Fujifilm FinePix XP80 Review

March 26, 2015 | Amy Davies | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The XP80 is the latest “rugged” camera from Fujifilm, which boasts waterproofing down to 15 metres, shock proofing from 1.75m, freeze proofing down to -10 degrees Celsius as well as dust and sandproofing. It is designed as a family and adventure camera, perfect for those who like to take pictures in all kinds of different conditions. The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 also boasts a 16.4 million pixel 1/2.3 inch BSI-CMOS sensor and a 5x optical zoom, which is 28mm at the wide angle. Along with those specifications, there is also inbuilt Wi-Fi for remote shooting, 11 advanced digital filters, and a 2.7 inch LCD screen with anti-reflective coating. Full HD video recording is also available. The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is available in black, blue, yellow and purple for around £200 / $230.

Ease of Use

Fujifilm has been using a very similar design for all of its rugged cameras for some time, and the XP80 is no different. The camera has rounded, curved edges and it’s available in a variety of different colours - including the vibrant purple which Fujifilm sent us for this review.

The lens itself, which is encased entirely within the camera so as to be waterproof, sticks out a little from the top of the camera in a rounded shape.

On the front of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is a ridge for your finger to sit comfortably and to help you grip it. If you’re using the camera with gloves it may be less useful as it doesn’t protrude too far from the front of the camera.

The side of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80is the only entry point for the camera, with the rest of it sealed and encased for watertightness. In the side of the camera you’ll find the memory card slot (for SD cards) and the socket for a power cable, as well as the battery. These are protected by a door which is sealed by a twisting mechanism which you need to turn to release. It’s reasonably unlikely that you would be able to do this by accident, as you need to push down a button in the middle of the lock in order to twist it.

Fujifilm FinePix XP80
Front of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Charging the battery is done via the body of the camera itself, and a separate charger is not provided. However, it doesn’t take too long for the battery to charge up - that said, if you think you’re going to be taking lots of shots before you are able to charge it again, it would be worth investing in a second battery.

There are quite a few buttons on the Fujifilm FinePix XP80, all of which can be reached very easily with your thumb when holding the camera in your right hand. This makes it very easy to use one handed. On top of the camera is the on/off button, video record button and the shutter release button. The shutter release button is textured and fairly large, which comes in handy when you’re using the camera either with gloves, or underwater.

You’ll find the rest of the camera’s buttons on the back right of the camera. Near the top of the camera are the zoom buttons, which are marked W (wide) and T (telephoto). These are raised from the body of the camera, again to make it easy to use when working underwater or with gloves. In normal conditions, the buttons can be a little stiff to use, but holding them down advances or retracts the zoom fairly smoothly and swiftly.

Fujifilm FinePix XP80
Rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

A small playback button can be found just underneath the telephoto button, which is fine to use in normal circumstances, but a little more fiddly with gloves on. Just underneath this button you’ll find a standard four way navigational pad, which again is a little small and fiddly to use with gloves on. If you’re just using it underwater, it’s not too bad though.

The pad consists of a menu/OK button in the middle of the pad, surrounded by four directional keys which double up to other specific functions: left for macro/standard focusing, down for timer options, up for exposure compensation (and delete in playback) and right for flash options.

The final two buttons you’ll find are a direct access button for Wi-Fi functionality or continuous shooting and a display button which allows you to switch between different types of display in playback, or acts as the back button when scrolling through the menu.

Fujifilm FinePix XP80
Top of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Speaking of the menu, this is where you’ll need to make any key settings changes that aren’t already covered by the directional pad. In this menu is also where you’ll find the different exposure modes available to you. It’s likely that for the majority of the time that you’ll want to shoot in Scene Recognition Auto as this will mean that the camera will automatically pick a scene mode and apply the best settings. However, if you want to take a little more control it’s possible to switch to Program Mode. While this doesn’t give you quite the same flexibility of manual control, it means some settings, such as ISO sensitivity can be changed.

Other exposure modes include the advanced digital filters if you want to experiment with the way your images look, and different specific scene modes, such as underwater, landscape and panorama.

It’s a little laborious having to go through the menu system to make some of these changes, so it would have been nice if a quick access button could have been included on the Fujifilm FinePix XP80. That said, this camera is all about taking pictures and concentrating on composition etc, rather than worrying about changing settings very frequently.

Fujifilm FinePix XP80
The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 In-hand

On the other hand, the menu system itself is fairly straightforward, and with relatively few options on offer, it doesn’t take too long to get acquainted with using it. There’s a shooting menu as well as settings menu, where you’ll find options including setting the date/time, silent mode, formatting the memory card and so on.

Using the Fujifilm FinePix XP80’s Wi-Fi functionality is very easy. You have a couple of options - you can either use your phone/tablet as a remote control for the camera - which is great for selfies, group portraits and just awkward angles, or you can send image(s) you’ve already taken across to your phone for sharing on social networks and the like. When you’re using the remote control app, you can’t change too many of the settings, aside from switching on the flash, the self-timer or extending or retracting the zoom. You can take both stills and video from within the app.

The LCD screen on the rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is relatively small in comparison to most standard compact cameras, but never the less it provides a bright and clear view of the screen. If you’re shooting underwater, but you are not underwater yourself (say for instance you’ve plunged your hands into a rock pool), it can be a little difficult to see what’s on the screen from some angles, but that’s understandable.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 16 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 7Mb.

Generally speaking, it’s often the case that rugged cameras tend to produce image quality which is slightly below the par of other compact cameras. It’s a trade off for the fact that it is rugged and you can take it underwater, throw it around, and so on.

In good light, the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is capable of producing some bright and punchy images, but you can see some examples of image smoothing if you look closely at an image at 100%. The likelihood that you’ll want to do with a camera such as this is fairly low though, and at normal printing and web sizes, images have a good overall amount of detail.

As you move through the sensitivity range, there is more evidence of loss of detail and image smoothing, and right at the top end of ISO 1600, there’s a fair amount of detail lost if you look very carefully. However, again if you’re printing or displaying at normal or small sizes, the overall impression isn’t too bad.

Colours are bright and punchy too, producing natural images without too much vibrance. The Fujifilm FinePix XP80’s automatic metering mode does a decent job of producing accurate exposures, without the need for dialling in exposure compensation, save for in very high contrast situations.

The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 has a 5x optical zoom, which is enough for the majority of every day situations. Images taken at the far end of the zoom retain a good amount of detail. Meanwhile, you can also use macro focusing to get closer to your subject. There can be mixed results with this, especially when shooting underwater, in which case it’s helpful to switch to the dedicated underwater macro mode.

Noise

The XP80 has seven sensitivity settings available at full resolution, ranging between ISO100 and ISO6400. ISO6400 shots are only captured at an 8MP maximum resolution, whilst Auto ISO mode can be capped at ISO400, 800 or 1600.

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso200.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso800.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso3200.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

 
iso6400.jpg  

Focal Range

The camera’s 5x optical zoom lens gives you a focal range of 28-140mm (in 35mm-camera terms). It’s not the widest lens on the tough camera market, though Fuji’s optional ACL-XP80 wide-angle lens converter creates an 18mm-equivalent focal length.

28mm

140mm

focal_range1.jpg focal_range2.jpg

Sharpening

The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 doesn't have any built-in sharpening tools so if you wish to sharpen the images, you need to use an external editing suite such as Adobe Photoshop. We used the standard sharpen setting in our test. We found that because of the lack of noise control to smooth out images, sharpening simply made the roughness of the noise that was present even worse. Images appear to be sharp enough anyway.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

File quality

Two JPEG compression options can be selected: Fine or Normal.

16M Fine (6.47Mb) (100% Crop) 16M Normal (4.19Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_fine.jpg quality_normal.jpg

Chromatic Aberrations

Chroma is handled well on the Fujifilm FinePix XP80. We did find traces of it, but it's only mild and at the extreme edges of the frame. It's entirely possible that the noise present on the images could be also breaking up the chroma, in a way, as it breaks up any clean lines.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)

chromatic1.jpg

Macro

The XP80’s macro mode allows you to focus down to 9cm from your subject. It’s close enough to capture plenty of detail, but nowhere near as impressive as the 1cm macro modes offered by some tough cameras.

Macro

Macro (100% Crop)

macro1.jpg macro1a.jpg

Flash

The camera’s built-in flash includes four modes: Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash and Slow Synchro. Red-eye removal can be switched on or off via the main menu.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (28mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (140mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (140mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

In our testing with the XP80 successfully avoided red-eye and the flash produced only minor wide-angle vignetting from a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off

Flash On
flash_off.jpg flash_on.jpg

Advanced Filters

Fifteen Advanced Filter effects are available and previewed live as you shoot. Choose from Toy Camera, Miniature, Pop Color, High-Key, Low-Key, Dynamic Tone, Fish-Eye, Soft Focus, Cross Screen and Partial Color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple).

Toy Camera

Miniature
advanced_filter_01.jpg advanced_filter_02.jpg
   

Pop COlor

High Key

advanced_filter_03.jpg advanced_filter_04.jpg
   

Low Key

Dynamic Tone

advanced_filter_05.jpg advanced_filter_06.jpg
   

Fish-eye

Soft Focus

advanced_filter_07.jpg advanced_filter_08.jpg
   

Cross Screen

Partial Color

advanced_filter_09.jpg advanced_filter_10.jpg

Panorama

The camera’s Motion Panorama 360 mode will capture 120°, 180° or 360° pans automatically as you sweep the camera left or right. Results are typical of cameras with similar features and are downsized to around 1100 vertical pixels. Some signs of stitching are visible if you scrutinise, and you can’t pan for less than the minimum 120°. Even when panning smoothly, the system can struggle to capture successfully.

panorama.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 camera, which were all taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 18 second movie is 31.2Mb in size.

Product Images

Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Front of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Side of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Side of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 / Image Displayed

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 / Main Menu

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 / Scene Menu

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Rear of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 / Setup Menu

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Top of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 

Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Front of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Side of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Front of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80

Front of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80

 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80
Memory Card Slot
 
Fujifilm FinePix XP80
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is a good all round compact camera, which is ideal if you’re the type of person who likes to go on adventure holidays - or, alternatively if you’re just looking for something which will be able to withstand average family life.

Although picture quality may not be quite as high as some cameras without such rugged credentials, for a holiday or family camera, it’s still pretty good and you should be pleased with what it can produce.

In low light, the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is not the best performer, but again, it stands a good chance that this is the kind of camera which will mainly be used in bright, sunny conditions, such as on the beach, surfing or on the ski slopes, so it may not present too much of a problem.

Having the inbuilt Wi-Fi gives it an added layer of functionality, which makes it easy to shoot group shots and selfies - again something that the holidaying photographer will particularly enjoy. Being able to transfer your images across to your phone for sharing on social networks also appeals to those who like to make their friends jealous with holiday snaps on Instagram, of course.

Using the XP80 itself is also pretty easy, but a couple of the buttons could do with being a bit bigger for when you’re using the camera with gloves. If you’re looking for something to take on your skiing holiday, you may find it a little tricky to use - however, on the upside it’s easier to use underwater, so if beach and watersports are more your bag, then you should be fine.

Overall the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is a pretty simple, but effective camera to use. There’s not too much in the way of customisation or the ability to change settings, but for a camera like this, it isn’t too important.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4
Features 4
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 3.5
Value for money 4

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Fujifilm FinePix XP80.

Canon PowerShot D30

The Canon PowerShot D30 is an action compact camera that's waterproof to an impressive 25m, as well as being dust, freeze and shock proof. The Canon D30 also offers12 megapixels, a 5x zoom, 1080p HD video, built-in GPS and a 3-inch screen. Read our in-depth Canon PowerShot D30 review now...

Nikon Coolpix AW120

The Coolpix AW120 is Nikon's latest all-action compact camera. The 16 megapixel Nikon AW120 has a 5x zoom lens (24-120mm), 3 inch OLED 921K-dot screen, built-in GPS and wi-fi, 8fps burst shooting and can record full 1080p video. Read our Nikon Coolpix AW120 review to find out if it's the right tough camera for you...

Olympus Tough TG-3

The Olympus Tough TG-3 is a new water, freeze, shock and dust proof compact camera for 2014. Boasting a fast f2.0 aperture high-speed lens, the 16 megapixel TG-3 also offers built-in wi-fi and GPS connectivity, 1080p HD movies, a 4x zoom lens and a 3 inch OLED screen. Read our Olympus Tough TG-3 review to find out what this all-action camera is capable of...

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 is a new freeze, shock, water and dust proof camera. The well-appointed Panasonic FT5 also features built-in GPS, wi-fi and NFC functionality, a compass, altimeter and barometer, 4.6x zoom, 1920x1080 full-HD movie recording and a 16 megapixel sensor. Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 review to find out if this is the best do-it-all camera for your family....

Ricoh PX

The Ricoh PX is an unassuming compact camera that is a lot tougher than it looks, being waterproof to 3m and shockproof to 1.5m. Ricoh's first entry into the all-action market also offers a 16 megapixel sensor, 5x zoom lens and 720 p video. Can the Ricoh PX take on the likes of the Olympus Tough range? Find out in our detailed Ricoh PX review.

Samsung WP10

The WP10 / AQ100 is Samsung's first foray into the world of waterproof cameras. Sporting a 12 megapixel sensor and 5x zoom lens, the WP10 can be used at a depth of 3 meters / 10 feet. Available for less than £179.99 / $199.99, read our Samsung WP10 review find out if this budget shooter is all the camera you need.

Specifications

Model name FinePix XP80
Number of effective pixels 16.4 million pixels
Image sensor 1/2.3-inch CMOS with primary color filter
Total number of pixels: 16.76 million pixels
Storage media Internal memory (approx. 96MB)
SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card *1
File format
still image
JPEG (Exif Ver 2.3)*2
(Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible)
movie
Movie File Format : MOV
Movie Video Compression : H.264
Audio : Linear PCM Monaural
Number of recorded pixels L : (4:3) 4608 x 3456 / (3:2) 4608 x 3072 / (16:9) 4608 x 2592 / (1:1) 3456 x 3456
M : (4:3) 3264 x 2448 / (3:2) 3264 x 2176 / (16:9) 3264 x 1840 / (1:1) 2432 x 2432
S : (4:3) 2048 x 1536 / (3:2) 2304 x 1536 / (16:9) 1920 x 1080 / (1:1) 1728 x 1728

<Motion Panorama>
360° Vertical : 11520 x 1632 Horizontal : 11520 x 1088
180° Vertical : 5760 x 1632 Horizontal : 5760 x 1088
120° Vertical : 3840 x 1632 Horizontal : 3840 x 1088
Lens
name
Fujinon 5x optical zoom lens
focal length
f=5.0mm - 25.0mm, equivalent to 28 - 140mm on a 35mm format
full-aperture
F3.9 (Wide) - F4.9 (Telephoto)
constitution
13 elements in 11 groups
(includes 4 aspherical elements)
Digital zoom Intelligent digital zoom : approx. 2x (up to approx. 10x, with 5x optical zoom)
Aperture F3.9 / F6.2 (Wide)
F4.9 / F8.0 (Telephoto)
Focus distance
(from lens surface)
Normal
  • Wide : approx. 60cm to infinity / 1.9 ft. to infinity
  • Telephoto : approx. 1.0m to infinity / 3.2 ft. to infinity
Macro
  • Wide : approx. 9cm - 80cm / 3.5 in. - 2.6 ft.
  • Telephoto : approx. 1.0m - 3.0m / 3.2 ft. - 9.8 ft.
Sensitivity AUTO / AUTO(400) / AUTO(800) / AUTO(1600)
Equivalent to ISO 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400*(Standard Output Sensitivity)
  • * ISO 6400 is effective in image size M or S.
Exposure control TTL 256-zone metering
Exposure mode Programmed AE
Shooting modes Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Sunset, Snow, Beach, Under water, Under water (Macro), Party, Flower, Text
Image stabilizer CMOS shift type
Face detection Yes
Exposure compensation -2.0EV - +2.0EV 1/3EV step
Shutter speed (Auto mode) 1/4 sec. to 1/2000 sec., (All other modes) 4 sec. to 1/2000 sec.
Continuous shooting
TOP
H : approx. 10 fps max. 10 frames (Size L, M) / max, 20 frames (size S)
M : approx. 5.5 fps max. 10 frames (Size L, M) / max, 20 frames (size S)
L : approx. 3.3 fps max. 10 frames (Size L, M) / max, 20 frames (size S)
SH : approx. 60 fps max. 70 frames (Size S*)
  • * S 16:9 only
LAST
H : approx. 10 fps max. 10 frames (Size L, M) / max, 20 frames (size S)
M : approx. 5.5 fps max. 10 frames (Size L, M) / max, 20 frames (size S)
L : approx. 3.3 fps max. 10 frames (Size L, M) / max, 20 frames (size S)
  • * Use a card with SD Speed Class with Class 10 or higher.
  • * The frame rate and the recorded number of frames varies with shooting conditions.
Auto bracketing -
Focus
mode
Single AF / Continuous AF
type
TTL contrast AF, AF assist illuminator available
AF frame selection
Center / Multi / Tracking
White balance Automatic scene recognition
Preset
Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Under water
Self-timer 10 sec. / 2 sec. delay, Group Timer
Interval shooting Yes
Flash Auto flash (i-flash)
Effective range : (ISO AUTO)
Normal
  • Wide : approx. 70cm - 4.4m / 2.3 ft. - 14.4 ft.
  • Telephoto : approx. 70cm - 3.8m / 2.3 ft. - 12.4 ft.
Macro
  • Wide : approx. 30cm - 2.0m / 1.0 ft. - 6.5 ft.
  • Telephoto : approx. 1.0m - 3.0m / 3.2 ft. - 9.8 ft.
Flash modes
Red-eye removal OFF
Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro.
Red-eye removal ON
Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro.
Hot shoe -
LCD monitor 2.7-inch, approx. 460K-dot, TFT color LCD monitor, approx. 97% coverage for shooting, 100% for playing back
Movie recording Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p / 30p (max 29 min)
HD 1280 x 720 60p
640 x 480 30p
with monaural sound, Wind filter.
Zoom function can be used.
  • * Use a card with SD Speed Class with Class 10 or higher.
Photography functions SR AUTO, Program AE, Action camera mode, Pro low-light, HDR, Natural Light & with Flash, High Speed movie(120 / 240 fps), Advanced Filter for still image : Toy camera / Miniature / Pop color / High-key / Low-key / Dynamic tone / Soft Focus / Cross Screen / Fish-eye / Partial color / Sketch, Advanced filter for movie : Toy camera / Pop color / High-key / Low-key / Fish-eye / Partial color / Sketch, Framing guide, Frame No. memory, Date stamp, Motion panorama360, Automatic LCD brightness adjustment
Playback functions Multi-frame playback (with microthumbnail), Protect, Resize, Crop, Slide show, Image rotate, Photobook assist, Mark for upload, Erase selected frames, Favorite, Image Search, Movie edit
Other functions PictBridge, Exif Print, 35 languages selection, Time difference, Silent mode
Dustproof : IP6X
Waterproof : IPX8 (up to 15.0m, within 120 min.)
Anti-shock : Method;MIL-STD-810F-516.5 Fuji's standard;1.75m
Wireless transmitter (standard)
standard
IEEE 802.11b / g / n (standard wireless protocol)
access mode
Infrastructure
Wireless function Geotagging / Wireless communication (Image transfer) / View & Obtain Images / Remote camera shooting / PC Autosave
Terminal
Video output
-
Digital interface
USB 2.0 High-speed, Micro USB terminal
HDMI output
HDMI Micro connector (Type D)
Power supply Li-ion battery NP-45S (included)
Dimensions 104.1mm (W) x 66.5mm (H) x 25.9mm (D) / 4.0 in. (W) x 2.6 in. (H) x 1.0 in. (D)
  • * excluding projections.
Weight Approx. 179g / 6.3 oz. (including battery and memory card)
Approx. 162g / 5.7 oz. (excluding battery and memory card)
Operating Temperature -10°C - +40°C (+14°F - +104°F)
Operating Humidity 10% - 80% (no condensation)
Guide to the number of available frames for battery operation*3 Approx. 210 frames (AUTO mode)
Accessories included Li-ion battery NP-45S
AC Power adapter AC-5VT
USB cable
Hand strap
Owner's manual
Optional accessories Li-ion battery NP-45S
Action camera lens ACL-XP70

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