ON TRIAL FUJIFILM X-S20
When Fujifilm launched the X-S10 back in late 2020, it caused quite a stir. For starters, it took a very different styling path to the retro-looking X-T series and went a lot more mainstream in its control layout and operation. Perhaps more perplexing though was the curious mix of essentially entry-level features with distinctly high-end capabilities… and it left us wondering who might find such a combination appealing. As it turns out, lots of buyers liked it and so the X-S10 has been a consistently strong seller… so now there's X-S20. It's perhaps an even more eclectic mix than its predecessor, but if the S10 appealed to you then you're going to like the S20 a whole lot more.
For starters, the video capabilities are now very close to those of the X-H2 so you get up to 6.2K video recording internally at 25/30 fps with 10-bit 4:2:2 colour and the 3:2 ‘open gate’ aspect ratio. The top spec for external recording via the camera's micro HDMI connection is a 6.2K UHD 12-bit RAW output at up to 30 fps for encoding as ProRes RAW with the Atomos Ninja V+ recorder or BRAW with BlackMagic Video Assist. And the X-S20 is compatible with the optional FAN-001 cooling fan for extended shooting durations in warmer weather. Yup, this is pretty much pro-level specs and you can read all about the X-S20’s full suite of video goodies in the Making Movies panel.
For photographers, the autofocusing system is upgraded to include AI-based subject recognition, and 10-bit HEIF capture joins the JPEG and RAW options. The inbody image stabilisation offers an increase in its effectiveness and can now correct for up to seven stops of camera shake… which, of course, is a big range. The X-S20 also steps up to the higher-capacity NP-235 battery pack as is used in the X-T5 and the X-H2 models. It allows for up to 750 frames per charge or 800 if you use the camera's economy mode – which is more than double the S10’s count – or around 80 minutes of 4K video recording.
There's a slight increase in the handgrip's depth due to the bigger battery, but that's no bad thing and, overall, the X-S20 is still extremely compact especially compared to the X-T4 and the X-T5. Unlike these two models, it has a much more conventional control layout which is essentially based on a main mode dial with front and rear input wheels plus a joystick-type controller on the rear. As with the S10, Fujifilm's engineers recognise that not everybody is wedded
