Fujifilm X20 review - Hands on

1 of 5

Gallery

Posted on 9 Jan 2013 at 23:22, by Seth Barton

We really liked the Fujifilm X10 - as despite a couple of quirks, it outperformed pretty much everything else at its price, and it looked pretty while doing it to. So, we had high hopes then for the new Fujifilm X20, and a quick play on the showfloor at CES only served to bolster them.

At first glance both cameras look very similar, in fact you'd need to make a fairly close inspection to tell them apart - beside the new printed name of course.

The big changes have been made inside with an updated sensor and image processor. The sensor now includes phase detection autofocus, and it was incredibly quick as a result. The image processor has also been updated and it shows with faster shot-to-shot times and a new 12fps continuous mode.

The big 2/3in sensor has abandoned Fujifilm's EXR colour filter (which allowed for reduced resolution shots to be taken to reduce picture noise in low light) and instead switched to the X-Trans filter used on its top-end X-Pro1 and X-E1 cameras. The new filter should provide better detail in photos, while the new sensor uses a BSI (backside illuminated) design to improve low-light shooting - to some degree counteracting the loss of EXR hopefully.

Also improved is the excellent optical viewfinder. It now includes shooting information such as shutter speed, aperture and ISO. These change colour depending on the what is framed to keep them visible at all times, and even turn red if there's a problem with your settings.

The viewfinder and performance updates are definite winners, and we're quietly confident about the new BSI sensor from previous experiences. It looks like a great camera just got better and we can't wait to get a model to test.

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous News : Digital cameras Next >

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.