Top of camera controls

The X1's top plate is its operational nerve center, and plays home to its major shooting controls which could scarcely be more traditional in concept. The shutter button is surrounded by the combined Power / Drive mode button, and behind it sit the shutter speed and aperture dials (stylistically we're not convinced by those off-center screws, by the way). Each dial has a red 'A' for auto, and the four exposure modes are set by logical combinations of these positions:

When both dials are set to 'A', the camera is in program mode and sets both shutter speed and aperture automatically. This is no dumb fully-auto mode though; the user can still apply any exposure compensation they consider necessary, and shift the camera's chosen exposure settings towards either faster shutter speeds and larger apertures, or slower shutter speeds and smaller apertures (although only by a stop each way).

In shutter priority and manual modes, shutter speeds are available only in the single stop increments marked on the dial (there's no intermediate click stops); when the dial is set to '1+', speeds up to 30 seconds can be selected using the rear wheel. In contrast, aperture priority or program modes use the full range of intermediate speeds. Apertures are available in third-stop steps from F2.8 to F16, with positive click-stops at each position.

The three small holes beside the shutter speed, by the way, are for the tiny speaker which can be used to emit operational sounds, if that's your cup of tea.

Switches / Dials

Rear of camera controls

The rear controls of the X1 are arranged into two sets. A column of five buttons runs down the left side of the LCD, and on the right side of the screen we find the ubiquitous 4-way controller. This has a set button in its center, and is surrounded by a control dial which is used to change settings and magnify the image in playback mode. Each of the four direction keys also provides direct access to a shooting function. At the top right is the manual focus wheel, which also serves an unexpected dual purpose, as a means of browsing images in playback.

Shooting mode controls

EV +/-	Exposure Compensation/Bracketing Cycles through exposure compensation (+/- 3 EV, 1/3 EV steps), Exposure Bracketing (+/- 3 EV, 1/3 EV steps) and Flash Exposure compensation (+/- 3 EV, 1/3 EV steps). Bracketed exposures are taken in a burst from one single press of the shutter button. Settings are changed with either the rear dial or left/right buttons.
	Self Timer This doesn't put the camera into self-timer mode - that's on the top-plate drive mode switch - but instead allows you to select between a 2 second and 12 second delay.
MENU /SET	Menu Enters the main menu, also used to confirm changed settings
	Flash Mode Enters the Flash Mode sub-menu, select from Auto, Auto + Red-Eye reduction, Forced On, Forced On + Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync + Red-Eye reduction, and last but not least Studio.
AF/MF	Focus Mode Chose between AF, AF Macro and MF.
	Manual Focus Dial Used to change the focus in manual mode - a basic distance scale is displayed on screen marked in meters and feet, and the center of the display can optionally be magnified to assist focusing.
	Command Dial Used to change settings in combination with other buttons
PLAY	Play mode Switches to play mode and displays the last image taken or viewed. The X1 is a shooting priority camera, so a touch on the shutter release will cancel play mode and return you to shooting mode.
DELETE /FOCUS	Focus mode select This allows you to select the focus mode - choose from single point, eleven point, spot or face detection modes. Single point and spot modes allow you to place the focus point almost anywhere in the frame as desired - spot uses a smaller autofocus area. Eleven point mode doesn't use actually all points at the same time, but instead subsets grouped in various areas of the frame.
WB	White Balance Calls up the white-balance sub-menu. Changes to the WB setting are previewed live on the screen.
ISO	ISO Sensitivity Calls up the ISO sub-menu. On our beta camera this allows you to choose from 130-3200 in one third-stop steps, different from the originally published specifications of 100-3200; you can also choose auto-ISO with user-configurable slowest shutter speed and maximum ISO.
INFO	Information Display Changes the level of information overlay displayed on the screen. Also used to return the focus point to the center of the screen in single point and fine AF modes.

Play mode controls

DELETE /FOCUS	Delete single / all Displays the 'Delete: Single / All' dialog which allows you to delete the currently displayed / selected image or all images on the SD card (except those which have been protected).
INFO	Information level Pressing this button switches between normal 'full review' to the detailed INFO display which includes a histogram and exposure information.
	Previous / Next image (Manual Focus Dial) Allows browsing from one image to the next.
	Magnify / thumbnail index / page The command dial enables you to magnify the image (turn clockwise) or enter a thumbnail index view (turn counter-clockwise). You can magnify all the way up to 1:1 (one image pixel to one display pixel), in thumbnail index you get a 4 x 4 view.
	Browse (Left and right arrows) Use the left and right arrows to browse through images. In magnify mode the direction buttons are used to scroll around the image.

Menu controls

SET	Confirm Setting Press SET to confirm settings changes (they will be ignored otherwise).
	Navigate (Manual Focus Dial) Navigates quickly up and down through the main menu, jumping one full page at a time
	Navigate (command dial) The command dial can be used to navigate menus, clockwise to move down options, counter-clockwise to move up options.
	Navigate (direction buttons) The up and down arrows can also be used to navigate menus and select options, the left and right arrows enter and exit sub-menus for choosing options