Fujifilm X-S1 review

In our last round-up of ultra-zoom cameras we found that the best features were split across three cameras. The Canon PowerShot SX40 HS came top for image quality, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 for performance and video quality, and the Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR for ergonomics.

With the X-S1, Fujifilm has set its sights on class-leading quality on all fronts. Its 12-megapixel sensor, which it shares with the superb Fujifilm X10, generates even less noise than the Canon’s sensor. Its performance is only a shade behind the Panasonic, taking 0.9 seconds between shots in normal use. Its controls are largely based on the HS20EXR’s, with lens rings for zoom and focus and lots of single-function buttons. It’s a big camera, but it’s extremely comfortable to hold and the rubber-effect finish gives a really firm grip. The only area where it falls behind is for video, where it can’t match the Panasonic’s 1080/50p AVCHD recording with full manual exposure control. The HS20EXR’s video autofocus and stabilisation problems are gone, though, and the microphone input is a welcome new addition.

In short, the X-S1 is a triumph, and exactly the camera we hoped for. It’s also pretty expensive, though, at around £200 more than any of the other cameras mentioned above. As such, it seems fair to be extremely fussy in our appraisal of this camera.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF) leaves nothing to be desired. Its 1.44 million-dot resolution is a seven-fold improvement over its cheaper rivals’ EVFs, and gives a bigger view than any SLR at this price. A sensor switches between the screen and EVF automatically when the camera is raised to the eye. The 3in, 460,000-dot tilting LCD screen is bright and clear, too, but we prefer the Canon and Panasonic’s fully articulated screens, which are hinged at the side for a wider range of viewing angles.

It’s great to have so many single-function buttons, and the strip down the left side of the screen work brilliantly in tandem with the command dial. There’s one more button and switch than on the HS20EXR, leaving the menu largely redundant in normal use. The menu isn’t well organised, though, with face detection appearing as the fourteenth entry below obscure parameters such as highlight tone and white balance shift. The latter would be more useful if it was accessible alongside the white balance presets, which have a dedicated button. The RAW button is useful but only to a point. It switches between RAW and RAW+JPEG modes but only for one shot before reverting back. Changing the setting indefinitely requires a lengthy delve into the Setup menu.

Performance is generally excellent, with responsive autofocus and rapid shooting in normal use, including in raw mode. The autofocus sometimes completely failed, but it was so obvious that there was no risk of taking home blurry shots – we simply took the picture again.

However, the X-S1 shares a problem we’ve seen many times before on Fujifilm cameras: although it can capture a shot while the previous one is being saved to memory card, all other controls are unresponsive during this time. It’s a mild inconvenience when taking a shot and then realising that a setting needs changing before taking another, adding a second or two to the process. However, attempting to do this after a burst of shots added around five seconds, and selecting continuous and raw modes together added 10 seconds. These figures are with a fast UHS-1 SDHC card – they were quadrupled with a slower Class 4 card.

It’s not the quickest camera to switch on, either, taking 2.7 seconds from power-up to shoot in our tests. Pressing the shutter button before it was ready meant nothing happened at all – we expect cameras to shoot as soon as they’re able. Continuous mode was pretty quick at 6.5fps, slowing to 1.5fps after 6 frames. Reducing the resolution to 6 megapixels (see below) raised performance to 9.6fps for 14 frames, slowing to 3.2fps. However, the Panasonic FZ150 managed 12fps for 12 frames at full quality, or 5.4fps for 22 shots with continuously updating autofocus. That’s not an option in any continuous mode on the X-S1.

The video mode is generally excellent, with 1080p capture in AVC format and stereo sound, but again, there are a few niggles. The lack of anti-alias filtering made sharp diagonal lines look blocky, and it’s frustrating that manual exposure settings and even the exposure lock button are ignored for video capture. Autofocus was smooth and silent, and although it wasn’t as reliable at tracking moving subjects as the Panasonic, it wasn’t bad. This is only possible when the front dial is switched from AF-S to AF-C, though – something we often forgot to do before commencing recording. Thankfully, it can still be switched after pressing record. The microphone input is a great asset but the lack of level metering or a headphone socket means there’s no way of knowing if the microphone’s battery has run out or if there’s a loose connection.

Focus at the full telephoto zoom extension is impressively sharp

The X-S1 sailed through most of our image quality tests. The lens performed well throughout its zoom range, with no sign of chromatic aberrations and only mild corner softness at medium-to-long focal lengths. While its 26x zoom range isn’t as impressive as the Canon SX40 HS’s 36x zoom, in practice the Canon only had a small advantage for resolving detail at the maximum zoom extension. Low-light shots exhibited remarkably little noise, especially in the EXR mode that reduces the resolution to 6 megapixels specifically to combat noise. Another mode extends the dynamic range to rescue blown-out highlights, and was extremely effective.

It’s rare for an ultra-zoom camera to excel in low light, but the X-S1 is a notable exception

The issue of blown-out highlights is somewhat controversial, with widely reported problems of white discs appearing in photos. However, as with the X10, we found it to be rare, and not hugely intrusive when it did appear. Boosting the dynamic range to the maximum 1600% setting significantly reduced it. The example below was caused by sunlight reflecting off a window pane on the Gherkin – it took a heavily over-exposed highlight such as this to trigger the problem.

White discs around specular highlights are infrequent enough to not worry about

Paradoxically, the X-S1’s photos were least impressive in the most favourable shooting conditions. Photos taken in bright light at medium focal lengths were reasonably sharp but not quite a match for the Panasonic and Canon. Processing the X-S1’s raw output in Lightroom 4 or the bundled Silkypix editor didn’t help, either, which makes us wonder whether the sensor’s unusual pixel array (for lowering noise and extending the dynamic range) takes its toll on details. We’d happily choose lower noise and extended dynamic range over extra detail, but others may feel differently.

It isn’t so impressive in the least challenging situations – image detail is reasonable here but not outstanding

The X-S1 leaves room for improvement, but many of the problems described above are trivial, and from our point of view, none are critical. The bottom line is that this camera removes the need to choose between image quality, performance and ergonomics. It’s up there with the best in all three areas, and its EVF is without equal among ultra-zoom cameras. You’d have to spend a fortune on an SLR and lots of lenses to get a more versatile camera.