Fujifilm X-A1 Review

October 3, 2013 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Fujifilm X-A1 is a new entry-level compact system camera. At the heart of the X-A1 is an APS-C CMOS sensor, rather than the “X-Trans” CMOS sensor used on the more expensive X-M1, X-E1 and X-Pro1 cameras. The X-A1 has a 920K dot tiltable 3-inch LCD screen, 5.6fps burst shooting, built-in wi-fi, EXR Processor II, a pop-up flash and external hotshoe, a range of film simulation modes and creative effects, and Full HD video recording capabilities at 30 frames per second. The Fujifilm X-A1 is available in black, blue or red bundled with the XC16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS zoom lens at a kit price of £529.99 / $599.95. The black and blue versions are covered in a dimpled leather, while the red is covered in the same synthetic leather as the XF1 camera.

Ease of Use

The new X-A1 further expands Fujifilm's X-series of premium digital cameras, which includes the range-topping X-Pro1, X-E1, X-M1 and the popular X100/S, amongst others. The X-A1 is virtually identical in appearance to the recently introduced X-M1, prinicipally swapping that model's “X-Trans” CMOS sensor for a more conventional Bayer color filter array CMOS sensor, so still for-going a viewfinder, but including a tilting LCD screen and wi-fi connectivity.

As with the other X-series cameras, the Fujifilm X-A1 is a classically styled interchangeable lens camera that recalls film rangefinders from the past, with a lovely retro design that draws admiring glances from everyone that sees it. At the same time Fujifilm have once again incorporated modern technologies that help ensure that the X-A1 isn't simply a blast from the past.

As with the X-M1, the X-A1 dispenses with any kind of viewfinder, either optical or electronic, and it doesn't accept a hotshoe mounted viewfinder either, making image composition a hold-at-arms length affair. While this is perhaps inevitable given the significant decrease in size and weight, and is in-line with the X-A1's main competitors, it does feel rather strange using a Fujifilm X camera that you can't hold up to your eye, especially when Fujifilm have made such a big play of their innovative viewfinder technologies. On the other hand, given the X-A1's price-point, it may be better suited to its target market of compact-camera upgraders looking to take their first step into the world of interchangeable lens cameras, who are used to not looking through a viewfinder.

The X-A1's rear LCD screen attempts to redress the balance by offering the ability to tilt it up or down from a high 85° angle to a low 90° angle, perfect for both overhead and low-down shooting. With a resolution of 920K dots, it's twice as detailed as the screen on the X-E1, but sometimes proved to be a little hard to see in bright sunlight.

The X-A1 is the second X-series camera to feature built-in wi-fi connectivity, although it's rather restricted in use as it has to be paired with a smartphone. Install the FUJIFILM Camera App and you can transfer your pictures immediately to a smartphone or tablet PC and then edit and share them as you wish, transfer stills and video onto the camera, and embed GPS information in your shots from your smartphone. Note that you can't control the camera remotely, only transfer images. The FUJIFILM PC AutoSave software provides a simple means to back up your photos to your home PC.

Fujifilm X-A1 Fujifilm X-A1
Front Rear

Despite its significantly lower price on launch, the Fujifilm X-A1 is another well-built X-series camera, with very little no flex or movement in its chassis, despite having more plastic in its construction. Iit's actually much lighter than a first glance might suggest, weighing in at 330g body only with the battery and memory card fitted and measuring 116.9mm (W) x 66.5mm (H) x 39.0mm (D), exactly the same as the X-M1.

There are quite a few plastic buttons and controls on the X-A1, most notably the memory card / battery compartment door and the flap for the HDMI port, both of which wouldn't look or feel out of place on a cheap compact, and the rear controls, especially the second thumb-operated control dial. Otherwise the X-A1 is very well constructed.

The X-A1 has a subtle but fairly effective hand-grip at the front and a dotted space at the rear for your thumb, with your grip helped in no small part by the textured faux-leather surface that runs around the full width of the camera. Two small metal eyelets on either side of the body are used for connecting the supplied shoulder strap, which isn't quite as luxurious as the rest of the package. A metal tripod mount is positioned slightly off-centre from the lens and next to the memory card / battery compartment, so you'll have to remove the camera from the tripod to change either of them.

At the heart of the X-A1 is a 16.3 megapixel APS-C sized CMOS sensor, with APS-C being a size that's more commonly used by the majority of DSLR cameras than by compact system cameras - Sony's NEX range and Samsung's NX series are the others. Helping to keep the image quality high is the 16-50mm zoom lens. With a plastic mount, slower apertures and no aperture ring, at first glance it seems to be a poor alternative to the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS optic, but its low weight and compact size are better suited to the smaller X-A1. It still offers the added benefit of built-in optical image stabilisation to help keep your images sharp, and most importantly doesn't skimp on image quality, making it a cut above the kit lenses that ship with most interchangeable lens cameras.

Fujifilm X-A1 Fujifilm X-A1
Pop-up Flash Side

The 18-55mm lens' fairly fast maximum apertures in conjunction with the large APS-C sensor make it easy to throw the background out of focus and achieve some really nice bokeh effects. The combination of the fast apertures and the extensive ISO range of 100-25600 makes the X-A1 very well suited to low-light shooting, allowing you to hand-hold the camera in places where you'd usually be reaching for a tripod (if allowed) or other support. The clever ISO Auto Control setting allows you to set a maximum sensitivity (up to 3200) and a minimum shutter speed (1/30th is a good starting point), with the camera over-riding your ISO choice if it thinks you're being too ambitious whilst maintaining a shutter speed that won't introduce camera shake.

With its focal-plane shutter, the X-A1 has a very adaptable top shutter-speed limit of 1/4000th second in all shooting modes. Consequently there's no built-in ND filter as on the X100/S, so if you want to use, say, the excellent 35mm lens at F/1.4 in very bright sunlight, then it's a good idea to buy an actual glass ND filter (52mm), otherwise you'll have to stop down to achieve a correct exposure.

The Fujifilm X-A1's auto-focusing speed is quick, with a quoted fastest auto-focus time of 0.1 seconds, although it was slightly slower when using the 16-50mm kit zoom. DSLR owners accustomed to the quick reactions of their phase-detection cameras will likely find the still slightly perceptible delay of the X-A1 as it locks onto the subject mildly annoying, but it simply won't be an issue for the majority of owners. The X-A1 has 49 individual AF points laid out in a 7 x 7 grid, with the ability to change the size of the focus point via the rear command dial to achieve more precise focusing.

Manual focusing is activated via the Focus Mode main menu setting and then using the ring that encircles the lens to focus. The X-series lenses have an electronically coupled focus-by-wire manual focusing ring, rather than a physical one, which in practice is less responsive both in terms of feel and speed. We criticised the older X-E1 for taking a lot of turns to change the focus from 0.1m to infinity. Fujifilm have cleverly made the focusing ring more sensitive to how you use it - turn it slowly and the focusing distance changes slowly, but turn it more quickly and the camera quickly moves through the distance scale. It now takes less than 2 full turns and a couple of seconds to jump from the closest focus distance to infinity, a big improvement on the X-E1.

Fujifilm X-A1 Fujifilm X-A1
Front Tilting LCD Screen

The X-A1 offers two ways of manually focusing. Firstly, there's a handy blue distance scale along the bottom of the LCD screen, with a red bar indicating the the focusing distance and a white bar showing the depth of field, which actually changes in line with the current aperture - very clever. The X-A1 has another trick up its manual focusing sleeve in the shape of the rear command control (the dial which sits under your right thumb). You can press this in to magnify the view, making it much easier to judge precise focusing. The second method is the Focus Peak Highlight function, which displays a white line around the subject when it's in focus, something that Sony NEX users in particular have been enjoying for a while. Both of these make manual focusing on the X-A1 more of a pleasure than a chore, although the revised fly-by-wire manual focusing ring operation is arguably more important.

To make the camera less obtrusive there's a clever Silent menu option which turns off the speaker, flash, AF-assist lamp and most importantly the artificially-created shutter-release sound, instantly making the X-A1 perfectly suited to more candid photography.

In terms of operational speed, the Fujifilm X-A1 is actually quicker in some ways than the more expensive X-E1 and X-Pro1 models, thanks to the EXR Processor II. At 0.05 secs shutter lag is virtually non-existent on this camera, so once you have set the focus, you'll never miss the moment because the camera can't fire the shutter quickly enough, and the start-up time is only 0.5 secs. The write speeds from pressing the shutter button to recording to the SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card are perfectly acceptable. Shooting a single RAW + Fine JPEG takes about 5 seconds to record to the card, but you can take another shot almost straight away.

Continuous shooting speeds are also good, with a top rate of 5.6fps for around 30 JPEGs or 10 RAW files, depending on the speed of your memory card, with a slower 3fps speed also available for around 50 JPEGs or 10 RAW files. Note that both the focus and the exposure are set according to the first frame in each series, so it's not a particularly good system for tracking fast-moving subjects in varied lighting conditions, Thankfully the camera no doesn't lock up completely for a long time if you shoot the maximum number of images in a burst, allowing you to continue shooting after just a few seconds.

Fujifilm X-A1 Fujifilm X-A1
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

Located on top of the X-A1 are a small but responsive shutter release button, encircled by the On/Off switch. Alongside is the Wi-Fi / Fn button, which by default during shooting provides quick access to the ISO speeds, but can be customised to suit your own needs from 12 different settings. Further customisation is available via the Custom Menu option, which lets you create, save and recall a set of user-defined settings. There's an external flash hotshoe for suitable dedicated external units, and the handy built-in pop-up flash which has a guide number of 7 at ISO 200. This is released via the Flash button on the rear of the camera, and its clever hinged design positions it above the lens and helps to reduce red-eye.

There's an unmarked tactile control dial for changing the exposure compensation (+-2EV) or the shutter speed, dependant upon the shooting mode, alongside the ridged dial for selecting one of the 12 different modes. As the X-A1 is a consumer-focused camera, there's a smattering of scene modes alongside the beginner-focused Auto modes and more photographer-friendly P/A/S/M modes. The clever Advanced SR AUTO automatically optimizes the shutter speed, aperture and other settings, instantly recognizing 58 scene types and then choosing the most appropriate settings. Also available on the X-A1 is the Advanced mode, which offers a range of 13 different filter effects that can be previewed on the LCD screen (JPEG only).

The Fujifilm X-A1 can record full HD 1080p or 720p movies at 30fps with stereo sound, with a handy one-touch movie record button on the back of the camera. It's fair to say that the X-A1's movie mode isn't overly advanced. You can set the aperture and shutter speed before recording begins, but not during, and you can also set the Film Simulation mode, so black and white footage is possible. Continuous auto-focusing is possible, although it tends to hunt around a lot before locking onto the subject, and manual focusing is also available (with the same caveats as for stills). There is a HDMI port for connecting the X-A1 to a high-definition TV, although as usual there's no cable supplied in the box. Also missing is a paper copy of the otherwise helpful manual, which is supplied on CD-ROM instead, along with the consumer MyFinepix software the slow and rather unintuitive RAW converter (essentially a specially customised version of the commercial Silkypix application).

The X-A1 has a fairly logical rear control layout, with almost all the controls located to the right of the tilting LCD screen. Underneath the second control dial, there's a cluster of buttons for choosing image playback, one-touch movie record, the focus point, white balance, continuous shooting and focusing mode, plus a central button which accesses the Main Menu system. The Q button provides quick access to lots of frequently used shooting settings including the ISO speed, White Balance, File Size and File Quality, with the 4-way controller and control dial used to quickly change them. Finally the Disp/Back button is used for changing the LCD display or going back.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 16 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

The Fujifilm X-A1 produces images of outstanding quality. It recorded noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100 all the way up to 6400, with a little noise at ISO 12800 and more visible noise and slight colour desaturation at the fastest setting of ISO 25600, an amazing performance for a camera with an APS-C sensor. The RAW files were also excellent, with usable images throughout the entire range of ISO 200-6400.

The images were a little soft straight out of the Fujifilm X-A1 at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds being long enough for most after-dark shots, and the Bulb mode allowing much longer exposures if required. The Dynamic Range settings subtly improve detail in the shadows and highlights, while the Film Simulation modes hark back to a bygone era. The Advanced Filters provide some creative control over your JPEGs bewfore taking the shot.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm X-A1 for JPEGs, and 6 for RAW files. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW files.

JPEG RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

 
iso100.jpg  
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

 
iso12800.jpg  
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

 
iso25600.jpg  

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft and ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

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

File Quality

The Fujifilm X-A1 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

16M Fine (4.56Mb) (100% Crop) 16M Normal (2.88Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_fine.jpg quality_normal.jpg
   
16M RAW (24.9Mb) (100% Crop)  
quality_raw.jpg  

Flash

The flash settings on the Fujifilm FinePix X-A1 are Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash and Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Suppressed Flash - Wide Angle (24mm)

Forced Flash - Wide Angle (24mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Suppressed Flash - Telephoto (75mm)

Forced Flash - Telephoto (75mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced Flash setting or the Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash option caused any red-eye.

Forced Flash

Forced Flash (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash

Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Fujifilm X-A1's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Manual mode, and there's a Bulb mode which allows exposures up to 60 minutes long, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 200.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Dynamic Range

The Fujifilm X-A1 has three dynamic range settings - 100% (on by default), 200%, and 400% - and an Auto setting if you want to let the camera take control. These settings gradually increase the amount of detail visible in the shadow and highlight areas, with the side-effect of more noise appearing in the image. Note that you can't actually turn this feature off.

100%

200%

dynamic_range1.jpg dynamic_range2.jpg
   

400%

 
dynamic_range3.jpg  

Film Simulation

The Fujifilm X-A1 offers 5 different film simulation modes to help replitace the look of your favourite film stock from the past.

Provia / Standard

Velvia / Vivid

film_simulation_01.jpg film_simulation_02.jpg
   

Astia / Soft

B&W

film_simulation_03.jpg film_simulation_04.jpg
   

Sepia

 
film_simulation_05.jpg  

Advanced Filter

The Fujifilm Finepix X-A1 offers 13 different filter effects which can be previewed on the LCD screen.

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
   

Soft Focus

Partial Color (Red)

advanced_filter_07.jpg advanced_filter_08.jpg
   

Partial Color (Orange)

Partial Color (Yellow)

advanced_filter_09.jpg advanced_filter_10.jpg
   

Partial Color (Green)

Partial Color (Blue)

advanced_filter_11.jpg advanced_filter_12.jpg
   

Partial Color (Purple)

 
advanced_filter_13.jpg  

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm X-A1 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 RAW Images

The Fujifilm X-A1 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Fujifilm RAW (RAF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1920x1080 at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 21 second movie is 96.2Mb in size.

Product Images

Fujifilm X-A1

Front of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Front of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Pop-up Flash

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Front of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Side of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Side of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Side of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Side of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Turned On

 

Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Image Displayed

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Main Menu

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Quick Menu

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Function Menu

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Rear of the Fujifilm X-A1 / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Top of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Bottom of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Side of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Side of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Front of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Front of the Fujifilm X-A1

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Memory Card Slot

 
Fujifilm X-A1

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The new Fujifilm X-A1 is essentially the same camera as the X-M1 model that was introduced a few months ago, just with a different image sensor, some new colourways, and a significantly lower price tag. Despite swapping the technologically innovative “X-Trans” CMOS sensor used on the other X-series compact system cameras for a more conventional Bayer color filter array CMOS sensor, the X-A1's image quality does not suffer in any way. So deciding between the two models comes down to looking at our X-A1 and X-M1 sample images to see which you personally prefer, and then deciding if you'd like to save £150 / $100 by opting for the X-A1.

The lower price-tag makes the X-A1 better suited to its target market than the X-M1. We can more easily forgive the lack of any kind of viewfinder, for example, on this cheaper model, as compact camera upgraders will be very used to composing their pictures by holding the X-A1 at arm's length. Given that they're so similar, the X-A1 still retains a few of the X-M1's annoyances that we don't like so much, mainly concerning the wi-fi options, which are limited to transferring images from the camera to a smartphone and back again, and syncing to a PC - there's no remote control options or direct connection to a wi-fi network, as on some rival models.

Just like its more expensive siblings, the X-A1 again delivers excellent image quality, despite the change of sensor technology. Noise is noticeable only by its almost complete absence throughout the ISO range of 100-25,600, while the Dynamic Range function helps to boost contrast and detail. The 16-50mm kit lens is also worthy of mention, as although it has a cheaper build quality, it still offers sharp results throughout the focal range. The X-A1 is certainly right up there with the best APS-C sensor cameras on the market, so if image quality at a very affordable price is paramount, the X-A1 fits the bill. And despite it's even lower price-point, the X-A1 is a very well-made camera, as well as successfully continuing the stylish retro look of the X-series family.

Ultimately, we prefer the X-A1 to the X-M1, as it delivers the same handling, features and performance, and, crucially, very similar image quality at a lower price. This is turn mitigates some of the issues that we had with the X-M1, principally concerning the lack of a viewfinder, so much so that we'd recommend that you save your cash and choose the X-A1 rather than the X-Trans, X-M1 version.

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 5
Value for money 5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Fujifilm X-A1.

Canon EOS M

The Canon EOS M is a new compact system camera that boasts 18 megapixels, full 1080p high-definition videos with continuous auto-focusing, and a touch-screen interface. Other key features of the EOS M include a 3-inch LCD screen with 1,040k dot resolution, ISO range of 100-25,600, and a flash hotshoe. Is Canon's new mirrorless model a real contender? Read our Canon EOS M review to find out...

Fujifilm X-E1

The Fujifilm X-E1 is a new premium compact system camera. The retro, rangefinder-styled X-E1 offers the same image sensor and lens mount as the flagship X-Pro in a smaller, lighter body, with a new electronic viewfinder, built-in flash, 18-55m kit lens and more affordable price tag. Read our Fujifilm X-E1 review to find out if it's a viable alternative to the X-Pro1...

Fujifilm X-M1

The Fujifilm X-M1 is a new compact system camera that's designed to expand the appeal of the X-system. The retro-styled X-M1 offers the same image sensor and lens mount as the more expensive X-Pro1 and X-E1 cameras in a smaller, lighter body. The X-M1 has a built-in flash, new 16-50mm kit lens, wi-fi connectivity, tilting LCD screen and of course a more affordable price tag. Read our Fujifilm X-M1 review to find out if it succeeds in bringing Fujifilm's mirrorless range to the masses...

Nikon 1 J3

The Nikon 1 J3 is the new mid-range model in Nikon's compact system camera line-up. The J3 offers more megapixels, a smaller and lighter body, and a more simplified control layout than its predecessor, the 4-month-old J2. Read our in-depth Nikon 1 J3 review now...

Olympus E-PM2

The brand new Olympus E-PM2 is one of the smallest compact system cameras on the market. Also known as the PEN Mini, the svelte EPM2 has exactly the same image sensor and processing engine as the flagship OM-D E-M5. It also boasts the World's fastest autofocus system, a 3 inch LCD touchscreen display, full 1080p HD movies, and an extensive range of creative filters. Read our Olympus E-PM2 review to find out if it's the perfect upgrade from a compact camera.

Panasonic Lumix GF6

The Panasonic Lumix GF6 is a new entry-level compact system camera that offers a lot of cutting-edge features for not a lot of money. The diminutive GF6 has a tilting LCD screen, built-in wireless and NFC connectivity, fast 0.09 second auto-focusing, a 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor, 1080i HD video, and a touchscreen interface. Read our Panasonic Lumix GF6 review, complete with full-size JPEG and RAW sample images...

Pentax Q10

The new Pentax Q10 is a brand new interchangeable lens camera that's as small as a compact yet as full-featured as a DSLR. Read our Pentax Q10 review to find out if this tiny camera is a realistic alternative to a high-end compact or a budget DSLR...

Samsung NX2000

The Samsung NX2000 is a new entry-level compact system camera with a lot of bells and whistles. Featuring a 20 megapixel APS-C sensor, full 1080p video, ISO 100-25,600, a 3.7-inch touchscreen, 8.6fps continuous shooting and Wi-fi / NFC connectivity, is this the best budget mirrorless camera? Read our Samsung NX2000 review to find out...

Sony NEX-3N

The NEX-3N is Sony's new entry-level compact system camera for 2013. Billed as the "world’s smallest, lightest interchangeable lens camera", the NEX-3N is also one of the cheapest mirrorless cameras on the market. It features a 16 megapixel APS-C sensor, 1080i HD movies, 3 inch tilting screen and built-in flash. Read our in-depth Sony NEX-3N review, complete with sample JPEGs, RAW files and movies.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Fujifilm X-A1 from around the web.

ephotozine.com »

The Fujifilm X-A1 is the entry level mirrorless camera in the Fujifilm X series, designed to provide high image quality whilst being easy to use and is the most affordable mirrorless camera from Fujifilm, available for £499 with 16-50mm OIS kit lens.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Model FUJIFILM X-A1
Effective Pixels 16.3 million pixels
Sensor type 23.6mm x 15.6mm (APS-C) CMOS with primary color filter
Total number of pixels: 16.5 million pixels
Sensor Cleaning system
Ultra Sonic Vibration
Storage media SD memory card / SDHC memory card / SDXC (UHS-I) memory card*1
File format
Still image
JPEG (Exif Ver 2.3)*2 / RAW (RAF format) / RAW+JPEG (Design rule for Camera File system compliant / DPOF-compatible)
Movie
Movie File Format: MOV
Movie Video Compression: H.264
Audio: Linear PCM Stereo
Number of recorded pixels L: (3:2) 4896 x 3264 / (16:9) 4896 x 2760 / (1:1) 3264 x 3264
M: (3:2) 3456 x 2304 / (16:9) 3456 x 1944 / (1:1) 2304 x 2304
S: (3:2) 2496 x 1664 / (16:9) 2496 x 1408 / (1:1) 1664 x 1664 
Lens mount  FUJIFILM X mount
Sensitivity AUTO / Equivalent to ISO200 - 6400 (Standard Output Sensitivity)
Extended output sensitivity: equivalent to ISO100 / 12800 / 25600
Exposure control  TTL 256-zone metering, Multi / Spot / Average
Exposure mode Programmed AE / Shutter priority AE / Aperture priority AE / Manual exposure
Exposure compensation -2.0EV - +2.0EV, 1/3EV steps
Image stabilisation  Supported with OIS type lens
Face detection Yes
Shutter type Focal Plane Shutter
Shutter speed (with mechanical shutter) Advanced SR AUTO mode: 1/4 sec. to 1/4000 sec.
All other modes: 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec.
Bulb: max. 60 min.
Synchronized shutter speed for flash: 1/180 sec. or slower
  • * At S or M mode, 1/160 sec. or slower can be set.
Continuous shooting Approx. 5.6 fps (JPEG: max. 30 frames, RAW / RAW+JPEG: max. 10 frames)
Approx. 3.0 fps (JPEG: max. 50 frames, RAW / RAW+JPEG: max. 10 frames)
  • * SD card or higher
Auto bracketing AE Bracketing (±1/3EV / ±2/3EV / ±1EV)
Film Simulation Bracketing (3 types of film simulation selectable)
Dynamic Range Bracketing (100% · 200% · 400%)
ISO Sensitivity Bracketing (±1/3EV / ±2/3EV / ±1EV)
Focus
Mode
Manual Focus / Area AF / Multi AF / Continuous AF / Tracking AF
Type
TTL contrast AF, AF assist illuminator available
AF frame selection
Area AF (49 areas with 7 x 7), Changeable AF frame size
White balance Auto / Custom / Preset (Fine / Shade / Fluorescent light (Daylight) / Fluorescent light (Warm White) / Fluorescent light (Cool White) / Incandescent light)
Self timer 10 sec. / 2 sec. Delay
Flash Manual pop-up flash (Super Intelligent Flash)
Guide number: Approx. 7 (ISO200·m)
Flash modes
Red-eye removal OFF
Auto / Forced Flash / Suppressed Flash / Slow Synchro / Rear-curtain Synchro / Commander
Red-eye removal ON
Red-eye Reduction Auto / Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash / Suppressed Flash / Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro / Red-eye Reduction & Rear-curtain Synchro / Commander
  • * Red-eye removal is active when Face Detection is set to ON.
Hot shoe  YES (dedicated TTL Flash compatible)
LCD monitor  3.0-inch, Aspect ratio 3:2, Approx. 920K-dot Tilt type TFT color LCD monitor (Approx. 100% coverage)
Movie recording 1920 x 1080 30p, Continuous recording: up to approx. 14 min.
1280 x 720 30p, Continuous recording: up to approx. 27 min.
  • * SD card or higher
Mode dial Advanced SR AUTO / P / S / A / M / C / Portrait / Landscape / Sport / SP / Adv. / AUTO
Film Simulation mode  PROVIA (STANDARD) / Velvia (VIVID) / ASTIA (SOFT) / MONOCHROME / SEPIA
Dynamic range setting  AUTO (100-400%) / 100% / 200% / 400%
Advanced filter Toy camera / Miniature / Pop color / High-key / Low-key / Dynamic tone / Soft focus / Partial color (Red / Orange / Yellow / Green / Blue / Purple)
Photography functions Auto Red-eye Removal, Setting (Color, Sharpness, D-range, Gradation), Multiple exposure, Depth of Field display, Histogram display, Framing guideline, Frame No. memory, Monitor Sunlight mode, Focus Peak Highlight, Date stamp, Fn button setting
Wireless transmitter
Standard
IEEE 802.11b / g / n (standard wireless protocol)
Access mode
Infrastructure
Playback functions RAW conversion, Image rotate, Auto image rotate, Red-eye reduction, Photobook assist, Erase selected frames, Image search, Multi-frame playback (with micro thumbnail), Slide show, Mark for upload, Protect, Crop, Resize, Favorites
Wireless functions Geotagging setup, Image transfer (Individual image / Selected multiple images), View & Obtain Images, PC Autosave
Other functions PictBridge, Exif Print, Language selection, Time difference, Quick start mode, Silent mode
Terminal
Video output
-
Digital interface
USB 2.0 High-Speed
HDMI output
HDMI mini connector (Type C)
Others
Remote release terminal for RR-90 (sold separately)
Power supply  NP-W126 Li-ion battery (included)
Dimensions 116.9mm (W) x 66.5mm (H) x 39.0mm (D) / 4.6 in. (W) x 2.6 in. (H) x 1.5 in. (D)
(Minimum depth: 32.1mm / 1.3 in.)
Weight Approx. 330g / 11.6 oz. (including battery and memory card)
Approx. 280g / 9.9 oz. (excluding accessories, battery and memory card)
Operating temperature 0 - 40°C / 32 - 104°F
Operating humidity  10 - 80% (no condensation)
Battery life for still images  Approx. 350 frames (with XF35mmF1.4 R lens)
Start-up time Approx. 0.5 sec., when QUICK START mode set to ON
Approx. 1.0 sec., when QUICK START mode set to OFF
  • * Fujifilm research
Accessories included Li-ion Battery NP-W126
Battery Charger BC-W126
Shoulder strap
Body cap
CD-ROM (Viewer software, RAW File Converter etc.*3 )
Owner's manual

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