Thursday, June 22, 2017

Fujifilm XF1 review: Compact camera in retro look

Fujifilm describes the design of the Fujifilm XF1 with the vocabulary “style” and “elegance”. The carefully crafted casing of cool aluminum and a coating of black, light brown or red artificial leather gives the compacts a chic, nostalgic look.


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The focal length control of the Fujifilm XF1 is also nostalgic and user-friendly. The 4x zoom can not be controlled with the usual zoom lever, but via the lens ring. This makes the one-handed operation of the camera impossible, but is very convenient. It takes a long time to turn the camera on and off from the lens ring instead of using a separate button.


Conclusion


The switches of the XF1 have a pleasant pressure point and are marked with very small writing, but well readable. Aperture and / or exposure time can be adjusted in a classic way on the steering wheel on the camera back or by means of a ring around the four-way button.


Since Fujifilm's XF1 is a compact camera, it is also used in MF mode to focus, in addition to the usual program modes, filter options and automatic exposure modes, automatic shutter control, automatic time and manual exposure, as well as the possibility of manual focusing. As soon as you move it, the 3-inch display will activate the Loupe view, which will help you find the focus point.


There are numerous useful features as well as more or less original gadgets. Videos, the XF1 1 turns into full-HD quality or as a high-speed movie with up to 200 frames per second.


The XF1 also not only stores standard image series, but also high-speed serials or takes exposure series, series with different ISO values ​​or film simulation series. In doing so, she misses those images that have been attributed to earlier Fuji films such as Velvia or Astia.


Fujiflim supports the photographer with two user profiles as well as two function buttons, which he can define according to his taste, so that the XF1's versatility can be ergonomically controlled. The Fn button on the top of the camera can be used with a recording parameter or a function such as face detection, serial recording, or digital zoom.


The E-Fn button on the back activates a second level of the four-way switch and adjacent keys so that this second level provides quick access to a further six parameters. Practical, thought-out and easy to understand.


The 3-inch display can display all the relevant parameters for the viewfinder image or the stored images. This includes standards such as exposure settings, sensitivity, image quality, or resolution, including histograms, gridlines, or a water scale.


The image quality of the XF1 is satisfactory but not overwhelming. The sharpness impression is correct (1133 LP / BH at ISO 100, 1122 LP / BH at ISO 400), but the pictures in monochrome surfaces lacks a bit of drawing. The loss of quality in the telescope and in the case of increasing sensitivities: While the noise is maintained in the telescope as well as with increasing ISO values ​​(1.1 at IO 100, 1.4 at ISO 400), cheat in one-color areas And particularly in the case of skin tones, violent artifacts appear in the faces, such as geometric pigment disturbances.


The camera has less problems with the detailed reproduction, for example in the representation of the blades of grass and pebbles in our test pattern. These are also recognizable in the telescope and at high sensitivities.


Fujiflm XF1's high-quality design and versatility make it very attractive. In terms of ease of operation, the camera can meet this, but in terms of image quality, it disappoints with sensitivities beyond ISO 100.


Fujifilm XF1

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