Dec 11, 2011
Fujifilm X10 Review
Introduction
With the demise of the Pentax X70 and X90 cameras, Pentax no longer offers a camera with a non-interchangeable zoom lens and a view finder. We will therefore take a look af the recently introduced Fujifilm X10 which would fill the gap between the Pentax viewfinder-less point-and-shoot cameras and the Pentax DSLRs.
The Fujifilm X10 is basically a point and shoot with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, but in an appealing retro design and of much better build quality that your traditional point-and shoot. Thanks to a larger sensor, it also provides better image quality than your standard point-and-shoot, as well as lots of manual controls.
The also recently introduced Pentax Q is an ultra compact, mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera. The Q is inspired by a Pentax DSLR in its shooting modes, menus and interchangeable lens capability, so where the Fujifilm X10 is a step up from a point-and shoot, the Pentax could be considered a step down from a DSLR.
Fujifilm X10, The Camera Pentax Should Have Made?
So which camera is better, the X10 (a step up from a point-and-shoot), or the Q (a step down from a DSLR)?
We hope we address this question with this review of the Fujifilm X10 in combination with our in-depth review of the Pentax Q which can be found here.
Table of Contents
Background
In September 2010 Fuji introduced the Finepix X100, a retro-designed APS-C range finder camera with a fast non-interchangeable lens with a fixed focal length. It was a bold move to introduce a fixed focal length camera at a high price point, but the X100 became very popular despite its hefty price tag well over $1000. Fuji is now following up on that success with the similarly-designed X10, which is more compact thanks to its smaller sensor, has a zoom lens in stead of a prime lens and thus is a more versatile camera. To top it off the price is significantly lower than the X100: the MSRP is $599.
In the Box
The Fuji X10 comes with the following in the box:
- The X10 body itself
- Strap
- Eyelets for the strap and a tool to open the eyelets (not shown)
- Li-Ion rechargeable battery NP-50
- Battery charger Fujifilm BC45W
- USB cable
- Owner's Manual (132 pages) in English
- Owner's Manual in Spanish
- Errata sheet for the manual
- List of service centers and product registration guidelines
- CD-ROM with
- FinePix Studio (Windows) and FinePix Viewer (Mac), both with SilkyPix Raw Converter
- Operating Manual as PDF files in 32 languages