First, you must know what you are getting into when you buy/use this camera.WHAT IT IS NOT: this is not a DSLR replacement for use at high ISO's, it will not replace a top end video capable micro-4/3 camera or similar (ex. GH2/GH3), it's AF is not as fast the Olympus OM-EM5, It's sensor is smaller than m/43 but larger than the average point & shoot and other bridge cameras. It is NOT for pixel-peepers.
NOTE/CAVEAT: If you have a body with a serial number starting with the numbers 21 or 22, this is an old production unit and will most likely have the noted (in other reviews) sensor blooming and lens issues. I have a SN 23X.... (replaced by Fuji with a new camera) and it is perfect for these two issues.
WHAT THIS CAMERA EXCELS AT:
1) Good ISO performance for sensor size up to ISO 800, 1600 useable.
2) Excellent MANUAL zoom, silky smooth. Note, it does have a rubber gasket you can hear (internally) if you put your ear up to it this is a good thing.
3) Optics are sharp, contrasty and the lens alone is worth the price IMO. f/2.8-5.6 is nice for the range.
4) The FPS is nice an speedy if you need it
5) Shoots full HD, but does not have full manual control, but for most causal video people this isn't an issue. If you are a video enthusiast, look elsewhere.
6) Great Fuji auto-white balance
7) Great Fuji colors
8) Full manual control on the photographic side of the camera
9) Weather sealed to a certain level although not completely. Ex. There ARE seals in the lens, battery door, connection port door, SD card door, ,etc. I cannot confirm seals internally around knobs. The Canadian Fuji site called it sealed, but the USA site does not. Keep this in mind.
10) The body, while large, is a joy to hold and use, high quality feel vs. the cheaper plastic cameras
11) The EVF is great IMO nice and large, comparable to my old Panasonic GH1
12) Nice built in flash that is pretty powerful for its size (good to about 20') with excellent exposure
Overall, if you are a photo enthusiast who KNOWS how to get the most from a camera and is willing to learn this camera inside and out it can be very rewarding and is in a class of it's own overall. BUT, if you are looking for a more consumer oriented fun bridge with some better video, look at the Panasonic FZ200 or step up to micro 4/3.
For daylight shooting, this beast is excellent and I do not miss my DLSRs at all. It's AF is quick to lock (with the newer serial numbers IMO) and I've successfully used it for action as well. Overall, for what you get for you money, I don't think you can go wrong. YES, you can get better IQ with a DSLR body. But the tele lenses you will get are slower on the short end (f/3.5) and will put the cost higher in the end if you want to keep cost down. Sure, you could match the DSLR to a nice 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and it would smoke the X-S1, but those lenses are $1000+. For the PACKAGE, it's a great option.
This camera is not the only camera I shoot with, for ultimate image quality, I prefer my Fuji X100 which is a stellar performer. I've shot with many high end DSLR's and some of the best glass around and that's the background for this review. For what it is, the X-S1 is very nice!
Many more pictures were taken of distant objects with detail. All were sharp and of excellent quality. A bit of sharpening in Photoshop really perked the images up. None of them needed any further adjustment.
To test the orb issue, I photographed some stainless steel railings in bright sunlight and found no issue at all. I then shot a streetlight, head on after dark. The first picture did show the light as a white, detail less circle. A second shot, spot metered on the light and given 2 stops of increased exposure gave a well exposed and detailed image that showed detail in the lens of the light.
In brief, the build quality appears excellent and the digital viewfinder is as good as it gets; almost, but not quite, rivaling an optical finder. The lcd screen is very usable in bright sunlight.
The camera is expensive, but for someone seeking high quality and downsizing from a DSLR with multiple lenses it is worth a look.I haven't had the camera long enough to give a complete review, but I can already answer some of the comments made in other reviews.
Softness at Extreme Telephoto : Based on the test shots I have taken, this is not an issue with the sample that I have. Even wide open, I would have no issues with the sharpness for a camera of this type. While clearly not something that would rival the results from a Canon prime telephoto, on a 1Ds body with which I am familiar, for a camera /lens combination that is only one 20th of the price, the results are excellent. My sample does have some back focussing, out by about six inches when focussed at infinity, so this might account for the softness experienced by another reviewer.
Lens sagging : No sign of this with my sample.
Blue lens flare : No sign of this with my sample. In addition color fringing is noticeably absent.
Other Comments.
Image noise : Not surprisingly, the high ISO performance of this camera is not as good as my X-100. The X-100 is excellent up to 800, and good at 1600. The X-S1 is about a stop worse, very good to 400 and good at 800.
Build Quality : As others have said, the build quality is excellent.
Responsiveness : Something not mentioned as much as I think it should be is how responsive the camera is. Focussing is very fast and shutter delay is short enough to not be noticeable, which is a huge plus.
Conclusion.
So far the camera lives up to the reviews that are enthusiast about it. I will add more comments as I gain more experience with it.I will say a few things. Build quality is outstanding. No doubt about that.
I have had it a couple of weeks and used it under a good many situations to get a feel for it. I really like it. But let me get right to the "negatives". But please understand that all cameras are trade offs of one thing for another. There are far more positives than negatives.
1. Image quality.. People have a strange idea of what image quality is and they toss the term around. I think a lot of people who have knocked the image quality and said it is no better than an average point and shoot have not explored all the settings because it is far more than point and shoot image quality. There is a lot you can change in terms of setting and how you shoot. So it is possible to get great images and they are far more than point and shoot images. The images could be sharper under some circumstances but in others it is really good. The thing is that for the most part the average person is not going to notice the difference. The image quality issue is VERY dependent on the circumstances. The macro is excellent. Portrait is good and acceptable but a G 12 would do better. Outdoor is just fine even with lower light and even at 600mm zoom I was pleasently suprised. Also there are different modes and image quality will be effected by those. But IF you really want to pick... the lens could be sharper BUT the sharpness will not be an issue for most people and it would not be noticed until you blow up a picture. Funny how people that don't shoot much and cannot compose often will get hung up on stats. For the average person looking for nice pictures with advanced possibilities sharpness in this camera is not something to get hung up on. A person should be improving other factors in their photography and not obsessing over pixels in situations where you would forget about them anyway.
2. Autofocus. This could be better and snappier. It works but it is not up to the standard of the camera. It can be skittish
3. Ease of use and user enjoyment.. Well it is really really a pleasure to use without a doubt. It has many preset programs in it that could really help a person get nice picture especially if that person is looking for better than point and shoot pictures but does not want to fumble with an SLR or lenses. It bothers me to see people with disposible income and these expensive SLRS waltzing around snapping without a clue. They would be better with this. Hey, if you really have the skills to negotiate and manipulate an SLR in a very versitile way then that is a good thing but IF you want to drop the ego and don't care about impressing anyone when you are not a highly skilled photographer you are better with this. Yeah this camera is a pleasure to use and so versitile. It will accomadate most all situations on a family trip or day of taking photos of animals or whatever...
The camera has lots of great features and is laid out well. The viewfinder is electronic and really great. The LED screen is sharp enough and great.
Here is the bottom line. On one hand you have SLRs. We all know that their images are great. But lets take the average person what wants better than average pictures and wants to be creative. They may not want to take the kids to the park or the zoo with an SLR and a bunch of lenses. They may not want to be changing lenses. The reality is that if all they are going to do is snap then get a regular and save some money. If the snapper is wanting sharper images and has money get a G 15 or something. Or take an SLR with a 50mm lens. But let's take the person that takes the family on a trip. They go to the zoo. Well they want to snap the kids in front of a zebra. But then they want a close up of an animal in the distance. Then they see a flower and want a really nice macro. Then they want to do a portrait. Then this and then that at different lightings and distances. This camera will do that. Then it gets to be the end of the day and lighting is getting lower but you see a seagul in the distance and you want a zoom at 620mm. Well this camera will pull that off fairly well. So it is very versitile. Yes, you will suffer some image sharpness under many circumstances but as I have said most of the time that is a non issue and will not be perceived. To overcome that on your trip you need an SLR or smaller version of one with all the lenses. It is your choice.
I would say that for a person that wants more than a point and shoot but does not want to go to SLR with all the hassels and benefits then this is a great thing. A person that has become desireous to expand beyond their point and shoot and get infinately better pictures and opportunities will like it. A kids birtday party, trip to the zoo, vacation or.. You see some kind of bird on your lawn and want a real close picture. Well you won't get it with the average point and shoot and with an SLR the bird may be gone by the time you change lenses.
So you see you get ease, versitility, high build quality and great pictures at the expense of some image sharpness. Image sharpness that many times will not be dectected. In fact most of the time. And please remember that IF you wanted a 620mm lens in an SLR what it would cost. You see balancing a superzoom lens with a macro at a cost a family can afford is not an easy thing to do. I think people forget that. This lens goes from super macro to superzoom and all points in between. You are going to have to comprimise somewhere. I mean it is like that in life. A general surgeon may be just fine for the operation but the specialty surgeon will do the job a bit better. But the question is that in the operation is the difference important? Many times no. Sometimes yes..
Lastly.. Everyone has an opinion. Many times their opinions are based on some obsessive notion or whatever. So when people say it is no different than a point and shoot, check it out. This is what you do. You go on line and you look at the pictures people are producing with the camera. You look at the good and not so good. You look at a lot of galleries. You don't listen to image quality reviews so much because they can have and agenda. You will see that this machine can get excellent photos and they are far better than an limited point and shoot. Sometimes those photos will be up to an SLR and other times they will not. More often than not they will be in between. A very fair comprimise for the reasonible price. And make no mistake you are getting a lot of bang for your buck with this camera.
So sharpness often will not matter and it will matter very very little IF you are not blowing things up or viewing without printing. BUT IF.. If you have a photographic need for tack sharpness or you are obsessed over it and have the money to spend then this is not a good choice for you. But I think that sometimes a person gets hung up on something like sharpness when it really will not come into play for their situation. This camera is plenty sharp enough for most people and especially considering all other factors.
If you are making a decision just go look at galleries and a lot of them...
Have a nice day...!
6/12/13**** Addendum
Ok it has been 6 months of a lot of almost daily shooting. I just wanted to say that this is the camera I go for the most and I do that because it is the most versatile. The more I use it the more I love it. I have a number of other cameras and they all have their own respective advantages. Leica, Panasonic ect.. BUT this is the one I go for mostly. If you are a family I highly advise it. You want something that you will get all the shots with and this is the best thing going in my opinion. The more you use it the more you find that you learn to get the great shots. It is really nice right away but as you shoot over time you really begin to appreciate it. Just explore and gradually you will become one with the camera and get all those shots of the kids and places you go. Oh and Fuji has a website where owners post their pics and it is really good. Also the quality of the build is better than most as it is an x series and we work hard for our money so it feels good to get something solid and obviously superior rather than just a tinny plastic junk. It is really built fine. Every time I pick it up it feels like quality in my hands. I am so so glad I dished out a little more money. Over the long term it was not much at all to get the quality I got. This is a camera a family will USE and won't tie you down. If you don't have a usable camera then what good is it?I have been using P&S for years, and this is the first camera I own that allows me to do more. The reason I am getting a Fuji is that I always like the pictures taken by my good old S2800 years ago. Then along the way, I changed cameras from time to time, brand names include Panasonic, Casio, Canon, with the latest being the Nikon S8200. All these cameras produced good pictures, but not at the point where you can feel the color jumping out of the screen, including a Canon DSLR from my sister.
I also understand that this X-S1 should not be compared to P&S and I didn't mean to. I am a lazy person who wants to do more with a camera but without carrying a whole bunch of lenses, swapping them from situation to situation. This all-in-one superzoom really helped this big issue out for me. The manual zoom lens moves this camera from Bridge Camera class to another one very similar to DSLR. Few days ago I bought a Sony SLT-A55V with a Sony 18-250mm lens for a friend. With more adjustment, the pictures are just as good, or more detailed as the Sony DSLR. Therefore, the more I use this camera, the more I understand it, and in turn the more I like it. There're few settings I have changed from the default settings:
Flash is lowered to -1/3
Exposure compensation to be one notch below the middle
Metering, or AE setting to be Multi
Some people says photos are good up to ISO800, what I do for this is to lower the resolution to 6MP, which is still good for Letter Size print
The purpose for these settings is to reduce the overall exposure by the default settings. Personally, I feel the camera tend to over-exposed a bit by all default settings. Coupling with limiting ISO, I can achieve great result from the camera. Shooting far away objects such as birds, kayak from Golden Gate Bridge was absolute enjoyment. Again, I just can't emphasize enough about the beautiful color reproduction from Fuji cameras, and X-S1 is no exception.
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