4 @ 55 mm, 1/17, ISO 6400, No Flash, Velvia film simulation & NR = -2

While the dynamic range isn’t anything to write home about, it’s not bad. Here’s a tough shot because it was taken in total darkness:

Shot in total darkness, but a great AF assist beam and good contrast helped to get the shot
f/2.8 @ 18 mm, 1/60, ISO 800, No Flash, AWB, Standard Film Simulation

Overall I had no issues with this camera from a quality standpoint, and the speed overall seems to be much better in the X-E2 than its processor.

Great Lens Choices

Fujifilm has done an incredible job of bringing a wide range of excellent lenses to market. They’ve also teamed up with Zeiss to provide a an excellent range of premium quality lenses:

FUJIFILM X-Mount Lens Roadmap - July 23, 2013

For those who are wondering, my favorite lens in the Fujifilm lineup is the 23mm:

Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R Lens

This lens with the X-E2 will have x100s owners wishing they would have waited this super combo. Sure, it’s a lot more expensive, but this is one of those “sure to be a legend” lens like Canon’s 85mm f/1.2L and Nikon's 14-24mm.

Will I give up my DSLR and go mirrorless?

With great image quality, lenses and even a EF-42 shoe mount flash for only $159 (at the time of this writing) to round out this platform to give you really everything you need to make a switch from a DSLR. The question is should you? Will I?

As great as these cameras are, I still prefer my DSLR bodies primarily for the autofocus performance. Yes, these are excellent cameras, so if I were to buy one it would be a complementary setup to keep me from having to lug my heavy DSLR around.

Prior to getting my review unit of the X-E2, I was 100% convinced that this was “the” one I was going to buy. I adored the x100s, but I need more lenses choices. I don’t care about a X-Pro2 because I think the optical viewfinder on this class of camera is garbage, so the electronic viewfinder on the X-E2 is good enough for me. However, the real world indoor performance of the AF system still isn’t where I want it to be so I don’t think I could trust it as my only camera when traveling. With that reality, it means that I’d still need to lug my DSLR on trips so this would become more of a hassle when traveling.

Around town I’d feel totally confident to only bring the X-E2 as long as I had the right lenses, but there again presents another problem for me – I’d  probably need to invest in at least three lenses and a flash. For me that just added up to more expense than I wanted, so in the end I’ve decided that this fantastic and fun to use camera just isn’t for me – for now. However, if I was going to go mirrorless this would be the one I’d get. 

Conclusion

If you are looking for an x100s with interchangeable lenses or you were disappointed with the X-Pro1 performance then your dream camera has arrived. There’s lots to love about the X-E2 as its build quality is excellent, the lens choices are plentiful, and the image quality makes me fall in love with photography all over again. This is an excellent product that I long to own should I decide to buy with my heart instead of my head, but for now common sense keeps me behind a DSLR for at least another generation.

If you don’t already own a DSLR then I’d say start with this camera and invest in the X mount lenses. If you stick with prime lenses, the AF performance seems to improve so there’s a workaround if you are willing to pay the price of more lenses.

The Fujifilm X-E2 is an excellent camera that I highly recommend. I also think it makes sense over the x100s as XF 23mm lens will give you everything people love about the x100s with better image quality and the ability to swap to a different lens when you need it.

May 2014 Update

After being disappointed with the selector controls of the X-T1, I finally broke down and bought the X-E2. I’ve been very happy with it, and these lenses that I tested with it were amazing:

• Fujifilm XF 56mm & XF 10-24mm Lens Review

Where to order

• Fujifilm X-E2 KIT w/18-55mm (Black) – (Adorama)
• Body Only Link – (Adorama)

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Fujifilm X-T1 (includes 18-55mm & 23mm lens reviews)
• Fujifilm X-E2 – Real World Sample Images (Includes raw processing info)
• FIRST LOOK: Fujifilm X-E2 & X-Q1 (ISO 12,800)
• Fujifilm X-E2 & X-Q1 - Preview and more info
• Fujifilm X20 (My personal P&S camera)
• Fujifilm X100s
• Fujifilm X-E1
• Fujifilm X-M1 Preview
• Fujifilm XPro-1
• Fujifilm X-S1
• COMPARISON: Fujifilm X-E1, X100s, X20 & X10

The Perfect Bag for this Camera

Think Tank Photo Mirrorless Mover 30i

I carried the X-E2 in my Mirrorless Mover or Turnstyle 20 bag during my testing and found both to be excellent choices for this camera.

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

REVIEW: Fujifilm X-S1–The Point & Shoot in a DSLR Costume with an awesome zoom lens

Fujifilm X-S1 Digital Camera (NOT a DSLR)

I have no inside info from Fujifilm, but based on my testing what you see in the shot above is the Fujifilm X100 / X10 in a DSLR looking shell with a better lens. If this were 2011 when this camera was originally released this might be an awesome thing, but this is 2013 so there’s some nasty facts that you need to know about this camera up front in 2013:

1. This camera has the same crappy AF system that plagued the x100 which is shocking to me as even the x10 with the v1.0 firmware outperformed that. The x10’s v2.0 firmware puts it on par with the great improvements of the x20 so I was scratching my head as to why this camera only has a v1.01 firmware update. Hey Fujifilm – where’s the v2 firmware?!!!
   
2. This camera is slow as a slug like the x100, yet it seems to have a dynamic range that is closer to the X10 than the X100.
   
3. Did you hate the X10’s or X100’s original menu system? If so, they’re back from the dead here. I tolerated them before but now with the improvements in the new firmware I can’t imagine how I lived with this crap before!
   
4. The build quality of the X-S1 feels cheap and very inferior to the the other X-Series cameras which have that solid German-like build quality feel (despite being made in Japan). This makes sense though as it’s price indicates that compromises had to be made.
   
5. It’s easy to think this is a DSLR because it sure looks the part, but that lens is not interchangeable and there’s no mirror. It’s also a 2/3” sensor like the X10 not the APS-C sensor found in the X100 (or X100s).

Make no bones about it, this is a X10 in disguise with the flaws of the X100 instead of the benefits of the X10. As a result, it quickly went from being a camera I was so excited to test to one that disappointed me deeply.

If this camera had the X100s internals with a T5i like articulating LCD and a better quality shutter button I would have been gushing all over this camera. It’s definitely a case of so close, yet so far! I wanted to love it because it feels good in the hands and that big honking 26x optical zoom is a joy to use! However, this camera just falls short.

Things get ugly indoors

f/4.5 @ 39.1 mm, 1/200, ISO 3200, No Flash
Flashback to 2006 level high ISO performance

This shot was taken in a fairly bright room on a chamber of commerce sunny day, but ISO 3200 just sucks in anything but perfect light. As a result I found this camera to be darn near unusable in most places in my house during the day and not even worth turning on at night. The on-camera flash was actually worse than average so I quickly accepted the reality that this is a sunny day outdoor camera.

Real World Sample Images

Things do get better when you set this camera up for success. I have a selection of images that illustrate some points I wanted to raise about this camera and to share that it’s not all bad.

As always, these images ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (yes, even the lame ones <g>). You may not save, edit, print, redistribute or otherwise use them without expressed written permission.

The full set of images is available at http://photos.ronmartblog.com/fujifilm/x-s1, but here’s a few noteworthy images. Click the image for the original and view using the gallery to see EXIF information. All major settings were camera defaults and in most cases I’m using Aperture priority with Auto ISO (3200) and DR Auto or EXR mode (when noted). I’m also using the Velvia film simulation and either auto white balance or shade white balance (outdoor shots).

f/4 @ 15.1 mm, 1/60, ISO 320, No Flash
The detail from this lens blew me away and the small sensor made f/4 feel more like f/11

f/3.6 @ 15.7 mm, 1/250, ISO 1250, No Flash, EXR
Small sensor means good bokeh comes a little harder

f/4 @ 23.8 mm, 1/125, ISO 400, No Flash, Aperture Priority –1 EV
I love the in-camera color and lens on this camera

f/3.2 @ 6.1 mm, 1/60, ISO 1600, No Flash
There’s decent wide angle support at the effective 24mm zoom

f/5.6 @ 158.6 mm, 1/27, ISO 3200, No Flash
Max zoom is an astonishing 624mm effective zoom

f/3.2 @ 9.9 mm, 1/420, ISO 100, No Flash
EXR mode doesn’t disappoint as it exposes this scene darn near exactly as the eye sees it

f/3.2 @ 6.8 mm, 1/125, ISO 1250, No Flash
In the dingy dungeon piano practice room EXR mode did okay

f/3.2 @ 6.1 mm, 1/60, ISO 2500, No Flash
While preparing for the piano recital I was impressed at the wide angle view

f/5.6 @ 158.6 mm, 1/30, ISO 3200, No Flash
I was astonished at how close I could get to the piano from my seating position in the shot above

f/5 @ 53 mm, 1/60, ISO 3200, No Flash
I was able to easily get a front row seat to my daughters piano performance

f/5.6 @ 25.7 mm, 1/75, ISO 3200, No Flash
The super macro mode also found on my x10 & x20 worked well here,
but only one out of 8 shots actually came in sharp (typical fail shot)

f/5.6 @ 6.1 mm, 1/60, ISO 2000, No Flash, Aperture Priority, Velvia
Without EXR the blown highlights start to appear
Notice in the center of the image there’s a little tiny blue spot – it’s the stream shown below

f/5.6 @ 158.6 mm, 1/40, ISO 3200, No Flash
The big optical zoom is addicting when you can take a scene like above where you
hear water, but can barely see it. With the big zoom I was able to precision focus through
all of the brush to the water – impressive!

f/6.4 @ 37.6 mm, 1/70, ISO 3200, No Flash, Velvia Film Simulation
The small sensor proves to be advantageous in getting the whole snail in focus at only f/6.4
whereas even f/8 wasn’t enough to get the full snail in focus on the T5i (see here)

f/5.6 @ 11.6 mm, 1/80, ISO 2000, No Flash
Things start to go downhill quickly after ISO 1600
In-camera stabilization is inadequate by todays standards

f/4.5 @ 31.1 mm, 1/60, ISO 2000, No Flash
I wish I could show you better butterfly shots but the battery died after my third click
This is a fantastic butterfly camera – WHEN the damn thing focuses!

Conclusion

There were momentary flashes of brilliance with this camera, and I was impressed with the quality of the build in lens. Given the fact that most good lenses cost more than the entire cost of this camera, Fujifilm has done an impressive job with the lens. What’s more the tiny sensor works to a huge advantage by transforming a mediocre 6.1mm – 158.6mm lens into a beastly 24-624mm (35mm equivalent) 26x optical zoom. That is freakin impressive and a hell of a lot of fun to use! It’s really the one size fits most lens!

Sadly the cool lens and nice ergo of the body are where the good times end. Back for an encore is horrible battery life, horrific menus, useless AF performance indoors, painfully slow buffer flush performance, terrible burst mode and poor high ISO performance. Perhaps a v2.0 firmware like the X10 has would breathe new life into this camera to make it usable again, but as I tested it with v1.01 I quickly realized that there’s little to love about this camera. If you want a DSLR then get DSLR. If you want a point and shoot get a X10 or X20. If want better than 2/3” sensor performance with a fixed lens then get a x100s otherwise get a X-E1. This leaves no audience for this camera which means I give this a strong DO NOT BUY recommendation. I urge my readers to check out my Which camera should I buy? article and reviews below to help decide which camera is better suited for their needs. A X-S2 is rumored to be on the way as soon as the end of this month, so that might help things. However, I’d want to see this camera get the same sensor as the X100s. If the replacement is basically a big X20 then my advice would remain to skip this camera and go for the x20 or other options within the Fujifilm, Nikon, Sony or Canon platforms.

Where to order

Click here to order the Fujifilm X-S1 B&H web site.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these reviews:

• Fujifilm X20 (My personal P&S camera)
• Fujifilm X100s
• Fujifilm X-E1
• Fujifilm XPro-1
• Olympus OM-D E-M5
• Sony NEX-7
• Sony DSC-RX1 
• Sony DSC-RX100
• Canon Rebel T5i/700D
• Nikon D7100
• Things You Need AFTER You Buy Your New Camera - Must Have Photography Accessories
• Photo Editing Tips 

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.