Fujifilm X20

The Fujifilm X20 ($599.95 direct) is an entry in the crowded premium compact camera market that has a couple features that set it apart from the crowd. It's one of the few cameras of this type with a large optical viewfinder, and its X-Trans image sensor promises to deliver film-like images that competing Bayer sensors can't match. The 12-megapixel camera does grab images that are quite sharp, and its lens captures plenty of light, but it struggles at higher ISO settings. Our Editors' Choice is still the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, which still holds the edge in this category thanks to its 1-inch image sensor?its surface area is twice that of the X20's 2/3-inch sensor. The Sony is a little more expensive and lacks a viewfinder, but it's smaller and does a better job in low light.

Design and Features
The X20 may feature the latest in image sensor technology, but its design is retro to the core. It's styled like a classic rangefinder camera, with its eyepiece located on the rear top left corner of the camera. Black leatherette covers the camera body. The X20 is available with a matching black top plate and lens, as well as a version that features a chrome finish. The X20 is one of the larger cameras in its class; it measures 2.7 by 4.6 by 2.2 inches (HWD) and weighs in at 12.4 ounces. The Canon PowerShot S110 is a much smaller camera. That one features a 1/1.7-inch image sensor that's nearly as large as the one in the X20, but it measures just 2.3 by 3.9 by 1.1 inches and weighs a mere 7 ounces.

The Fujinon lens is a 4x design and is a manual zoom design. It also acts as the power control for the X20. There's an Off position marked on its barrel; twisting the lens extends it and powers on the camera. It covers a 28-112mm zoom range with a variable aperture. At 28mm it is rated at f/2, and it loses only a stop of light when zoomed all the way in, hitting f/2.8 at 112mm. In this regard it's a better performer than the Sony RX100; that camera's 28-100mm lens starts at f/1.8 but closes down to f/4.9 when zoomed in. This gives the X20 about a 1.6-stop advantage in terms of light gathering when zoomed, although the larger sensor in the RX100 allows it to create a shallower depth of field at equivalent focal lengths, apertures, and shooting angles.

The viewfinder is large and bright. It zooms along with the lens and, unlike the finder in the old Fujifilm X10, the shooting mode, aperture, and shutter speed are displayed. The active focus area is also indicated; it can be adjusted, but you'll have to use the rear LCD to do so. The overlay graphics turn green when focus is locked, and are displayed in red when the camera is unable to obtain focus. This generally happens when you are attempting to focus on an object that is too close to the front of the lens. The camera has two macro modes, but you'll need to use the rear LCD to obtain accurate framing when focusing on objects that are close to the lens. Because the viewfinder is above and slightly off-axis with the lens, its framing will be way off when working close due to parallax.

The focus confirmation is a big improvement over the X10. I found that camera to have quick and accurate focus, and if anything the X20 is a bit quicker and just as accurate, but the only way that camera let you know that your focus was locked when shooting with the viewfinder was an audible beep. This wasn't bad, but there was no way to enable that beep and to disable a fake-sounding shutter noise that played when a picture was captured. The X20 also supports playing sounds when focus is locked and when an image is captured, but unlike the X10 you can enable one or the other discretely.

Using the lens to turn the camera on and off can be a bit awkward, and the zoom action will often cause the finder to be blocked by your finger as it turns the lens. But aside from that, the X20's control layout is nothing short of excellent. The top plate houses the shutter release (it's threaded so you can use a standard release cable), the mode dial, an exposure value compensation dial (it goes from -2 to +2 in third-stop increments), and a programmable Fn button. By default Fn adjusts ISO, but you can change its functionality via the menu system.

The rear controls are laid out for two-handed operation, but those on the left side of the LCD won't need to be accessed while you're adjusting the zoom. They include the Play button, a button to adjust the metering pattern, another to change the drive mode, and one to control white balance. To the right of the LCD you'll find two control wheels and buttons to lock exposure, adjust the focus point, enable macro focusing, control the flash output, set the self-timer, and access the menu. There's also the Q button, which brings up an on-screen menu that allows you to quickly adjust a number of shooting settings. These include Fuji's film emulation settings, which set JPG output to match classic film stocks. These modes are named for Astia, Provia, and Velvia slide film.

The rear LCD itself is 2.8 inches in size, but only boasts a 460k-dot resolution. It's quite bright, so you won't have any problem using it on a bright day?you can always switch to the optical viewfinder under harsh, direct sunlight. But the LCD isn't as sharp as the 3-inch 922k-dot display found on the Canon PowerShot G15. That camera also features a zooming optical finder, but it's nowhere near as large as the X20's.

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