Review: Fujifilm X-S20

I’ve had a Fujifilm X-S20 for a few weeks now, and it has been an interesting exercise considering I have the baby version myself in the X-S10.

In fact, the bodies of the two are remarkably similar and they share the same controls and layout – although some of the controls on the X-S20 have been enlarged a tad, notably the two top mounted rotary dials. Speaking of which there is now a dedicated VLOG mode and when selected, you can make relevant changes on screen using touch mode.

Fujifilm says it has increased the grip size too, and this was for good reason as the X-S20 can now accommodate the bigger and therefor more longer lasting batteries upping the shot rate to around 750, although some people have reported even higher than this which is a Good Thing of course..

Like the X-S10, charging the X-S20 is still via the USB-C port, but this has been beefed up to allow faster charging, and HDMI is has been boosted allowing direct output of 12-bit RAW video. Impressive indeed.

A new addition that VLOGGERS and video shooters will like is the addition of a headphone jack for audio monitoring as well as making the single SD card slot UHS-II compatible. Sadly there is still only one SD card slot, and it is still in the battery compartment meaning taking the camera off a tripod or gimbal may be necessary in some cases to switch cards. But Fujifilm are not alone there.

The sensor is the same BSI-X Trans 4 from the X-S10, but the processor is all new, called the X-Processor 5 and this has improved the auto focus capability remarkedly is my impression, especially in the area of the number of specific items it can track and the speed and accuracy of that tracking.

The new processor has also improved by light years the speed of shooting, multiplying by a factor of 4 in some areas such as shooting RAW files at 20fps.

In terms of video, 4K video at 60fps is a doddle and the X-S20 can record internally at 10-bit 4:2:2 and 360 Mbps as well as 6.2K 30 fps. 1080p can be shot at up to 240fps, but you can save it at 24fps meaning you get 10x slo-mo straight from the camera. Great for sport and nature shooters methinks!

FLOG2 has been implemented too boosting dynamic range to 13 stops.

The only thing I could really flaw on the X-S20 is that with lens I was supplied for the purposes of the review, a brilliant 8mm Fujinon lens (of course), if I wasn’t careful, the tip of my left forefinger could sneak into the image.

Barring that small issue, would I recommend this camera and who to?

The answer is a solid definitely, especially if you have more of a sway towards the video side of things than simply still shooting – and it is easy to see that this is what Fujifilm were aiming for. Yes, the X-S20 is small and light, but in that little package there is a lot of grunt to like.

The best price I could find currently is around the AUD$2145 from VideoPro and for that you also geta 15mm – 45mm kit lens which must be a special deal as they have the same model, body only for AUD$10 more!

(If you want the 8mm lens that’ll set you back around AUD$1200 by the way, and worth every penny in my opinion).

For more information on the Fujifilm X-S20, visit the Fujifilm website at https://fujifilm-x.com/global/products/cameras/x-s20