Fujifilm X20 Review
Highlights and Specifications
Before presenting the technical specifications we will highlight some special features of the Fujifilm X20.
Large Back-lit Sensor
The X20 has a 12 MP 2/3 inch back-lit sensor. This sensor is larger than the 1/1.7 inch or 1/2.3 inch sensors that are found in the Pentax MX-1 and X-5, respectively.
The sensor doesn't have the traditional Bayer pattern layout of the color pixels but has a layout of Fuji's own design called X-Trans where some of the green pixels are clustered together. Fortunately, Fujifilm has abandoned the even more peculiar sensor design that was used in the X10 and which was the cause of several operational quirks, not to mention image degradation in high contrast scenes and in low light.
The X20 sensor has autofocus phase detection pixels built-in (marked with (1)), which should allow for faster autofocus operation.
There is no low-pass filter in front of the sensor. This should result in increased resolution. Fuji claims that the special layout of the color pattern of the pixels reduces the risk of moiré and we didn't encounter any moiré during our field test.
Hybrid Optical Viewfinder
A key feature of the X20 is its optical viewfinder. Although the viewfinder only covers 85% of the scene being recorded, it beats having to use the LCD monitor for framing in particular in very bright light and it also makes it easier to hold the camera steady when following a moving subject.
The viewfinder has a LCD information overlay, hence the term hybrid. Information like focus frame (2), shutter speed (5), aperture (6), shooting mode (7) and more is displayed. This is a nice improvement over the X10, which had no information overlay. By default the LCD monitor turns off when you look through the viewfinder thus reducing the drain on the battery. The color of the overlay is normally black, but changes to red to indicate error conditions, blue to indicate exposure lock and to green in low light.
Specifications
In the table below you'll find the x20's key specifications.
| Megapixels | 12.0 (effective), 4000x3000 pixels |
| Sensor Type | 2/3" (6.6 x 8.8 mm) back-lit X-Trans CMOS |
| ISO Range | 100-12,800 |
| Shutter Speeds | 30s - 1/4000s (combined mechanical and electronic shutter) |
| Lens | 7.1-28.4 mm (4x zoom, 28-112 mm eqv.) |
| Maximum Aperture | F2.0 (7.1 mm) F2.8 (28.4 mm) |
| Minimum Aperture | F8 (7.1 mm) F11 (28.4 mm) |
| Digital Zoom | 2x (8x combined zoom) |
| LCD | 2.8-inch LCD 460,000 dots |
| Focusing | Hybrid contrast detect/phase detect autofocus w/ face detection Manual focus (50 cm/80 cm to infinity, wide/tele) Macro mode (10 cm/50 cm to 3 m, wide/tele) Super macro mode (1 cm to 1 m, wide angle only) |
| Flash | Built-in, effective up to 7 m (wide) or 5 m (tele) at ISO 800 Supports red-eye, slow-speed sync Hot shoe for external flash, synch up to 1/1000 s |
| Battery | NP-50, 1000 mAh Capacity approx. 270 recorded images |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 117 x 69.6 x 56.8 mm (4.6 x 2.7 x 2.2") |
| Weight | 353 g (12.4 oz) w/battery |
| Startup Time | 0.5 s (in quick start mode) |
| Shutter Lag | 0.01 s |
| Burst Mode | 12/9/6/3 FPS for up to 11/13/20/39 frames (JPEG) |
| Stabilization | Optical shake reduction |
| Movie Mode | Full HD (1080p): 60 FPS HD (720p): 60 FPS VGA (640 x 480): 80 and 30 FPS High speed: 150 FPS in 320 x 240, 250 FPS in 320 x 112 Built-in stereo microphone |
| Connectivity | USB 2.0 Mini HDMI Out External stereo microphone (via USB connector) |
| Price | $599 |
| Available Colors | Black, Silver |
The X20 is available in black or chrome:
