Along with X100S, Fujifilm has also announced a new high-end compact camera. Replacing the very popular and attractively styled in recent Fujifilm X-series fashion, Fujifilm X10, the new camera retains all of predecessors’ strengths and gains a few more. With what X20 has to offer, it should end up as a very nice little camera for those who want a camera for simple occasions but with the usual flexibility of higher-end gear.
Fujifilm X20
1) Commentary
Fujifilm X20 fits nicely into category first started with the Canon G series. It is a compact camera for advanced photographers. The things that make it different from ordinary point-and-shoot cameras is the amount of manual control available, high build quality, larger-than-average sensor for better performance as well as a bright, sharp, 28-112mm equivalent zoom lens with an aperture of f/2-2.8. X10 shared all of these features, but the new X20 further improves the camera’s capabilities. A new X-Trans sensor is present, which uses the same technology as larger sensors found in Fuji’s X-Pro1, X-E1 and X100S cameras. Employing a different, more random color filter pattern that traditional Bayer sensors, this one goes away without needing a low-pass filter, which results in better image sharpness. The new sensor has 12 megapixels, is 2/3 inch in size and is aided by a more powerful image processor.
Just as with X100S, the new sensor and processor are both dubbed “II”. X-Trans again contains phase-detect AF system in addition to the previous contrast-detect AF. As a result, hybrid AF should provide quicker and more reliable focus acquisition. But that is theory, of course. Canon M, which we reviewed very recently, also incorporates hybrid AF system, but its performance is disturbingly poor. We are yet to see how Fujifilm X100S and X20 stack up.
