Quality

To test real-life performance, I shot this scene with the Fujifilm Finepix XP140, the Olympus TOUGH TG-6, and the Nikon COOLPIX W150 using their best quality JPEG mode. All three cameras were mounted on a tripod and image stabilisation was disabled. Program auto mode was selected for the exposure.

Both the Fujifilm FinePix XP140 and TOUGH TG-6 were set to their base 100 ISO sensitivity; the COOLPIX W150 automatically set its base 125 ISO sensitivity. I zoomed the XP140 and the TG-6 in a little to match the narrower field of view of the COOLPIX W150 at it’s widest setting. As usual, the crops below are taken from the areas marked in red above.

The first thing to point out is that the 16 Megapixel sensor on the FinePix XP140 produces crops with a smaller area and larger detail than those of the 12 Megapixel TOUGH TG-6 and the 13 Megapixel COOLPIX W150. Bear in mind though that the TOUGH TG-6 and FinePix XP140 both have 1/2.3in sensors whereas the COOLPX W150 sensor is smaller at 1/3.1in. So you’d expect the image quality on the COOLPIX 150 to be inferior. But let’s take a look at the crops.

Looking at the first row of crops from the left edge of the frame, the FinePix XP140 gets off to a good start, but there’s some quite visible colour fringing on this first crop. Also, the detail looks a little bit soft, particularly when you compare it to the TOUGH TG-6 crop alongside which looks crisper and more detailed. The FinePix crop is superior to the COOLPIX W150 though which, remember, has a physically smaller sensor.

Moving on to the second row of crops from closer to the centre of the frame, the FinePix performance improves here, but it still can’t match the Olympus TOUGH TG-6 for its rendering of fine detail. And it’s actually a similar story for the remaining crops, with the TOUGH TG-6 coming out on top every time, the COOLPIX W150 in bottom place and the FinePix XP140 in the middle, but closer to the TG-6 than the W150. This isn’t all that surprising a result – you’d expect the TG-6’s 12 megapixel sensor to out perform the 16 megapixel sensor in the Finepix XP140 and the physically smaller sensor in the COOLPIX W150. And the Tough TG-5 beat the XP120 in our quality test a couple of years ago. That said, though both models have the same lens and sensor combination as before, it’s well worth making this comparison as there have been several tweaks and improvements to both models since then, not least the anti-reflective coating on the glass in front of the sensor on the TOUGH Tg-6.

Scroll down to see how the Finepix XP140 and TOUGH TG-6 compare in terms of noise performance.

Above left: Fujifilm Finepix XP140 at 5.6mm f7.1 100 ISO. Above centre: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 5.8mm f9 100 ISO. Above right: Nikon COOLPIX W150 at 4.1mm f6.6 125 ISO.

Above left: Fujifilm Finepix XP140 at 5.6mm f7.1 100 ISO. Above centre: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 5.8mm f9 100 ISO. Above right: Nikon COOLPIX W150 at 4.1mm f6.6 125 ISO.

Above left: Fujifilm Finepix XP140 at 5.6mm f7.1 100 ISO. Above centre: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 5.8mm f9 100 ISO. Above right: Nikon COOLPIX W150 at 4.1mm f6.6 125 ISO.

Above left: Fujifilm Finepix XP140 at 5.6mm f7.1 100 ISO. Above centre: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 5.8mm f9 100 ISO. Above right: Nikon COOLPIX W150 at 4.1mm f6.6 125 ISO.

Fujifilm Finepix XP140 JPEG Noise
To examine noise levels under real-life conditions, I shot the scene below with the Fujifilm FinePix XP140 and Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at each of their ISO sensitivities using their highest quality JPEG settings. Both cameras were mounted on a tripod and stabilisation was disabled.

One thing to bear in mind before we look at the crops is that the FinePix XP140 has a 16 Megapixel sensor, compared with 12 Megapixels on the TOUGH TG-6, so the FinePix XP140 crops show a smaller area with larger detail compared with those from the TOUGH TG-6. Unsurprisingly the performance of both models in this test differs very little from when I tested the Finepix XP120 up against the TOUGH TG-5 back in 2017.

At the lower sensitivity settings the FinePix XP140 does a fair job of keeping noise at bay, but there is visible noise in the crops from the off at 100 ISO. I’d say at settings up to 400 ISO the Olympus TOUGH TG-6 does significantly better in terms of noise suppression than the FinePix XP140. That said, even at 400 ISO, the noise is only going to be visible on very large prints, or if you’re viewing on a big screen. At 800 ISO though, there’s quite a noticeable deterioration in quality on the Finepix XP140 crops and it never really recovers – for there on in its well behind the TOUGH TG-6 in terms of noise performance and the TOUGH TG-6 has at least a one stop noise advantage over the Finepix XP140. In other words the TOUGH TG-6 looks at least as good at 1600 ISO as the Finepix XP140 does at 800 ISO. That’s pretty good to begin with, but don’t forget the TOUGH TG-6 also has a lens that’s two stops brighter at the wide angle setting than the XP140. Which means that in the same conditions, shooting at the same shutter speed, the Finepix XP140 will need 1600 ISO where the TG-6 will get by at 400 ISO. So other than when shooting outdoors in bright conditions out of or above the water, you’re going to get better quality, lower noise photos and video with the TOUGH TG-6.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 100 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 100 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 200 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 200 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 400 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 400 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 800 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 800 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 1600 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 1600 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 3200 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 3200 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 6400 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 6400 ISO f2.

Above left: Fujifilm FinePix XP140 at 12800 ISO f3.9. Above right: Olympus TOUGH TG-6 at 12800 ISO f2.