So I ordered a Fuji XS-1

[bfitzgerald]

Why? Well it's hard to say no to Amazon's £239 blow out deal..very hard really this is even cheaper than the old FZ-5 I got ages ago (which was quite good but limited IQ wise)
And to think it once sold for £699 odd (I was not convinced at that price) On the other hand £240 is a lot more attractive

Lens droop and orbs aside, I'm just curious about this camera.
But if I think it sucks I'll send it back

I will update with any findings, whilst I'm not exactly short on cameras. I wondered if it would make a decent take one camera out for the day solution.
I could of course take the A57 out with the 18-135mm, but still it should be interesting
I've not yet decided what to do with another A Mount body, but there are plenty around and s/h prices on the A77/65 are sure to tumble in the next few months.

[Greg Beetham]

Yo report back now ya heer.
Greg

[Birma]

With the rapid refresh rate in this sector I think you did the right thing to wait until they were getting rid of the older stock. I think these super zooms make great all in one outfits. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[bfitzgerald]

Quick update, XS1 arrived via amazon (pretty quick turnaround)
Initial thoughts are quite positive. It feels nice in the hand, build is a step up from say a Canon 650D, has a rubber type finish to it (how durable we shall see, but secure nice and grippy) it's def not semi pro mag alloy feeling, but it's good for a bridge model.

No signs of lens drooping, I have not tested for orbs yet!
There are some signs of sealing on the body (battery compartment and card slot) Fuji say it's moisture and dust protected (to a degree) I wouldn't throw water at it to test it though.
It's quite hefty feeling in the hand weight wise
The lens is a work of art very smooth zoom action, nice deep rubber grips, feels very nicely made.
It's a bit dim to test IQ but so far I'd say you could hit ISO 1600 and not be unhappy with the camera

EVF is for a bridge model very good, there is a slight lag when the AF hits at times, resolution is around the A57's can't comment on EVF DR yet size it's big for a bridge looks to be a bit larger than the Sony's EVF (viewable area the A57 has black top and bottom for info) It is very clean even in low light

Expectations wise, will know more tomorrow. I would say so far first thoughts are as a £239 camera it's a steal. As a £699 one well I don't know I think that's a tough market for any bridge camera to hit and no matter how nice a camera is a smaller sensor is less appealing at prices like that.

IQ wise it looks so far to be a decent step up from the usual small sensor bridge stuff (seems able to render fine detail well most bridge models mush it even at low ISO) It's no micro 4/3 or APS-C sensor that's for sure, but I can see instantly I do like the tonality of the Fuji and that the IQ is good
I'll update things as I test more, in better light.

[classiccameras]

Barry, youv'e finally done it, a great bridge camera in my view with dare I say it great looking Jpegs. I have the X10 and its mostly the same sensor and soft ware.

I had an XS-1 for a day when they were over £500 but had to hand it back to my pal. Its so versatile and I think the body finish is a step up from the usual Canikons. A bit large in my view compared to entry level DSL's and a bit heavy, but that is probably down to the big zoom lens which as a metal body.
I look forward to you findings and pictures if possible.
Whats puzzled me is there has been no indication from Fuji of a replacement XS-2, especially as they replaced the X10 with the X20.

[peterottaway]

I have gone for the RX10. Have been debating about whether to buy for some weeks and have basically decided to use the RX10 for a lot of general purpose photography and FF for the rest. Especially at the EI that I generally use. Things have changed somewhat from when Olympus 4/3 would start to fall to pieces at above EI 400. At AUD 1240 it wasn't overly cheap especially when considering that you can pick up an A77 for around AUD 1000.

Now for many people the APS is going to be more than enough and may be better if they are into sports or in the wild photography ie birding or photojournalism. But for what I am doing it isn't, especially with many high end cameras being as large and heavy as full frame although cheaper.

So it will be goodbye to the DT lenses that I do own and pretty much all my A mount zooms especially the f 2.8 ones.

[Birma]

Congrats on the new camera Peter . I see that DPR just gave it Gold.

Looking forward to hearing your experience with it, and seeing the pictures, too.

[peterottaway]

It has taken a long time to accept that for a lot of my photography I don't need a "real" SLR and that there are now some very valid alternatives to lugging the A77 and 2 or 3 heavy zooms. When I started out in photography I had a Minolta SR-T 101 for the serious stuff and an Olympus Pen half frame. I later had the Olympus OM-2n and then added some Contax SLRs and when I went back to Minolta AF I then had a Contax G2 ( not exactly small ). And now it looks like it will be RX cameras of one sort or the other from here on.

So I don't think there will be any replacement for the A77 or Nex 7 and whether I replace the A850 with another A mount FF is open to question. I don't do studio work these days and only the odd portrait for various family and friends and as David has stated his A900 is preferred for this type of work. The OVF I also find preferable for what I call bastard lighting landscapes, even though the improved EVF is technically superior in these conditions I am more comfortable with the A850. As I get more familiar with the A7r ( and of course there are rumours of a higher end camera coming around Photokina ) that may change.

It may take a while to really get into the swing with the A7r and the RX10 as my time for photography is very limited at the moment. Build a new house in 2011 and my father moved with us as he was getting to the stage that living by himself was not really an option. He had a stroke last July and was fitted with a pacemaker and has made a good recovery except he can no longer move the toes on his right foot. He was somewhat unstable in walking before this happened and so he now needs to be driven to where he wants to go and for safety it is better for someone to be around the house with him. I can get away for a few hours here and there and with some planning a full day , but there are simply many more demands on our time.

[classiccameras]

Peter, with the RX10 being pretty high end for a bridge and expensive, how long will it be before the other camera manufacturers bring out their high end bridge cameras. The only other one I recall was the Fuji XS-1 which is a couple of years old now but still a great camera.
I have been tempted for some time to get a bridge and do away with all the clutter round my neck.

[bfitzgerald]

The Sony looks nice and I think a 1" sensor clearly is able to deliver near DSLR IQ. The price is the problem, nearly £900 odd that's a significant sum to drop on a bridge camera. I think the idea is right, bigger sensor, faster lens but less zoom range (we've a lot of crazy zoom bridge models around more than enough)

I'll be honest I wouldn't dump down £600 for an XS-1, but it is good it does have better IQ than models like the FZ200, and HS50 no question (I've tried those recently)
£239 puts a much smaller dent in my savings fund!

I doubt we'll see another model like the XS-1 least not for a while. I can't imagine Fuji are making anything on that blow out price. Maybe the orbs and lens droop killed it for them (I've not see these issues on my one, I assume as it's later production) Maybe a price of £499 would be ok for an XS-2 I really think you're into hiding with a bridge camera pricing at a certain point.

I got an Olympus IS-1000 35mm bridge camera over 20 years ago (it wasn't cheap) 35-135mm lens. At that time to buy a 5 series Dynax was quite a bit more (and with a much less interesting lens) it was priced at a similar level to an SLR but you basically got the lens for "nothing" as such. For me that's the only way to do this bridge market.

The 24-200mm f2.8 equivalent does look like a nice lens, I think that's the selling point for that model. At £600 odd it might swing, I just think the price is too high however nice the camera is build and IQ wise.

[bfitzgerald]

Quick update, the weather hasn't been great so I've not really had any good "days out" to shoot with the XS-1
My conclusion to date is that it's a keeper (and a bargain) "if" you might want that all in one flexibility it offers

Looking back at some of my old FZ-5 shots the camera died a death over base ISO if you hit ISO 200 you were pushing it and ISO 400 was a disaster. It was quite good in good light though, image wise. The XS-1 cost me less than the FZ-5 did years ago and it spanks it's rear end in every respect! Of course it's an old model that Pannie but still I've used a few newer bridge cams

IQ is def a step up from those dinky 1/2.3 ish sensors. Don't get carried away though the A57 would tear in up in pure resolution and high ISO
Believe it or not I liked the FZ-5 when I had it, but the lousy low light performance and the highlights blowing out all over the place annoyed me

The XS-1 solves all the problems, the DR is very good, low light is significantly better, the lens is 24mm start off (which is nice)
It's far from the perfect camera, I can see weaker areas. The EVF is almost the reverse of Sony's it's optimised for detail and clarity (it will blow out highlight end, but not block up shadows much) but it's slower and you can see that more in low light. Very little noise is visible in the EVF even in very low light

The A57's EVF isn't as clear but faster and won't freeze or lag, but the DR will block up shadows in harsher light more (it doesn't blow out much)

They are entirely different ways of doing an EVF (surprising how different they are)

Keeping your expectations in line with that of a bridge cam, and the asking price I think the Fuji's a bit of a dark horse. It's certainly good enough to take out as a one small bag day camera and not be concerned about if you get decent enough IQ from it. There isn't a lot of point putting a good lens on the A57 and cropping images to compare, an APS-C sensor will thump a smaller one no problem. It's certainly not the speed demon the Sony is (grumbles and all the A57 is a responsive camera no question)

I think it's worth checking out. I'll put up some images when I get a chance

[bfitzgerald]

Quick update, extended testing has revealed erm well I'm not overly happy with the lens on the right hand side it looks de centered to me (less obvious at 6mp but at 12mp it's soft until stopped down)
I'm going to return it (sadly as I like it)

I have a choice of replacement or refund..I'll try a replacement and see what happens

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[classiccameras]

Let us know, what the out come is with the XS-1. I played with an HS50 recently, yes smaller sensor but surprisingly good IQ and a razor sharp lens [with its limitations of course] Those Fuji colours take some beating and very good Jpegs.

[bfitzgerald]

I got the replacement and the lens is spot on (shows no signs of softness on the left or right side) The first one did, quite a bit on the right hand size, even stopping it down you had to go to f8 to get rid of it (not acceptable in my view)
As the new one is fine lens wise I have decided to keep it

HS50 I have used it's quite good AF is fast in daylight

[classiccameras]

At least you had a more positive response than you had with Sony and the A57 Saga.

Its strange, I read in one review of the XS-1 that the best IQ was when it was set on EXR high dynamic range which pushed the sensor down to 6 or 8mp. Ephotozine review of the XS-1 and described the picture quality as 'superb'. I still wonder if there is an XS-2 in the pipe line much the same upgrade as was the X10 to X20, although I am not convinced the X20 is any better since the dropped the EXR modes.