Fuji X20... is this what my wife wants?

A

Asim

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I'm strictly a film shooter and so I thought I'd ask all of you to find me the best camera for my wife. This is what she wants:

a. Program mode
b. Optical viewfinder (or a really good digital viewfinder)
b. Exposure compensation dial
c. Video capability
d. Fixed zoom lens
e. Cost of 500-600 US dollars max.
f. Small enough to fit into a small purse.

She will never shoot using the LCD screen and she never needs to change lenses if the zoom is something like a 28-100.

Is the Fuji X20 the best option? Is there a better camera that I'm missing? How about the Fuji X10... will that fit the bill? Is the X30 coming out soon? Should we wait for that?
 
I have the X10 and while it's a fine camera I'm a little annoyed that 1% of the pictures are out of focus (usually totally OoF) although the camera confirmed focus OK.
The X20 should be better since it has a phase detection sensor in the middle of the sensor.
 
Perhaps you could consider the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LF1. It has an EVF and is also more compact than the X20. However the EVF has only 200K dot resolution...
 
How small is a small purse, and how much other stuff needs to be carried in it? The X20 is not exactly huge, but certainly not what I'd call pocketable. I just purchased an XF1 for my wife; she needed something more P&S, with an emphasis on pocketability. I'd say the X20 hits the sweet spot, but a quick search on B&H's website turns up the Lumix DMC-LF1, which has a digital viewfinder, and hits all of your other needs, while being more compact than the Fuji. Might be worth looking into.
 
I wonder how well did it works for OP and his wife.
My wife wants something instead of our DSLRs. And I almost purchased x20 year ago for her...
She mostly needs to take kids pictures indoors. Usable high ISO is needed.
With ISO 1600 on DSLR we need large apertures, as large as f1.2, which is problematic with kids.
 
Kostya, your wife would love this camera because it's really good in all aspects, but not expect much from such small size sensor. The highest iso for X20 is about 400ISO, on higher ISO camera creats a lot of noise like sandpaper. For me that's not bad because i shot mostly B&W and mostly in JPG :)

I try all modern cameras in april on Fotoforum and find Olympus M4/3 are hard to beat in speed, image quality and price. Try dig in this side, imho.
 
I'm the one that originally asked the question. We ended up going with the X10 since it was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. The X10 has worked out fabulously. My wife is selling her DSLR now. The only issue with the X10 and maybe the X20 is trying to focus with macro shots. The key is to zoom in at a medium setting and then it is able to focus much easier. Otherwise this camera has all the right controls and all the things needed to keep it simple and user friendly... especially for someone that just needs it for family shots and daily goings-on. I would highly recommend this camera... and I'm sure my wife would as well.
 
I love my X10. I will probably add an X20 for the information it provides in the finder, such as focus and exposure confirmation. I also use the X100, which is even better, except it only has one focal length.
 
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