Fujifilm X100S Performance

Mixed performance from the Fuji X100, but generally faster than its predecessor.

Startup time is a bit on the slow side for its class, but noticeably improved over the X100's 3.2 seconds. Buffer clearing times are pretty good with a fast card. (Note, we now use a 95MB/s UHS-I card versus the 30MB/s non-UHS card we used when testing the X100, so clearing times are not comparable.)

Mode switching is sluggish, and didn't improve over the X100. (Record to Play is actually much slower versus the 1.5 seconds we measured for the X100.) Note that Play to Record requires two presses of the shutter button.

The Fuji X100S's autofocus speed is about average for a compact camera these days, and 20-25% faster than the X100. The Fuji X100S produced full-autofocus shutter lag (with the subject at a fixed distance) that ranged from 0.32 second using Area AF mode (center), to 0.349 second using Multi AF mode. These times are a bit slower than most consumer SLRs, but competitive with the average CSC these days. Enabling the flash increased lag a bit to 0.462 second, because of the preflash metering involved. Continuous AF mode lag tested at 0.453 second, and manual focus lag was only 0.034 second, very fast. Prefocused shutter lag was very fast, at only 0.011 second. This is much faster than any SLR (no mirror to move out of the way), and similar to the best digicam prefocused speeds.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Single-shot cycle times are a bit sluggish compared to most DSLRs, but about average compared to CSCs, and noticeably quicker than the X100. We measured 0.91 second for large/fine JPEG or RAW files, and 0.99 second for RAW + JPEG files. The X100 ranged from 1.18 to 1.5 seconds.

"Continuous 6 fps" mode speeds are quite good, at about 5.7 frames per second for any quality or file type in our tests. The X100 topped out at 5 fps (4.7 in testing.) Like its predecessor, the Fuji X100S also offers a "Continuous 3 fps" mode, but we didn't test that.

Full resolution JPEG buffer depths are decent at 16 frames, and noticeably better than the 10 frame JPEG buffer the X100 had. With RAW or RAW+JPEG files, buffer depth is 8 frames which is the same as the X100 and fair for the class of camera. Clearing is reasonably fast with a fast 95MB/s UHS-I card.

The flash recycles after a full discharge in 4.5 seconds, which is a touch slow but not bad.

Download speeds are quite fast, quick enough that you probably won't feel the need for a separate card reader. (Note that this test was performed with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/sec UHS-I SDHC card: Slower cards would likely show slower transfer times.)

Bottom line, the Fuji X100S's performance is mixed with fast shutter lag, good burst speeds, average autofocus speeds and slow mode switching, but noticeably better in most respects than its predecessor.

Battery Life
Good battery life for its class.

The Fuji X100S uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and charger. The CIPA-rated 330 shots per charge is about 10% better than its predecessor. Battery life is good for a fixed-lens large-sensor compact, about average compared to most Compact System Cameras, but much lower than a typical DSLR. (Fuji does not state which viewfinder was used to obtain that rating.) We strongly recommend getting a second battery for your X100S if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))