First impressions of the Fujifilm X-S1

[Cactus jACK]

[Nov 2011] Fujifilm has added a third model to their X series of premium cameras - Fujifilm X-S1. The X-S1 offers the same 2/3" 12 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor as the X10 offering the High Resolution / Wide Dynamic Range / High Sensitivity & Low Noise options. But the centerpiece to the X-S1 is the Super Electron Beam Coating (EBC) Fujinon 26x 6.1-158.6mm 1:2.8-5.6 optical zoom lens, offering a super range of 24-624mm (35mm equivalent). The X-S1 also offers a 1.44 million pixels electronic viewfinder (EVF) and tiltable 3" 460,000 pixels LCD screen.





[Highlights]
12 megapixel 2/3" EXR-CMOS sensor
24mm at the wide zoom range
Super EBC Fujinon 26x 24 - 624mm range (6.1 - 158.6mm 1:2.8-5.6 )
1.44 million pixels electronic viewfinder (EVF)
3" 460,000 pixels tiltable LCD screen
1cm Super Macro (at 24mm)
Motion Panorama 360°
Film Simulation Mode
Full HD Movie

Read more and view samples of the EXR modes, Panorama, and Film Simulation modes in the previous review on the Fujifilm X10.

Caveat : This is based on a Pre-Production model. Performance of the camera may be tweaked / enhanced for actual production units. But this will introduce some of the features offered, and its performance based on this pre-production model.

 

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[Camera]
Number of effective pixels 12.0 million pixels
Image sensor 2/3-inch EXR CMOS with primary color filter
Sensitivity : Auto(400) / Auto(800) / Auto(1600) / Auto(3200) / Equivalent to ISO 100 / 200 / 250 / 320 / 400 / 500 / 640 / 800 / 1000 / 1250 / 1600 / 2000 / 2500 / 3200 / 4000 / 5000 / 6400 / 12800

[Lens]
Fujinon 26 x optical zoom lens
Focal length : 6.1 - 158.6 mm, equivalent to 24 - 624 mm on a 35 mm camera
Aperture range : F/2.8 - F/11(Wide) - F/5.6 - F/11 (Telephoto)
Constitution : 12 groups 17 lenses (4 aspherical molded lenses, 2 ED lenses included)
Digital zoom : 2x / 1.4x

[Modes]
Mode : EXR, AUTO, P, S, A, M, C1, C2, C3, Movie, SP, Adv.
SP : Natural Light & Flash, Natural Light, Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Dog, Cat, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, Text
Image stabilizer : Lens shift type
Face detection : Yes
Self-timer : 10 sec. / 2 sec. delay

[Storage media]
Internal memory : approx. 26 MB
Memory card : SD / SDHC / SDXC(UHS-I)

[File format]
Still image : JPEG (Exif Ver 2.3), RAW (RAF format), RAW + JPEG
Image ratio : 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9

Number of recorded pixels :
L : (4:3) 4000 x 3000 / (3:2) 4000 x 2664 / (16:9) 4000 x 2248 / (1:1) 2992 x 2992
M : (4:3) 2816 x 2112 / (3:2) 2816 x 1864 / (16:9) 2816 x 1584 / (1:1) 2112 x 2112
S : (4:3) 2048 x 1536 / (3:2) 2048 x 1360 / (16:9) 1920 x 1080 / (1:1) 1536 x 1536

Motion Panorama :
360° Vertical 11520 x 1624 Horizontal 11520 x 1080
180° Vertical 5760 x 1624 Horizontal 5760 x 1080
120° Vertical 3840 x 1624 Horizontal 3840 x 1080

Movie : H.264 (MOV) 1920 x 1080 pixels / 1280 x 720 pixels / 640 x 480 pixels (30 frames/sec.) with stereo sound
640 x 480 (70 fps) / 320x240 (120fps) / 320 x 112 (200fps)

 

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[Focusing & White Balance]
AF mode : Single AF / Continuous AF (EXR AUTO, Movie), Manual AF (One-push AF mode included)
AF type : TTL contrast AF, AF assist illuminator available
AF frame selection : Multi, Area, Tracking
White balance : Automatic scene recognition, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Custom, Color temperature selection (2,500K - 10,000K)

[Bracketing]
AE Bracketing : ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, ±1EV
Film Simulation Bracketing : PROVIA / STANDARD, Velvia / VIVID, ASTIA / SOFT
Dynamic Range Bracketing : 100%, 200%, 400%
ISO Sensitivity Bracketing : ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, ±1EV

[Flash]
Effective range : (ISO AUTO (800))
Wide : Approx. 30 cm - 8.0 m / 0.9 ft. - 26.2 ft.
Telephoto : Approx. 2.0 m - 4.0 m / 6.5 ft. - 13.1 ft.
Flash modes :
Red-eye removal OFF : Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro.
Red-eye removal ON : Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro.
Hot shoe : Yes

[Functions]
EXR mode : EXR Auto / Resolution priority / High ISO & Low noise priority / Dynamic range priority
Photography functions : EXR mode, Face recognition, Face Detection, Auto red-eye removal, Film simulation, Framing guideline, Frame No. memory, Histogram display, Advanced mode (Motion panorama360, Pro focus, Pro low light), High Speed Movie (70 / 120 / 200 frames/sec.), Electronic level, One-touch RAW, Advanced Anti Blur, Focus check, Color space
Playback functions : Face Detection, Auto red-eye removal, Multi-frame playback (with micro thumbnail), Protect, Crop, Resize, Slide show, Image rotate, Voice memo, Histogram display, Exposure warning, Photobook assist, Image search, Favorites, Mark for upload, Panorama, Erase selected frames, RAW conversing

[View]
LCD monitor : 3" 460,000 pixels tiltable LCD screen, approx. 100% coverage
Viewfinder : 1.44 million pixels electronic viewfinder (EVF), approx. 100% coverage
Diopter adjustment : -5 - +3

[Dimensions & Battery Life]
Dimensions 135(W) x 107(H) x 149(D) mm / 5.3(W) x 4.2(H) x 5.9(D) in.
Weight : Approx. 945 g / 33.3 oz. (including battery and memory card)
Approx. 905 g / 31.9 oz. (excluding battery and memory card)

Battery : NP-95 Li-ion battery (included)
Number of available frames for battery operation : approx. 460 frames / approx. 500 frames using EVF

source: Fujifilm.com

 

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[Handling] - One would expect excellent performance from member of the premium X series model, and that will come through the Fujinon lens and the EXR sensor and EXR processor. The overall look of the X-S1 is different from the sexy "old school" stylings of its siblings, the X100 and the X10. The X-S1 comes in a high quality rubberized coating, excellent as a durable super-zoom traveling companion. The metal dials provide an high-quality look and feel for the discerning photo enthusiast.

- Fujifilm logo

- Metal mode and selector dials / Made in Japan

- X-S1 logo

 

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[Viewing] - The X-S1 offers a 1.44 million pixels electronic viewfinder (EVF) and tiltable 3" 460,000 pixels LCD screen. The 3" tiltable LCD screen is not a 360° articulate screen, offers a tiltable screen for the awkward high or low angle shots - turning either 90° upwards or about 30° downwards. The EVF comes with a sensor to switch between the 3" LCD screen and the EVF. Both the EVF and tiltable LCD screen offer alternative viewings during bright lighting situations.

- tiltable 3" 460,000 pixels LCD screen

- sensor for the 1.44 million pixels EVF

- flash

 

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[Zoom] - The Super EBC Fujinon 26x 6.1-158.6mm 1:2.8-5.6 optical zoom lens, offering a super range of 24-624mm (35mm equivalent) differentiates this from it sibling - the X10. The lens extends out as you zoom, with the focal length markings both on the lens barrel as well as the zoom ring. The rubber grip on the zoom ring, while looking like rather awkward "dust collecting" grooves, work very well in practice providing a good finger grip while zooming through from 24mm to 624mm. The full range takes about a 1/3 turn on the zoom ring, and good grip is a tremendous help with fine zooming for better framing.

Further, Fujifilm's 1.4x and 2x Intelligent Digital Zoom effectively doubles the zoom range to 1248mm (35mm equivalent) without losing picture quality, normally associated with digital zoom functions.

- 26x optical zoom

- 624mm / 1248mm (35mm equivalent)

- metal dials and rubberised coating

 

[gundamseed84]

Can't wait to see the image quality especially at super tele end compared to say HS20 and other rivals. What is the 2nd unlabelled dial for? Shutterspeed?

 

[sunnycamera]

so quick, is it on sale already, or you got a pre-sale mode.

it is definitely better than hs20exr, but I miss the AA battery option,
but if the li-on battery is holding the power well, then it is good as well.

 

[L-coholic]

seems good to me.waiting to see the performance of the tele end too.
is that the rings on the lens are zoom ring and focus ring?

 

[weiteck]

if it's a pre-production set then the image quality might not reflect the actual production sets.

btw this is a prosumer/bridge camera, pls don't compare it to DSLR.
but what i can say for sure is that it having a smaller sensor, the tele-zoom lens can be consider small compare to equal zoom range lens of a DSLR.
Hence such bridge camera, would be ideal for travelling.

 

[Cactus jACK]

seems good to me.waiting to see the performance of the tele end too.
is that the rings on the lens are zoom ring and focus ring?

Yes, the thicker ring is the zoom ring, while the narrow ring (nearer the camera body) is the focusing ring.

so quick, is it on sale already, or you got a pre-sale mode.

it is definitely better than hs20exr, but I miss the AA battery option,
but if the li-on battery is holding the power well, then it is good as well.

if it's a pre-production set then the image quality might not reflect the actual production sets.

btw this is a prosumer/bridge camera, pls don't compare it to DSLR.
but what i can say for sure is that it having a smaller sensor, the tele-zoom lens can be consider small compare to equal zoom range lens of a DSLR.
Hence such bridge camera, would be ideal for travelling.

Yes, this is a pre-production sample. And as correctly pointed out, while the features are there, some of their performance may be tweaked before the production run proper. So coming to any "conclusions" at this time may be a little premature. But that been said, the performance of the pre-production model is already pretty impressive.

Just as a teaser of the capability of the Fujifilm X-S1, I will just share some downsized images - shot JPEG, downsized to 1200x800, no sharpening applied.

 

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- 24mm [EXR Auto] 1/160sec f/2.8 ISO160

- 624mm / 26x zoom [EXR Auto] 1/60sec f/5.6 ISO1600

- 624mm / 26x zoom [EXR Auto] 1/160sec f/5.6 ISO1600

Caveat : Images are taken using a Pre-Production model of the Fujifilm X-S1.
Images were shot in JPEG-Fine, downsized to 1200x800 without any sharpening applied.

 

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- 24mm [EXR Auto] 1/25sec f/2.8 ISO400

- 24mm [EXR Auto] 1/25sec f/2.8 ISO400

- 24mm [EXR Auto] 1/20sec f/2.8 ISO400

Caveat : Images are taken using a Pre-Production model of the Fujifilm X-S1.
Images were shot in JPEG-Fine, downsized to 1200x800 without any sharpening applied.

 

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- 35mm [EXR Auto] 1/20sec f/3.2 ISO800

- 24mm [EXR Auto] 1/30sec f/2.8 ISO400

- 24mm [EXR Auto] 1/70sec f/2.8 ISO400

Caveat : Images are taken using a Pre-Production model of the Fujifilm X-S1.
Images were shot in JPEG-Fine, downsized to 1200x800 without any sharpening applied.

 

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- 24mm [A] 1.3sec f/5.6 ISO100

- 624mm / 26x zoom [A] 0.9sec f/5.6 ISO100

- 874mm / 36.4x zoom (1.4x digital zoom) [A] 0.8sec f/5.6 ISO100

- 1248mm / 52x zoom (2x digital zoom) [A] 0.9sec f/5.6 ISO100

Caveat : Images are taken using a Pre-Production model of the Fujifilm X-S1.
Images were shot in JPEG-Fine, downsized to 1200x800 without any sharpening applied.

 

[blurboiboi]

nice pics... they look sharp even at max zoom...

 

[gundamseed84]

Agree...I am impressed with the sharpness even at 1.4x digital zoom. So that's their answer to "teleconvertor" and match up with SX40's bigger zoom range I suppose.

 

[Andy Ang]

Hmm... Too Bad to technology and pricing...

You sure ain't gonna do much with the tele without a tripod / monopod.

Cosh. almost 1/20 seconds for a 600mm zoom?

 

[Anthony Lee]

Excellent companion to either the X10 or X100.

 

[Cactus jACK]

Hmm... Too Bad to technology and pricing...

You sure ain't gonna do much with the tele without a tripod / monopod.

Cosh. almost 1/20 seconds for a 600mm zoom?

well, if you need to know your equipment, your own limits and technique, understand the environment, and you'll be surprise at what you can achieve for a 600mm shot... even at 1/20sec, without a monopod / tripod.

But for a large part, travel photos in the day, you would have little issues getting much faster shutter speeds. In dimmer conditions, you may have to rely a lot more on the ISO performance of the sensor and processor... did someone say EXR-CMOS sensor and EXR processor?!!

- 24mm [EXR - Auto] 1/800sec f/6.4 ISO100

- 105mm [EXR - Auto] 1/500sec f/6.4 ISO100

- 624mm [EXR - Auto] 1/400sec f/7.1 ISO100

Caveat : Images are taken using a Pre-Production model of the Fujifilm X-S1.
Images were shot in JPEG-Fine, downsized to 1200x800 without any sharpening applied.