Ratings: 5/5
Price: $823.5
Website: www.parkcameras.com
In our latest super-zoom camera collection, SX40 HS of Canon is leading image quality, FZ150 of Panasonic is
dominating performance and video quality, and HS20EXR of Fujifim is no.1 of
safe design and working effect.
Fujifilm X-S1
With X-S1, Fujifilm determined to creat the top quality in
all areas. 12MP sensor which it shares with Fujifilm X10 creates less noise
than the sensor of Canon. Its performance loses only Panasonic a little, taking
0.9 seconds between shots in normal use. Its controls are based on HS20EXR
controls, with the ring for lens and focus as well as many single-function
buttons.
It is a big camera but it’s comfortable to hold and its
rubber surface effect gives you a firm handle. The only field it is inferior is
video, where it can’t be compared with the ability to record 1080/50p of
Panasonic camera with full manual exposure controls. However, problems of
stabilization system and video autofocus of HS20EXR have disappeared and
microphone input on microphone is a good new addition.
In sum, X-S1 is the winner. However, it is also quite
expensive, more $300 than any cameras mentioned above.
Place for a visibility
Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) doesn’t leave any regrets. 1.44
million-pixel resolution is a improvement 7 times more than EVF of cheaper
competitors, and brings greater visibility than any SLR at this price range.
The sensor automatically switches between screen and EVF when the camera is
brought up to eyes. 3-inch LCD screen with 460 thousand pixels is bright and
clear though we prefer full swiveling screen of Canon and Panasonic, which is rotated
on one side to have many wider views.
Single-function buttons which are on the left of the screen
work well with the command disk, which mostly makes the menu become
unnecessary. However, the menu isn’t well-organized, with the face detection as
14th item below strange parameters such as highlight color and white
balance change. The last one will be more useful if you access it with white
balance presets which have a separate button. Raw button is useful but only at
certain level. It converts between Raw and Raw+JPEG but it is only for a
snapshot. To change permanent setting, you have to enter Setup menu.
The performance is excellent with quick autofocus and
snapshot. Sometimes autofocus is failed but it’s so clear that we only need to
take photos again. However, X-S1 shares a problem we met before on Fujifilm
cameras: although it can take photos while images are saving to the memory
disk, but other controls don’t respond during this time. It is a little
inconvenience and after that, you realize that a setting need changing before
taking another photo, plus to 1 or 2 seconds to the process. Nonetheless,
trying to do it after a series of photos would add about 5 seconds as well as
selecting Raw and continuous mode would plus about 10 seconds.
It is not the fastest camera in opening, taking 2.7 seconds
since opening till taking photos in our tests. Continuous mode is pretty fast
with 6.5fps down to 1.5fps after 6 frames. The reduction of 6MP increased the
performance up to 9.6fps for 14 frames, reducing 3.2fps. However, FZ150 reachs
12fps speed for 12 frames at full quality, or 5.4fps for 22 photos with the
autofocus continuously updated. It is not an option in any continuous mode on
X-S1.
Video mode is generally excellent, with the ability to
record 1080p in AVC format and stereo sound, but, again, there are few
obstacles. Lacking of anti-aliasing filter makes sharp diagonals seems to be
blocked, and it’s extremely disappointed that manual exposure setting, even
exposure locking exposure button has been ignored for video recording. The
autofocus is smooth and quiet, though it’s not reliable in tracking moving
objects with Panasonic cameras. However, it is just possible when the disk is
moved from AF-S to AF-C which we often forget before starting to record.
Fortunately, it still can be changed after pressing recording button.
Microphone input is valuable asset but without headphone jack or level
metering, it means that there is no way to know if it is working or not. X-S1
glided our image quality tests. Lens does well throughout its zoom range
without signs of the phenomenon of chromatic aberration and there is a bit
light in the corner at moderate to long focal distance. 26x zoom range is not
as impressive as 36x zoom of Canon SX40 HS, but actually Canon is only good at
resolving details at maximum zoom extension. Low-light shots show less noise,
especially in EXR mode reducing the resolution to 6MP to prevent noise. Another
mode extending dynamic range helps over hightlights and it is highly effective.
Highlight expansion
Over highlight is the controversy issue, with problems
reported extensively on white disks appearing in the picture. However, it is
quite rare and it doesn’t infringe when appearing. The increase dynamic range
up to 1600% has reduced this issue significantly.
Strangely, images of X-S1 are not impressing in the most
popular conditions. Images taken in clear light at average focal lengths are
fairly sharp but not as photos of Panasonic and Canon. Processing the Raw
output of X-S1 in Lightroom 4 or equipped Silkypix editor isn’t helpful, which
makes us wonder if unusual array of pixel of the sensor (to reduce noise and
extend dynamic range) harms to details or not. We prefer less noise and
extended dynamic range to more details, but others may think differently.
X-S1 still has to be improved but many problems are not
important. The key is that this camera eliminates the demand choosing between
image quality, performance, safe design and working effect. It is equal to the
best product in 3 areas, and its EVF has no rival among super-zoom cameras. You
will have to spend a fortune for a SLR camera and lens to have a more versatile
camera.
Summary
Evaluation: Some obstacles, but this
super-zoom camera wins in every important area.
Super-zoom Digital Camera: 12MP (4,000x3,000),
26x optical zoom (24-624mm), 3-inch LCD (460 million pixels), SDXC slot (26MB
internal), Li-ion battery, 107x136x155mm, 945g, 1 year of RTB warranty
