Fujifilm XQ1 12MP Digital Camera w/ 3" LCD

*** Some comparisons mentioned regarding Sony RX100 and Nikon P7700/P7800 in this review. *** The Fujifilm XQ1 does not compare to Sony RX100 (after all, the CyberShot is quite a bit pricier--good for the price and compact). However, it has phase detection + contract detection autofocus for the photography, but the video quality and performance is a different story, why the product given four out of five stars. Image quality is close to the Nikon P7700 (have the P7800 and sold the predecessor recently). However, at base ISO, in good outdoor lighting conditions; Nikon's out of camera JPEG images look cleaner (not 'jagged') and thus better detail through ISO 800, something that Fuji's X-Trans sensor without the optical low-pass filter proves more hype than actuality. Autofocus has a tendency to fail when lighting is too even (especially placed on a table indoors, when shooting through a window, etc.). An icon appears on the screen, followed by a beep, where the camera warns the autofocus is not phasing properly (the red square in the middle of the display). Yes, videos look noisy and plagued with triangular-style dithering compression (hey, that's my eyes), and the zoom motor gives an unwanted scratchy motor noise. Sound quality is good in general. Controls and features. Menu system is average, similar to Nikon. It has only two internal microphones, HDMI socket on bottom next to battery/memory card compartment, and USB socket on right of camera. On top of camera, dedicated movie record button (you can shoot one decent still in video mode but will not be at full-resolution; not several as you can with RX100). Shutter button has two levels--press down to focus, and down further to take the shot. Most of the body (camera made in China) is of metal (at least the silver model, which I bought mine on eBay through Adorama Camera). The buttons (except mode dial--made of metal) and battery cover are made of plastic. Not as flimsy as reviewers commonly say about this model, and Sony CyberShot. I think that there could be a firmware update should correct the autofocus issue (does hunt a lot in video). Everything else seems fine. Perhaps Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) should open the RAF (RAW) files other than the software bundled with the camera. For the price, this camera is good for typical photography of parties and families, and is a bit more compact than the RX100. Even though the XQ1 is (still) quite a rare compact camera to feature phase detection, where it outdoes the Sony with low-light photography, and the F1.8 lens is so bright that even nighttime photographs look a bit overexposed. This may help with performance, but ISO 800 at night looks like ISO 6400 with noise reduction set to -2 on the Sony RX100. That said, XQ1 pales in comparison to Sony for photo and video quality, although for still a rather larger-than-average sensor in a pocket-friendly body for a couple of hundred dollars less, the XQ1 is good for its price, features, and quality. Yes, what I mean by that is the build is on par with other compacts of today, but this, if used as a photography tool, is easily better image quality than Panasonic's DSC-ZS series, but if you are more interested in small-medium prints at low-ish ISO and very good video at this price point, the Panasonic is a better option. Overall, Sony is the best of both worlds--photos and videos--but without even knowing that you might find that high-end RX100 a bit of sticker shock. Pros: Good image quality at base ISO, maybe ISO 200 (indoor photography is OK but incandescent lighting--see cons). Well made. More responsive menu navigation than Sony. Internal memory (66 MB) that RX100 has none. Good for the money. Cons: Weak video quality. Erratic auto white balance (RX100 does not have any problem with indoor lighting without the flash; XQ1 with a yellow cast when photographing a computer monitor--on--in typical office lighting, for instance). Sometimes cross-type focus point cannot focus in some conditions (phase detection is faster but less accurate that contrast). Noisy zoom unlike Sony. Battery life is short--not even 20 minutes of video can be recorded before battery exhausted, and camera becomes very warm. Slow writing to internal memory but all camera I have used with internal memory are this way, so this con is very common. Recommended? It depends on your needs as told above. Even though I do like the XQ1, it would be better if Fujifilm releases a firmware update. Thank you for reading.