X-s1 Review published in Knowledge Centre (above)

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day all

Steve's has graciously accepted my review for this camera
Titled "The first 100 days with the X-s1" it covers much of my discoveries, enjoyments and a few worrying issues regarding the camera

For those who like superzooms, it will be of interest I am sure
http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowl...-100-days.html

As always, comments welcome
Regards, Phil

[Cresho]

Nice review! I'm just waiting for a price drop. I still use my hs20exr but is nothing compared to the s200exr. This one will be a treat.

[SIMON40]

For what it's worth..
My assessment of the X-S1...
Build quality/feel- very good- though I wish the ratio of the manual zoom was a bit quicker- enabling quicker shifting from wide angle to zoom- which becomes a two part movement.
And despite it's build quality- the bloody lens cap is awful.... cheap as chips plastic...!
AF speed was a BIG improvement over the "HS" range- and I had no issues with accuracy using center area AF- tracking AF is not all it's cracked up to be however- quite often struggling to keep up with moving targets- though I suspect that may be down to what I perceived to be a less than spectacular image stabiliser- good,but not up to say Canon's SX40- which is superb.
The viewfinder was a BIG plus for the Fuji- big and clear- very nice.
The colour accuracy using auto white balance was frankly the best I've seen from anything other than a DSLR- excellent area of performance- and something just about every other compact/bridge camera struggles with...!
Noise control at higher iso's was as good as one can expect from a smaller sensor- still quite a bit short of DSLR performance- and in my opinion,short of what Canon's SX40 is capable of at iso 1600...
The lens was one area of concern- good with regards lack of fringing,but not so good in areas of clarity/distortions- with one side clearly sharper than the other at the edge of the frame. Maybe an issue with my example...?
Dynamic range seems good for a smaller sensor- and more can be squeezed out if using EXR DR mode- albeit at 6mp.
The biggest gripe for me,however- and what prompted me to "get rid"- was the lack of fine detail in it's images... for example,landscapes with trees/bushes/grass or landscapes with rocks etc... something I shoot a great deal of and was not happy with the results.

My summary would be- good effort Fuji,but at the price,more work to be done in the IQ area- the images look like resized 6mp images...!

[nick1946]

Thanks for the great review, Phil. After reading your review and a little more research, I ordered a XS-1 today to replace my S100fs. I'm sure I will be happy with the new one. I just cannot get back into the lens swapping thing anymore.

Thanks again
Nick