New: Fujifilm X-S10
It seems like everyone is talking about the newly announced Fujifilm X-S10, an upcoming mid-range interchangeable-lens mirrorless camera with in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This new camera will be released on November 19 for $1,000 for the body-only.
The X-S10 is a new line, not just a new camera. Fujifilm obviously didn’t listen to my advice (I highly doubt they ever saw it). Really, Fujifilm should have added IBIS to the X-T30 and called it the X-T40, at least that’s what I suggested. Instead they made a new camera from scratch (is that what the “S” stands for?). Internally, the X-S10 is an X-T4 (Fujifilm’s high-end model). Externally, this is an X-T200 (Fujifilm’s low-end model) with a grip (I assume the grip is for heat dispersion more than anything). It seems like they put a Porsche engine inside a VW Bug.
The X-S10 is the X-T4, except smaller, lighter, not weather sealed, with only one memory card slot, and in a body similar to the X-T200 (but with a hand-grip). You get a pretty darn solid camera for a pretty decent price. But, you also get a PASM dial instead of the shutter and ISO dials. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right? On the inside the X-S10 is a great camera, no doubt about it!
I don’t like the name, though. Did Fujifilm put their hand in a Scrabble bag and pull out an S? What does the S stand for? When I think of S10, I think of cheap Chevy trucks with questionable reliability and presumably lots of rust. That’s not a good association! Of course, if you say the full name, it sounds like “Excess 10” which perhaps is appropriate but not necessarily great from a marketing point-of-view. Maybe the S stands for Sony-killer, which is what I think Fujifilm hopes that this camera becomes. It seems pretty obvious that the Fujifilm X-S10 and the Sony A6500 will be direct competitors. The A6500 is aesthetically uninspiring, so despite my misgivings about the X-S10’s body design, it still wins hands down over the Sony model, in my opinion. Most likely, the S stands for stabilized, as this camera joins a small list of Fujifilm cameras that have IBIS.
Interestingly, Fujifilm also announced a new 10-24mm f/4 lens, which is simply an update to a lens they’ve had for awhile. The new version is weather-sealed. There are a few other small improvements, but weather sealing is the big one. Apparently at some point you’ll be able to buy the X-S10 bundled with the new 10-24mm lens, but the X-S10 isn’t weather sealed, so you might be better off buying the old version of the lens instead, if you plan to use it with that camera.
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