Fujifilm FinePix X100 photo samples

With excellent sharpness, color and noise reduction, the Fujifilm FinePix delivers excellent photo quality, justifying its high price.

Lori Grunin

May 31, 2011 10:38 a.m. PT

1 of 10

Matthew Fitzgerald/CNET

Noise

The X100 delivers extremely clean images as high as ISO 800, with usable ones as high as ISO 1600. I was most surprised by the quality of the camera's JPEG processing; I couldn't easily get better noise-reduction results from processing the raw version, which is unusual.

2 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Noise, ISO 3200

Although the results get a bit soft at ISO 3200, images don't look like they've been run through a filter, and they remain very saturated.
(f2.8, 1/30 sec, spot metering, AWB)

3 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Sharpness

The X100 renders natural-looking but sharp images, in part due to a thinner-than-usual high-pass filter over the sensor, as well as a solid prime lens.
(f5.6, 1/125 sec, spot metering, AWB)

4 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Reds

My only complaint about the X100 is that the sensor doesn't handle reds as well as I'd like; I noticed hue shifts in very saturated reds, as well as the tendency to blow out details. This shows a 100 percent crop of the red channel of the inset image, with almost all detail obliterated.
(f5.6, 1/125 sec, spot metering, AWB)

5 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Color

With the exception of the red problem I mentioned in the previous slide, the X100 delivers excellent color accuracy albeit with a tendency to oversaturate very saturated colors.

6 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Distortion

As I'd expect from an expensive prime lens that's not especially wide, there's little distortion. It also has excellent edge-to-edge sharpness, falling off only in the extreme corners (not shown).

7 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Midrange detail

One of the most difficult things for digital cameras to resolve is massive areas of detail like grass and leaves in the distance. Though not perfect, the X100 does a great job of it.
(f11, 1/35 sec, ISO 200, evaluative metering, AWB)

8 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Beautiful bokeh

The 9-bladed aperture and undistorting lens in the X100 yields lovely round, soft, out-of--focus highlights.
(f4, 1/140 sec, ISO 200, spot metering, AWB)

9 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Film simulation bracketing

Fujifilm's profiles to simulate its films is a nice feature if you're drawn to the X100 for its retro appeal.

10 of 10

Lori Grunin/CNET

Exposure latitude

You've got a decent amount of latitude for fixing underexposed images without suffering from excessive noise.
(f2, 1/40 sec, ISO 800, manually adjusted white balance, spot metering)