The compact digital camera market continues to dwindle, with fewer new fashions launched yearly, however there’s one space the place it nonetheless makes a variety of sense to go for a cheap point-and-shoot: underwater. The newest telephones could also be waterproof, however to not the purpose the place you may need to take them diving in salt water. The Fujifilm FinePix XP130—priced at $229.95 however promoting commonly for much less—will adequately serve photographers on a funds. However in case you can afford it, we suggest spending extra for a water-resistant digital camera that can web higher pictures and video, like our Editors’ Selection, the Olympus Powerful TG-5.
Daring and Brilliant
Fujifilm gives the XP130 in a wide range of daring colours. We obtained one in shiny inexperienced for overview, however you too can go for blue or yellow, or in case you favor a extra conservative look, black or white. Its kind issue is pocket-friendly—2.6 by Four.1 by 1.zero inches (HWD) and 5.Eight ounces. The design incorporates rounded edges, together with a silver-ringed porthole across the lens. The everyday loop to carry a wrist strap is changed by a sturdy steel bar.
The 5x zoom is modest in vary compared with pocket cameras with out waterproofing, however they obtain 30x or 40x zoom ratios through optics that stretch from the physique. The waterproof XP130 places your entire lens inside its physique, defending it from 5.Eight-foot (1.Eight-meter) drops and the stress of working at depths of as much as 65 ft (20 meters) underwater.
The wide-angle protection is about the identical as a 28mm full-frame lens, and it zooms in to seize a narrower view, 140mm in full-frame equal phrases. The aperture is not formidable—it begins at f/Three.9 and narrows to f/Four.9 when zoomed all the way in which in. It is not as vast or as shiny because the lens on the premium TG-5, which includes a 25-100mm f/2-Four.9 zoom, although it does zoom in additional.
Controls are simple and fundamental—in case you’re in search of a digital camera with full handbook publicity management, look elsewhere. Out of the field the digital camera is about to Scene Recognition (SR), an clever, however totally automated, taking pictures mode that adjusts settings to match what the digital camera perceives as the kind of picture you are making. It additionally has various Scene settings, a regular Automated setting, and Program, which supplies you a modicum of management within the type of publicity worth compensation (EV) adjustment.
The shutter launch is a giant, silver button on the highest. It is easy to press, even in case you’re carrying gloves. The On/Off and Report buttons are additionally on the highest. The rear homes W and T buttons to regulate the lens zoom, in addition to Play, a Drive button, and Disp/Again, together with a four-way directional pad. It offers you entry to the Menu through its heart press, together with Delete/EV adjustment, Flash, Self-Timer, and Macro taking pictures choices through its cardinal route buttons.
You may not discover the Drive button at first—the icon is engraved, which is tough to see given its small dimension and darkish end. The Wi-Fi icon is subsequent to it, painted white for prime visibility. I want it was higher labeled, however there aren’t that many buttons to start with, so it isn’t too tough to find while you need to change from single to burst seize.
There is not any EVF—the dear Panasonic TS7 ($449.99) is the one rugged mannequin we have seen with one. As an alternative you may body pictures on the rear LCD, which is Three inches in dimension with a 920k-dot decision. It is shiny and sharp, so you should have no issues framing and reviewing pictures, even on shiny days. Contact enter is not supported, which is not a giant shock when you think about the XP130’s asking worth.
The reminiscence card and battery are protected by a locking door, accessible through the suitable facet. The battery is nice for about 240 pictures, that are saved to SD reminiscence. The door additionally covers a micro HDMI output and a micro USB port, the latter of which is used to cost the detachable battery. Fujifilm doesn’t embody an exterior battery charger, only a micro USB cable and AC adapter.
Wi-Fi is in-built, which is a given in nearly each new digital camera. The XP130 provides Bluetooth, which can be utilized to hurry up pairing with an Android or iOS machine. When related to your cellphone you can switch pictures and management the digital camera through the Fujifilm Cam Distant software.
So-So Imaging and Video
The XP130 would not provide the blistering velocity of an interchangeable lens digital camera, but it surely is not gradual both. It powers on, focuses, and fires in 1.Eight seconds. Autofocus velocity is stable for a pocket digital camera, zero.1-second in shiny gentle and about zero.Eight-second in very dim circumstances. The lens aperture is slim, so you may need to use a flash for indoor snapshots.
Burst seize is obtainable at about Four.8fps, however just for ten pictures at a time, with a number of seconds required between bursts to offer the digital camera time to jot down pictures to a reminiscence card. There’s a monitoring possibility for focus, however the digital camera’s autofocus system is fairly simplistic. The one focus choices except for monitoring are a large space, which routinely selects the main target level, a middle space, or a versatile spot. You might want to dive into the menu system to vary the main target space and even transfer the place of the versatile spot. I discovered utilizing the middle focus level and recomposing my shot to style after focus is locked suited my model finest, however you could favor to easily let the XP130 choose the main target level routinely.
I used Imatest to test the XP130’s picture high quality. Its mounted lens delivers respectable outcomes on the vast angle, netting 1,890 strains in a center-weighted sharpness take a look at. That is higher than the 1,800 strains we need to see from a point-and-shoot with a 16MP picture sensor. It loses decision on the 65mm place (1,622 strains) and at 140mm (1,516 strains), delivering pictures which might be on the comfortable facet at each settings. Edges are comfortable all through the zoom vary, exhibiting finest outcomes on the vast finish (1,622 strains), however dropping off on the midpoint (938 strains) and telephoto finish (740 strains) of the zoom.
There may be some barrel distortion seen at 28mm (Three.Three p.c), which is stunning as compact cameras typically appropriate distortion routinely. The impact is negligible when zoomed in. You are additionally prone to discover some flare when taking pictures into the solar. Most waterproof cameras do the identical factor, as the quilt that retains the lens watertight can induce the impact—we additionally see flare with the lens Olympus makes use of in its TG-5.
The Olympus TG-5 is equally sharp at its vast setting (1,830 strains) when shot at f/2, however will slim the lens to f/2.Eight for many bright-light use for sharper outcomes (2,096 strains). It places these numbers up regardless of backing its lens with a 12MP sensor, which places it at an obstacle compared with the 16MP XP130. The TG-5’s lens additionally loses decision when zoomed in, nearly tying the XP130 on the midpoint of its zoom and bettering it by about 100 strains when zoomed all the way in which in.
See How We Take a look at Digital Cameras
The XP130’s lens is not as vast, shiny, or sharp because the TG-5, however the digital camera does price about half as a lot. However bear in mind what you might be dropping. On the 28mm the XP130 is an f/Three.9, nearly two full stops dimmer than the TG-5’s f/2.zero ranking at its 25mm wide-angle setting. Which means the XP130 captures about 25 p.c of the sunshine when zoomed out, giving it a definite drawback when taking pictures in dim circumstances. Its macro mode can be underwhelming. The TG-5 is among the finest pocket macro cameras on the market, however after I turned on macro focusing with the XP130 to get a close-up shot of a big insect that landed on my automotive door, I wasn’t in a position to focus that shut in any respect.
The half of.Three-inch picture sensor is not world-class for low-light taking pictures, and the dim lens would not do something to assist. You are going to use the flash indoors, or resort to taking pictures at a excessive ISO—the digital camera will be set as excessive as ISO 3200 in full decision. You may also set it at ISO 6400, however decision drops to 8MP. When you’ve got automated ISO management turned on the digital camera will solely vary as excessive as ISO 1600, however modes that prime out at ISO 400 or 800 are additionally obtainable.
Imatest reveals that the XP130 retains picture noise below 1.5 p.c via ISO 800, and reveals about 1.6 p.c at ISO 1600, 1.9 p.c at ISO 3200, and a couple of.Three p.c at ISO 6400. Sometimes pictures with lower than 1.5 p.c noise do not present offensive grain, however cameras like this use automated noise discount to struggle the impact, which may end up in less-than-clear pictures at greater settings. The XP130 delivers its finest pictures at ISO 100 and 200. Pictures shot at ISO 400 take a step again, with some blur erasing tremendous element. The blur impact is stronger at ISO 800, and at ISO 1600 and up all tremendous element has washed away. We have included pixel-level crops from our ISO take a look at scene within the slideshow that accompanies this overview.
The XP130 helps video seize at 1080p decision at 30 or 60fps, and 720p at 60fps. For added slow-motion, it’s good to step all the way down to SD resolutions; you possibly can shoot 480p at 30 or 120fps, 240p at 240fps, and 120p at 320fps. Video high quality is about what you’d count on—the 1080p decision feels dated compared with dear pocket cameras that roll at 4K, and the shortage of 24fps and any kind of handbook publicity adjustment will flip off anybody who desires to get inventive with publicity. You possibly can’t even brighten or darken the body with EV compensation for films.
Finances Worth, Finances Digital camera
The Fujifilm XP130 is not prime of the road in any regard, however that features worth. It sells for round $200, about half that of our Editors’ Selection Olympus Powerful TG-5, and that appears about proper. The XP130 is an effective, however not excellent, possibility for funds buyers. It is powerful and waterproof, so you possibly can take it locations the place you would not threat your cellphone’s security, it contains Wi-Fi for on-the-go picture sharing (through your smartphone), and it gives a stable, 5x zoom vary.
When you’ve got the cash, you may discover that the Olympus Powerful TG-5 is a greater digital camera general. It shoots 4K video, has a wider, brighter lens that does a greater job making snapshots while you’re not outside, and has a significantly better macro functionality, which will be supplemented with add-on lights which might be additionally waterproof.
Finances buyers who’re prepared to reside with the XP130’s limitations also needs to test and see if the XP120 remains to be obtainable on the market. At press time it’s, and is promoting for below $150. It would not provide Bluetooth, which is not important, and except for that it is the identical digital camera because the XP130.