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If you haven't looked into these Fuji "X" cameras, they deserve a look before you make your next major camera purchase. This latest release from Fuji, which comes at an extremely reasonable price, is easily an "outperformer" when it comes to picture quality and device quality. The images you can take with it will rival those taken by the much more expensive (and physically larger) Nikons and Canons. If that is a claim that is very hard to believe, you should do some online searching for reviews on these Fuji cameras and their lens offerings. The reviews are almost uniformly positive, and my own experience with this X-A1 agrees.
This particular version comes with either a dark blue or black textured finish which is very comfortable to hold while at the same time providing a good "grippy" surface. (It feels not wholly unlike the back of the earlier version of the Nexus 7 tablet, with a surface that almost does not feel like metal or plastic; you just have to feel it to understand.) The camera is very light, and even with the lens and battery attached, you are only at a fraction of what your typical DSLR will weigh. There is no viewfinder, either optical or electronic, but there is a gorgeous, tilting 3-inch high resolution screen. This is a full APS-C sensor, the same size as most all DSLRs that are not full frame, and, of course, hugely larger than nearly all point and shoots, including the 1-inch models that have recently been released by the various manufacturers. This model is based on the well received Sony 16mp sensor that is found in a number of other cameras (some of the Sony NEX models, at least one Olympus model, and at least one or more Nikon models), and does not make use of Fuji's "X trans" sensor that is found on its X-Pro 1. So, although this model is using a far more traditional sensor, the sensor itself has been very well received in the photographic community, and its use in this model is one reason for the very reasonable price. Fuji is also undoubtedly utilizing some very sophisticated processing "down the pipeline" from the image sensor to arrive at such excellent photographic quality.
The camera, then, is comfortable to hold, quite light, and has a fantastic screen that allows you to compose either above, under, or even with eye level (the screen tilts both up and down to facilitate this). Operational performance of the camera is good. Turn on is nearly instantaneous, and there is very little focusing lag (maybe not quite 100% as fast as some of the Sony's, but very, very fast, and I doubt you'd notice much of a difference), and shut down is also fast. Picture playback on the screen is also very fast, with little hesitation or stutter. The exception to this rule is that when the camera goes into power saving "sleep" mode, it is quite sluggish to get it woken back up, sometimes in the neighborhood of 2-3 seconds.
There is much more I can say about these types of features, but where this camera excels is in photo quality. Even with the kit lens that comes with this Fuji model the photos are sharp, sharp, sharp, with very nice color and saturation. And I mean, REALLY good. My own experience even with this kit lens is that the camera is knocking off images that rival my Nikon D7000. That might be difficult to believe, and I was skeptical myself until I started examining my own images. There is amazing clarity in these shots, and this is even using just the standard jpg format (not even using RAW mode), so it seems that the jpg rendering engine is doing a superb job of processing the shots.
But it is the Fuji lenses that are also being identified as some of the best lenses currently on the market (this camera, along with the other Fuji interchangeable lens cameras, uses the Fuji X-Mount system). Even this kit lens is sharp, with virtually no edge distortion or softness, with images that are sharp and straight across the frame. This particular lens is a Fuji "XC" model, and starts at a wide 16mm (24mm equivalent) at F/3.5 and goes to 50mm (75mm equivalent). Are you worried that F/3.5 is not wide enough for low light settings? This is one of the places where these Fuji's excel. There is so little noise in shots that you can run up and down the ISO levels and get perfectly acceptable shots all the way up to 3,200 ISO. (I know that is hard to believe, but I've experienced it myself, and you can check other reviews of the camera along these lines).
You can purchase the very highly reviewed "XF" lenses, but you might find that the kit lens is all you need for now. It is simply an amazing combination of lens quality, camera performance, and jpg rendering engine. And at its price point, which is lower than some of the new "super" point and and shoots, it seems like an unbeatable combination.
There are a few non-Fuji X-Mount lenses now available, but they tend to be either highly expensive (the Zeiss "Touit" lenses) or quite inexpensive (Samyang, Rokinon). For now, unless you have the money to spring for Zeiss, Fuji's own lenses seem by far the better choice, with high image performance and build quality.
I will expand this review over time, but for now, what I want to say is that if you are considering a new camera purchase, you really owe it to yourself to look over these Fuji's before you make a decision. They are superlative devices.
Plusses
++ Superb image quality, with sharp, rich, and undistorted images even from the kit lens
++ Low noise high ISO performance that must surely rank as some of the best available today
++ Outstanding 3-inch, one million pixel LCD screen with full set of customizable display options
++ Lightweight and easy to handle
++ Excellent build quality (primarily the camera, but the lens is good for a kit model)
++ Very nice image color rendition (many of my images remind me of those taken with my favorite Zeiss lenses, and, yes, I understand that may be difficult to believe)
++ Large feature set roughly analogous to most DSLRs (S, A, P, M modes, and many other specialized modes)
++ Extremely reasonable price for what you get (it may be all you need, in some cases)
++ A variety of "XF" lenses are available, most reviewed as some of the best lenses on the market
++ A 55-200mm "XC" lens is available at a very reasonable price
++ Built-in WiFi (some will make use of this, others not)
++ Full printed manual comes in the box
++ Blue body color available, if that is of interest to you (all black is currently the other body color option) the blue is dark, and not overly "showy"
Minuses
-Hand grip would be slightly more comfortable if a bit thicker
-Battery life not as good as some more recent Sony SLT models (but the batteries are much smaller, so that makes sense)
-Batteries are expensive (true of all "brand" batteries)
-Wake up from power save sleep too slow (about 2 3 seconds, depending on level of sleep)
-No viewfinder (if you want to use a viewfinder, this X-A1 model will not work for you; you'll need one of the other Fuji models)
-No hand strap provided (only a neck strap; a hand strap is, for me, a much more useful device)
-Manual has no index at the end, making it difficult to look up specific features/functions that you are trying to research
-Kit lens has limited macro ability (minimum focusing distance about 30 cm)
-Lens cover may come off a bit too easily
-Charger unit comes with long, heavy a/c cord; this is unnecessarily heavy and not nearly as portable as a built-in flip-switch style of plug found on many charger units
-"XF" lenses very expensive (but only in a relative sense; they are often compared in quality and performance to Leica lenses 10 times their price)
Some of the Fuji Lenses:
The cost reduced Fujifilm XC 50-230mm F4.5-6.7 Camera Lens
Some of the more expensive, highly reviewed "XF" lenses:
Fujifilm XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 Zoom Lens
Fujifilm XF 27mm F2.8 Compact Prime Lens
Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 Lens Zoom Lens
Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 Lens
Fujifilm XF 60mm F2.4 Macro Lens
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