Fujifilm X10 12 MP EXR CMOS Digital Camera with f2.0-f2.8 4x Optical Zoom Lens and 2.8-Inch LCD

In the ancient days of film, my main camera was a Pentax 67. People thought I was a better photographer than I really was because then as now, bigger is better. So it was probably inevitable that I would end up with full-frame DSLRs. These cameras are so good, I can almost forget how big and heavy they are. Still, there are times when a big SLR is too much. Problem is, unlike the best compact 35mm film cameras (which were as good or better than 35mm SLRs), compact digital cameras are either not that good, or not that compact. Of course what "good" is, is up to you. If you think the output from an LX5 or S95 at 1600 ISO looks good, you can stop reading and save your $600. But if you are looking for that point where the camera cannot get any smaller without giving up too much image quality, that's where the X10 resides. I'm not going to go through all the features because the camera will probably be discontinued before I try everything. But here is what you can expect from the X10: Very good sharpness even in the corners at 28mm, low barrel distortion (although the camera is probably correcting), very respectable 8 x10 prints, noise that is both low and well handled, very good image quality at ISO 400 and usable image quality at ISO 800. That the X10 can handle fairly extreme dynamic range without incinerating the highlights is icing on the cake. A few likes/dislikes. The optical finder is excellent quality and has adequate dioptric correction. If it was made by Leitz, this zoom finder alone would be $600. However...unless you are focusing manually (a drag with the X10) when the camera beeps you really don't know what it is focusing on. Thus, while I love the absence of distractions in the finder, I don't use it as much as I expected to. As I have mentioned elsewhere, the front element is very exposed, the 40mm filter thread is ludicrous and the hood/adapter is barely better than nothing. The strap is nothing to write home about and doesn't even have a piece of suede for your shoulder. Unlike everybody else, I like the RAW button. On the X10 there is not a huge difference in quality between RAW and jpg (and for now you have to use the tedious SilkyPix). So, rather than fill the card with RAW files, I hit the button only rarely, if I really think I have something special. The metal cap with felt liner is a cute touch--old timers will know that the felt wears out fast and the cap falls off, but how can you hate a metal lens cap? Is the X10 for you? Obviously not if you want interchangeable lenses. Having briefly had a m43 outfit, I think multiple lenses defeat the purpose of a small camera but if this were my only camera it would be a completely different story. One thing in the X10's favor is that it produces very good results whether tweaked extensively or with everything just set to auto. If you lament the absence of viewfinders on many small cameras, the X10 should fill the bill. And lastly, although I swore I wouldn't mention this, yes, it is stylish, metal, made in Japan and even the box is pure Steve Jobs; it's black (of course) has an underexposed picture of the camera on matte paper and simply says "X10" as if to say, if you don't know what this is, you're not cool enough. (12/11/11) I'm going to add a little to this review. I suppose it was inevitable but I think some people's expectations for this camera are a bit ridiculous. If taking night shots is your main gig (and like everybody, you are a professional) no camera with a sensor this size is going to give the gorgeous, almost noise-free results you can get from a low megapixel, large sensor camera like a D700. Nor is the X10 a Leica M9 with a zoom lens that costs $600. And yes, the menus and the instruction manual are dense and confusing. But so is the list of features. Beyond (my opinion) unreasonable expectations, there does seem to be a serious issue with white clipping when shooting directly into a light source or specular highlight. I've seen this with the Sigma DP1x so I know what it looks like (awful), but haven't been able to reproduce it with the X10. Since virtually all sellers allow returns it should be easy enough to point the camera at the sun or a bright light and see what happens. I must say, I'm glad I'm no longer in the photo industry because the amount of anger, not just at the manufacturer, but at anybody who doesn't have this problem (we're stupid and obviously not professionals) has really gotten out of hand. Usually, I don't buy his "good copy/bad copy" nonsense but in this case I wonder if the problem really is limited to certain individual cameras. (2/22/12) Took my 2000th photo with the X10 today and still no white orbs. Now, the last thing I want to do is claim they don't exist or that they are in any way ok or acceptable. I have no doubt they exist and they're not acceptable. I don't seem to get them and the irony is that the cause of the problem, Fuji's EXR sensor, allows the camera to handle a somewhat greater brightness range without blowing the highlights vs. other small sensor cameras. But it is this very same EXR sensor that is the source of the white spots and that's why Fuji's firmware update didn't change anything. In other words, in high contrast situations, the X10 will hold more detail in the highlights--but if there is a super-bright pinpoint of light you may be in trouble. The reason I say "may" is because I haven't encountered it. If the camera didn't perform as well as it does in all other respects it would be easy to say, forget it, at least until the situation is resolved (and if a different sensor is required, don't hold your breath). But since the X10 has been great for my use, I'm in the unusual situation of advising against buying one, yet based on everything I've shot, I still give it 5 stars. I bought this camera to replace a Lumix LX5 which didn't have any "issues" but never, on it's best day gave the quality I get from the X10.

This is supposed to be my wife 's X'mas gift and it doesn't seem to turn out that way as I have been spending more time than her with this camera. To give you some background, I myself have already owned a Canon EOS 7D DSLR and a Sigma DP2S compact camera. While the Sigma is compact and excels in image quality when light is sufficient, it remains sluggish. It 's like an old man. Compared to the Sigma, the Fuji X10 is like an energetic pretty young lady. Fuji really knows how to market this thing by capitalizing its success on the X100. I originally was considering getting the SONY NEX-5N for my wife, but there were a couple of issues swaying me from SONY to Fuji. First, there was this clicking noise thing with the NEX-5N during video recording. Unfortunately, SONY screwed up and released the camera too soon without thorough QA. Despite the fact that SONY has offered new NEX-5N owners with free repair, I didn't want to deal with the hassle. I wanted a camera that worked out of the box for my wife as it was supposed to be a surprise gift. Because of this hesitation, I had a little more time to look at other cameras including the Nikon 1 series and even Micro 4/3. From the beginning, I didn't really like the Nikon 1 series at all. When a camera company employed Ashton Kutcher for its commercials and introduced a new line of camera with a pink body option, I knew I would try to disassociate myself from it, although my wife might have thought otherwise. For the record, our first digicam was a Nikon. So no offense to Nikon fanboys. I did actually try out the J1 at my local Best Buy. The J1 's AF was screaming fast. However, it lacked a PASM mode dial and VR seemed to be not as effective as I had expected. After some pixel peeping at Fuji X10 's captured images, I would say its IQ is on par with Nikon 1 series'. Another important thing to consider is that Nikon J1 is made in China and is priced higher than Fuji X10, which is made in Japan. The metal material on Nikon J1 body does not seem to be made out of magnesium alloy. It has a color coating similar to my Yashica EZ-F521 Chinese knockoff. On the other hand, the Fuji X10 really feels substantial in my hands. Its body feels really solid similar to my Canon EOS 7D. As for Micro 4/3, here you have Panasonic GF series and its latest pricey GX1, apart from the confusing and constantly revised Olympus PEN series. I almost clicked the buy button when the Panny GF2 was selling at $299 a couple weeks ago. However, I resisted. While my wife might have been glad to settle with the GF2 since she had owned a Lumix point and shoot before and liked it, I felt that Panasonic had not really made much progress in CMOS sensor advancement. Quite a few online reviewers like Steve Huff were saying that the Fuji X10 and Nikon 1 were as good as micro 4/3 in terms of IQ. And don't forget their sensors are smaller than Micro 4/3's. On top of that, Fuji X10 has a secret recipe which is its EXR technology. By pixel binning and doubling up the pixels in each color channel while sacrificing the sensor resolution by half, the X10 could either increase dynamic range in high contrast situations or reduce high ISO noise without sacrificing details in low light conditions. In the former case, it is similar to shooting HDR without the use of a tripod. With the X10, you can now capture HDR-like images with subjects in motion without the need of exposure bracketing and morphing multiple frames into one image. How cool is that? But then you only get 6 megapixels out of it. So what? Are you going to make large prints out of this compact camera? In essence, the most important feature with the Fuji X10 is its EXR mode. It can be found in the PASM mode dial. EXR mode is similar to iAuto of Panasonic Lumix except that Fuji 's version is more intelligent. The camera would analyze the scene and determine for you whether to apply more dynamic range or more noise reduction using its proprietary EXR recipe. This is a truly brain dead point and shoot to get the best image out of the camera. And I 've found it performed consistently well in my first few days of use. Image stablization also works nicely indoor. I could get pretty good still images around 1/8s shutter speed consistently. Well, not having a mirror flapping up and down did help. Since I have an interchangeable lens system already, I didn't want my wife to become another lens snob like me as I have already owned a bunch of lenses for my EOS 7D. This is pretty much my biggest gripe if I were to go with SONY NEX. The Fuji X10 features a built-in fast zoom lens. Unlike other compact cameras with built-in zoom lens, the Fuji X10 tops off at F2.8 when you zoom out to the telephoto end. This is quite a bit of advantage in terms of capturing freeze motion of your subjects in the entire zoom range. Another advantage of the built-in lens is that the sensor would be less prone to dust. Even though my EOS 7D has anti-static coating and ultrasound vibration in its sensor, I still need to clean it from time to time as I change lenses a lot in the field. As far as AF is concern, the Fuji X10 is quite snappy. There is one cool feature in its face recognition. The X10 could register a few captured faces in its memory and allow the AF to prioritize its focus to these registered faces upon recognized by the camera. Although I have not tried it yet, I think this is a pretty cool feature. This would be extremely useful if you let some brain dead strangers to take pictures of yourself and your family among other background pedestrians. Regarding the video recording function of Fuji X10, it really puts my Canon EOS 7D to shame. Besides full HD 1080p/30, the X10 supports dynamic auto focus, auto adjustment of exposure, and even auto adjustment of white balance, all without significant lag when you pan the camera around the scene. It performs just like my old Digital 8 SONY Camcorder. No more fiddling with exposure knob and focus ring. I am jealous at my wife now. I will update more about video recording once we get more experience with it. Another important feature worth mentioning is the super macro mode. Since the X10 sensor is relatively small, it allows you to capture a magnified image of your subject better than a DSLR with a non-macro lens. Your working distance can be about an inch away. The super macro mode works very well especially it gives you more depth of field on the subject with the relatively small sensor. I actually prefer this than using the macro lens on my EOS 7D where I would normally have to go F11 or beyond to achieve more depth of field and bring the whole subject body into focus. If the light condition is not good, I would have to use flash, which is not my preference. So there you have it. A nice compact camera with beautiful retro styling packed with Fuji 's advanced EXR technology. Have I mentioned the price yet? Oh $599 may be a bit steep for most people. One would argue that you could almost get an entry level DSLR for that kind of money. At first I agreed and thought this camera should have been priced slightly above the Oly XZ-1 or Canon G12. But then when you look at it closely and check the images posted on X10 Group under Flickr, you would find this little camera really stands up against the bigger Micro 4/3. I told myself why not give it a try as I am intrigued by Fuji EXR sensor, which in my opinion is still inferior to Sigma Foveon sensor in broad day light. I figured that the opportunity cost would be the loss of our enjoyment if I have waited for the X10 price to drop when competition catches up. Yes, people are willing to pay a premium for new cool stuff. There are also reasons why people want to buy a Lexus over a Toyota even though some of their models are the same cars. I think most reviewers have covered other technical stuff on the Fuji X10 and I don't want to re-iterate other highlights. There isn't really much low light worth mentioning from me unless I want to nitpick this thing to death. I want to offer potential buyers another perspective in terms of choosing the right camera for their needs. You have to decide what your priorities first. For instance, if I were a starter in serious photography, I would not have picked the Fuji X10. I could get an entry level DSLR or even SONY NEX with more bangs for the buck. I would say this Fuji X10 is a very good companion to any serious photographer who has already had another main camera body for serious work. The X10 is meant for fun and casual. Don't treat its image quality too seriously like your DSLR. Just get a Sigma or any latest DSLR if image quality is your top priority. The Fuji X10 is perfect for street photography. It 's discrete and quiet. It draws no attention in the crowd. You could switch it to silence mode and nobody would even notice you taking pictures of them. With the cool looking hood, you would draw conversation from fellow photographers. It could even be your pick up line. Without any commitment to an interchangeable lens system, you can almost view the Fuji X10 as a good one night stand. A very good one with a smile indeed. And one more thing. There have been some discussion in dpreview.com about white orbs appearing in blown out highlight areas. So far, touch wood, I have not encountered such problem in my first few days of use. I tried to shoot at some reflective surfaces and light sources. I did not find any white blobs or dots what-so-ever in my images. If I ever do, and hopefully not, I would update this review accordingly. Update 12/6/11: After spending a couple more days deliberately shooting at reflective surfaces and light sources, I think I 've found on one occasion where there was a cluster of white orbs. I didn't see these orbs on X'mas tree nor any shiny surfaces both indoor and outdoor. The orbs appeared when I shot directly at the sun. The center spot of the sun in the captured image was a cluster of orbs with radiating light rays, whereas my other cameras would normally show one circular radiating star. It 's not that bad, not a show stopper for me. Perhaps this could be a calibration issue with the camera's analog front end since a handful of users claimed they saw more orbs than usual. I 'll trust that Fuji would fix it in its next firmware upgrade. Remember, cameras like this requires very high precision engineering and manufacturing. I wouldn't be surprised that there are defect escapes when new model is first released. In the past, I have bought a lemon lens and a defective speedlight from Canon to give you an idea. This is no worse than the dreadful red dot issue when the Nikon D7000 and Canon 5D MK2 were first released. That 's why I don't pre-order, and I always purchase from Amazon, Adorama, J&R, or BH photo so that I can return for exchange or refund immediately. Update 12/14/11: The face recognition really works marvelously. You can register faces of your partner, family members, or friends and the camera would name those faces when you look into the LCD viewfinder while taking your shot. It would even recognize the same face with or without eye glasses. Wonderful handy feature. Also I have not seen any white orb after over two weeks of usage. I believe my copy is a keeper. I would be cautious about upgrading the firmware once Fuji has it available for fixing the white orb syndrome.

I was looking for a camera to replace my ageing Canon PowerShot S60 which was not only obsolete but had suddenly died. It was a very good camera for motorcycle trips, being small enough to pack yet big enough not to slip out of gloved hands, and the optical viewfinder could be used with my distance-viewing glasses on. I was on the waiting list for the S100, but the reviews that were trickling out indicated the IQ wasn't noticeably better than other compact cameras, and it was missing the OVF. When I started hearing about the X10 I jumped ship, cancelled my S100 order and ordered the Fuji. Being a dyed-in-the-wool Canon guy (from 10D to S60 to 7D), the controls of the X10 take a little getting used to, but all the essential settings and most of the optional ones are there, just under different names. The camera feels very solid in the hand with smooth, positively operating controls, with the possible exception of the main wheel which has a fair amount of play in it and is a bit too easy to jog in Manual and other mode. Combined with the metal body, this makes the X10 confidence-inspiring. The small body is a bit difficult to grip in a way that keeps it stable while tripping the shutter. It's worth some time to practice this and develop a technique to get the sharpest image possible, the built-in image stabilization can only do so much. After a few trials I was able to produce some pictures of my cats that were sharp down to the pixel level where you could count the hairs, which shows the lens and sensor are capable of a very high level of detail capture. Overall I am very pleased with the IQ from this camera. The viewfinder is bare bones with no additional information, but that is just fine for me. The image in the OVF is about 85% of the final picture, so don't expect to be able to frame pictures exactly where you want without the LCD display. If you leave the camera focus point in the center it's easy to focus on the right spot with the viewfinder and then reframe before tripping the shutter. The X10 does have a few minor flaws and missed opportunities. The battery life doesn't appear to be great, I got slightly over 100 pictures out of the first charge, though I did have the display on bright and did a lot of picture reviewing as I showed it off. Fortunately, spare batteries are both small and reasonably priced. The camera has no remote shutter release, nor any other mechanism other than a 10-second count-down timer to delay the picture. This would have been an easy thing for Fuji to have added and would have helped travel pictures avoid the "missing Dad" syndrome. The automatic exposure bracketing is limited to +/-1 f-stop, which is too small for HDR (high dynamic range) processing, this would also have been easy to fix. I've read some comments where people thought other cameras in the micro 4/3 class gave better performance for about the same price. But every time I checked out the models they recommended, they either didn't have an OVF, needed multiple lenses to cover the same focal length range (at added expense), were significantly larger, or significantly more expensive. For me, at least, the X10 fell right in the sweet spot for what I was looking for.

Two years ago, I upgraded from a Canon SD1000 to a Canon S90. The image quality was fantastic with great high ISO performance and sharp images, even wide-open in the corners. Other aspects of the camera bothered me though. It didn't feel expensive - the front control ring was loose and felt cheap when I used it to change aperture, the flash frequently jammed even when I'd never pushed it down or interfered with its motorized action, the buttons felt cheap, the LCD developed stuck pixels quickly and had an uneven backlight. This year, I felt I needed something new. Thanks to the popularity of the S90, even on the used market, I was able to recover about half what I paid for it new. Enter the Fujifilm X10. BUILD QUALITY & SIZE: The best build quality I've seen in a compact, ever. Speaking as someone who cares perhaps a bit too much about aesthetics, I'm in heaven. Magnesium and aluminum everywhere. The dials are tight and the zoom ring has a lovely heavy, fluid action. It's simply a joy to use. It destroys the PowerShot S90. The viewfinder is bright and big for a compact but it's total lack of shooting information makes using it more of a novelty under all but the most predictable conditions. Size-wise, the X10 is a bit smaller than expected. Holding it was initially awkward with the neck strap lug attachment in the way of my right hand but I'm beginning to adjust to it. More than anything, I'll miss the pocketability of the S90. Even with its case I could slip it into my jeans pocket. The X10, with it's protruding lens, will never fit in any of my pockets. I'm awaiting the Fujifilm LC-X10 case to come down in price to sane levels before picking one up. IMAGE QUALITY: The first thing that struck me about the X10's images was the color. Compared to the S90 and other compacts I've used, the colors are more realistic, more lifelike, less harsh and digital. They resemble my Canon 30D DSLR's images more than anything. Fujifilm cameras have long been known for their lifelike color reproduction and the X10 has it in full force. Dynamic range, even without using the EXR "DR" sensor-split expansion mode, is very good. Using DR400 at 6 MP gives it almost an HDR quality, but more realistic. Highlights are generally well-controlled although a phenomenon can occur at low ISOs with bright highlights like chrome: circular, hard-edged white orbs. I've seen these on a handful of shots and once you see them, you can't "unsee" them. I really hope Fujifilm can fix this with a firmware update. My S90 never had this issue, in fact, I loved using it to take 15 second night shots at ISO 80. Fujifilm has to address this. In my opinion, its the biggest flaw of the camera. High ISOs are very good. Things fell apart for my S90 above ISO 800. The X10 holds strong up to and including ISO 3200. More detail is retained and noise is finely-grained, not the jaundiced yellow blotches the S90 produced at ISO 1600 and 3200. I'd like to use RAW but Adobe needs to update ACR to recognize X10 RAW files first. Resolution is good but not appreciably better than the 10MP S90, particularly at low ISOs. The lens seems to be sharp in the corners, even wide open. There is some barrel distortion at 28mm but nothing too bad. The f/2-f/2.8 lens allows for much more depth-of-field control than what was possible with the S90. Will it replace my 30D and 60mm f/2.8 lens for portraits? Not quite, but it's darned good for a compact. My favorite "special feature" is the 360° Panorama mode. It works surprisingly well. The only caveat is the vertical resolution is an unimpressive 1080 pixels. Speaking of 1080 - the 1080p, 30 FPS video is pretty good. Autofocus and zooming are present and accounted for, unlike the S90. There is some of the dreaded CMOS "jellyvision" going on but only in certain circumstances. WRAP-UP: I'm sure you can tell that I really like this camera. Canon lost me with the S100, which I was eagerly waiting for - too much of a priority on compactness and lens range at the expense of control and image quality. Fujifilm built the X10 for photographers and its evident in how it looks, feels and operates. One thing to think about is this: Unlike Canon, Fujifilm doesn't have a low-end DSLR market to compete against. They went all-out with the X10 since that price bracket is totally empty for them. If you don't mind the relative bulk or price and you value a real "photographer's camera", the X10 is for you. ***UPDATE*** I tried to work around the "white dot" issue for months now. Even after the firmware update that was promised to reduce the phenomenon, the issue remains and is as bad as it ever was. It was very unethical for Fujifilm to roll out this update knowing it wouldn't resolve the issue, allowing the return window to expire as mine did. Now I'm forced to unload this camera used at a loss. Fujifilm will never have my business again. ***UPDATE*** In the end, Fujifilm pulled through and did the right thing. I sent my X10 to the New Jersey service center and received a brand new replacement, entirely devoid of the "white dot" phenomenon. This leaves me with an incredible compact that eventually led me to replacing my Canon DSLR with a Fujifilm X-Pro1. While some of Fujifilm's products can be a little rough around the edges, it is clear that the company has a strong collective passion for innovation in the field of photography and especially sensor design. Well done, Fujifilm!

I won't waste your time with a long doomsday sour grapes review. For the love of God, it is a point and shoot camera! Use it as intended. Yes, it has lots of options and manual controls. Yes you will get the Orbs if you,shoot after 6pm. Yes, you have zillions of options about dynamic range, auto ISO, and a mode dial that might intimidate at first. This what I use it for and why I love it: Blurr free low light shots that will amaze you: I own several cameras, from m43rds to APSC Pentax K5. I can't get hassle free sharp low,light shots like i get with the X10. I have tried to take hundres of shots of my three year old, running around our living room. Before the X10, I bought quite a few "bright" lenses for my GH2 and K5. Forget about it. The X10 with its Pro Low Light mode, eats them for lunch. Sunsets and afterglow shots: Color rendition is great with the "sunset" mode. Just look at the X10 groups on Flickr. High dynamic content shots: Use it on XDR mode and discover foolproof blue skies and strong intense lights tamed. You can shoot inside a tunnel and in EXR mode, the camera will balance the light at the end. There is a very useful exp. compensation dial next to your thumb for when it doesn't. Portrait and natural light modes: I have taken extremely beautiful shots of my daughter with this camera. It's perfect for kids. It's fast too, provided you use the single focus spot in the center. Just focus and recompose. Try the "smooth portrait" auto mode too. The shallow depth of field mode is cool too, with some subjects. In other words, use it like you would a point and shoot camera which it is. It doesnt pretend to be anything else and neither should you. Who cares that it looks like a Leica and its really well built. It's meant to be shot in auto mode and it does have awesome auto modes. Try them, explore them and see the results for yourself. Don't even try to use it manually and try to figure out how to shoot this camera with the optimal setup. The forum geeks at DPreview haven't figured out how to shoot this camera in PASM modes either (I tried all possible combinations myself, including raw). The Discussions over there usually end in attrition. I also own a Lumix LX3 and that camera also works best for me in auto mode, most of the time. I would not dream of using it manually and neither would you. It yields wonderful photos, althought a bit noisy. What makes you think the X10 should be treated differently? If you want good picture quality with no orbs (I am not that sensitive to them) get a DSLR. For $600 you can get a Canon (excuse me, I think I'm going to puke). If you want a nice camera with fewer options and cheaper, get an iPhone. If you want the best picture quality in a smaller size, get a micro four thirds camera. If you want the best possible picture quality and no compromises, go ahead and spend two or three thousand dollars. Don't get this camera and expect to take it on your next trip to Amazonia. Dont take it on the space shuttle (oops too late), And don't even try to shoot cityscapes at night! Don't play the role of professional photographer fantasy. Don't even bother. Get a Leica instead. If I have to see one more whino complain about the orbs, etc...im jumping out the window. These people don't take pictures, most of them don't even own the X10 and others don't even leave their living rooms. They just take pictures of their Smurfs figurines. Then they return their cameras and look for justification. They probably live alone in a trailer and don't have kids. Ignore them. This is the hottest, most sensible purchase, compact, extremely well built Point and shoot. Did I mention is a POINT and SHOOT? So go out, buy one, and use it as such. You won't regret it. Oh, and I hate typing on my iPad.

Not much can be said about the X10 at this point that hasn't been covered previously. I was among the early buyers of the X10 and my original unit displayed the white orb problem. I returned my original camera to Fuji USA under warranty and Fuji provided a brand new replacement camera. [Note: my original camera was in mint condition so that may be why I received a new one in return] I believe Fuji deserves 6 stars here. They could have marginalized or ignored the white orb issue but instead they confronted it head on with a very reasonable solution. [Revised image sensor] Bravo. I will continue to buy Fuji products in the future. BTW - the new camera still takes exceptional pictures. I regard the X10 as an exceptional 6 megapixel shooter when using the EXR modes. I regard it as a closer to average 12 megapixel shooter without the benefit of the EXR modes. This camera is a digicam so the image quality will never replace an SLR. However, the excellent lens and [6 megapixel] EXR modes have allowed me to take pictures that rival and even beat in some cases the performance from my previous generation SLR cameras. Not bad at all for a camera that fits in a cargo shorts pocket. Visit the X10 review on dpreview.com to learn how to take advantage of the EXR capability in all modes - S, A, and M for example. Strengths: Excellent, FAST lens. Much better then the Sony RX100 for example. This keeps the ISOs usually between 200 and 400 even in incredibly low light conditions. Excellent ergonomics with a suitable number of buttons for direct control. EXR modes will eliminate in most cases and substantially reduce in others common issues of blown highlights or low light / high ISO noise. The burst mode is excellent with full metering and autofocus between shots. Weaknesses: The sensor does not resolve enough detail for large prints. However it remains the perfect camera for 4X6, 5X7 and in some cases 8X10 prints. Battery life is only adequate. You will need a spare for a full day of shooting. Movie quality is good but not great. You will notice scaling artifacts if you look for them. Overall, this is an amazing little camera. No camera is perfect but this is one of my faves out of all of mine - including my SLRs.

I just purchased this camera thru Amazon. I REALLY REALLY needed a smaller compact camera to complement my other big and heavy DSLRs. I just want to say that this X10 i can take ANYWHERE. This is THE perfect compact camera for me, and i can take it and hide it under my coat without anybody even noticing it is there. Well, the camera is not tiny, but it sure feels like it, specially since it has that pretty wide range zoom lens. This is why i chose it over the X-E1 and the X-M1 coming out soon. The built quality, design, performance, and image quality output are TOP NOTCH in this camera. I really don't know what the X20 has for double the price, but this X10 has everything i need. The low light performance is very very good indeed, considering it's small sensor size. Actually i read in many forums that the noise output from the X10 is not so good because of its small sensor, but all i can say is that many of those statements are just not true, because i have confirmed that. I have had many good ISO DSLRs and what i can say is that the ISO performance from the X10 can compete with some cameras with bigger sensors. Don't under estimate this little camera. I shot many photos in low light (in jpeg) and this thing outputs photos with very little noise, straight out of the camera. I am very impressed. I didn't even had it set to high ISO Priority mode, and if i PP the noise in LightRoom they would look even better. Pretty amazing indeed. Last time i had a point and shoot camera was around 8 years ago, and this X10 is a HUGE improvement from what we had back then. I will say that this camera is not for a beginner. If you are going to buy this type of camera, you should know at least how certain functions work, such as ISO, Shutter and Aperture. Those are some of the simple and basic thing someone should already know, otherwise many of your pictures will come out very blurry and bad. And definitely you will HAVE to read the manual. This is a very high tech little camera. I shopped around for a long long time. I looked at the famous Pentax MX-1 also, very very good camera also, but when i had the Pentax on my hand it just felt awkward and not normal. The X10 fits like a little glove, and it has a shoe for external flash already, which i will be using. The Fuji just has everything i wanted. I am extremely happy with my new X10. For it's current $349 price, i think this is one of THE best compact cameras out there. The only thing i don't like is the very POOR battery life, but i read somewhere in flickr that Radio Shack sells a brand that lasts longer than this fuji battery that comes with the camera. I shot around 100 photos and the battery gave up. I did have the LCD on, since i am learning and playing with the camera a lot right now, but soon i will turn off the LCD and other recommended functions for longer batt life. I still feel like giving this camera 5 stars.

The Fujifilm X10 is an interesting camera. It has excellent image quality considering its sensor size. A very nice feature set. Is well made. Has a decent optical viewfinder. A nice LCD on back. The best Auto mode I have ever seen on a camera. However, with all that is great about this camera. There are a number of things about the X10 that really annoy the hell out of me. 1) Why does the camera sometimes take as long as 8 seconds after you turn it on to "boot up" and be ready to shoot? This is incredibly annoying. Especially if you want to shoot something real quickly but have to wait until the camera gets its act together and miss the shot. 2) The Autofocus system on this camera has major issues. Why does it work properly one second and not the other? After about 3 shots with the camera it starts acting up and from then on it flashes red with about every other shot. However, resetting the camera can sometimes fix the problem. 3) The image stabilization is flaky on this camera. In about 1 in every 10 shots it's a problem. To me it's not a big deal as the other two things but still annoying. Luckily I have not seen the "white blobs" on the images I have taken with this camera. This camera really has potential but is also in dire need of a firmware upgrade. And liked I said, taking into account its sensor size.. it takes some incredibly nice pictures. But unless you're very patient and tolerant of a camera which has major flaws... I would wait until Fuji releases a firmware update to address performance issues first. And I also think the price needs to drop about $100 for this camera.