Fujifilm FinePix XP150 Digital Camera Review

Color

Easy, outdoor nature scenes look decent, but otherwise, the XP150's colors are pretty inaccurate. The lack of a custom white balance setting basically doomed it to blow chunks all over our lab test. In the real world, the flat, greenish shades of yellow are behind the ugliest results, particularly with light skin. Colors are way too undersaturated, which is particularly bad for underwater photos. More on how we test color.

NOTE: Because of the way computer monitors reproduce colors, the images above do not exactly match the originals found on the chart or in the captured images. The chart should be used to judge the relative color shift, not the absolute captured colors.

The XP150 has the technically worst color accuracy among this year's tough-cams, and the least appropriate for outdoor and underwater photography, too. Plenty of tough-cams have unrealistic color profiles, but they punch up and oversaturate colors to make skies and oceans bluer, trees greener, and flowers redder.

Color Modes

Four color modes are available: Standard, Chrome, B&W, and Sepia. Standard is the most accurate of the bunch, though that's a relative term.

White Balance

The XP150 is limited to auto white balance and a handful of presets—there is no custom white balance option. Do most point-and-shoot photographers use a custom white balance? Probably not. There should still always be an option, because anyone who has figured out how to set a custom white balance will use it.

AWB does a reasonably good job of balancing shots, but is always at least a few hundred degrees warm. In daylight and under cool fluorescent lights, the yellowish cast is somewhat noticeable, and very noticeable under incandescent lighting, though not as obviously as many point-and-shoots.

White Balance Options

Aside from auto white balance, presets include Fine (sunny), Shade, three Fluorescent Light options (daylight, warm white, and cool white), and Incandescent. No custom white balance option, and no underwater setting.