#SOOC: Ozan Sihay x X-S10

My Impressions After a Month With X-S10

Because of my old habits, I want to feel the weight and big body of my camera in my hands. But I broke this habit with the FUJIFILM X-S10. Both in daily life and professional work photography and video have a very important place in my life. As a photographer, cinematographer, and YouTube content creator, the X-S10 has made a great contribution to me in all these areas. This is the first time I use a camera that is as light and small as this. Although I thought I might not get used to this situation at first, it gives a very solid grip feeling with its ergonomic structure and makes it feel like a piece of myself. Its lightness gave me a great advantage in my hobby shooting. Since I don’t like to carry too much weight, I do not like to carry equipment that can cause extra load.

Despite its small size, the X-S10 offers a high-end In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) and Digital Image Stabilization (DIS). Thanks to 6 stop 5 axis IBIS of X-S10, I was able to shoot pretty steady videos without carrying a gimbal with me. Also thanks to its 180-degree rotating screen, I got rid of external monitors that I used to carry with me. This is a really big advantage for vlogging.

Also, some developments have been made in terms of design when compared with the X-T4. When I rotate the screen to myself while shooting Vlog on the X-T4, some part of the screen was blocked by the external microphone jack. On the X-S10 positioning, this mic input to the top of the LCD screen is a very important improvement.

As a photographer and cinematographer, the fast switching between the two modes is very important to me. Another newly introduced feature, the Record Button (REC), allowed me to perform this switch extremely quickly. After I shoot photos in manual settings, I need to switch to video mode and shoot Vlog. It is very difficult to get the correct exposure in manual settings due to the constant change of light since I shoot these types of videos on hand and in motion. Thanks to the Rec button, almost all settings return to automatic and switching to AF-C mode, again, this is one of the features that make my shootings extremely practical.

Since I am very active on social media, I may need to transfer the images I shoot with my camera to the smartphone first and share it immediately. In these cases, the film simulations in the FUJIFILM X-S10 were a great convenience for me. Especially I mostly used the Classic Negative film simulation, since it is very close to my color tones. In this way, I did not even need to do any color editing of photos and videos on the smartphone that I quickly transferred with Camera Remote.

The focusing speed when shooting photos was very impressive like on the X-T4. With the 0,02 sec. focusing speed I was able to capture the frames I want with ease. Also, it has a high-end face and eye detection AF-C sensitivity. I didn’t have any problem when shooting videos with the face and eye-tracking feature. Even in the backlight, it performed quite well.

Very cinematic images can be shot with slow-motion videos. It has become a very innovative camera in its segment with 240FPS shooting in 1080p. In addition, 4K 30p 4:2:0 8bit on SD card and 4:2:2 10bit options via HDMI to an external recorder show that X-S10 can be used not only for hobby purposes but also for professional shooting.

Finally, I think we can position the FUJIFILM X-S10 somewhere between the X-T4 and the X-T30. While the body looks close to the X-T30 due to its small and lightweight form factor, we see that it offers most of the features of X-T4. It seems likely that it will be a lower-budget alternative to the X-T4 and will make a splash in its segment in terms of price-performance.