You may be interested to know that today the X20 is finally in stock at AmazonDE for €549 (silver – black) or at ebayDE (for example here (€549) or here €554)).

Also DigitalRev has the X20 in stock for €682 here.

If you are looking for the X100S, AmazonUK (via third party reseller) has only 4 in stock for £1,025 here.

X100S: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / [shoplink 8618 ebay]your ebay[/shoplink] X20: AmazonUS (black – silver) / BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / AmazonDE / AmazonITA / DigitalRev / [shoplink 8620 ebay]your ebay[/shoplink]

I’ve announced it 2 days ago. This week could be an interesting “review-week”. We started yesterday with the first impressions of the X20 and X100s at riflessifotografici, and you should not miss the X-pert corner this Friday, with the X100s vs X100 article of Rico Pfirstinger (in the meantime check his Flickr set here).

This time two Spanish magazines tested the X20 and X100s, Dslrmagazine and quesabesde.

1) Dslrmagazine posted his X20 review here (translated version) and the X100s review here (translated version).

2) Quesabesde compared the performance of the X10, X20 and RX100. Click here (translated version). Can the X20 really compete with the Sony RX100? Now we know, the X20 is faster than the X10. Especially in low light conditions you’ll notice the faster AF-performance. The image quality is outstanding for an advanced compact camera. Of course the X20 beats the X10 also in terms of image resolution, details, ISO performance and more, but can the X20 really match the RX100? This comparison shows that the RX100 (with 20.2 MP and 1″ sensor) beats the X20 (with 12MP and 2/3″ X-Trans sensor). But Fuji did an “excellent work“, making it one of the “most desirable compact cameras“. At quesabesde you can also download the RAW files of the sample shots!

IMHO, the missing viewfinder on the RX100 is already reason enough to go for the X20. But I’m sure some of you would go for the RX100 (bigger sensor in smaller camera)… so feel free to add your own PROS and CONS (X20 vs RX100) in the comments and vote this poll:

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X100s: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonDE / AmazonUK / AmazonITA / DigitalRev
X20: AmazonUS (black – silver) / BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / AmazonDE / AmazonITA / DigitalRev
Fuji X10: [shopcountry 8898] Sony RX100: [shopcountry 8524]

 image courtesy: quesabesde

[The X20 arrived at Rico‘s home! See his first samples on Flickr here.]

“For our inaugural Camera of the Year Awards, we came up with seven categories we felt spanned most of the great cameras we were privileged to test and review in 2012.” And here are the “The Magnificent Seven“. Let’s begin with point 7, technology of the year:

7) Technology of the Year: Fujifilm’s X-Trans Sensor:

” […] Because the X-Trans pattern includes red and blue pixels in every horizontal line of the array — whereas Bayer-filtered cameras display these two colors only in alternating rows — it can produce more consistently accurate colors and color boundaries. The net result is a real step forward in image resolution and crispness, as well as a more “filmic” look to its image noise pattern. […] With their X-Trans technology, though, they appear to have finally delivered something truly special. In testing the X-Pro1, we found exceptionally sharp images, with clean detail and very few artifacts — and the X-Pro1’s image sharpness was realistic, not oversharpened and rife with halos like we often see in JPEGs from even top DSLRs. […] Everyone talks about the importance of out-of-the-box thinking, but few are willing to endure the struggle that’s needed to bring something truly radical to market. Fujifilm stuck it out, and we’re happy to see them finally enjoying the fruits of their long years of effort and innovation in sensor technology.” Read the whole text here.

X-Trans is probably one of the reasons why Thomson Reuter named Fujifilm to the world’s Top 100 Global Innovators (2012). From the Fujifilm press release: “With this award, Thomson Reuters recognizes the world’s top 100 companies that strive to protect inventions via intellectual property rights and lead the world with innovative discoveries and initiatives, based on the concept of regarding patent activity and other intellectual properties as an indicator of technological innovations and future trends.“

… and here are the other imaging resource winners:

1) Overall Camera of the Year: Sony RX1 (BHphoto / Adorama / [shoplink 8518]your Amazon[/shoplink] / [shoplink 8518 ebay]ebay)[/shoplink]

2) Compact System Camera of the Year: Olympus OM-D E-M5 (BHphoto / Adorama / [shoplink 8520]your Amazon[/shoplink] / [shoplink 8520 ebay]ebay)[/shoplink]

Not the winner, but close enough, the X-PRO1. Imaging resource says: “Quality prime lenses and a tack-sharp sensor come together with a unique hybrid optical viewfinder to form the Fujfilm X-Pro1, a digital camera built exclusively for enthusiast photographers. The X-Pro1 really hits the nail on the head, driving deep into high-ISO territory with tack-sharp images. Its controls and feature set are also ideal for the target market, and its available lenses are reasonably priced, small, well-made, and light weight. We found it to be a terrific photographic tool, easy to control, and a joy to use.”

3) Enthusiast DSLR of the Year: Canon 5D Mark III (BHphoto / Adorama / [shoplink 7748]your Amazon[/shoplink] / [shoplink 7748 ebay]ebay)[/shoplink]

4) Pro Camera of the Year: Canon 1D X (BHphoto / Adorama / [shoplink 8522]your Amazon[/shoplink] / [shoplink 8522 ebay]ebay)[/shoplink]

5) Pocket Camera of the Year: Sony RX100 (BHphoto / Adorama / [shoplink 8524]your Amazon[/shoplink] / [shoplink 8524 ebay]ebay)[/shoplink]… let’s see if the X20 can endanger the RX100 next year edition of the imaging resource award.

6) Entry-Level Interchangeable Lens Camera of the Year: Nikon D3200 (BHphoto / Adorama / [shoplink 8527]your Amazon[/shoplink] / [shoplink 8527 ebay]ebay)[/shoplink]

Here is a list of all Fuji X-series cameras with X-Trans sensor

Check in Stock info and price at
Fuji X-E1: [shopcountry 8614] Fuji X-PRO1: [shopcountry 8616] Fuji X100s: [shopcountry 8618] Fuji X20: [shopcountry 8620]

X100s: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / AmazonDE / AmazonUK
X20: AmazonUS (black – silver) / BHphoto (black – silver) / Adorama (black – silver) / AmazonUK (black – silver) / ebayITA /  / AmazonDE / AmazonITA /

“I think that if company invest so much in producing and marketing a new camera, the should invest a bit more and get a better photographer.” This is Sagi’s comment when he saw the X20 full size sample shots.

Now Fuji added some more full size images here (X100s – up to ISO 1600) and here (x20). Take a look by yourself and see if Fuji learned from our critics ;-). And thanks again MJr for the links!

Fuji X100s