Quick Verdict
If you're looking for a great digital camera, with excellent handling, but don't want to spend £2000 on a camera, then the Fujifilm X-S10, with its price of around £1000 (depending on lens choice), is a great choice. The camera gives excellent handling and feels great in the hand. In fact, when you pick up the camera, it just feels right, everything is where you'd expect it to be, and the handgrip is large enough to be comfortable, yet the camera is still compact, so you get the benefit of a smaller camera than your standard DSLR. You get in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), 4K CINE video at 30fps, and a high-quality metal body, as well as high-speed continuous shooting options. With excellent image and video quality, we are happy to highly recommend this camera.
+ Pros
- PASM modes and "DSLR" styling will be appealing to many
- Excellent image and video quality
- Brilliant handling
- Great value for money
- Vari-angle screen
- Mic and headphone socket (with adapter)
- Cons
- Doesn't offer the battery life of the X-T4
- EVF eyecup could be deeper
Fujifilm’s new X-S10 is a compact DSLR styled mirrorless camera with EVF, and large handgrip, designed for all types of photographer or videographer, the camera features the same 26mp APS-C X-Trans 4 CMOS sensor as the flagship Fujifilm X-T4.
Fujifilm says they are targeting DSLR users, who haven’t switched to mirrorless, and the X-S10 is designed to be simpler to use with a P,A,S,M mode dial, and without the direct shutter / ISO speed controls of other Fujifilm cameras but does offer direct access with the ISO button, dials and Q button.
In comparison to recent camera introductions, which have regularly been £2000+ the Fujifilm X-S10 makes a refreshing change, by offering a high-specification camera at a price point under £1000 with lens! The camera is £949 body only, £999 with 15-45mm lens, £1299 with 18-55mm lens, and £1399 with 16-80mm lens.
Fujifilm X-S10 Features
The Fujifilm X-S10 has new ergonomics, and a new body style with a deep handgrip when compared to other Fujifilm X-Series cameras. Gone are the external shutter speed and ISO speed dials, and instead there's a traditional PASM mode dial to make it easier for people to use the camera if they're coming from an alternative camera. The camera body is also relatively compact, being not much larger than a Micro Four Thirds DSLR-style camera.
“Not all customers appreciate manual dials, so Fujifilm has added the PASM mode dial to the camera."
The camera features the same 26mp APS-C X-Trans4 BSI CMOS sensor as the flagship Fujifilm X-T4 and features a more compact in-body image stabilisation system that moves the sensor to give up to 6.0 stops of image stabilisation.
The camera has front and rear dials, plus left-hand fn. dial. You can use the aperture dial on an XF lens (in aperture mode). There's a dedicated Movie record button on top of the camera. You'll also find a range of buttons and controls that should be familiar to DSLR/Mirrorless camera users including a dedicated AF ON / Fn button, an AEL / Fn button, and a Drive button. These can be customised if needed, and there are 4-on screen function buttons.
The 3inch 1040K dot vari-angle touch-screen can be tilted forwards for selfies and vlogging when needed, or you can fold the screen away to keep it safe. There is an electronic viewfinder (EVF), with a 2.36m dot resolution, and 0.62x magnification. This has a 100fps refresh rate, and the eye-detection sensor will automatically switch between the rear screen and the EVF.
Wi-Fi, and low-power Bluetooth is built-in, and the camera can be used with the Fujifilm Camera Remote APP to transfer images, as well as remotely control the camera.
Video features include DCI 4K and 4K UHD, at up to 30fps. This is recorded at 4.2.0 8-bit internally, with 4.2.2 10-bit via HDMI output. The camera doesn't offer as many features as the X-T4, which offers ALL-I video recording. A new feature is a count-up clock, which will show when recording video.
With in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), this can be used on its own with non-stabilised lenses. It also works with OIS when used with a lens with built-in OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation). There's also DIS (Digital Image Stabilisation) which can be used as well, which crops into the video, to give additional stabilisation.
The camera is compatible with Fujifilm's X Webcam v2.0 software, making it suitable for use as a webcam. As with other Fujifilm cameras, Capture One Express for Fujifilm is available as a free download.
Key Features
- 26.1mp APS-C BSI CMOS Sensor
- -7 EV PDAF (with 50mm f/1.0), 0.02s AF
- 30fps blackout-free shooting,
- X-Trans CMOS 4 + X-Processor 4
- In-body Image Stabilisation, 5-axis, upto 6stops
- 4K DCI Video, 30,25,24,23.98fps
- FullHD 240fps
- 8fps continuous shooting with the mechanical shutter
- 20fps electronic shutter without crop (30fps with 1.29x crop)
- ISO80 to ISO51200
- 18 film simulation modes
- UHS-I SD card slot
- Microphone socket
- USB Type-C (can be used with headphone adapter)
Fujifilm X-S10 Handling
The camera features a dedicated PASM mode dial, rather than the shutter/ISO dials found on other X-series cameras. With this, the camera provides quick access to exposure compensation using the rear dial (in P mode), and you can quickly access the ISO speed using the dedicated ISO button. For other settings, you can use the Q button to quickly access settings, and this can be customised to give you access to your favourites. We would most likely customise this to give us quicker access to white balance, as we found that we ended up having to go into the menus to adjust this (alternatively we could customise the Q Menu to give us quicker access).
The mode dial has 4 custom positions (C1, C2, C3, and C4) and AF/MF + shooting settings can now be saved along with image quality settings (for stills photography only) using these.
The top left dial gives you quick access to the film simulations (on default settings), however, this can be customised to give you quick access to the settings of your choice. There's an 8-way focus lever which is neatly placed in reach of your thumb.
The camera body has a mixture of metal and plastic construction, and feels well built, with solid construction. The battery and memory card compartment is underneath the camera. These are under the handgrip and far enough away from the metal tripod socket, that it should still be possible to change these even with the camera mounted on a tripod. The camera is surprisingly compact and is 20% lighter than the Fujifilm X-T4.
The 3inch touch-screen has a resolution of 1040K dots and looks clear. The screen can be tilted forwards for vlogging and selfies. Due to the position of the HDMI, USB-C and microphone sockets, these could get in the way of the screen if you use them with the screen facing forwards.
The electronic viewfinder (EVF) has a reasonable resolution of 2.36m dots and 0.62x magnification. The view is very clear, and detailed, with a good refresh rate and good colour reproduction. One thing we would have liked to see is a slightly deeper eye surround, with a more comfortable rubber surround. The eye-detection sensor works well, being relatively quick to switch between the rear screen and EVF when needed.
The menus are clearly laid out with colour coding for each section, including a section for all the movie/video settings. There's also the usual "MyMenu" section where you can add your favourite settings for quicker access. Switching to the movie mode is that you get a movie focused set of options.
Film simulations now have descriptions and additional information. Auto / SP scene recognition will use clarity and other settings to improve photos for the user. Any film simulation is available in Auto, as well as raw
The NP-W126S battery gives 325 shots (according to CIPA standards, which includes firing the flash). We expect battery life to be better than this if you're using the continuous shooting modes, and it's recommended you switch off the camera when not in use.
Fujifilm X-S10 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Fujifilm X-S10 Sample Photos
We found results straight out of the camera were very good, with excellent colour reproduction, and Fujifilm's expected colour reproduction, which many will find very pleasing. The images show a good level of dynamic range, although some may find that images are a little too contrasty at times, so you may want to adjust the image settings if this is the case. Dynamic range can be expanded with the DR100/200/400 options, with this giving improved highlight detail and colour, where it would have otherwise been lost. Exposure is reliable, and we rarely needed to use exposure compensation. Focus is rapid, and reliable, with no issues faced in a variety of shooting conditions.
Another thing worth pointing out is that the camera gives great JPEG results straight from the camera, without the need to process raw files. If you do want to adjust the raw files, you can do this in-camera, making it quick and easy to make quick tweaks or corrections to images, for example, if you've used the wrong white balance setting. Lens correction is built-in to automatically correct any lens issues, including vignetting, and distortion.
When we used the built-in flash, we noticed quite strong red-eye in the photos, however, this can be fixed after shooting using the in-camera image editing options, or alternatively ensuring red-eye reduction flash is set.
In-body image stabilisation (IBIS) works in combination with the optical image stabilisation (OIS) system of the lens attached to the camera (if it has it), and this can result in sharper images, even when shooting at slower shutter speeds.
We used the X-S10 with the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens, and there is a wide range of Fujifilm lenses available.
Fujifilm X-S10 Other sample images
*Sample photos taken with a pre-production camera and may not be representative of final quality.
Fujifilm X-S10 ISO
ISO Noise Performance: Noise is lowest at the lower settings, as you would expect, with fine detail maintained up to ISO800/ISO1600. As the ISO speed increases more fine detail is lost, and noise is more visible, however, some would say that the noise has a "film-like" quality, so isn't as disturbing as some noise. Depending on your needs, you may find the results produced by the camera are quite usable, up to ISO12800. However, at ISO25600, we'd likely want to avoid this setting. The camera does an excellent job maintaining colour saturation, even as the ISO speed is increased. Dynamic range is reduced at the lowest ISO speed of ISO80.
Fujifilm X-S10 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - The camera gives you a number of different auto white balance (AWB) options, including white priority, standard, and ambient priority, this means you can have stronger correction if needed (for example, for product shots where you want a white background), or you can capture the atmosphere of the scene, with warmer tones. The tungsten preset gives a slightly warm result, and for product shots, the white priority option gives better results. AWB performs well under fluorescent lighting, and the fluorescent preset gives a slight colour cast. AWB performs well under mixed lighting.
Fujifilm X-S10 Digital filters
Digital Filters - Multiple film simulations are available, including PROVIA/Standard, Velvia/Vivid, ASTIA/Soft, Classic Chrome, PRO Neg.Hi, PRO Neg.Std, ETERNA/Cinema, ETERNA Bleach Bypass, Classic Neg, ACROS, ACROS+Ye Filter, ACROS+R Filter, ACROS+G Filter, Black & White, Black & White+Ye Filter, Black & White+R Filter, Black & White+G Filter, and Sepia. You can keep the raw files so you can go back and adjust the images later.
Video - There is 4K UHD and 4K CINE video recording without a crop, with frame rates up to 30fps available. You also have the choice of compression, with up to 200mbps available. High-speed video recording is possible, at FullHD resolution, and 240fps (with a crop), or up to 60fps without a crop.
Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) + In-Body Image Stabilisation (IBIS) work together to create fairly stable footage, so you can use the camera handheld to record video, although the camera can struggle to keep footage stable when panning. It's worth noting that if you switch off the OIS on the lens, then this also switches off the in-body image stabilisation. Digital stabilisation is also available, with a crop added to the footage.
4K video produces footage with plenty of detail, with a sharp and clear picture produced. Thanks to the vari-angle screen that tilts forwards, the camera would make a great vlogging option, with face and eye-detection AF working well.
The micro HDMI port lets you output 10-bit 4:2:2 video to an external recorder if required. Internally video is recorded as 8-bit 4:2:0.
Value For Money
The Fujifilm X-S10 is available for £999 with 15-45mm lens. This makes it very good value for money considering what is on offer with a 26mp sensor, 4K CINE video, and in-body image stabilisation (IBIS). Alternatives around this price include the following cameras:
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III, 20mp, IBIS, 4K CINE, 10/30fps continuous, Weather-sealed, £1155 with 14-42mm lens
Panasonic Lumix G90, 20mp, IBIS, 4K (unlimited), 9fps continuous shooting, £989 with 12-60mm lens
Nikon Z50, 20mp, 4K video, 11fps continuous shooting, £989 with kit lens
Canon EOS M6, 32mp, 4K video, 14fps continuous shooting (30fps at 18mp), £1048 with lens and viewfinder
Sony Alpha A6500, 24mp, IBIS, 4K video, 11fps continuous shooting, £1100 (with lens)
Have a look at more options in our Top 20 Best Premium Mirrorless (with EVF), or if you have a lower budget have a look at the Top 11 Best Entry-Level Mirrorless. You'll also need to buy an SD memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Fujifilm X-S10 Verdict
If you're looking for a great digital camera, with excellent handling, but don't want to spend £2000 on a camera, then the Fujifilm X-S10, with its price of around £1000 (depending on lens choice), would be a great choice. The camera is great value for money, being available for £999 with the 15-45mm lens, although it's worth noting that if you want the 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens, then the kit price is £1299.
Before buying into any camera system, it's worth having a look at the lenses available, and whether you can find the lenses you're likely to want for your photography (and how much they cost). Luckily here, Fujifilm has a wide range of X-Mount lenses, thanks to the X-mount system being around since 2012.
The camera gives excellent handling and feels great in the hand. In fact, when you pick up the camera, it just feels right, everything is where you'd expect it to be, and the handgrip is large enough to be comfortable, yet the camera is still compact, so you get the benefit of a smaller camera than your standard DSLR. There are front and rear command dials, an ISO button, and Q button, with enough controls to make it quick and easy to change settings so you can spend more time about taking the photo, rather than changing settings.
You're getting the same excellent image quality at Fujifilm's flagship camera, the X-T4. Albeit without the weather-sealing of the more expensive model, and without 4K 60fps video. You still get in-body image stabilisation (IBIS), 4K CINE video at 30fps, and a high-quality metal body, as well as high-speed continuous shooting options. We are happy to highly recommend this camera, with the only negatives being relatively minor complaints.
| The Fujifilm X-S10 performs extremely well, with excellent image and video quality, and great handling as well. |
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