Fuji’s X-M1 is the third model in the company’s X range of interchangeable lens cameras, and it is the smallest and lightest compact system camera the manufacturer has produced to date. In fact, it’s a little smaller than the Fuji X20, which is a compact camera with a 2/3-inch sensor. The Fuji X-M1, however, has the same APS-C format sensor as the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1.
Consequently, the Fuji X-M1 has an X-trans CMOS sensor with 16.3 million effective pixels and Fuji’s unique colour filter array that minimises moiré patterning and avoids the need for an optical low-pass filter – thus capturing more detail.
As with the X-Pro1 and X-E1, Fuji claims that the new camera is capable of matching a full-frame DSLR for image quality.
In a bid to save on cost and size, the Fujifilm X-M1 doesn’t have a viewfinder built in, but it has a high resolution LCD screen mounted on a tilting bracket for easier viewing when shooting at high or low angles.
The new camera is the entry-level model for Fuji’s X-series of interchangeable lens cameras, or compact system cameras, and it sits below the Fuji X-E1 and the flagship Fuji X-Pro1.
Features
Fuji has coupled the X-M1’s sensor with its EXR Processor II (the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1 use the EXR Pro Processor) and this enables a start-up time of 0.5 seconds, shutter lag of 0.05 seconds and a maximum continuous burst speed of 5.6fps (frames per second) for a maximum of 30 images.
This processor also enables you to set sensitivity in the native range ISO 200-6400, with expansion options of ISO 100, ISO 12,800 and ISO 25,600 giving plenty of scope for shooting in low light as well as normal lighting conditions.
In a first for Fuji’s X-series of compact system cameras, the Fuji X-M1 has a tilting LCD screen, which is designed to provide a clearer view when shooting from high or low angles. This is a high-resolution device with 920,000 dots.
Fuji has also included Wi-Fi technology for the first time in an X-series camera. This enables you to transfer images wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet using the free Fujifilm camera app, and from here images can be shared on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Images can also be backed up to your home PC using the free Fujifilm PC autosave software, which enables you to select a folder to save photos to. Once the camera has been linked to your Wi-Fi router, we are told images can be backed up quickly and easily.
Images may be saved to the SD/SDHC/SDXC card as raw or JPEG files, or both simultaneously, and there are five film simulation modes to tailor the look of the JPEG images.
These modes may be used when shooting raw files as well, but the eight advanced filter options can only be used when shooting JPEGs. The film simulation modes include Provia (standard), Velvia (vivid), Astia (muted), Sepia and Black-and-White.
Meanwhile the advanced filters include Toy Camera, Miniature, Dynamic Tone, Pop Colour, Soft Focus, High Key, Low Key and Partial Colour. In addition, there is a multiple exposure mode that enables you to superimpose an overlay image of the previous shot.
Being a mirrorless camera, the Fuji X-M1 uses a contrast detection autofocusing system. As with the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1 the Fuji X-M1 has 49 individually selectable AF points. There’s also a Multi AF option in which the camera selects the appropriate focus point, Tracking AF, Continuous AF and manual focus mode.
No camera would be complete today without the ability to record Full HD video, and the Fuji X-M1 can record 1920 x 1080 video at 30fps. For extra creativity, the film simulation modes are available for use when shooting video as well as stills.
Finally, in addition to a hotshoe for mounting a flashgun, there’s also a small pop-up flash (Guide Number 7 at ISO 200), which is useful for providing extra illumination or fill-in light.
Build and handling
Although it looks and feels very much a part of Fuji’s X-series of high-quality cameras, the Fuji X-M1 is noticeably smaller than both the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1. Nevertheless, it still feels very comfortable in the hand, with a shallow but effective grip on the front providing purchase.
There’s also enough room for your thumb on the back of the camera, and our first impressions indicate that the controls are nicely spaced and sized.
The Fuji X-M1’s control arrangement is a little different from the Fuji X-Pro1’s and Fuji X-E1’s. There is no shutter speed dial, for example, but there is an exposure mode dial that gives access to the enthusiast-centric options of program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual, as well as automatic and scene modes for less experienced photographers. This dial also offers the option to use the advanced filters we mentioned earlier.
A second large dial on the top of the Fuji X-M1 can be used to adjust exposure compensation when shooting in semi-automatic and automatic exposure modes, but in manual mode it’s used to set shutter speed, with the small dial above the thumb rest on the back of the camera being used to set aperture.
There are no controls on the left-hand side of the LCD screen, Fuji has put them all on the right-hand side to make the camera easy to use one-handed. The buttons and dials have a high-quality feel and they were responsive on the pre-production sample that we handled.
The Q button, which gives access the quick menu, sits in the bottom right-hand corner on the back of the camera. On the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1 this control is in the ridge near the thumb rest, and we found it prone to being accidentally pressed. But this shouldn’t be an issue with the new camera.
Fuji’s quick menu is one of the best around, and because there’s no need to select the various options before they can be adjusted, you just navigate to the one you want and then make the adjustment. It would be nice if it were possible to customise the 16 options that are on offer to your own preferences, though.
Naturally we will need to test the Fuji X-M1 in a wide range of conditions when we get a full production sample in, but our first impressions of its 3-inch 920,000-dot LCD screen are very good. It provides a good, clear view with plenty of detail and doesn’t seem to suffer excessively from reflections or ghosting. This is especially important in the Fuji X-M1 because it doesn’t have a viewfinder for composing images.
The tilting bracket that holds the LCD screen seems sturdy and well made. It’s a welcome addition to any camera without a viewfinder and is helpful when composing landscape-format images above and below eye-level. However, because it’s not a fully articulating joint it doesn’t provide any assistance with portrait-orientation shots.
It’s also a little disappointing that the screen isn’t touch-sensitive, but of course this would have cost implications, and Fuji has designed the Fuji X-M1 to be more affordable than its other interchangeable lens cameras.
Fuji has introduced two new lenses with the Fuji X-M1. The first of these is the XC 16-50mm F/3.5-5.6 OIS, which will be sold with the camera as a kit. This is a compact zoom lens that produces an effective focal length equivalent to 24-76mm on a full-frame camera.
This XC lens is the first of a new breed of more compact and more affordable lenses. However, according to Fuji UK it’s a better quality optic than your average kit lens, and we look forward to testing this claim.
The second lens is the XF 27mm f/2.8 compact prime lens, a pancake optic, which equates to 40.5mm lens in 35mm terms.
Unlike Fuji’s earlier XF lenses, neither of these optics has an aperture ring, but the Fuji X-M1 is still compatible with Fuji’s existing lenses that feature an aperture ring. Fuji will also issue a firmware upgrade for its existing cameras to enable them to be used with the two new lenses.
While the presence of an aperture ring may be appealing to experienced photographers, it may put off younger or less experienced photographers. The introduction of the two new lenses means that Fuji’s compact system cameras may now have broader appeal.
Performance
Although the Fuji X-M1 that we used was close to being a final production model, we weren’t able to examine any of the images that we took with it on a computer (or publish them), so we can only speculate about the quality of the results that it produces.
Because it has the same sensor as the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1, albeit with a different processing engine, we can be reasonably confident that it is capable of capturing plenty of detail. Both of these cameras impressed us, and they give full-frame cameras a run for their money.
We also really like the filmic quality of the images from the Fuji X-Pro1 and Fuji X-E1, and we hope that the Fuji X-M1 will be able to match it, with pleasant fall-off in focus (this is a feature of the lens as well as the sensor and processor combination) and good natural colours.
With the Fuji X-Pro1 we found that the standard film simulation mode, Provia, is a good option for many situations, while Velvia is good for boosting colours, although it can make grass look unnaturally vibrant. Meanwhile the images captured using the Fuji X-Pro1’s Monochrome option benefit from a slight contrast boost – although many photographers will only use the JPEG as a guide and shoot raw files simultaneously for conversion.
In the past, Fuji’s white balance and metering systems have proved themselves capable, delivering well-exposed images without a colour cast in a range of conditions. The Fuji X-Pro1’s automatic white balance system struggled a little in warm light, however, and this is something we will look at carefully when we get a full production sample of the Fuji X-M1 in for testing.
We were only able to use the pre-production sample Fuji X-M1 in the confines of an office with relatively low, flat light, which doesn’t do the contrast detection autofocus system any favours. Nevertheless the camera managed to focus the lens on every subject we pointed at and with reasonable, although not super-quick, speed.
Fuji has received some criticism for the speed of the AF systems in its cameras, with firmware updates being issued to improve their performance significantly, so naturally this is something that we will investigate further when we get a full production sample in for testing.
Initial verdict
We’ve been very impressed by Fuji’s X-Pro1 and X-E1, which have superb build quality and produce excellent images. However, their price puts them beyond the reach of many photographers. The new Fuji X-M1 appears to make compromises in all the right areas to reduce cost, but promises to deliver similar, if not the same, high quality results.
Its build quality is still high, but it’s a considerably smaller and more portable camera. It also has a mode dial instead of traditional controls, which may be more attractive to relative newcomers to photography as well as those looking for an alternative to a DSLR. However, those who want to use the camera with a lens with an aperture ring can do so.
We’re pretty excited about the Fuji X-M1 and we’re looking forward to putting it through its paces in a full review in the near future.
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