Red Dot Photo - Fujifilm X10 Review - Compact Street Photography

Introduction

The Finepix X100 was a milestone for Fujifilm; a compact, rangefinder-esque camera with a large APS-C sensor and a fixed focal length fast lens designed specifically to be used with it. The X100 also introduced a revolutionary hybrid viewfinder that offered the best of optical and electronic versions. The result was a camera that enjoyed classic good looks and delivered great performance. For many, the X100 was THE enthusiast compact to get, with its blend of vintage looks, great performance, and classic rangefinder shooting style.

How does a company move forward from a success like the X100? Fujifilm's answer was to evolve the X-series. The result? The Finepix X-10.

Specifications

Specification	Fujifilm X10
Image Sensor	2/3-inch EXR CMOS with Primary Colour Filter 12.0 million pixels
Storage Media	Internal Memory (approx. 26MB) SD/SDHC/SDXC(UHS-1) memory cards
File Format (Photo)	JPEG RAW RAW+JPEG
File Format (Video)	h.264 (MOV) with stereo sound
Image Size	4:3 - 4000x3000 - 2816x2112 - 2048x1536 3:2 - 4000x2664 - 2816x1864 - 2048x1360 16:9 - 4000x2248 - 2816x1584 - 1920x1080 1:1 - 2992x2992 - 2112x2112 - 1536x1536 Motion Panorama - 360deg Vertical 11520x1624 - 360deg Horizontal 11520x1080 - 180deg Vertical 5760x1624 - 180deg Horizontal 5760x1080 - 120deg Vertical 3840x1624 - 120deg Horizontal 3840x1080
Lens	Fujinon 4x optical zoom lens 7.1-28.4mm (28-112mm 35mm equivalent) f/2.0-2.8 11 elements in 9 groups, including 3 aspherical glass moulded lenses
Digital Zoom	Intelligent digital zoom approx. 2x
Aperture	f/2-2.8 maximum f11 minumum Adjustable in 1/3EV steps 7-blade aperture diaphragm
Focus Distance (from lens surface)	Normal - Wide: 50cm to infinity - Tele: 80cm to infinity Macro - Wide: 10cm to 3m - Tele: 50cm to 3m Super Macro - 1cm to 1m
ISO Sensitivity	Auto ISO ISO 100 to 12800
Exposure Control	TTL 256-zones metering, Multi/Spot/Average
Exposure Modes	Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual
Shooting Modes	SP - Natural Light, Natural Light & Flash, Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, Text, Underwater Mode Dial - EXR, AUTO, P, S, A, M, C1, C2, Movie, SP, Adv
Image Stabiliser	Lens shift type
Face Detection	Yes
Exposure Compensation	-2.0EV to +2.0EV in 1/3EV steps
Shutter Speed	Auto - 1/4sec to 1/4000sec All other modes - 30 sec to 1/4000sec *1/4000s at small aperture, 1/1000s full aperture
Continuous Shooting	Super High: approx 10fps High: approx 7fps Middle: approx 5fps Low: approx 3fps
Auto Bracketing	AE Bracketing: +/-1/3EV, +/-2/3EV, +/-1EV Film Simulation Bracketing: PROVIA/STANDARD, Velvia/VIVID, ASTIA/SOFT Dynamic Range Bracketing: 100%, 200%, 400% ISO Sensitivity Bracketing: +/-1/3EV, +/-2/3EV, +/-1EV
Focus	Modes - Single AF/Continuous AF (EXR AUTO, Movie) Type - TTL Contrast AF - AF assist illumination available AF Frame Selection - Multi, Area, Tracking
White Balance	Automatic scene recognition Preset: Fine, Shade, Flourescent light (Daylight), Flourescent light (Warm White), Flourescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Underwater, Custom, Colour temperature selection
Self-Timer	10/2 sec delay
Flash	Auto flash (super intelligent flash) Effective range: (ISO AUTO(800)) - Wide: 30cm - 7m - Tele: 50cm - 5m
Flash Modes	Red-eye removal OFF - Auto - Forced flash - Suppressed flash - Slow sync Red-eye removal ON - Red-eye reduction Auto - Red-eye reduction & Forced flash - Suppressed flash - Red-eye reduction & Slow sync
Hotshoe	Yes
Viewfinder	Optical zoom viewfinder Approx 85% coverage Diopter adjustment available
LCD Monitor	2.8-inch 460k dots TFT colour LCD monitor, approx 100% coverage
Movie Recording	1920x1080 pixels 30fps 1280x720 pixels 30fps 640x480 pixels 30fps Optical zoom (manual) can be used
Other functions	PictBridge, EXIF Print, 35 Languages, Time difference, Silent mode
Terminal	Video Output - NTSC/PAL selectable with Monoaural sound Digital Interface - USB 2.0 High-Speed HDMI Output - HDMI mini connector
Power Supply	NP-50 Li-ion battery (included) CP-50 with AC power adapter AC-5VX (sold separately)
Dimensions	117.0 x 69.6 x 56.8mm
Weight	Approx. 350g w battery and memory card Approx. 330g w/o battery and memory card
Operating Tempurature	0 - 40deg C
Operating Humidity	10% - 80% (no condensation)
Battery Life	Approx. 270 frames (LCD ON) Approx. 640 frames (LCD OFF)

Build Quality and Handling

Coming from the X100, the most apparent difference with the X10 is its dimunitive size. Despite that, the camera is extremely well-built. There is no flex in the camera body, and buttons and dials feel extremely precise.

Taking the cake is the X10's zoom lens, which unlike most compact cameras has a direct mechanical zoom instead of an electronic fly-by-wire zoom. This makes the X10 the most precise and responsive zoom in its class. Of note is how the power on-off switch has been integrated into the lens; 'zooming' the lens from the 'off' position to it's widest 28mm setting turns the camera on, turning that natural motion into a functional one in terms of camera operation.

One aspect of the X10 that we were pleasantly surprised with was its shutter sound. More specifically, it's lack thereof! Shooting is virtually silent with the X10. Indeed, one colleague described it as 'dropping a needle on the floor'. Together with the X10's dimunitive size and discreet looks, the X10 is very well suited for street shooting (or any other form of photography where discretion is paramount).

The X10 also features a tiny pop-up flash with a range of up to 7m at ISO 800. Useful for fill flash, but unfortunately not powerful enough for much else.

Shooting Style

Shooting with the X10 is a bit of a mixed bag; it feels like a hybrid between a typical compact camera and a classic rangefinder, with some professional features thrown in. Next to its mode dial you find the shutter button, which looks and feels like it was lifted straight off a 1980s camera. As in the X100, exposure compensation gets its own dedicated dial as well.

Despite all these precise feeling controls, the default shooting method with the X10 is like that of a typical compact camera - using the LCD minotor to frame and focus. An optical viewfinder is built-in, but unlike the X100 it's not a hybrid viewfinder; it zooms together with the lens, allowing for framing in low-light situations where the screen would be less useful, but has no information displayed on it. No exposure information, not even focus points.

One style of shooting that the X10 excels in, however, is shooting from the hip. With it's near-silent shutter and small size, one can shoot from the hip and have subjects have no idea that they are being photographed.

Noise Performance

To test the sensor's performance, we put the X10 through our usual noise testing setup. The above image was shot at increasing ISO sensitivities while maintaining equivalent exposures. 100% crops of JPEGs straight out of camera are then compared. To view the full size comparison, click through the chart below.

The X10 performs well in our noise tests despite it's small sensor; ISO800 has some noise if you pixel peep, but it looks like film grain rather than digital noise. Noise becomes more noticeable at ISO 1600, but images produced are still perfectly useable. At ISO 3200 noise is apparent, and some detail is lost, but images are still suitable for web/on-screen use. ISOs 6400 and 12800 are very noise and lose significant amounts of detail, and are possibly pushing the small 2/3" sensor to its limits.

Conclusion

The X10 could possibly be the best compact camera for street photography; it's small, discreet, and silent, with excellent image quality despite it's small 2/3" sensor. Fuji fans will be delighted by it's built-in film simulation modes, a throwback (along with its design) to the days of film rangefinders. Solidly-built despite it's petite stature, it'll go anywhere and everywhere with you, helping you capture life as it unravels in front of your eyes.

Sample Gallery

All images are straight-out-of-camera JPEGs, with no processing applied except resizing for web.