Fujifilm XF1 hands-on preview: Digital Photography Review

Body Elements

	The top of the camera has few controls - just the shutter release, Fn button (that by default is set to change ISO) and the rather-crowded mode dial. The latter has two user memory positions (C1 and C2) and an 'Adv.' position that access special features such as panorama mode, multi-shot low light mode and the image-processing 'Advanced filters'.
	The upper rear dial is perfectly placed for operation by your right thumb. It can be clicked in to change its function in certain modes.
	The XF1 has a blindingly-bright autofocus assist LED lamp to aid focusing in dark conditions. This can, naturally, be turned off in the menu if you prefer. It can also be disabled, along with the flash and operational sounds, by pressing down the 'DISP' button for 2 seconds to enter 'Silent' mode.
	The tiny little flash unit pops-up out of the top plate. It's not motorized, so won't activate automatically when the camera is in auto modes. Instead you get an onscreen message asking you to pop it up.
	The flash is released by this sliding mechanical switch on the back of the top plate.
	The XF1's stereo microphones are placed towards the base of the camera, either side of the lens barrel. They will pick up lens mechanism noises during recording, from both zooming and focusing, although these are only likely to be audible in quiet conditions.
	The XF1's connectors lie under a small flexible flap on the handgrip side of the camera. There's an HDMI port for playing back video, and above it a tiny USB/AV out socket. The XF1 has no facility for a remote shutter release.
	The battery and SD card go into a conventional compartment in the base of the camera. The camera uses Fujifilm's small NP50 battery (3.6V, 1000mAh, 3.6Wh) that's shared with the X10 and several of the company's compact superzoom cameras.
	The tripod socket is placed off-centre from the lens, as is common with zoom compacts. Happily though it's well-separated from the base compartment, meaning you have a fighting chance of being able to change the battery or card with the camera on a tripod.

Comments

Total comments: 126

(continued)

Inner virtues:
- very effective image stabilization, the Fujifilm-promised 4 stops may be plausible.
For comparison, the RX100 is reported to have 0 stops effectiveness at its wide and, and 1 stop at its tele and (as reported by owners in the forum here)

- in the bright: very flare resistant, even against sun

- at night shots, the highlights have nice star rays instead of round flares, there are no flare "bubbles"

- the EXR-DR mode allows two exposures in ONE shot (i.e. no exposure/HDR bracketing and subsequent image alignment required), so that the landscape may be pleasantly bright again without blowing the sky into plain white.

What could have been better, when pixelpeeping:
- Fujifilm, and RAW converter providers, could have invested more development effort into EXR colour filter read-out, so that resolution isn't reduced somewhat (as I feel it is now). At least it got better recently with Adobe, hopefully that development carries on.

0 upvotes

(continued)
Regarding the Canon Sxxx 'lens error' issue (the lens gets stuck while the cam is still new) , Canon admitted the problem some time ago, and had announced this being solved from a certain serial number onwards. Unless you have been reading about this problem still persisting, you may consider the S100 if you love its unrivalled slimness. I didn't go for it only because I believed the FX1 has a better picture quality overall, also benefitting from a bigger sensor.

Btw, the obsolescence of the usual lens operation motor is a bonus of the XF1 design with regards to longevity. The Canon Sxxx story told us, that such a motor may turn out as a potential weak point with a pocket cam.

Outer virtues:
- iconic style: did promptly win an industrial design award shortly after it came out

- all metal, no plastic or rubber surfaces

- lens mechanism allows for a silent, quick, and discrete operation and zooming, convenient for street/people/children shooting

0 upvotes

I got the XF1 now.
@Frank, if you shoot weddings professionally, I guess you like shooting people in general for pleasure? then the XF1 is suitable, having a fast and reliable AF, better colours than its rivals I'm aware of (including better white balance), and the manual zoom and lens locking operation makes good for discrete snapshots.

However, if you like to have each single hair being pronounced in portraits, then the XF1 has probably below-average resolution, because of its exotic EXR sensor colour filter mosaic layout. Depends, how pixel-peepy you are.
The RAW images in DPReview's studio target shots are outdated, because they suffered from Adobe ACR up to v7.1 blurring EXR sensors quite heavily, and introducing colour moires. Whith v7.4 (not [officially] available for download, but supposed to be updated from within Photoshop/Lightroom), the false-colour moires are gone, and the resolution got better, as well (but not exceeding JPEG).

0 upvotes

Sorry, I forgot to mention, I shoot weddings with my Canon 7D and as a backup I use Canon 50D, so this would be my carry around camera in my pocket.

0 upvotes

I need some help. I have owned a canon s95 for 13 months and the lens won't retract and the camera won't power up. Of course it's one month out of the warranty. I was looking to replace it instead of fixing it. First thought was to go Canon S100 or S110. But i'm a little concerned from reading Canon reviews that this lens thing might be a problem across that line of cameras. Hench, I found this fuji. I really like some of the features on this camera (most being the double exposure shot). I'm more concerned about image quality and build though. I've read about orbs appearing in night shots. I'm not sure what direction to go. Any help is appreciated.

0 upvotes

Tested an RX100. Too small and slippery. Nothing like a 'real' camera. Tried the XF-1 twice - and would be pretty keen to have one, despite my dislike of non EVF cameras. Handles nicely. Soon get used the twist to turn on.

0 upvotes

Has anyone seen the test scene of this camera? I opened randomly GX-1 review and went to the test scene; then I selected XZ-1 and XF1 and I could not believe my eyes: both RAW and JPG of XF1 are ax blurred as hell. Is this a mistake? Why isn't this test scene accessible from XF1's preview??

0 upvotes

With my XF1 buying experience, I've found out that the biggest problem with this camera is its QC. My first red XF1 had a problem with the battery door, and Fuji gave me a replacement. The second one I got had a problem with its zoom ring. I returned it, got another new one, and my third XF1 seems to be okay. I buy many cameras, and I've had bad luck with only the cameras from Fuji.

0 upvotes

I really like the way the zoom lens and popup flash are mechanical. Its not just because its retro but it makes the device inherently simpler which to my mind is a good thing. Saves battery power and one less electric motor to burn out over time. I hope this trend continues in cameras towards more robust sustainable design.

0 upvotes

Recently have bought it. Fantastic quality of picture and very convenient control system. Nice stylish design. I already have X-10 and this camera is not worse, but more compact. Having a lot of cameras, I like all cameras of X-series of Fuji very much.

5 upvotes

It doesn't get any uglier than this. :-(

0 upvotes

I believe the indicated maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 is wrong here in the dpreview specs for this cam, it should be instead max 1/2000 !!!

0 upvotes

I would be all over this thing if it had a exposure compensation dial.

0 upvotes

It does have a customizable Fn (Function) button on top, I'd look into if that can be set as Ex.Comp. for the dial on the back.

1 upvote

This is shallow of me but I do wish it came in black.

1 upvote

Well the funny thing is that it does come in black and brown.

3 upvotes

I meant all black. I've never been into that two tone silver/black look.

0 upvotes

look forward to comparing this with the larger enthusiast compacts on file at DPR and the latest flock of Lx7 etc. Could be the back up camera for me!

0 upvotes

The foldable lens is fantastic idea. I have xz-1 as a pocket camera but you really "feel" the lens all the time.

0 upvotes

I didn't pay a lot of attention at first, but in retrospect, I think this may be the perfect take-everywhere camera. It appears to be an X10 that fits in my pocket.

0 upvotes

Can you comment on the focus bracketing feature? How does is work exactly.

I read that when shooting portraits it will make it so you have a nice shallow DOF.

0 upvotes

Same as a X10 fiture
it's a special mode
it takes 2 pictures, 1 in focus, 1 out off focus, and merge them.

Most of the time it did well, with lovely bokeh, sometimes, it doesn't merge as expected

1 upvote

Fuji, make the same camera with the same sensor as the Sony R1 and with a longer battery life..for 700$!

0 upvotes

I guess I would rather get a m4/3 camera with a 20/1.7 or a powerzoom Panny kit if I needed a pocketable outfit, but this Fuji does look gorgeous!

0 upvotes

Gorgeous little camera, love the look. I'm excited about the size and the intriguing list of features as well. The only bummer I see here is the lack of viewfinder which I very much appreciate in my X100 and X10 but I understand how it is just not possible given the tiny size and the fact that it zooms. If they were to release this as a Baby X100 with an optical viewfinder I would be in heaven but this looks like a fine piece nevertheless...of course I had to preorder one.

1 upvote

If the lens extension mechanism is really sturdy like the X10, it will be nice to have a lens that (ahem) stays rigid and aligned when extended. Apologies for the X-rated comment, but one of several things I didn't like aobut the RX100 was the way the lens wobbled. Not encouraging, and not likely to get better after the lens extends and collapses a few thousand times.

0 upvotes

You are right on about the RX100. I had one for less than 2 weeks and had shot less than 200 images, when I noticed a couple of drag marks on the largest lens barrel. In addition, there was a very small deposit of what appeared to be lubricant. I returned it, and as much as I enjoyed it, I can't bring myself to try another one.

0 upvotes

Why would a manual zoom "appeal less so to video shooters", as DPR writes? Zooming while filming is something only newbie video shooters do. You can watch a 100 of the best videos on Vimeo, and you'll rarely if ever see the cameraman actually zoom in or out during a take. A tracking shot, or moving in an out of the focal plane on a slider, but zooming? No.

The manual zoom, and the real shutter sound vs. the cheesy recording of a shutter sound are two reasons the X10 is one of my favorite compacts.

1 upvote

hands on what? too hard to push the shuttler release and show us an image? what happened to all the beta images of yesteryear? being a paid for adveritising mouthpiece is of no value to me.

0 upvotes

Fuji has some great designers. I just picked up an X-Pro1 and it is such a solid and beautifully designed camera. Same for the X100 and X10. Now this XF1 with it's elegant, minimalist design they are on a roll. And they aren't just handsome cameras, but have great sensors, photographer centric features and excellent EBC optics.

6 upvotes

A bit too expensive, no? I mean, the X10 for the same price has much better lens (the size of the glass does matter): I'm sure the X10 lens is sharper and has much better resolution. Plus, the X10 has a very nice viewfinder. But other than that, this is a real cute camera, and the manual lens mechanism is a killer feature, because it is unlikely to break like those motorized ones do. Still, it's a bit too expensive, especially considering that the colors of this Fuji sensor are not that great (they are OK, but could be better).

0 upvotes

Not that expensive, same price as the LX7 with a larger sensor. It's very pocketable, which the X10 isn't. It offers a lot. I'm going to get it as a partner for my X-E1. It's a fun, well made, interesting camera that offers a lot in a small package. A baby Leica in a way.

0 upvotes

You have a point about the X10, but you are comparing the current prices. At launch the X10 was $599. I agree that the X10 has several advantages like the faster lens. The only real disadvantage of the X10 is the larger size. I don't agree at all about the colors produced by the Fuji 2/3" sensor. Like more Fuji camera colors are superb. I really like the way this XF looks, and the size is great, but one reason I got rid of my RX100 was the slow max aperture at the telephoto end. The XF1, to keep size down, has a similarly slow aperture at 100mm. Still great looking, as are most Fuji cameras.

1 upvote

You have not understood the real advantage of this cam: the manual zoom is it! You save approx. 2 - 5 sec. with this feature.

every other digicam needs 1 - 2 sec. to drive out the lense. With the manual zoom of the X10 I need approx. 1/2 of a sec.

every other digicam needs 2 - 3 sec. to run throug the zoom-area, from wide to tele. With the manual zoom you need 1/2 of a sec. to adjust the right zoom-position.

I know that nowadays we are used to have a button for every feature, that we only need to press. In times of android, WIN7/8 and Cams that do absolutely everything outomatically, we are not used to do something without an electronic button.

But you will see, you are much much faster with that manual zoom. And if you have used this manual zoom of the X10 (and of the XF1) you will never wait 2 - 3 sec. for the old fashioned electronic zoom.....

1 upvote

i have the x10 and have had many motorized lens compact cameras. in all my years i have never seen 1 motorized lens compact cam break. i would put money on the fact that down the road the x10 mechanism might break due to manually turning it. if anything the on off part might go first in terms of breakage. lisa

0 upvotes

Amazing they have managed to fit the sensor into such a small depth, while still achieving f1.8 at the wide end, the rear element must be 1 micron away from the sensor surface.

0 upvotes

of course, sony did the same thing with a much larger sensor in the RX100...

0 upvotes

Now all we have to do is wait for 6 mo. to see if Fuji does what they have done so many times in the past. Screw up!

I hate this. I actual am a Fuji fan. I have owned the S9100 and still own the F31. Great cameras.

We shall see!!!

Don

1 upvote

I returned the Sony RX100 and waiting for this. I already have the Fuji X-10 but it's a bit too bulky for the pocket.

3 upvotes

try to find a coat with bigger pockets ;-)

1 upvote

cant figure out how this is preferable to an rx100 witch features a bigger sensor more dof control, a lens of VERY similar capability and is smaller. its a bit sexier but the rx100 is one of the best looking compacts out there so it not bad to look at just not his pretty

1 upvote

I got the RX100 and returned it. I also have the X10 I love it but it's not really pocketable. @Thomas in California we don't wear coats. We wear t-shirts and shorts even in the winter.
The reason I didn't like the Sony RX100 was ergonomics and useability. Everything seemed to be 5+ counter intuitive clicks away.

1 upvote

Another interesting product from Fuji!

0 upvotes

Really like that SX-70 theme going in the brown camera, with the bag.

0 upvotes

On second glance, you're right ... Edwin Land would have enjoyed seeing this camera. I'm a little unsure of the lens mechanization, but this looks like a solid alternative to the S110. I'm an Oly guy, but I'd probably buy this over the XZ-2.

0 upvotes

if the mechanism is similar to that one of the X10 than it is realy great. Much more exact and much faster than all electronic zooms I've ever had.

0 upvotes

Call it retro or not, but my last three pocketable cameras, which weren't on the cheap side either, both died after less than two years of "lens error", the inability of that tiny motor to shift the lens barrel. If Fuji's hand-driven lenses make it past this point, they are worth it!

2 upvotes

Two years is good. I kill them in 6 months. I throw in my pocket camera, keys, phone and let them fight it out. :-)
I like the X-10's metal lens cap. It's indestructible.
The cameras that have thin aluminum blades to "protect" the lens are too flimsy for me.

0 upvotes

Similar experience: I bought my daughter a Canon Powershot 300, and in 6 months, it lost the lens mechanism. Canon replaced it, then 10 months later, dead again. This time Canon refused to repair it under warranty. That's a brilliant way to retain loyalty.

1 upvote

Congratulations to Fuji for making such a cute but capable pocketable camera. In comparison to my Canon S85, this is heaven. In fact even compared to the newest Canon S100, it looks really good for the more serious photographer.

For manual mode we have 2 dials, so you can use one for Aperture and the other for Shutter Speed. Obviously Fuji, knows what photographers want when they spend a bit more money for a really portable pocket camera. The 2/3" sensor size is really very nice. My old first serious digital camera was a 2/3" sensor Minolta and the portraits and flower closeups taken with it still look pretty good. My Canon G12, and 5D Mk II would not be ashamed to sit alongside this Fuji, although the G12 would certainly suffer in comparison.

Both the Sony RX-100 and this Fuji (as other company's offerrings) bring a lot more to the table than Canon. I hate to say this, but I am disappointed by Canon's more recent lack of innovative leadership.

4 upvotes

I own an RX100 and by the numbers it's an equivalent stop faster across the board but the XF-1 certainly looks more fun. The manual zoom, customization options, just looks like a good time. I also would prefer the RX100 had a manual flash release like the XF-1, so often your fingers will be over the stupid thing... If the XF-1 is say $399, I would certainly recommend it to my friends. Even the visuals seem to make you smile more than the very straight-cut purpose-designed RX100. Not that the XF-1 is not made of substance, just adds something cool as well that's missing on the sony.

1 upvote

I heard it is more close to the x10 price around $500

0 upvotes

Yes, there is face detection and recognition, reference the E-Fn button control, lower right quadrant, on page 5.

0 upvotes

Thanks mate!

0 upvotes

No face detection AF?

1 upvote

If there's no face detection, I'd rather get the RX100. Love the beautiful design though.

0 upvotes

That's what I'm wondering. The specs don't mention face detection on the XF. There's face detection on the X10, although it's a bit quirky. There's no face detection on the X100 or the XPro1. The specs also don't mention face detection on the XE1. So I'm not sure where Fuji is going with face detection. It certainly makes off center portrait focus composition easier -- especially when handing the camera over to a less inexperienced photographer.

0 upvotes

Wonder how it stacks up against the F31fd ;)

3 upvotes

Gets my vote for xz-1 replacement.

0 upvotes

Not for me. The XZ-1 has optional EVF and remote flash control, and the XZ-1 competes quite well at longer focal lengths.

The remote flash control is a killer feature because these tiny cameras really need a good flash more often and are too small to accommodate them comfortably.

0 upvotes

well, i actually never used the flash on xz-1 nor had any desire to use external flash, but the noisy ISO around 400-800 and the mushy greens kills my overall high impression of the xz-1.
The xz-2 is heavier and seems to use more or less same sensor.
by the x10 reviews, the xf-1 may be better in IQ and lighter and smaller, yet still keeps the good colors of fuji and olympus.
I am definitely not going for xz-2 so if this xf1 is better than xz-1 in IQ, it is winner for me.

1 upvote

First - I want to say thanks to dpreview for doing a direct side-by-side size comparison vs it's direct competitors - the s100 and the rx100. So happy to see the useful info I'm really interested in.

Second, same sentiment towards the table that lists out the lens aperture values! Awesome. :-)

4 upvotes

Fuji will get my money but for the X-E1. I do like the design of this camera, but a few of the specs fall short for the price. For this money, I'd say the X10 is a much, much better deal and a better shooter, albiet at a larger body size.

2 upvotes

Indeed, f2.0-2.8 is definitely more attractive than f1.8-4.9.

0 upvotes

I love the aperture comparison charts, but I think they could be much better with one more column: absolute aperture diameter.

1 upvote

What for? Sensor sizes are different between the listed models, so the diameters are not comparable in my opinion.

1 upvote

Reminds me of the German WERRA rangefinders; quite minimalist for their day.

4 upvotes

Hasty look of XF1 and this feels like a good alternative for XZ-1 (XZ-2 is too big), but hopefully cheaper than RX100.

0 upvotes

Size and sensor are fine, but F4.9 is no good replacement for XZ-1's optics.
In my opinion only RX100 and LX7 are up close to an XZ-1 so far, but both suffer from poor colors and are - currently - much more expensive.

My wish for XZ-2: 10MP 2/3 sensor, same lens (resulting in 24-100 maybe), faster processor for 5-10 frames/s and better firmware. :-)

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

But more pocketable for those social snapshot type of situations where I don't usually use zoom at all.

0 upvotes

Seems I have posted my first comment in the wrong thread. So, here it goes again ...

What a pretty little camera! I love the looks and the back-to-basics approach of its mechanical zoom. In my opinion there's nothing more intuitive and more instant than a properly designed, smoothly operating mechanical zoom ring.

As far as I can see from this short preview and as others have pointed out before, the only slight letdown seems to be the display of the XF1. Even Ricoh have been using high quality 920k and now 1.2m displays in their much cheaper CX series since years. Using a camera that doesn't have a view finder, a photographer crucially depends on the rear display for framing, composing, focusing, editing etc. The display of such a camera should therefore be state of the art with respect to resolution, refresh rate, brightness, anti-reflective coating etc. Fuji could have done better than using a 460k display for this little gem of a camera.

To be continued ...

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

0 upvotes

... contd.

One last thing: I wonder how much larger this camera/lens combination would have to be, if the lens had a constant maximum aperture of f/2 and a really useful zoom range of 24-120mm. Does anyone know?

Comment edited 57 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Not in at all the same class, Sheik. Look at the X10. It is 28-112 and f2.0-2.8 and is twice as deep. Even with better packaging, your preferred spec would be at least as deep.

I think Fuji will do very well with this. It's pretty enough to stand out in a way few cameras can, though I think the mechanical lens retraction may put off some, as it ooks a bit fussy and fragile. It's a shame they didn't make better use of the dials.

0 upvotes

Thanks for your reply, Mark. You're right, the X10 is a good example for the additional depth/bulk that comes with a more powerful lens. Shame, really, as a constant f/2.0 lens could do wonders even for a comparatively small 2/3" sensor. I find the steep decline in maximum aperture over the zoom range of the XF1 ... well, shocking :-)

0 upvotes

The RX100 is not substantially deeper than the XF-1 and is basically a stop faster at wide and tele when factoring in sensor size. There's a little more room, but not much. Constant aperture doesn't make much sense on a compact zoom where the lens has diameter restrictions and with glass that small it doesn't cost much money to make them bright at wide. The combination of glass size and diameter restrictions means varying apertures are desirable.

0 upvotes

The older the design, the newer it looks to modern generations.

I bet 50 years from now the revival of the G12 looks will look to people's eyes refreshing.

--EDIT
I hope I'll be around by then!

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

haha keep dreaming, the G series and many early digitals are timelessly fugly. Kinda like some crudely made instant cameras from 30 years ago.

6 upvotes

... 416'000 pixels fixed screen in a 2012 600$ camera? Come on! Fuji is not going to have my money on this one although I welcome an alternative to Sony's first 1 inch sensor offering which I'm not buying either because the lens'size strangles the sensor capabilities. But I'd definetely consider a bigger and better equipped model whether it comes from Sony or Fuji.
So, yes, Richard, ladies can use their brain as much as you do.

0 upvotes

Maybe you should consider that new Leica with 230 000 pixel 2.5" screen they just announced for just $5,450.

0 upvotes

@RichardAB. What do you know about ladies' tastes in camera buying selection process? Apart from the fact that they're less tempted to carry a heavy load than 6feet+ 40years- males and may not as much as them mind about small buttons, can't one assume that their criteria differ from one another?
As for this trend to revive passé bodies, I find it pathetic. A sure sign of lack of creativity in the design and R&D departments or of their subservience to marketing and finance top teams only willing to validate me too products and tiny evolutions.
Just looking at this Fuji's flash reminds me of a disposable camera. Same impression I had looking at the ever so expensive Leica-Hermes coprod. Surely after 20 years+ of digital camera making and all the CAD tools at their disposal, companies should have been able to produce a miniature articulated flash... (more follows)

0 upvotes

Veeeery beautiful!!! Buf f/4.2 at 50mm eq. is a bit too much... :(

1 upvote

When will fuji arrive in the 21st century aesthetically? In 100 years' time?

1 upvote

You mean Canon Sxxx like? No, thanks.

Comment edited 24 seconds after posting

7 upvotes

Fuji without a doubt designs the most aesthetically beautiful cameras these days except for perhaps Leica. If they are not to your taste, you have a lot to choose from from other vendors.

9 upvotes

When will you start to develop a taste? At around 50, maybe?
;-)

6 upvotes