Reviews
Fujifilm
F10
Excellent technology, but...
Fujifilm
has mastered the art of making mass market consumer cameras that
are simple and easy to use while conveying a feeling of quality
and sophistication. Even inexpensive Fujifilm cameras don't talk
down to their users with idiot-proof features and toy-like design,
as if budget-minded customers were too dumb to handle a real camera.
And all Fujifilm digital cameras I have used back that up with
competence and good picture quality.
I
was therefore thrilled to review the new FinePix F10 Zoom. Like
Fujifilm's E5xx Series, the F10 is an ultra compact small and
light enough to fit into a pocket. As all digital camera makers
have their own secret electronic sauce, the F10 comes with a sensor
that uses Fuji's proprietary ãSuper CCD High Resolutionä technology
that uses octagonal pixels placed close to each other in a honeycomb
arrangement. According to Fuji this makes for higher perceived
resolution and quality than what you get from a regular CCD of
the same resolution, and digital zoom and movies are supposed
to be better as well. I had seen Super CCD HR in a Fujifilm FinePix
E550 and found it to be true.
The
F10 also comes with Fujifilm's new Real Photo Processor that offers
an amazing ISO sensitivity range from 80 all the way up to 1600.
That means you're able to take pictures in very low light, and
take shots without flash where others need one.
Fujifilm
also claims the F10 is able to shoot 500 pictures on a single
charge of its Lithium-Ion battery pack. And following the trend
to larger LCDs in digital cameras, the F10 has a 2.5-inch display÷about
as large as it gets these days in digital camera LCDs. Given all
this, I had very high expectations for the FinePix F10.
Out
of the box, the F10 is definitely a handsome little (3.8 x 2.3
x 1.1 inches) camera. That's a bit larger than those tiny Casio
EXILIM-class cameras, but not by much. The metal housing is beautiful
and combines several metallic finishes for an elegant, high-quality
look and feel. The 3X optical zoom lens motors out about an inch
when the F10 is powered on via push of a button. Powerup is almost
instant, there is almost no shutter time lag and the camera move
very quickly between shots.
The
large LCD occupies most of the backside where there are very few
controls ÷ just four buttons and a navigation ring. Shutter and
zoom are on top and perfectly placed. A mode dial around the shutter
selects automatic, scene, manual, and movie modes. The Lithium-Ion
battery and xD-Picture card slot are at the bottom of the camera.
The battery sits loose in its compartment and doesn't have a retainer
clip, so it easily falls out when you open the latch. A plastic
tripod mount is also located at the bottom.
First
observation during actual use of the camera: no optical viewfinder.
As long as even the best LCDs are only marginally viewable in
direct sunlight I consider them a necessity. The F10's LCD is
large and fairly readable outdoors, but only reflective LCDs offer
full readability in sunlight and this isn't one of them. The LCD's
glass cover also reflects like a mirror, and the display's 115k
pixel resolution is quite low. I often couldn't really see what
I took a picture of and simply pointed the F10 in the approximate
direction, hoping for the best.
In
macro mode you can get as close as three inches. That's not great
to begin with, and the otherwise decent autofocus slows down a
lot. Between the marginally readable display and the slow focus
it was hard to get decent macro pictures.
The
3X optical zoom worked well, but I wondered why some much smaller
cameras have fully internal optical zooms whereas the F10's motors
out an inch, which means you have to turn the camera off before
you stick it into your pocket.
All
of this would be somewhat excusable if the F10 had rewarded my
efforts with the superb image quality I got out of the FinePix
E550 or even its lesser brother, the E510. However, most of my
shots÷taken under different shooting and lighting conditions÷weren't
as sharp and vibrant as I expected from the optics and technology
in this camera. The great ISO range of the F10 was impressive,
though. You won't get crisp images with ISO 1600, but you can
use it to get pretty decent shots under dim lighting conditions
where you'd have to use a flash with almost any other camera.
Battery
life is exceptional, especially considering the large display.
However, the F10 does not have a power jack. In order to charge
the battery you need to plug a terminal adapter into the camera's
sole connection socket. You then plug power, USB, and AV cables
into that terminal. Lose the adapter and you can't charge.
Finally,
a curious mix of abbreviated text and often hard/impossible to
interpret icons makes for an unsatisfactory menu experience. If
you have to consult the (very good) manual to figure out what
those icons mean, someone didn't get it right.
I
really wanted to like the FinePix F10, but compared to its siblings
it misses the boat. FujiFilm made too many odd decisions here,
and the technology just doesn't work as it should.
öKirk Linsky
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