Fujifilm releases X-S1 premium EXR 26X superzoom

I think Francis Carver needs to comment just one more time.

http://www.samsung.com/us/photography/digital-cameras/EC-WB100ZBABUS-specs

This Samsung-cam also sports a 26x zoom, but it starts at an impressive 22.3mm instead of 24mm as w. X-S1. But, in true Samsung fashion, their own specs fail to mention anything about video capabilities, the size of the sensor (!!!) they have in the camera, etc. So far, I haven't been able to figure out who even buys Ricoh, Samsung, etc. odd brand cameras, and why?
Interesting note for eyeglass wearers, I could adjust the Fuji X-S1's viewfinder to fit my eyes, and I wear minus 6.5 diopter glasses. Fuji's owns specs claim you can only adjust EVF down to -6.5. So, reality surpasses the Fujifilm camera specs, wow!!

I allways tought this was possible, never belivied the excuse " a larger sensor would make the lens of a superzoom unpratical", and in fact, fujifilm proved those that argued that, completely wrong.

I was imagining a 1/1.6 10mpx sensor like those of the S90, but they did it even better with a 2/3.
maybe this kinda of quality for a superzoom would canibalize on sales of bulky expensive zoom lens thenselves and some photographers would rather had a second camera just for zoom and as backup instead of a bulky lens for that matter. ANyway, price is a little killer tough.

Fuji have demonstrated they can produce a decent CMOS APS-C sensor with the FinePix X100. They need to drop that sensor into the X-S1, dispense with the absurd mega zoom - which no one could hold steady at 624 mm, or anything like it - and provide a range of interchangeable lenses.

The result (assuming Fuji can get the operating software sorted - surely possible) would be a much needed dose of fresh air to the jaded amateur DSLR market where each of the incumbant players seem intent on merely offering more of the same. In the case of Canon's XXXD line that invariably means a cheap and tacky body, while for Nikon's D3100 and 5100 ugly with ghastly plastics is de rigour.

There's a gap out there alright, and the design of the Fuji X-S1 suggests Fuji could fill it if they had the courage to bring a high quality, compact interchangeable lens DSLR, with the looks of the X-S1 and an APS-C sensor.

So how about it?

After downloading and reading the X-S1 owner's manual cover to cover and finding it lacking in so many places, especially re. the meager video capabilities, I just called our Fujifilm USA buddies to inquiry about their X-S1 in a little better detail.

1-800-800-3854, #1, #2

Wow, that was a good one, he-he-he-he! All I could find out from Fujifilm USA was that there is no X-S1, and in fact it may not be released for another 4 to 6 months. And also, that there will not be any "support" on it until after it is released, whenever that might in fact be. Then I was asked by the person on the other end of the line why would I not want to buy the X100 instead -- as that is available already!?

So, this X-S1 thingy will be a Summer 2012 camera, folks, at least in the USA. Those of us who would want something sooner than that will have to look elsewhere, unfortunately.

Thanks, Fujifilm, it's been real, dudes!

What £699 in the UK, thats only £25 less than I just paid for my K-5, what are Fuji on? I want some of that dope...

Upon reading the press release for the launching of the X-S1, we were really looking forward to order 3 or 4 copies of the X-S1 superzoom-cam with the 26x zoom, but since this one will most likely share the new 3/4-inch sensor found in the X10, I am not sure why it would not have this same unwanted white disc phenomenon? Or maybe by the time the X-S1 starts shipping, the firmware update will have been readied for both the 3/4-inch sensor X10, and the same sensor X-S1? Problem I can see now is, what if it is really the sensor (or processor) and thus it cannot be fixed via a firmware patch?

Who is the target audience for these superzooms?

I'd guess predominantly travelers, who need a flexible, wide-range zoom in a compact package.

So why would then Fuji not include a GPS function?!

Automatic fail, for many.

and added a few conveniences:
a fully articulated LCD, GPS, and remote (IR or BT)
and bigger flash + bigger battery
did it already have 2*SDXC?
either film+photos or RAW+JPG or backup or continuing to 2nd SDXC or?

Let's also see the competition on larger sensor bridgecameras...

Well, in response to the widespread users' complaints about the "white disc phenomenon," Fujifilm decided to respond with an all-out attack press release.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2011/12/07/fujifilmplansfirmware

Well, if the X10 has this white disc flare issue, so will the X-S1 have it, since the two cameras share sensor.

It may be wise to wait a bit for the X20 and X-S2, maybe by then Fuji will have corrected these initial snafus.

If the X-S1's sensor will also revel in the X10's "white disc phenomenon," that won't be too good, will it?

Also, seems to me that the video functionality of the X-S1 is no better than what one can get out of a sub-$100 point-and-shooter. One single frame rate, all-auto everything. So lame, really. What a waste for an amazing 26x focal range advanced digital camera.

I would buy the Panasonic fz150 tomorrow if it had the much better EVF that the X-S1 is reputed to have. I will wait for the results from dpreviews review to decided.
I am more than a little disappointed that dpreview has not yet released a review of the fz150.

X-S1 video capabilities (CON't):

Other specs of the Fuji X-S1 cracked me up a bit. Apparently the camera can do "HIGH SPEED MOVIE RECORDINGS." Great, right? Well, not so fast. It can shoot at 70fps but only in 640x480 pixel. It can also shoot at 120fps at 320x240. Finally, it can shoot at 200fps at 320x112 pixels. What a cruel joke on the part of Fujifilm, hmmm?

The Fuji X-S1's EVF is only 0.47-inch in size and the usual lower resolution (not like the Sony SLT a65/a77 OLED), and the LCD screen is also the low-rez 460K type. Light years from what Sony is giving you with their a65/a77, in other words.

Specs also fail to state whether the recording of video is at 30p or 60i. Also the manual fails to state whether you can play out the footage on both NTSC and PAL TVs?

Final assessment: camera looks okay for taking stills, although there are many larger sensor cameras out there now, at least of the M4/3 sensor type. But if the aim is mostly to shoot video -- pass on the X-S1.

Why the Fuji X-S1 is pretty awful for video?

Fujfilm X10 footage I was able to see so far did not impress me at all, so I cannot help thinking that the X-S1's footage will be similar. Same sensor, same processor, same poor video capability.

The Fuji X-S1 has that amazing monster-zoom lens on it, 26x focal range and F1.8-5.6. Very nice. But that is not nearly enough. Re. the video part, it is like a $100 point-and-shoot -- auto everything and one single frame rate only. Auto white balance only in video mode, auto shutter, auto iris, auto everything.

Fuji X-S1 specifications fail to reveal the recording bitrate at all, so you know it's gotta be surely only 17Mb/sec. MOV container is not a good selling point, either. Also, specs fail to disclose maximum clip size recordable.

of course the IQ's cannot be compared to DSLR which has APS-C or larger size sensor, but with X-S1 , you have so many benefit that DSLR cannot after for, such as after took for long distance zoom, you can make 1 cm close for macro that DSLR cannot beat even for FF and still have bonus colorful image as typical of Fujifilm result. And as X-series family, the lenses must get better fine tune than other series.

Can't anybody else do maths?
The sensor in this camera & the X10 is: 2/3"
That Equals= 16.933mm
So easily bigger then the Nikon V System Plus most offer Bridge & compact cameras.
Stop be so stupid as to think that you could make a lenses like this to go on a full frame or APS-C size sensor.
It would be big & heavy plus very expensive.
So This camera fills the cheap super zoom market sector with the X-10 as a high level compact.
Fuji have done there homework very well.
Also keep in mind that Fuji have already said they well do an interchangeable lens X version next year.
As they do not have a lens mount made for anything other than medium format now.
I could see them using the Leica M mount, as it is not licensed.
This would mean a full frame interchangeable lens rangefinder. Cheap M9 anyone?
Or make a APS-C mount, So a cheaper option.
Again they have done there homework.

Even though the X-S1's sensor is smaller than its LCD, I'm smitten. Maybe it's because I don't get prints the size of a sports bar flat screen TV. The EXR system's flexibility strikes me as a smart way of dealing with challenges different lighting conditions present. If this camera performs in line with its specs, the piggy bank gets it. :)

Even Ricoh moves to APS-C sized sensor with their GXR zoom module (in 2012),Sony did it already with their ultimate & excellent Nex series, so i'm very sorry to say that small sensors deliver bad to average IQ...I will never come back to these bridge cameras since my disappointing experience with the Leica V-Lux 2 few months ago !!

For those of you who think the sample pictures posted by Fuji are fine, I suggest you download the full-sized pictures and look at them with some care, for example, the picture of the lion. If you look carefully at that photo, you'll find that the whiskers and teeth of the beast aren't even in focus. Ditto with the picture of the bridge: at full size, you'll see that the focus is fairly soft. When I compare those early pictures released by Fuji with pictures I can take with my Panasonic FZ28, the Fuji comes in a poor second best.

What I'd like to have is a 2/3 sensor in a compact fixed-lens body like that of the Panasonic ZS5/6/7/10 series, which has a small P&S 1/2.3 sensor and 10X zoom. The ZS cameras are great travel cameras.

On Paper/ Spec this is a Good Cameras.
But we Need a Good Image. This is more important on Choosing Cameras.
I hope Fuji working hard to make this camera have a good images.
Otherwise people will buy other cameras. and Fuji loosing money by investing on R & D, but can not sell many cameras

Come on Fuji you can Do it.

It's an excellent camera and will definitely become the king of superzooms. But the more I think about it the less confident I become that this would be a good replacement to my compact camera setup (don't want to call them P&S because I use them exclusively in manual mode to achieve more creative results). I usually carry two compacts in a small camera bag. I find the bag more convenient than pockets as there is a place for key, batteries, and even wallet. It also reduces risk of dust getting inside the camera (the pockets are full with lint particles). The X-S1 will not fit even half way into this bag, while Nikon V1 with two lenses will as well as one FZ-150. The V1 has much larger sensor than X-S1 and FZ-150 and demonstrates amazing image quality and versatility. It is more expensive but the IQ and compact factor makes it much more appealing system for daily walk-arounds of a photo enthusiast (not interested in birding though).

The diffraction limited aperture (2/3 sensor @ 12MP) is ~4.3. That makes maximum zoom (aperture 5.6) useless (all settings with aperture higher that ~4.3!!!); you won't get any additional information in the image! (in real life, results will be worse than this theoretical limit!)

Would have been better to make the camera lighter/smaller while obeying the laws of physics!

The lens fully manual zoom?

There are a few things that disturb me about this camera even before seeing any independent test results. First, Fuji has never had a bridge camera that has landed in the top five. Second, the camera, according to Fuji, weighs 920g (32.5oz./2.03lb) and that’s too heavy for the non-professional who wants decent photos. Third, despite all the talk of larger sensors needed for better IQ, there is little evidence that many people are dissatisfied with the Canon SX40 or the Panasonic FZ150. Finally I wonder why the camera won’t be available until February 2012 when everyone knows that the biggest selling season is now.

I'm mainly an action shooter (sports, breaking waves, etc.). My experience with the S100 were, luckily, much better than Phil44's. I have gotten very good results and was lookiing forward to the XS-1 for two reasons: (1) greater zoom (although I have my doubts on this one; experience indicates that about 15x is about the top limit for good IQ) and (2) mainly for the CMOS sensor, which *should have* increased the burst performance over the CCD sensor on the S100. Now that the specs are out, I won't bother with this camera. So you can shoot 7fps--for about 1 second at full res?!? What's the point? I actually learned to live with the slower (under 4 fps) burst rate of the S100, but really needed a bigger cache and/or faster transfer rate, which the CMOS sensor should be capable of. Fuji fumbled the ball on this one. To JoeDavid: not a good camera for traveling light. The S100 is about the same weight as my K-5 (with 55-300mm) and the XS-1 won't be much smaller or lighter.

As a very disappointed owner of a S100FS (which cost over $800 new when it came out) and two other Fuji digital cameras I would caution against too much enthusiasm. The S100FS was heavily promoted as a superb bridge camera but is full of flaws: noise in shadowy areas of the picture, a lack of true manual focus, purple fringing in high contrast images and a display that has lines in it when it gets slightly warm. I have a pro photographer friend that also owns a S100FS with the same results. I'm not saying this new Fuji isn't a great camera, only buyer beware!!

I thought this camera might bea good camera when traveling light but then I ran across the samples that Fuji has posted. To me they aren't that great, especially for a $1000USD camera:

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/x/fujifilm_x_s1/sample_images/

Only one issue I like to see this one: some level of weather sealing like K-5.
Then this could be taken everywhere. It shouls be even easier to implement than in K-5.