Build and handling
While many bridge cameras take their inspiration from DSLRs, few do so to the extent that the Fujifilm X-S1 has done, which at times feels like using an entry-level model. The camera’s buttons are large and positioned as they are on a DSLR, although they are a little more ‘plasticky’ in their finish. However, the dials on the X-S1’s top plate have a reassuring knurled metal finish. The lens hood and filter ring are also constructed from metal.
The rest of the camera is made of plastic, but is sturdy and extremely well built. Many bridge cameras are very light, which some photographers dislike almost as much as a heavy camera. The X-S1 is a nice weight, being comfortable enough to hold for long periods but not so light that you wonder what your money has been spent on.
Adding to the quality feel of the camera is the textured finish, which covers the entire body. The well-contoured handgrip sits comfortably in the hand and is covered in a particularly ‘grippy’ rubber. The lens also has two rubber grips – one for the focusing ring and another for the zoom lens. The fan-like design of the grip for the zoom control is particularly good, and I would like to see other manufacturers adopt a similar design on their zoom lenses.
The manual control of the zoom lens is one of the X-S1’s simplest yet best features. Many bridge cameras use an electronic zoom, which often makes it slow to zoom through the entire focal range of the lens.
The 24-624mm optic of the X-S1 operates manually, requiring just a quarter of a turn to zoom through the entire range. It is certainly faster than any electronic motorised system, and it really improves the camera’s handling compared to the majority of bridge models.
However, I do have a few issues with the camera’s handling. The first of these is the overwhelming number of options on the menu system, particularly regarding image colour and contrast adjustments.
As well as the film simulation settings, which replicate various classic Fujifilm films, there are dynamic range, colour, sharpness, highlight tone and shadow tone options. While these offer a good range of customisation, sometimes it is nice just to be able to switch between generic colour modes with default settings.
Thankfully, there are three custom shooting settings to which all these different shooting options can be assigned, and none of the settings is applied to raw files.
However, turning on raw file capture must be done via the set-up menu rather than the shooting menu. The raw shooting option would sit far better in the JPEG quality settings. That said, there is a raw button on the rear of the camera that allows a quick switch between raw and JPEG capture.
A second issue I had was with the X-S1’s speed. Despite the claims about powerful processing, the camera freezes after a burst of images is taken. Although the screen remains on, pressing the shutter button does nothing as data is still being written.
While this is understandable, it doesn’t even allow the menu button to be pressed to change a setting, and this is frustrating when a quick change of the image colour settings is required in preparation for the next shot.
Overall, the Fujifilm X-S1 has a very high build quality, and it handles better than most other bridge cameras on the market, but it is not perfect. The menu system could do with a few tweaks to make navigation easier, although the number of direct button controls and the manual zoom lens far outweigh these minor niggles.
