Value & Verdict

Fujifilm X-S1 review – Value

There’s no denying, this isn’t a cheap camera. The £700 asking price is more closely aligned with DSLR cameras, though, at the same time, there’s not a superzoom on the market with a feature set as advanced as this. It’ll prove good value for money to many, though is pricier than the longer-zoom FinePix HS30 model that’s also due out this year. More shrewdly priced than may at first meet the eye.

Fujifilm X-S1 review – Verdict

The X-S1 is an impressive superzoom, though it’s not quite the perfect machine. It’s a recommended piece of kit as there’s nothing else like it out there, and it gives the superzoom market the kick it needs. But then at £700 it is expensive, the overall autofocus performance won’t rival a similar-price DSLR, and the sensor can fall into difficulties when confronted with direct light sources that can generate hard-edged, circular highlights.

Expense taken in context, however, and there’s nothing else out there that can compare to the X-S1. A Panasonic Lumix GX1 and 100-300mm lens is closer to £900 and that’s without the EVF. Long-lenses on DSLR brands will be more expensive still. So Fujifilm’s been savvier here than it may at first seem.

There are plenty of positives to be had too: the X-S1 has a solid build, produces better low-noise images than any other superzoom, has a better viewfinder than any other superzoom (and, indeed, one that’s on par with many Compact System Cameras), a decent image stabilisation system, and a layout that handles a lot like a DSLR. That’s a big list of pros to outweigh the cons.