There are camera designs people tolerate in order to get the features and performance they want. Likewise, there are good-looking cameras that aren't necessarily the best performers.

The Fujifilm XF1 looks great and can be a lot of fun to shoot; It has a fast f1.8 maximum aperture and captures in raw and raw plus JPEG; It also has a healthy selection of shooting options and a good control layout

Some of its best photos come at the cost of control and resolution; The lens gets much slower when zoomed in; There's no option to add an external flash or viewfinder

The Fujifilm XF1 has a compact body with a retro design that is emphasized by the optional black, brown or red artificial leather and the matte metal finish. The camera doesn't have an on/off switch but is activated by turning the lens ring on the camera front.

+ elegant and stylish body in retro design; + large image sensor; good image results with low color noise; + sharp images with high resolution

- missing optical or electronic viewfinder (only LCD screen as viewfinder; - missing focus ring on the lens for direct manual focusing

The Fuji XF1 is the ultimate miniaturization of Fuji's premium X series. It delivers some powerful capabilities in a pocketable size with a great number of controls, including its unique sliding mechanical lens.

Ultra-Bright F/1.8 Ultra-Wide Optical Zoom; Very low image noise; Stellar dynamic-range; Unique mechanical zoom lens slides into camera body; Excellent resistance to chromatic aberrations; Good center-sharpness; Very reliable metering; Very quick and accurate autofocus; Instant shutter-lag; Good...

Excessively strong noise-reduction; High edge-softness; High optical distortion; LCD not Exposure-Priority and incorrect Live-Histogram; Incorrect framing shown for RAW files; Average shot-to-shot speed; 2s Filming delay; Poor tripod mount placement; Short battery-life

Bottom Line - It's difficult to give a universal recommendation on the Fujifilm XF1. This camera has enough quirks that it's going to be a disappointment to some photographers, while others will appreciate the interesting synthetic leather finish, retro look, and quirky start-up procedure.

High-quality lens produces sharp images; Large image sensor allows XF1 to excel in low-light photos; Popup flash works well for portrait photos; Flash intensity can be adjusted with on-screen menus; Mode dial saves time when picking shooting modes; Little-to-no shutter lag; Very fast autofocus...

Camera is pricey for a fixed-lens model; Odd sequence for turning on the camera may frustrate some users; Start up takes a bit too long; Too easy to power down the camera while simply adjusting the manual zoom lens; Although ISO up to 12,800 is available; highest ISO settings only can be used at...

After a swag of complex, interesting and somewhat challenging digicams passed over my review desk, I felt I deserved a...

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Fuji makes a few missteps in bringing the prestigious X series to the masses.

I just experienced the fatal Lens Control Error flaw. As a lead-up, camera began to overexpose photos, with weird colors. Camera is toast. There are alternatives. Buy one of those.

Recently bought it. Excellent quality of pictures, very stylish and small. Exclusively convenient programmable menu system - you may reach all needed functions just in two clicks. New record of Fuji. Perfectionism in all details.

Fuji XF1 is a high end P&S with lot of manual settings. The camera has a unique way to turn it on manually. This requires some practices to turn it on quickly and smoothly. It does save more power with this design.