PHOTO QUALITY. This 12-megapixel advanced point-and-shoot camera captured images with good quality. Pictures were sharp, which means you can see much but not all details and subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were not quite as sharp as those of most recommended models. We judged this model very good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; fair for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym; good for performance under natural light without a flash, such as shooting under an overcast sky; and good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed some image noise; subjects retained some of their correct detail and color.
FLASH. The XQ2 captured flash shots that were good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate subjects very well, both near and far. The flash also has very good, even coverage.
LENS. This camera includes a 4x zoom lens. The lens also has very wide-angle (25mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance. The lens has a bright f/1.8 aperture (at its maximum), which gives you a shallower depth of field for producing more professional looking portraits and images.
IMAGE STABILIZER. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. In low-light settings, it performed very well and rarely produced blurry photos.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Fujifilm XQ2 powers up very quickly.
VIDEO. The Fujifilm XQ2 takes fair video. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 60p. As for sound, it captures good audio in stereo.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Unlike some advanced point-and-shoots, this camera does not include a viewfinder, which means you'll need to rely on the LCD to compose your photo or video. Like all cameras of this kind, it can capture RAW files, which gives you the most flexibility when manipulating image files with software. This advanced point-and-shoot is smaller, thinner and lighter than most in its class. Even though this is a small and light advanced point-and-shoot, it was somewhat difficult to control and to take pictures with.
