Noise, resolution and sensitivity
These images show 72ppi (100% on a computer screen) sections of images of a resolution chart, captured with the 23mm lens set to f/5.6 . We show the section of the resolution chart where the camera starts to fail to reproduce the lines separately. The higher the number visible in these images, the better the camera’s detail resolution is at the specified sensitivity setting.
Featuring the same 16.3-million-pixel sensor as the X-Pro1 and X-E1, it is no surprise that the Fuji X100S is just as capable of reproducing fine image detail. I cannot help but be impressed by just how crisp this detail is, whether it is hair in a portrait, blades of grass in a landscape or the textures of brickwork in a street scene.
For this test I have processed raw files using Silkypix, converted the images to Tiff files and then edited them, along with the JPEG files, in Lightroom.
Our resolution charts indicate that the X100S can resolve up to the 32 marker when shooting in raw format and using an optimum aperture such as f/4 or f/5.6, which is close to what we would expect from a 24-million-pixel camera with anti-aliasing filter. JPEGs aren’t as sharp as raw files, resolving up to the 31 marker and then tailing off more noticeably at the higher sensitivities.
Close the aperture down from f/5.6 to f/16 and image detail becomes a little softer, as we would expect, but the Lens Modulation Optimiser processing has reduced the impact of diffraction on JPEGs so that images at this setting are still very usable. This is good news for photographers wanting sharp images with good depth of field, such as when capturing landscapes.
The ISO 200-6400 sensitivity range can be expanded to ISO 100-25,600 in JPEG format only. Detail is sharp in good light using the lower sensitivity settings, and continues to be so in low light and when using higher sensitivities, with images remaining clean. At ISO 1600, detail in night-time street scenes is crisp. There is more of a decline at ISO 3200, but the X100S still performs well in both good and low-contrast light.
Image: This JPEG image has been shot at ISO 3200, where detail is still quite crisp because luminance noise is well controlled
