Fujifilm X-S1

[seany65]

I've decided to start this thread as there isn't already one.

This week I bought a Fujifilm X-S1 and I'll be putting bits of info here that I find out in the next few days or weeks, in case anyone decides they may be interested in buying one.

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

Here's a visual aid for anyone not familiar with the Fujifilm X-S1.
*Note: I copied this image from the Fujifilm website.

 

[seany65]

Thanks for adding the pics, Yokosuka mike. I should be adding some info this Tuesday.

 

[seany65]

As promised, here's a few bits of info to start off with:

1) In Manual Focus it's easy to support the camera with the edge of your left palm, support the zoom ring with your thumb and forefinger and still turn the focus ring with the second finger.

2) Manual Focusing isn't "very" easy at the wider end of the zoom, and checking the focus using the "Manual Focus Check" image isn't as easy at it could be as the image slips out of focus either way a bit too easily, Focusing and checking focus is easier at the long end, except for the extra wobble and blurred image until you've steadied the camera -even with image stabilisation on.

3) There are five levels of "Noise Reduction": Low, Medium Low, Standard, Medium High, High.

4) You can adjust "Highlight Tone". There are five levels: Soft, Medium Soft, Standard, Medium Hard, Hard. at a "Dynamic Range" of 100 (which can't be lowered in any mode), a preliminary look suggests that the differences between the "Soft" and "Hard" are very subtle.

5) You can adjust "Shadow Tone". There are five levels: Soft, Medium Soft, Standard, Medium Hard and Hard. Again at a "Dynamic Range" of 100 a preliminary look suggests the difference between "Soft" and "Hard" are very easy to see.

I shall be doing a few shots to experiment.

The "Standard" info in the viewfinder/LCD panel is generally arranged along the top and bottom, with the various Warning signs appearing about halfway up and slight towards the focusing frame. It is possible to customise the display, although oddly, even though I've got "Exposure Compensation" ticked, it doesn't show up on the display when in Aperture or Shutter priority, it does in Manual. However, when in Manual the display doesn't get brighter or darker as you change one of the exposure settings. This also doesn't happen in Shutter or Aperture Priority, However, the display does change in brightness when in either of the latter modes and you pressed the "Exposure Compensation" button and turned the command dial, which alters the control that is not the mode you are in eg. in Aperture Priority, AND using "exposure Compensation" the command dial changes the Shutter speed and you see the image changing Brightness.

 

[seany65]

Apparently, with the early versions of the X-S1 there were several problems:

"Lens Droop" where front of the lens dropped below where it should be. This was apparently corrected and you should be "safe" with cameras that have serial Numbers of, or after 23xxxx.

"White orbs" where in certain circumstances some highlights could show as hard edged orbs. This was apparently partly corrected with a firmware update and then with a modified sensor. From what I gather, this is also after serial number of or after 23xxxx.

Having said that, it seems Fuji were happy to fix the problems with the earlier examples if they were sent back for repair. So you'll have to check before you buy if you can.

Here's their statement:

"Statement Regarding the FUJIFILM X10 and X-S1 Digital Camera Blooming Effect
The FUJIFILM X10 and X-S1 digital cameras were made available by Fujifilm late last year, and have been generally very well received by customers, who admire the excellent picture quality, manual zoom lens and viewfinder.

However, we did receive some inquiries concerning the so-called white disc or blooming occurrence, where exceptional highlights in the picture can appear as strongly delineated rounded shapes. This blooming effect can occur with all digital cameras which use CMOS sensors, to varying degrees. It can also occur with the X10 and X-S1 when shooting in certain conditions, e.g. cars with front lights shining in dark night scene. The X10 and X-S1 are fitted with a very advanced sensor, which gives excellent picture quality and low noise, but which does give a different blooming effect from other cameras.

Fujifilm has a long-standing history of delivering top quality products to the market. In response to our customers comments, we have worked hard to find an improvement to reduce the blooming effect of the X10 and X-S1. Below are the actions we have undertaken.

1. In February, we announced a firmware upgrade for the X10 (version 1.03) which does reduce the white disc occurrence specifically in EXR mode. It works by identifying scenes that are likely to get white disc blooming. When the camera recognizes such a scene, it automatically increases the ISO and optimizes DR (dynamic range). As the ISO increases, the white discs are less evident.
* New firmware for the X-S1 will be available from March 21, 2012.

2. We will also develop a modified sensor, which will more universally resolve the white disc blooming effect in all modes. We are working hard to make this new sensor available from late May 2012.

We encourage any customer with an X10 and X-S1 who has experienced the white disc phenomenon to call their local authorized Fujifilm service centre.

Fujifilm is committed to delivering the highest quality products to the photographic community, and is happy to provide this improvement."

Mine seems to alright so far, but I've not taken any pics in the circumstances that may lead to "White Orbs", but I should be ok as the serial number is 33N01734. Appararently the first 3 is for "2013" and the second 3 is for "3rd quarter".

I'm still trying to find the "firmware Version" which you're supposed to be able to see in the menus somewhere.

 

[seany65]

With thanks to a post made on flikr 11 years ago by "gcu_sketcher" You can find the firmware version by holding down the "Back"/"Display" button while switching the camera on, my X-S1 has version 1.01.

Edit: It seems there is a version 1.02 for the firmware. I could download it but the info says to copy it to a formatted memory card and then put the memory card with the new firmware in the camera and update it.

How do I copy anything to a memory card if the only thing I have that uses/can take memory cards is the camera?

Edit 2: It seems the update is for support of Windows 10, but several people report that the AF is improved a little.

Edit 3: I decided to check my win10 laptop for an sd card slot, and it had one. I won't tell you how long it took me to think of checking this, but "Genius" wouldn't be a usable description of my brainpower,😳. Anyway I managed to update the firmware to V1.02.

 

[seany65]

It seems there's no way of setting the AF to "Infinity", so you have to either hope the camera can actually focus on the moon (etc., which isn't always the case but it can do so sometimes, you just have to keep trying) or you have to focus manually, which is quite difficult to do when zoomed out and you're on a tripod as the "wobble" caused by the atmosphere, the very shallow range of "final adjustment" when very nearly focused (which is also something you can see in "normal use" even when not zoomed out all the way) and the vibration caused in the camera because you have to touch the camera to focus don't really help much.

 

[seany65]

I've just found out that my X-S1, Serial No. 33N01734, has the annoying "Zoom creep" thing whereby if you set the lens a little further than the shortest focal lengths and point the camera vertically downward, the lens zooms out on its own. This was a thing early on, but was supposed to have been fixed at factory level at about 23xxxxx. Bah! Maybe mine also has the "White Orb" problem which can turn large specular highlights into (wait for it) White Orbs? These are only supposed to turn up occasionally in special circumstances when shooting RAW, so maybe I'll never know. I think there's also supposed to be a problem with autofocus at the longest end of the zoom, but I've never had an af camera before so I wouldn't really be able tell if mine has.

Anyway, I've just bought a Fujifilm RR-80 remote release which was designed to work with my X-S1. I also bought a JJC TM-K remote release /intervalometer which works with the X-S1, and doesn't even need the batteries if only used to focus and fire the shutter. It does have a display that can be lit up if using it in the dark. It's cable is actually longer than the RR-80's cable.