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Fujifilm FinePix F10 Review
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Review
Date: Aug 1, 2005 |
Category:
Point-and-Shoot
HANDLING & FEEL
Lantern
24mm, Manual (Programmed Auto), Pattern, 1/60
sec., F5.0 and ISO 800
Cropped and sharpened in Photoshop Elements
The Fujifilm FinePix F10 is very elegant
in its rugged metal and plastic body with sleek
flowing lines and curves -- a classic, clean and
good design that makes the camera both pleasant
to look at and easy to handle. It is quite lightweight
at 155g (5.5oz.) and, with dimensions of 92 x
58.2 x 27.3 mm (3.6 x 2.3 x 1.1 in.), easily fits
in a large trousers pocket. The camera has a slightly
raised and rounded handgrip with the "FinePix"
logo providing a surprisingly good non-slip grip.
Overall, there is a nice expensive feeling of
quality and attention to details in the construction.
The back of the camera is mostly taken by an
extra large 2.5-inch LCD monitor with a standard
115,000 pixels resolution. It is clear and easy
to view in most lighting conditions, and quite
usable in bright sunlight. A fast refresh rate
makes for a smooth display. The LCD monitor also
has an Auto Gain function which brightens up the
image in low-light conditions. There is no viewfinder.
The control buttons on the back of the camera
are few and cover many of the most common and
useful functions: macro, flash, self-timer, "F"
Photo Mode (which controls Image Quality, ISO,
Color). A nice touch is that a press on the Up
Arrow will temporarily turn the LCD backlight
higher to allow you to see the image even better,
for example in extra bright sunlight situations.
Framing guides can also be overlayed (select it
by pressing the DISP button repeatedly) to aid
in vertical and horizontal composition.
To keep the size of the camera down, Fujifilm
removed the I/O ports off the camera and put them
onto a separate Terminal Adapter. It means you
have an extra item to carry with you if you want
to use any of the ports on the go or even recharge
the battery (the power adapter cable does not
plug directly into the camera but into the Terminal
Adapter). So remember to always carry the
Terminal Adapter with you. I personally leave
the Terminal Adapter always connected to the power
adapter cable so they function as one unit.
The menu has 3D shading and numbered tabs. The
tab numbers do not really mean anything, which
can at first be confusing until you just tune
them out and ignore them. Some reviewers have
complained about the menu structure but I do not
find them any better or worse than many others,
though there were disconcerting spelling mistakes
in my review model: WHITE BALLANCE (with 2 Ls
instead of 1 L) and FOLUSCENT (instead of FLUORESCENT)
-- corrected by doing a firmware upgrade.
I like the 2 sec. self-timer availability with
a couple of button presses of the Down Arrow.
The Fujifilm FinePix F10 is as good as
it gets for a P&S digital camera -- well designed,
and with good handling and quality construction.
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