Fujifilm X100S Flash

Coverage and Range
Very good range for its class, with uneven coverage. Our standard shot required less than the average amount of exposure compensation.

Coverage. Flash coverage is uneven as can be seen from our coverage target above, though part of the corner darkening is likely due to vignetting in the lens itself.

Exposure. Our Indoor Portrait test scene required +0.3 EV flash exposure compensation for a reasonably bright image. (Most cameras we've tested required about +0.7 EV for this scene, so the Fuji X100S performed better than average here.) Auto white balance combined with a slightly slow shutter speed of 1/34s resulted in quite a warm image from the ambient lighting. The camera's Slow-Sync flash mode produced bright, more even results with no exposure compensation, though with a stronger pinkish-orange cast from the ambient lighting.

ISO 200 Range. Flash exposures started out very bright at 6 feet at ISO 200 and gradually became dimmer from there, though brightness was good out to about 11 feet. That's pretty good range, thanks in part to the relatively fast f/2 lens.

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Fuji X100S's built-in flash is rated equivalent to a Guide Number of approximately 4.6m or 15 feet at ISO 100. That works out to about 10.6 feet at ISO 200 and f/2. In the shot above, the X100S performed as Fuji says it would, producing a bright exposure at the rated distance. Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 100, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We now also shoot flash shots using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.