Fujifilm Takes X-Series Vlogging

2020.10.15

In an unsurprising move, Fujifilm is now the latest digital camera company to introduce a mirrorless which favors vlogging and selfies over photography. This morning, the new Fujifilm X-S10 was unveiled, presumably the first in a series of compact mirrorless cameras with greater automation than anything else on the market. A long time ago, when Fujifilm made compact cameras with their unique EXR sensor, they introduced automatic modes which were as close to magic as any digital camera ever made!

The core of the new Fujifilm X-S10 is the familiar 26 megapixels X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor which demonstrated exceptional performance in numerous cameras, most recently the excellent Fujifilm X-T4 reviewed here. This sensor uses a 6x6 Pseudo-Random Color-Filter Area to allow critical sharpness by omitting an Anti-Alias Filter without falling prone to moire. The 4th-generation sensor also includes an incredible 2.1 million Phase-Detect elements with extreme sensitivity to light, reaching an unprecedented ability to autofocus down to -7 EV. Fujifilm also announced that sensitivity will be available retroactively on the X-T4 via a firmware update in the near future!

Smaller and much lighter camera than the flagship X-T4, mostly by omitting weatherproof construction, the X-S10 manages to squeeze in a new 5-axis image-stabilization system, effective to 6-stops which just ½-stops shy of the X-T4. The lightweight mirrorless camera still manages to pack dual control-dials, an 8-way focus joystick, a builtin EVF with Eye-Start sensor and a builtin flash in a 465g body. This is quite an achievement which allows Fujifilm to emphasize the size-advantage of APS-C cameras, something which cannot be said of their high-end offerings.

The most noteworthy differences between the X-S10 and the compact X-T30 which sports the same 26 MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor are design are automation. The body of this new camera is more curved for added comfort over long periods and its combination of dual control-dials and traditional mode-dial are simpler to handle in different camera orientations. At the back of the camera, a 3" LCD is mounted on a rotating hinge which allows selfies to be captured and filmed while keeping an eye on framing. This, of course, is cumbersome when capturing images at low and high angles compared to the tilting displays on other X-series mirrrorless.

Automation reaches another level on the X-S10. Additionally to selecting exposure parameters and tuning them according to a computed scene mode, this new mirrorless can adjust nearly every image rendering parameter, including Fujifilm's own expansive Film Simulation Modes and fine-tuning images with custom tone-curves and clarity determines by scene analysis.

The rest of the specifications from the X-S10 are state-of-the-art and closely match other 4th generation Fujifilm mirrorless digital cameras. The 26 MP sensor creates a virtual 425-Point Phase-Detect AF system and its hybrid shutter can reach speeds of 1/32,000s to freeze extremely fast action. Long Bulb exposures up to an hour are also possible to capture scenes in near-darkness. Full-resolution images can be captured at 20 FPS which rises to 30 FPS with an additional 1.25X crop-factor. Video recording is highly sophisticated with support for cinematic resolutions of 4096x2160 at 30 FPS and 2048x1080 at 60 FPS. Full HD can be captured up to 240 FPS.

It hard to image the Fujifilm X-S10 not being another runaway success when it hits the shelves next month for just $1000 USD or $1350 CAD. We highly recommend those interesting in taking the Fujifilm X-Trans sensor vlogging to preorder soon. Our reputable affiliates are already accepting preorders at no additional cost and will not charge you until the camera ships: Adorama and B&H Photo.

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