Fujifilm X20 12 MP Digital Camera with 2.8-Inch LCD (Black)

This is a fantastic camera. The lens is the best I've ever used in a compact and the sensor does very well at up to ISO 800 and gives an image that's more than good enough for screen and small prints at 3200. The color reproduction is beautiful, it makes JPGs you can use straight out of camera and shoots raw files that most of the common software packages can process. The camera has a great feel in the hand, looks like a classic and has much better handling than I'm used to in a compact, with the mechanical zoom ring, control wheels and proper shutter release cable socket. I had an X10, and this is a worthy upgrade. The sensor does perform better, the AF is improved, overall responsiveness is noticeably quicker and the improved information in the optical finder is very useful when shooting. More of an incidental feature, the latest version of Apple's raw processor (for iPhoto and Aperture) does a good job on the X20 raw files but fails to read the X10 ones.

Overall: This was my first Fuji camera, and I had big expectations. I was expecting to be blown away by the supposedly amazing "Fuji color rendition". Although this little camera is competent, I was not impressed overall. I would not recommend this to the person graduating from the point-and-shoot, because you can buy a system camera (u4/3 or NEX) for less and learn more. But the advanced user tired of carrying their DSLR and lenses may want to consider the Fuji X20 for a competent camera in a tiny package. Pros: + Optical viewfinder + Fast focusing + Easy to use menu + Super easy to use Quick Menu + Quality macro mode allows close focusing + Panorama sweep mode + Plenty of art filters and simulation modes + Solid build quality and feel + Excellent flash and high speed since + Super quiet! (seriously, sometimes I wasn't sure I even took a picture) Cons: - Did not live up to the hype (for me) - Optical viewfinder offers too little coverage - Fuji non-standard filter sizes First Impression: As I was unboxing this thing, I was very impressed with the weight, feel, and build of this little camera. Everything felt very sturdy and not plastic like the Sony NEX 3/5. I have very little doubts as to the long term durability of this camera. It felt the way the cameras from the 70's and 80's feel: sturdy. (I have a Nikon FE2). VS the Competition: I can't compare it to any of it's direct competitors but I'll compare it to some of the other cameras I've owned: A) NEX F3: The Fuji X20 has better build quality, autofocus, menus, and usability. The NEX has better image quality, especially for low light, and better ergonomics. The NEX has atrocious menus. B) Olympus OM-D EM-5: The Fuji X20 build quality seems to compare well with the OMD. Autofocus is similar between the OMD and X20. Both are very fast. However, the OMD has more advanced features like face detect with near eye (which works great, BTW). OMD EVF is better than the Fuji X20 OVF. OMD also wins in image quality and low light. Of the two, I recommend the OMD - it is a unique and wonderful shooting experience. C) Panasonic LX7: Fuji X20 has better build quality, autofocus, menus, ergonomics, usability, and image quality. The LX7 is cheaper. Side note: People either love or hate the Fuji menus. If you like the way Olympus and Nikon do menus, you'll like Fuji too. If you like the way Canon and Panasonic do menus, it'll take you time to get used to the Fuji, but you may learn to like them. Nobody likes Sony NEX menus and no manufacturer should imitate Sony NEX menus. I learned on Nikon DSLRs, so Nikon, Olympus, and Fuji menus are natural and easy to navigate for me. The Fuji Quick Menu is very good and easy to use. My preference, in order of best to worst menu system (and thus, a big factor in general usability): 1. Nikon or Olympus 2. Fuji (Quick Menu is excellent) 3. Canon 4. Panasonic 5. Sony NEX (which is terrible) However, overall, I wasn't too impressed with the Fuji X20 image quality. Also, after reading other reviews about how the Fuji color rendition was great, I think I had too much expectation for this little camera. It's a good advanced point and shoot, but I wouldn't recommend it to the average user. Fortunately, Fuji makes it very easy to use this camera. You can use the control wheel to easily change aperture, shutter speed, and program shift. I generally use cameras in Aperture Priority. Autofocus speed is excellent and on par with the OMD, and significantly faster and more accurate than the Sony NEX. The Fuji X20 is incredibly quiet as well. Sometimes I couldn't even tell that it had just taken a picture. My wife couldn't tell either. Lastly, Fuji does one thing better than any of the other camera listed above: fill flash. Combined with the leaf shutter, you can get some very fast flash sync speeds that are not possible with your typical Nikon, Canon, Olympus, or Sony. And the Fuji fill flash looks very natural without being overpowering. In Summary: I think this is a really nice camera, but a little underwhelming compared to my expectations. At $600, I wouldn't recommend it to the person who is graduating from a point-and-shoot because it is too expensive and you could use the money for a system camera (like Panasonic, Olympus, or Sony NEX). However, I would recommend the Fuji X20 to an advanced DSLR user who needs a competent camera in a small package. Thanks for reading and I hoped this review helps you make an informed decision about this much hyped camera. - Avi Updated 08/03/2013: I dropped this to 3 stars. I have the X-M1, and it blows away the X20. Of course the APS-C sensor is significantly larger than the 2/3" sensor. I highly recommend buying the X-M1 over the X20. For a competent point-and-shoot, I also recommend considering the RX100 M2 before buying the X20.

I watched so many review videos and read a bunch of forum posts about this camera before buying a used one from a retailer in Japan who tried to rip me off for return shipping (they wanted to charge me retroactively for shipping the camera TO ME when I submitted a return request in addition to paying return shipping out-of-pocket. How insane is that?) but this review isn't for Amazon's sketchy merchants, it's for the Fujifilm X20. The camera is small. I like that. It's small, retro and feels really solid. It's metal and... whatever that stuff is. Rubber? Faux leather? Whatever it is, it's of excellent quality. Fujifilm cameras really do put out some great looking photos, so that's a given. My problem is mostly with manual focusing. Using the viewfinder with auto focus is nice because you'll get your aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and a square or rectangle indicating what is being focused. Apparently there is an indicator for when something is out of frame (parallax) but I did not encounter that while shooting. The deal breaker for me was in the way manual focusing works. I didn't know this before I bought the camera, but in order to focus manually, you have to turn this little dial that's around the circular control button (the one that's usually a d-pad for menu/flash/macro etc). When you do that, of course because it's an optical viewfinder, not a hybrid viewfinder (and the camera is not a DSLR) you need to use the LCD to focus manually. I exclusively shoot through the viewfinder. I don't know why I didn't realize that the OVF would be useless by design for manual focusing. I guess because I owned (and was spoiled by) the X100T. I wrongly assumed that the X20 would have some sort of focus outline or something similar to what's in the X100T's hybrid viewfinder. Of course it doesn't! The X20 is not advertised with such a viewfinder. If you're like me and enjoy shooting entirely through the viewfinder, either get one with a hybrid viewfinder (X-Pro1/2, X100/S/T) or get used to electronic viewfinders. EVF's are really useful, but some people (myself included) are put off by the presence of a screen against their eyeball. So, my missing star is not for my mistake. It's for the battery life (which pales in comparison to the X30), lack of every film simulation modes found in other cameras (really, there's no reason Fujifilm couldn't throw in Classic Chrome besides selling newer models) and for the somewhat inconvenient method of turning the camera on and off. The X30 operates in the same way. You have to twist the lens. I'd prefer an on/off switch so I can save battery power without having to set my focal length every time.

Wow....what else can I say? The Fuji X20 REALLY surprises me with its wonderful image quality! This, coming from a Fuji X-T1 and Olympus E-M1 owner (me) and having been a long time DSLR (full frame) shooter. The image quality at lower ISO from this camera truly does rival that of an APS-C sensor size DSLR. I'm not exaggerating. ( shoot raw format, not jpg) The images are sharp, very detailed and very clean for a point and shoot camera. I can't say enough how much it surprised me. I was just looking for a small camera to keep in my backpack, but I got so much more. The only real drawbacks for me is the fact that there's no EVF, only the limited use OVF. I would much prefer to have an electronic viewfinder vs. an optical viewfinder, even on my larger cameras. The LCD screen can be a little difficult to see in bright sunlight, like any point and shoot camera or camera with a LCD. But, that's expected and I don't really consider it a negative. It is what it is. Focusing is fast and accurate. Overall operating speed is very good. This is literally the best point and shot I've ever used (I've had the Panasonic LX-3/L-X5, Nikon P7000 and other premium point and shoot cameras and the image quality from this X20 is definitely a few steps avbove any point and shoot I've used.

The Fuji x20 is a good camera... works well... has a good layout of buttons and feels good in the hand. My only problem with the camera was the quality at higher than 800 ISO. To be fair I'm a DSLR user and have a D7000 along with a D800E so I know this camera is not going to give me the same quality. BUT I expected something decent for the price of this camera. I felt this camera took pictures comparable to my old $200 canon point and shoot.... OBVIOUSLY this camera has more control (Aperture mode, Manual mode, Shutter... etc etc) that a point and shoot doesn't have... but the quality of the pictures to me was lacking ... for the price..... I checked into the sensor size and this camera has one of the smallest sensors compared to the others in the same price range... I saw the sony Rx100 had a much bigger sensor for around the same price... there are also a few others like that. Like I said... in general the quality is good... but I decided to return the item because the price was just too high. Also my copy had an issue with reading the memory card.... I could take pictures and review... but if I turned off the camera and turned it back on it would not let me see the pictures anymore... said read error. That was the icing on the cake and caused me to return it after only a few days. I'm probably going to go for something like the x100s or a used/old x100 for little more cash.

Fuji took what was a competent low-end professional camera and magically transformed it into a high-end toy camera. The image quality is not as good -- even at 12mp jpeg -- as that of the X10. The viewfinder enhancements do not really aid in picture taking in my estimation. If the new sensor adds anything to the program, it's well hidden. It *is* faster focusing, I'll give it that. But such things as viewing the just-taken picture in the LCD are gone, replaced by the eye sensor thing, the latest in 1950s grocery store door technology brought to cameras today by Fuji, which is an annoyance but a fatal one in a camera already beset by abysmal battery life. There is no focus area indication in the viewfinder prior to pressing the shutter, and the "parallax" correction is so draconian that to be accurate the optical viewfinder and the lens would have to be pointed in different directions. It's just awful. The camera also typically underexposes pictures. Typically Fuji releases cameras well before the firmware is soup. It's my hope that they announce a firmware upgrade very soon, before the return window closes. In the meantime, I'm glad I kept my X10.

I am extremely pleased with the Fujifilm X20. I knew it was an outstanding camera when I purchased it from having researched it and reading user reviews, however, it exceeded my expectations. I needed a camera to replace my Nikon Coolpix P7000. Having been very satisfied with the performance of the Coolpix, my obvious contenders for replacing the P7000 was and upgrade to the Coolpix P7100 or the newer P7700. Although the X20 didn't offer the optical reach of the Coolpix, I was attracted to the combination of the upgraded technology, slightly larger sensor, and, having been involved with photography since the 70's, the retro look of the camera. I took it on an Alaska cruise expecting to use it exclusively for the shipboard experiences. I found, however, that I used it for the majority of my Alaska photography, leaving the landscape photography to my Nikon D300 and the X20 for everything else. The camera is indeed very attractive and its build is high quality with a robust heft and solid feel. I have the black version which, I believe, further enhances its professional appearance. The quality of the images is extremely high with exposures being right on. The exposure compensation dial on the right side of the camera permitted quick and accurate exposure adjustments on the fly. The data, which appears in the optical viewfinder is very helpful and trumps the Coolpix optical finder, which has no data available in its optical finder. I am very pleased with the Fujifilm X20 and would recommend it highly to everyone from beginner to highly experienced shooter, including professionals to use as a walk-around casual camera.

Too bad the X20 is still too buggy for my liking. Fuji fixed the X10 by adding info into the optical viewfinder. This is great! Just having that basic exposure and focus info through the viewfinder makes this a great improvement over the X10. The X20 nearly the same size and weight as the X-E2 which offers interchangeable lenses and a pro level sensor. The X20 is just too big. Focusing is a mixed bag. Manual focus is really not viable in my experience. Auto focus is unreliable at best. I'm not talking about complicated low light or high speed sports situations. Basics outdoor daylight landscape shots make the focus hunt and often never lock. I does not default to infinity focus as every other camera I own does. It you try and focus on sky or clouds it just roams endlessly. I like the optical finder. The images are nice and clean when you can get focus.