Big test
for subject detection, including an auto-detect option. It also has a greater shooting capacity, which is assisted by the faster processor, but also helped by the single card slot being UHS-II standard. If sustained and lengthy frame bursts are your game, the X-S20 has potential. Using a Sandisk 95MB/s card, I got 42 combined large JPEGs and lossless compressed Raws at 8fps before the camera stuttered, and then the buffer took around 20 seconds to fully clear. With SD cards of speeds up to 300MB/s available, you’d get even more shots per burst. While the uplift in the still photography skills of the X-S20 compared to the X-S10 are useful, they are also relatively modest. However, that’s not the case with video – the X-S20 has an awesome roll call of features that will appeal “THE X-S20 HAS AN AWESOME ROLL CALL OF VIDEO FEATURES”
to vlogging newcomers all the way to pro creators. The new processor means the X-S20 can shoot open gate 6.2K/30p, 4K/60p and Full HD/240p internally. For advanced video shooters, there’s the option of plugging in an Atomos external monitor for Raw video output to resolutions up to 6.2K/30p, and the camera accepts the FAN-001 cooling fan for extended shooting. Finally, and it might seem a small thing, but the X-S20 has a dedicated headphone 3.5mm port, which sits on the opposite side of the body to the microphone port – no more worries about losing the USB-C adapter, which was a concern with other Fujifilm models. During the short test period, the X-S20 was confronted by a range of subjects from streets and landscapes to interiors – and in a wide range of lighting conditions from intense sunlight to night. For most shooting, I was in aperture-priority AE, multi- zone metering, single or zone AF and ISO manually adjusted to suit the situation. I did try the auto, filter and vlog settings as well. For stills, I was shooting Raws – which were processed in the latest Lightroom
DETAIL
STILL AS A STATUE The X-S20’s five-axis in-body image stabiliser has up to 7EV benefit, and performed rather well – as you can see from the enlarged section of this image, a handheld night shot. The X-S20 was used with the XF18-55mm zoom at 24mm and the exposure was 0.5sec at f/9 and ISO 3200. Lightroom Denoise AI has been applied to the Raw
PERFORMANCE: EXPOSURE LATITUDE
Tolerance to overexposure – at least as far as this scene was concerned – was limited to about +1.5EV, where the sky could be recovered successfully. Tolerance to overexposure was better with lower-contrast scenes. Underexposure was much more recoverable, and the corrected -3EV Raw showed minimal artefacting and digital noise. Close inspection does reveal graining in the sky, but that can be resolved in editing. In poor light, if you want to make the most of a slower ISO rather than set a faster speed, you should be able to underexpose and recover in post.
Raws with good exposure latitude mean when you duff up an exposure, you can recover the shot in editing. Also, when dealing with contrasty lighting, there is a chance to push and pull the shadows and highlights to get a full tonal range. The X-S20 has an autobracketing feature, which was used for these seven images. The Raws were then exposure corrected in Lightroom. This stone arch, Wied il-Mielaħ on Gozo, presented contrast with the bright sky and shadowy rocks. The XF8mm lens was used on the X-S20, and correct exposure was 1/110sec at f/11 and ISO 200.
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18 Photography News | Issue 108
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