Fujifilm X100S Review | 108 Data compared

The DPReview evaluation of the Fujifilm X100S highlights it as a highly responsive, premium fixed-lens camera, featuring a 16.3MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor that delivers exceptional JPEG image quality, high sharpness, and improved low-light resolution. Key pros include the sharp 23mm F2 lens, a versatile hybrid viewfinder, significantly improved autofocus speeds, and innovative manual focusing aids. Conversely, the review notes significant limitations, with cons centering on poor video quality—marked by lack of stabilization and high susceptibility to moiré—and frustratingly small, non-customizable rear controls. Additional drawbacks include a non-functional histogram in manual mode and an LCD screen that struggles with glare in bright sunlight.

The Fujifilm X100S is a fixed-lens compact camera featuring a 16-megapixel X-Trans II APS-C sensor and a built-in hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder, priced at $1,299. This model addresses the major usability flaws of its predecessor, the original X100, by offering vastly improved processing speeds, virtually instantaneous write times, and an intuitive new "Q" quick menu layout. Auto-focus speed has doubled in good lighting conditions due to the integration of phase-detection pixels, while manual focusing has been thoroughly revamped with highly effective focus peaking and a digital split-image mode. Image quality remains superb with exceptionally high dynamic range and highly optimized high-ISO noise performance, although the transition to the X-Trans sensor architecture gives images a slightly flatter, more "digital" look compared to the organic feel of the original 12-megapixel sensor. The review highlights several prominent pros, including its compact retro design, stiffer tactile control dials, faster overall operational performance, and a higher-resolution electronic viewfinder with no display lag. It also praises the built-in ND filter for bright-light shooting and an improved close-focus capability that functions down to 0.21 metres without requiring macro...

The Fujifilm X100S is a highly capable, unobtrusive rangefinder-style street camera that offers substantial performance and usability upgrades over its predecessor, the original X100. Key strengths include its outstanding overall image quality, exceptional sharpness from f/2 onwards, and beautiful skin tone and color rendition, even when shooting in JPEG mode. Photographers will appreciate its gorgeous hybrid viewfinder, fast physical controls for aperture and exposure, and a new Quick-Menu (Q-Button) for rapid setting adjustments. A standout feature is its silent leaf shutter, which allows for high-speed flash synchronization up to 1/4000s, enabling users to easily overpower the sun when pairing the camera with off-camera flash and the built-in 3-stop ND filter. On the downside, the camera suffers from poor battery life, a slippery body design that requires a strap for secure handling, and a rear control wheel that lacks stiffness. While the autofocus is a major step ahead of the original model in good lighting, it slows down and pumps continuously in low-light situations. Additionally, the camera yields significantly soft images when shooting wide open at f/2 in macro mode, requiring...

The Fujifilm X100S is a retro-styled compact camera featuring a 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and a fixed 23mm f/2 lens, offering exceptional image quality with high-ISO performance and vibrant color. It is highlighted for its unique hybrid viewfinder, allowing seamless switching between optical and electronic views, along with improved performance, including a 5.7 fps continuous shooting rate and a responsive, nostalgic Digital Split-Image Focus Assist system. However, the camera's autofocus, while improved in daylight, becomes sluggish and inconsistent in low light or with moving subjects. Other drawbacks include a cumbersome AF point selection process, a slippery grip, easily bumped dials, a low-resolution LCD, and poor video quality plagued by artifacts.

The Fujifilm X100s is a highly capable, portable, and stylish 16-megapixel camera equipped with a fixed f/2 lens (35mm equivalent focal length) that excels across multiple genres, including documentary, street, macro, low-light, and long-exposure landscape photography. In real-world testing throughout Northern Ireland, the camera delivered remarkably sharp images, vibrant colour rendition, excellent dynamic range, and a wide variety of rich black-and-white tones. It is versatile enough to be paired with advanced filter systems like the Lee Seven5 for long exposures, yet discreet enough to shoot candid backstage celebrity portraits and live music without drawing the aggressive attention typical of a large DSLR. Its compact profile is further enhanced when paired with the original leather case, which provides exceptional physical durability, keeping the camera looking brand new even after a year of everyday use. The camera features notable strengths but is accompanied by a few functional limitations. On the positive side, its major pros include exceptional image quality that rivals professional DSLR systems, fast overall performance, a useful macro close-focus mode with pleasing bokeh, outstanding low-light handling, and an automated 'A'...

In his review, Marius Masalar characterizes the Fujifilm X100S as a highly confident, purposefully designed tool, highlighting its intuitive physical interface, tactile manual controls, and the exceptional image quality produced by the 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor. The camera is praised for its ability to produce sharp, high-detail images directly from the sensor by omitting the optical low-pass filter, offering a refreshing experience for users focusing on traditional photography. However, the review outlines significant limitations, specifically noting that the autofocus speed remains a weakness that cannot effectively track fast-moving subjects. Furthermore, the X100S lacks modern conveniences such as built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, which the author attributes to a deliberate focus on the core shooting experience over connectivity. Medium ·Marius Masalar

In this personal, long-term review of the Fuji X100s, photographer Alain Briot evaluates the mirrorless camera based on real-world use at social venues, car shows, and secondary landscape shoots. The review highlights numerous pros, including its elegant, retro rangefinder design that provides a classy appearance for social events without drawing unwanted attention. Mechanically, Briot praises the hybrid optical and electronic viewfinder (EVF), the flawless accuracy of the auto white balance, and a highly functional auto ISO selection that helps control motion blur and digital noise in changing light. Furthermore, the camera features an innovative non-Bayer X-Trans sensor that eliminates the anti-aliasing filter for superior sharpness while natively resisting moiré artifacts. The camera also delivers a robust high ISO performance up to 6400 in RAW format and includes "creative modes" that accurately simulate classic Fuji film stocks directly inside the viewfinder. However, Briot reveals several notable cons regarding the camera's processing artifacts, interface, and hardware layout. A significant technical drawback is a "painterly" or posterized effect in the rendering of clouds—a phenomenon driven by how standard raw converters like Lightroom translate...

The Photography Life review characterizes the Fuji X100S as a well-balanced, retro-styled camera featuring a 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor that delivers exceptional sharpness and high-ISO performance. Key strengths include its compact form factor, superior image quality, and the fixed 23mm f/2 lens, which produces excellent contrast and color. However, the review notes significant RAW rendering issues with Adobe software and a drop in AF performance in low-light conditions. Additionally, the lens requires stopping down to f/8 to achieve optimal edge-to-edge sharpness for landscapes.

The Fujifilm X100s is a highly portable, vintage-styled compact camera featuring a fixed 23mm f/2 pancake-style lens and a unique hybrid viewfinder. A major standout of the camera is its exceptional, rich JPEG colour output that beautifully mimics classic film profiles, allowing users to bypass the washed-out RAW files that require extensive Lightroom editing. Additional pros include its near-silent leaf shutter, an integrated 3-stop Neutral Density (ND) filter, precise autofocus performance, and physical dials that provide a satisfying tactile shooting experience. However, the reviewer highlights several notable design quirks and performance limitations. The camera suffers from soft macro performance at close distances and an annoying "aperture hunting" behaviour where the blades move constantly before a half-shutter press. From a hardware standpoint, Fujifilm awkwardly engineered the lens with backwards male threads, forcing users to buy a separate adaptor just to attach standard 49mm filters or the lens hood. Finally, the camera enforces a frustrating 1/1000-second shutter speed cap when shooting wide open at f/2 in automatic mode, features mediocre battery life, and has an electronic focus-by-wire manual focus system that feels...

The Fujifilm X100S is a compact, retro-style APS-C camera featuring a fixed Fujinon 23mm f/2 lens (35mm equivalent field of view), making it a highly capable, stealthy tool for street and everyday photography 0.1.1. Built with a solid magnesium alloy body, the camera weighs just under one pound and provides tactile, manual control dials that slow down the shooting process for more deliberate compositions 0.1.1. In terms of image quality, its lens delivers exceptional central sharpness even when shot wide open at f/2, and it boasts near-perfect control over vignetting 0.1.1. Its daylight autofocus performance is decent, thanks to the phase-detection pixels integrated into its 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor, which also provides smooth, non-distracting bokeh and solid high ISO performance up to ISO 4000 0.1.1. However, the camera exhibits several notable drawbacks and quirks that show its age 0.1.1. The focus-by-wire manual focusing system lacks resistance, making it feel sluggish and inefficient when turning the focus ring 0.1.1. Furthermore, the camera severely struggles and hunts for autofocus in dark conditions, requiring workarounds like zone pre-focusing or shooting strictly under...