Fujifilm X10 Review

One could suspect Fuji of being a French company rather than a Japanese company. Fuji really are employing  'vive la difference' in their design of high end compacts. In the past two years they have surged ahead with a stable of high quality, uniquely designed compact cameras - the 'X' series:

• X100
• X10
• X1-pro (and 11 lenses)
• X-E1 (with interchangeable lenses)

The X10 is the 'baby' of the 'X' series. Its the smallest, lightest and most compact, weighing in at just 350g including the battery. But Baby X packs a punch and is a veritable pocket rocket. The X10isn't  not perfect (I'm still searching for that camera!) but its very, very good.
Fuji know how to build solid cameras. The magnesium alloy body feels good in your hands and impresses with its retro design.

The X10 goes against the trends of some other high end compacts by keeping many of the main controls on the outside of the camera body, reducing key strokes to a minimum.

The on-off switch is unique and a mystery for the first-time user. Rotating the 28-122mm zoom lens also switches the X10 on. Even the operation of the zoom reflects extremely high quality build and a far smoother and more precise in operation than many medium to high level zooms on DSLRs. The whole feel and operation is one of professional quality.

The X10 has a top mounted flash bracket, master control switch and a very handy exposure control dial running across the top. I like cameras that can modify exposure in a one-step operation. The X 10 does this and earns extra brownie points.

The function (Fn) button is programmed to bring up ISO on the screen so changing ISO is simple requiring just 2 keystrokes.

A coveniently located and precise thumbsweel on the back allows lightning fast changes of aperture and shutter speed in M, A and S modes.

The master control allows you to store and call up your custom settings in one keystroke. That better than almost all DSLRs,

Turn the Master control to ADV and you immediately access one of the best features on the X10 - the Panorama function.



You can choose between a 120, 180 and 360 degree panaorama which stitches all the shots together seamlessly with just one press of the button. The main danger here is using 360 degrees, getting dizzy and falling off a cliff! You have the options of doinga L-R or a R-L pano. It even has an aviation-type artificial horizon to keep your image on the straight and level.



The X10 has the capability of shooting both RAW and JPEG and is simple to switch onto auto-bracket allowing enthusiasts to capture imnages for HDR processing. I'm a fan of auto-bracketing and am impressed where the feature is built into compacts. Its particularly advantageous when shooting children, animals or any fast moving subject where exposure is a little unpredictable.



The Fujinon f2.8 lens is very sharp with precise auto-focus and a brilliant macro switch for flower and inset shots. Although the 2/3" sensor is smaller than its brothers in the X range its still marginally bigger than its competitors the Nikon P7700 and the Canon Powershot G15.

The X10 has another quite stunning feature called 'best frame capture' where it will shoot 10 frames in approx 2 secs. The downside here is that you have to wait about 15-20 secs for the images to be processed and stored. This feature would be ideal

 for capturing the finish of a race or a sportsperson in action.


Ther are few negatives with the X10. Under cerain conditions the start up time is hesitant and a litte slow. I think Fuji could be more heplful in providing access to RAW processing software. Fortunately, these are relatively minor items and can be recified with firmware upgrades and DNG converters.






Overall, Fuifilm's X10 is an ideal choice for the photography enthusiast who wants a a small, professional-build camera with a swag of interesting, useful features. Its small size and low weight make it an easy choice to take everywhere you go -  you certainly won't come back from your next trip away with a pain in your neck.