Fujifilm FinePix XP · announced January 2015
The Fujifilm FinePix XP80: a $230 camera you could take to 15 metres
We found no other regional name in the launch coverage or the owner's manual; Commons file data lists it with the XP81 and XP85, which we could not tie to a market.218
In January 2015 Fujifilm called its new rugged compact its toughest yet. Reviewers liked the latch, the big buttons and the price, and marked the low-light pictures down.
- Launched
- January 2015
- Launch price
- $229.95 · £199.992
- Sensor
- 16.4 MP CMOS
- Lens
- 28–140 mm, 5×
- Card
- SD, SDHC, SDXC
- Battery
- NP-45S
Fujifilm FinePix XP80 specs: sensor, lens, battery, memory card and cable
The Fujifilm FinePix XP80 came out in January 2015 at $229.95 as a 16.4 MP CMOS compact with a 28–140 mm (35 mm equivalent) 5× zoom lens. It takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards and runs on the NP-45S battery. Sources
- Sensor
- CMOS, 1/2.3", 16.4 MP source
- Lens
- 28–140 mm equivalent, 5× zoom source
- Memory card
- SD, SDHC, SDXC source
- Battery
- NP-45S source
- USB / A/V cable
- See our Fujifilm cable page
Meet the camera
The XP80 has a curved, rounded body, 104 by 66.5 by 26 millimetres that weighs 179 grams with battery and card.1 TechRadar described the styling as curved and rounded.5 Fujifilm rated it waterproof to 15 metres, shockproof from 1.75 metres and freezeproof to -10°C, and said it was dustproof.2 The small print in the manual is more careful than the headline: the drop figure comes from Fujifilm's own test onto 5 cm plywood, the maker says this is no blanket guarantee, and it advises keeping dives to 15 metres or less and under 120 minutes.1
Behind a 28–140 mm equivalent lens sits a 16.4-megapixel sensor, and a 2.7-inch screen on the back carries 460,000 dots.1 TechRadar identified the sensor as back-illuminated CMOS.5 It was announced on 15 January 2015 at $229.95 in the US and £199.99 in the UK, with sales due in March.2
Why this one was interesting
Five metres deeper, a quarter-metre higher
The XP80 replaced the XP70, which Fujifilm announced in January 2014 as waterproof to 10 metres and shockproof from 1.5 metres at £169.99.7 The newer camera kept the same sensor size, resolution and lens range and added the extra depth and drop height,72 while the UK price rose by £30 (our arithmetic from the two launch prices).72 Imaging Resource, previewing the camera before testing it, said the XP80 kept the predecessor's rugged design and its 1/2.3-inch, 16.4-megapixel sensor, and added a remote-shooting mode through the Camera Remote app.3 TechRadar singled out a new Sketch filter.5
A camera for people who do not want to choose
The exposure modes are Scene Recognition Auto, plain Auto, Program and a run of scene and filter modes, TechRadar said, and Program lets you change ISO and white balance and little else.5 Expert Reviews found only white balance presets, with no manual exposure or metering.6 TechRadar described it as a simple camera not meant to be taken too seriously, and that reads as a design choice: pick it up, press the big button.5
For rugged compacts from other makers, see our reviews of the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS and the Nikon Coolpix AW120; the Nikon was rated to a greater depth and launched at a higher price, and its page lists its own sources.
What was lost
The price of the tough body shows in the pictures. TechRadar observed that rugged compacts often trade image quality for toughness, and said the XP80 “pretty much follows that pattern.”5 The zoom stops at 5x optical, a limit TechRadar listed among its cons; Fujifilm's intelligent digital zoom stretches that to about 10x, and TechRadar advised avoiding digital zoom.51 Closest focus is 9 centimetres, which PhotographyBLOG called nowhere near as impressive as the 1 cm macro some rivals offered.41
The dark: its weak point
All three reviewers marked the camera down in low light, though not at the same ISO. TechRadar saw loss of detail and noise creeping in from around ISO 800 and called pictures less usable at ISO 3200 and above.5 PhotographyBLOG said “a fair amount of detail lost” at ISO 1600 if you look very carefully, though at normal sizes the overall impression was not too bad.4 Expert Reviews was less forgiving: shaded skin looked noisy at ISO 200 and shadows were very noisy by ISO 800, while ISO 400 held up well.6 The camera has no built-in noise control, and PhotographyBLOG found that sharpening in an editor made the noise worse.4
We could not find a free sunset or night photo from this camera with its sensitivity recorded in the file: the free photos on Commons are almost all ISO 100 daylight pictures, so this page shows no low-light strip.8
On eBay right now
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The little wins
A door that will not open by accident
The memory-card and battery door needs a button pressed and a lock twisted. PhotographyBLOG, TechRadar and Expert Reviews all liked it, and Expert Reviews found it less fiddly than most rivals' latches.456
Remote shutter for group shots
PhotographyBLOG called the Wi-Fi very easy to use and said the phone app can fire the shutter for stills and video, with only flash, self-timer and zoom to adjust.4
Buttons for cold hands
The shutter button is large and textured, and the zoom buttons are big and well spaced, which TechRadar said helps underwater or with gloves; PhotographyBLOG found the zoom buttons a little stiff on dry land.54
Charging without a charger
The battery charges inside the camera from the supplied USB cable and AC adapter, which the manual shows; PhotographyBLOG suggested a spare battery for a long day.14
A fast burst
Expert Reviews recorded a burst of ten frames at 9 fps and a shot every 1.3 seconds in its tests.6
How it drew the picture
The three reviews differ in detail. TechRadar said bright outdoor pictures come out “bright and punchy”, good enough for 5x7 inch prints or Facebook, with smoothing only visible at 100 percent; its metering coped with exposure well and its automatic white balance gave fairly accurate colour under artificial light.5 PhotographyBLOG scored image quality 3.5 out of 5 and found colour punchy without excess vibrance, chromatic aberration well handled, and good telephoto detail.4 Expert Reviews thought the 16-megapixel label a misnomer: fine detail looked smudged by noise reduction and focus softened toward the edges, especially at mid-zoom.6 The nine photos below, from five Commons uploaders, show daylight street and interior scenes; every file's recorded sensitivity is ISO 100 or 200.8
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture. None is underwater, and the sample comes from only five uploaders.
Where it let you down
Video tops out at 1080p at 60 fps, and Expert Reviews found autofocus worked well while recording; PhotographyBLOG noted the zoom can be used during filming.164 Expert Reviews also found the 13 Mbit/s bitrate low enough to show compression artefacts and the zoom motor audible on the soundtrack.6 The slow-motion numbers disagree: Fujifilm's manual lists up to 320 frames a second at 160 by 120 pixels,1 where PhotographyBLOG's announcement mentioned a 480 fps mode.2 Wi-Fi earned opposite verdicts. TechRadar called connecting fairly straightforward, and Expert Reviews found setup awkward, though control and transfer worked once connected.56 Underwater, TechRadar said autofocus slowed in murky water and the underwater macro mode gave mixed results.5 TechRadar found the four-way pad smaller and slightly fiddly, and PhotographyBLOG missed a quick-access settings button.54 PhotographyBLOG described an optional converter lens giving an 18 mm-equivalent view, and Fujifilm's announcement describes an Action Camera mode that turns the lens into a fixed 18 mm; we could not confirm how the two fit together.42
What the reviewers said in 2015
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| PhotographyBLOG | 26 Mar 2015 | 4 out of 5 (design 4, features 4, ease of use 4, image quality 3.5, value 4). A good all-round compact, simple but effective; image quality good rather than top-tier, weak in low light.4 |
| TechRadar | 17 Mar 2015 (page metadata) | No star score. Pictures decent for a rugged camera, poor in low light; ideal for the beach, underwater and the slopes if you accept few controls.5 |
| Expert Reviews | 19 Jun 2015 | No score visible on the page. Image quality below par and behind smartphones, but the zoom and tough body reach shots phones cannot; it suggested the Ricoh WG-5 GPS for better results. Priced at £145 on the page.6 |
PhotographyBLOG and TechRadar credit the same reviewer, Amy Davies, so they count as one critic's opinion, and Expert Reviews is the independent second view.456
The timeline
- 6 January 2014Fujifilm announces the XP70: 10 m, 1.5 m, £169.99.7
- 15 January 2015The XP80 is announced at $229.95 and £199.99.23
- March 2015Sales due to begin, according to the announcement.2
- 26 March 2015PhotographyBLOG publishes its four-star review.4
- 19 June 2015Expert Reviews publishes its review.6
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a simple camera to take in the sea, a pool, a snowdrift or a child's hands, and you accept ordinary pictures. It launched at $229.95;2 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The name. Search the FinePix XP80; the XP70 before it is a different model, rated to 10 metres.73
- The seals. Fujifilm's manual tells owners to inspect the water-resistant seal for dust or sand before use and to have a deformed or damaged seal replaced, for a fee, or risk leaks;1 look at the door seal on any used unit, and do not assume the rating still holds.
- The battery. It uses an NP-45S rated for 210 shots;1 a fresh one is on Amazon ↗.
- The card. It takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards and has about 96 MB of its own.1 See our memory card guide.
- The cable. PhotographyBLOG lists micro USB and micro HDMI connectors.4
- The strap. The manual says the camera does not float, so a camera with no strap has lost its safeguard.1
- The lens. Fujifilm's manual notes that dirt on the front glass shows up in photos, so check it is clean and unscratched.1
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NP-45S battery ↗
Sources
- Fujifilm, FinePix XP80 Series owner's manual, English (PDF): specifications, water and shock ratings, charging
- PhotographyBLOG, Fujifilm FinePix XP80 announcement (15 Jan 2015: $229.95, £199.99, March 2015)
- Imaging Resource, Fujifilm XP80 preview by Gannon Burgett (15 Jan 2015; not a tested review)
- PhotographyBLOG, Fujifilm FinePix XP80 review by Amy Davies (26 Mar 2015)
- TechRadar, Fuji XP80 review by Amy Davies (page metadata dated 17 Mar 2015; no star score on the page; 3 pages)
- Expert Reviews, Fujifilm XP80 review by Ben Pitt (19 Jun 2015)
- PhotographyBLOG, Fujifilm FinePix XP70 announcement (6 Jan 2014: £169.99, 10 m, 1.5 m)
- Wikimedia Commons, Category: Taken with Fujifilm FinePix XP80 (file metadata: camera model and ISO)
Photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.