Fujifilm XQ2 Review

March 19, 2015 | Mark Goldstein |

Introduction
Ease of Use
Image Quality
Sample Images
Product Images
Rating & Conclusion
Main Rivals
Review Roundup
Specifications
Comment
More…

Introduction

The Fujifilm XQ2 is an advanced compact camera that offers a 12 megapixel 2/3-type X-Trans CMOS II sensor with built-in Phase Detection pixels and no low-pass filter, a 4x, 25-100mm, f/1.8-4.9 zoom lens with 3-stop optical image stabilisation and a control ring, a Lens Modulation Optimiser which automatically corrects diffraction blur, 1080p movie recording at 60fps, fast hybrid auto-focus system (0.06 seconds), wi-fi connectivity and instax printer printing, 12fps burst shooting, EXR Processor II with a start-up time of 0.99 seconds, shooting interval of 0.3 seconds and shutter time lag of 0.015 seconds, and a 3-inch LCD monitor with a resolution of 920,000 dots. Other key features of the Fujifilm XQ2 include an ISO range of 100-12,800, full range of manual controls, Focus Peaking for easier manual focusing, raw image capture and development, an integrated manual pop-up flash, a range of film simulation modes and creative effects including the new Classic Chrome, 360° motion panoramas, 3cm macro mode and an electronic level gauge. The Fujifilm XQ2 is available in Black, Silver or White priced at $399.95 / £299.99.

Ease of Use

The Fujifilm XQ2 is a very well-built camera, with virtually no flex or movement in its chassis. It weighs in at 206g with the battery and memory card fitted and measures 100.0mm (W) x 58.5mm (H) x 33.3mm (D), identical to the original XQ1 and making it eminently well suited to life in a trouser pocket. There are some plastic buttons and controls on the XQ2, most notably the memory card / battery compartment door and the rear circular control wheel and buttons, but other that that the XQ2 offers incredible build quality considering its price-tag.

There's no hand-grip on the front of the XQ2 just a rubber thumb-rest on the rear, but there is at least has a textured surface that runs around the full width of the camera to aid grip. Two small metal eyelets on either side of the body are used for connecting the supplied wrist strap. A metal tripod mount is positioned off-centre from the lens away from the memory card / battery compartment, so you don't have to remove the camera from the tripod to change either of them.

Front of the Fujifilm XQ2

At the heart of the XQ2 is the same 12 megapixel 2/3-type X-Trans CMOS II sensor that's used by the more expensive and bigger X30 camera, a sensor size that was used by several bridge-style compacts in the past but which has recently fallen out of favour. This sensor is larger than those in most compact cameras and promises to deliver better image quality, although not the equal of a compact system camera or a DSLR, and not as big as the Sony RX100 series.

We ran into some issues in bright sunlight when shooting in aperture and shutter priority modes, where the top shutter-speed limit of 1/1000th second at f/1.8 often caused under-exposure. The XQ2 doesn't feature a built-in Neutral Density filter, so you'll have to stop-down the aperture and sacrifice some depth-of-field to avoid blowing out the highlights. The XQ2 does offer a close focusing distance of 3cm, so macro shooting is definitely on the cards.

The Fujifilm XQ2's auto-focusing speed is even quicker than on the already impressive X30. The XQ2 has an ultra-fast hybrid AF system with both a conventional contrast-detection system and built-in Phase Detection pixels which enables the camera to achieve a focus lock in as little as 0.06 second. If you mostly use auto-focus rather than manual then this a great reason to buy the XQ2.

Front of the Fujifilm XQ2

Manual focusing is activated by changing the Focus Mode to Manual in the menu system, then using the control ring that encircles the lens to set the distance, with the LCD display automatically zooming in on the subject to help you judge the sharpness. Fujifilm have also included Focus Peaking to make manual focusing even easier, 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. This addition makes manual focusing on the XQ2 more of a pleasure than a chore, with a choice of High and Low settings (you can't change the colour).

The Fujifilm XQ2 features a high-resolution 3 inch LCD monitor on the back, which has 920k dots and offers 100% scene coverage. There's no way to add an optical or electronic viewfinder to the XQ2 - the LCD screen is the only method of composition. The LCD screen offers a handy Info view which presents all of the key settings at once, or you can switch to the Standard or Custom Live View modes, with the latter offering a multitude of customisable options. To make the camera less obtrusive, there's a Silent menu option which turns off the speaker, flash, AF-assist lamp and most importantly the artificially-created shutter-release sound, instantly making the XQ2 better suited to candid photography.

In terms of operational performance, the Fujifilm XQ2 is even more of a speed-demon than its predecessor thanks to the new EXR Processor II. 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. Continuous shooting speeds are impressive, with a top rate of 12fps for 9 JPEGs. Note, though, 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.

Top of the Fujifilm XQ2

The write speeds from pressing the shutter button to recording to the SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card are also very good. Shooting a single RAW + Fine JPEG takes about 1 seconds to record to the card, and you can take another shot almost straight away thanks to a delay of just 0.3 second. Taking a 12 frame burst took the camera around 3 seconds to save, during which you can take more pictures, but not at the 12fps rate.

One area in which the Fujifilm XQ2 excels is its handling, thanks in no small part to the aluminum control ring that surrounds the lens. Fujifilm won't win any awards for originality here, as we've already seen similar implementations on the Canon and Sony equivalents, but it definitely helps make the XQ2 easy to use. By default it controls the manual focusing, aperture, and shutter speed, but it can be configured to change one of seven key settings.

More originally, Fujifilm have implemented a button called Expansion Function (E-Fn) button on the back of the camera. Press this, and the navigation pad and the two buttons above it effectively offer a second set of options - so, in addition to the defaults shown on the back of the camera, with a press of E-Fn you also get Continuous, White Balance, Focus Point and ISO settings on the navigation pad and Film Simulation Focus Mode on the two buttons above - very clever. Again you can reconfigure this function to suit your way of working.

The Fujifilm XQ2 In-hand

On top of the XQ2 is a tactile dial for changing the the shooting mode, a small but responsive shutter release button encircled by a push/pull zoom lever, - a tiny on/off button, holes for the stereo speaker, and finally the camera's built-in pop-up flash, which is opened via a switch located behind it and which has a range of 50cm - 7.4m at the 25mm wide-angle focal length.

The Fujifilm XQ2 can record full 1080p movies at 60/30fps with stereo sound, started with a press of the dedicated movie button on the rear. There are also several slow motion options - 30fps or 80fps at 640x480 pixels, 150fps at 320x240, and 250fps at 320x112. 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, and you can manually focus too, which encourages some more creative effects. There is a HDMI port for connecting the XQ2 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 My software the slow and rather unintuitive RAW converter (essentially a specially customised version of the commercial Silkypix application).

The X-E2 is the latest 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. You can also now directly print to the portable Fujifilm Instax printer.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Fujifilm XQ2 produces images of excellent quality. It recorded noise-free JPEG images at ISO 100 up to 800, with a little noise and slight colour desaturation at ISO 1600 and more visible noise at ISO 3200 at full resolution, an excellent performance for a camera with such a small sensor. Even ISO 6400 is worth using, although the same can't be said about the range-topping ISO 12800. The RAW files were also excellent, with usable images throughout the entire range of ISO 100-3200.

The Fujifilm XQ2's 4x zoom lens handled chromatic aberrations well, with some limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds being long enough for most after-dark shots.

Macro performance is very good, allowing you to focus as close as 3cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the Fujifilm XQ2 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 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. Motion panoramas are the icing on the proverbial cake, although they didn't work very well in mixed lighting conditions or with moving subjects in the frame.

Noise

There are 8 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm XQ2 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)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)


ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)


ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)


ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)


ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)


ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)


ISO 6400 (100% Crop)


ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

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 JPEG 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)

Focal Range

The Fujifilm XQ2's 4x zoom lens provides a focal length of 25-100mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

25mm	100mm

File Quality

The Fujifilm XQ2 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.

12M Fine (3.99Mb) (100% Crop)	12M Normal (2.49Mb) (100% Crop)


12M RAW (18.5Mb) (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Fujifilm XQ2 handled chromatic aberrations well during the review, with llittle evidence of purple fringing that was only present around the edges of objects in very high-contrast situations, as shown in the example below.

Macro

The Fujifilm XQ2 offers a Super Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 3cm away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro	Macro (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the Fujifilm XQ2 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 (25mm)	Forced Flash - Wide Angle (25mm)


Suppressed Flash - Wide Angle (100mm)	Forced Flash - Wide Angle (100mm)

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)


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

Night

The Fujifilm XQ2's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Manual, Shutter-priority and Aperture-priority modes, 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 100.

Night	Night (100% Crop)

Image Stabilisation

Image Stabilisation is Fujifilm's name for anti-shake, which in the XQ2 works via a sensor-shift mechanism. To test this, we took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/8th / 25mm

1/5th sec / 100mm

Dynamic Range

The Fujifilm XQ2 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%


400%

Advanced Filter

The Fujifilm XQ2 offers 13 different filter effects which can be previewed on the LCD screen.

Toy Camera	Miniature


Pop Color	High-Key


Low-Key	Dynamic Tone


Soft Focus	Partial Color (Red)


Partial Color (Orange)	Partial Color (Yellow)


Partial Color (Green)	Partial Color (Blue)


Partial Color (Purple)

Motion Panorama 360

Just like Sony's Cybershot range, the Fujifilm XQ2 can create motion panoramas up to 360 degrees in length. Exposure is set on the first frame, which caused real problems for our indoor shot where different light sources caused large areas of vertical banding. The XQ2 performed much better outdoors, although watch out for moving subjects in the frame as the camera won't compensate for this.

360 Degrees

Pro Focus

The Fujifilm XQ2's Pro Focus scene mode creates images with a shallow depth of field, with the camera taking a rapid series of exposures at different focal points and aligning them to produce a single frame showing a sharply focused subject against a soft, out-of-focus background.

100%	200%

Pro Low-Light

The Fujifilm XQ2's Pro Low-Light scene mode produces better image clarity at high ISO levels, with the camera taking a series of four high sensitivity/low-noise shots in quick succession which are then combined together using in-camera processing into an image with less noise than the single exposures.

Pro Low-Light	Pro Low-Light (100% Crop)

Multiple Exposure

The Fujifilm XQ2 can combine two consecutively taken shots to create a single multi-exposure

Film Simulation

The Fujifilm XQ2 offers 8 different film simulation modes to help replicate the look of your favourite film stock from the past.

Provia / Standard	Velvia / Vivid


Astia / Soft	Monochrome


Monochrome + Yellow Filter	Monochrome + Red Filter


Monochrome + Green Filter	Sepia


Classic Chrome

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm XQ2 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

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

Number of effective pixels	12.0 million pixels
Image sensor	2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS II with primary color filter Total number of pixels : 14.5 million pixels
Storage media	Internal memory (approx. 66MB) SD / SDHC / 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 : (4:3) 4000 x 3000 / (3:2) 4000 x 2664 / (16:9) 4000 x 2248 / (1:1) 2992 x 2992 M : (4:3) 2816 x 2112 / (3:2) 2816 x 1864 / (16:9) 2816 x 1584 / (1:1) 2112 x 2112 S : (4:3) 2048 x 1536 / (3:2) 2048 x 1360 / (16:9) 1920 x 1080 / (1:1) 1536 x 1536 <Motion Panorama> 360° Vertical 1624 x 11520 Horizontal 11520 x 1080 180° Vertical 1624 x 5760 Horizontal 5760 x 1080 120° Vertical 1624 x 3840 Horizontal 3840 x 1080
Lens	name Fujinon 4x optical zoom lens focal length f=6.4 - 25.6mm, equivalent to 25 - 100mm on a 35mm format. full-aperture F1.8 (Wide) - F4.9 (Telephoto) constitution 7 lenses in 6 groups (4 aspherical glass molded lenses included)
Digital zoom	Intelligent digital zoom approx. 4x (up to 16x when combined with optical zoom)
Aperture	F1.8 - F11(Wide) F4.9 - F11(Telephoto) 1/3EV step (controlled 6-blade aperture diaphragm)
Focus distance (from lens surface)	Normal Wide : approx. 50cm / 1.6 ft. to infinity Telephoto : approx. 80cm / 2.6 ft. to infinity Macro Wide : approx. 3cm - 3.0m / 1.1 in. - 9.8 ft. Telephoto : approx. 50cm - 3.0m / 1.6 ft. - 9.8 ft.
Sensitivity	AUTO (Control available up to ISO3200), Equivalent to ISO 100 / 200 / 250 / 320 / 400 / 500 / 640 / 800 / 1000 / 1250 / 1600 / 2000 / 2500 / 3200 / 4000 / 5000 / 6400 / 12800 (Standard Output Sensitivity)
Exposure control	TTL 256-zone metering, Multi, Spot, Average
Exposure mode	Programmed AE / Aperture Priority AE / Shutter Speed Priority AE / Manual exposure
Shooting modes	ADVANCED SR AUTO, AUTO, Filter (Advanced Filter), P, S, A, M, C, SP, Adv.(Advanced mode) SP : Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, Text, Underwater Filter : Toy camera / Miniature / Pop color / High-key / Low-key / Dynamic tone / Soft focus / Partial color (Red / Orange / Yellow / Green / Blue / Purple) Adv. : Motion panorama360 / Pro focus / Pro low light / Multiple exposure
Image stabilizer	Lens shift type
Face detection	Yes
Exporsure compensation	-3.0EV - +3.0EV 1/3EV step Movie mode : -2.0EV - +2.0EV
Shutter speed	(Auto mode) 1/4 sec. to 1/3000 sec., (All other modes) 30 sec. to 1/4000 sec. * up to 1/4000 sec. at small aperture, up to 1/1000 sec. at full aperture
Continuous shooting	TOP Super High : approx. 12.0 fps (max. approx. 9 frames) High : approx. 9.0 fps (max. approx. 11 frames) Middle : approx. 6.0 fps (max. approx. 14 frames) Low : approx. 3.0 fps (max. approx. 200 frames) * Use a card with SD Speed Class with Class 10 or higher. * Max. number of frames can be shot in JPEG setting Best Frame capture Super High : approx. 12.0 fps (max. 8 frames) High : approx. 9.0 fps (max. 8 frames) Middle : approx. 6.0 fps (max. 8 frames) Low : approx. 3.0 fps (max. 8 frames) * Max. number of frames can be shot in JPEG setting
Auto bracketing	AE Bracketing : ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, ±1EV Film Simulation Bracketing : (Any 3 types of Film Simulation selectable) Dynamic Range Bracketing : 100%·200%·400% ISO Sensitivity Bracketing : ±1/3EV, ±2/3EV, ±1EV
Focus	mode Single AF / Continuous AF / MF type Intelligent Hybrid AF (TTL contrast AF / TTL phase detection AF), AF assist illuminator available AF frame selection Multi(Multi Target), Area, Tracking
White balance	Automatic scene recognition Preset : Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Underwater, Custom, Color temperature selection
Self-timer	10 sec. / 2 sec. delay
Flash	Auto flash (Super Intelligent Flash) Effective range : (ISO AUTO) Wide : approx. 50cm - 7.4m / 1.6 ft. - 24.2 ft. Telephoto : approx. 80cm - 2.7m / 2.6 ft. - 8.8 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. * Red-eye removal is active when Face Detection is set to ON.
Hot shoe	-
Viewfinder	-
LCD monitor	3.0-inch, approx. 920K-dot, TFT color LCD monitor, approx. 100% coverage
Movie recording	Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p / 30p Continuous recording : up to approx. 14 min. HD 1280 x 720 60p / 30p Continuous recording : up to approx. 27 min. 640 x 480 30p Continuous recording : up to approx. 115 min. with stereo sound Optical zoom can be used. * Use a card with SD Speed Class with Class 10 or higher.
Photography functions	Movie Scene Recognition, High Speed Movie (80/150/250 fps.), Face Detection, Auto Red-eye Removal, Color, Sharpness, Highlight Tone, Shadow Tone, Noise Reduction, Dynamic Range, Electronic level, Histogram display, Framing guideline, Frame No. memory, Advanced Anti Blur, Pre-AF, Control ring setting, Focus check, Focus Peak Highlight, Date Stamp, E-Fn (extended function) Button Custom Setting
Film simulation	PROVIA/STANDARD, Velvia/VIVID, ASTIA/SOFT, CLASSIC CHROME, MONOCHROME, MONOCHROME+Ye FILTER, MONOCHROME+R FILTER, MONOCHROME+G FILTER, SEPIA
Playback functions	Face Detection, Auto Red-eye Removal, Multi-frame playback (with micro thumbnail), Protect, Crop, Resize, Slide show, Image rotate, Histogram display, Exposure warning, Photobook assist, Image search, Favorites, Mark for upload, Panorama, Erase Selected Frames, RAW Conversion
Wireless transmitter	Standard IEEE 802.11b / g / n (standard wireless protocol) Access mode Infrastructure
Wireless function	Geotagging / Wireless communication (Image transfer) / View & Obtain Images / PC Auto Save / instax Printer Print
Other functions	PictBridge, Exif Print, 35 Languages, Time difference, Silent mode
Terminal	Video output - Digital interface USB 2.0 High-Speed HDMI output HDMI Micro connector
Power supply	NP-48 Li-ion battery (included)
Dimensions	100.0mm (W) x 58.5mm (H) x 33.3mm (D) / 3.9 in. (W) x 2.3 in. (H) x 1.3 in. (D) (Minimum depth : 23.3mm / 0.9 in.)
Weight	Approx. 206g / 7.3 oz. (including battery and memory card) Approx. 187g / 6.6 oz. (excluding battery and memory card)
Operating Temperature	0°C - 40°C
Operating Humidity	10% - 80% (no condensation)
Battery life for still images^*3	Approx. 240 frames
Accessories included	Li-ion battery NP-48 AC power adapter AC-5VT Plug adapter Hand strap USB cable CD-ROM^*4 Owner's manual