#SOOC: Eric Reinheart x X-S10

When FUJIFILM approached me and told me about the new FUJIFILM X-S10, I was immediately very excited. The technical data and the description of the camera read as if the camera was optimally suited for my purposes.

I immediately began thinking about how I could best test the features of the camera and at the same time create great footage and an exciting video about the FUJIFILM X-S10. I want my pictures to reflect the breath-taking beauty of natural areas and the pursuit of life in its simplest form. A life in close contact with nature and far away from society and its constraints. Lofoten, a sparsely populated archipelago with rugged landscapes, mountains and fjords in the northwest of Norway and directly on the Norwegian Sea, offered itself as an ideal location. 

Since I often go on my hikes with a packed and heavy backpack, the X-S10 quickly impressed me with its compact body and light weight. It immediately proved to be the ideal travel camera. Especially since FUJIFILM has succeeded in incorporating the latest X-Trans sensor and a 5-axis image stabiliser in this small and lightweight body. This is especially useful when working with lenses that do not have an image stabilisation. Internal image stabilisation allows longer exposures for still images and blur-free video recording without the need for a gimbal or tripod.

There is not a lot of room for countless lenses in a full backpack, but I always have at least two with me: The FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR and the FUJINON XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM WR OIS. The latter is stabilised and achieves great results in the combination of IBIS and OIS. It is also my favourite lens because it is very versatile and allows you to capture very special perspectives and compositions that would not be visible to the naked eye and would not be possible with a standard zoom lens.

The FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR is my go-to lens. I estimate that I take about 90 percent of my photos with it. It stands out in particular for its excellent image quality. The lack of stabilisation has been the only shortcoming for me so far, but the IBIS of the FUJIFILM X-S10 means that this is no longer a problem.

The first thing that catches the eye on the camera body is the larger grip. The grip makes the X-S10 very comfortable and secure in the hand – even with large hands or when shooting for long periods of time.

The design of the FUJIFILM X-S10 is very elegant, as you would expect from FUJIFILM. Nevertheless, it is very different from other FUJIFILM cameras. This is primarily due to the new operating concept, which mainly affects the arrangement and function of the dials and buttons. The new concept is not typical of FUJIFILM, but it is still very intuitive. The more I looked at the camera and the operating concept, the better I liked it. It allowed me to easily change important settings such as shutter speed, ISO or white balance while shooting, that is with my face close to the camera, my eye on the viewfinder and my index finger on the shutter release. This is further simplified by the fact that the dials and buttons are easily accessible with the right thumb.

Since I usually shoot not only with manual settings, but also with manual focus, I have Focus Peaking displayed as a small help. This can also be quickly activated via the menu. From time to time, however, I also make use of the autofocus, which on the X-S10 can be activated literally at the touch of a button (AF-ON) and focuses on the focus area selected with the joystick. You can also switch it on at the touch of a finger on the vari-angle touch display.

Until now, I was used to setting the white balance on FUJIFILM cameras using a button on the control pad on the back of the camera. However, this control pad is not available on the X-S10. Instead, there is a button on the side of the viewfinder that is even easier to reach with your thumb.
There is now a button for the Q menu and ISO settings on the top of the camera. Both are easily accessible and intuitive to use.

Where I would have expected the ISO wheel, there is now a wheel for quick selection of the film simulation. With this I can navigate quickly through the 18 film simulations, get a short description of each film simulation and see a preview. This lets you quickly find your favourite film simulation. All 18 film simulations from FUJIFILM create the highest quality JPGs. I chose VELVIA, which allowed me to breathe even more life into the pictures. If the film simulation is not quite what you want, you can make adjustments via the menu. This allows you to individually adjust highs and lows as well as exposure, white balance, saturation, dynamics, sharpness and clarity. This way I get great results directly from the camera and don’t have to sit at the computer for post-production on every shot. Even if I haven’t used the ideal settings when taking the photo, the integrated RAW processing mode allows me to make adjustments to the picture afterwards and create a new JPG.

FUJIFILM has achieved something quite extraordinary with the X-S10. It’s really impressive how much power they got in this little body. The larger grip rounds off the latest model perfectly!