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Fujifilm FinePix F470 Review
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Review Date: May
5, 2006 |
IMAGE QUALITY
The Fujifilm FinePix F470 is a digital
camera targeted to point-and-shoot photographers.
It has 6.0 megapixel resolution on a 1/2.5 in.
CCD image sensor, and a 35-105 mm (35 mm equivalent)
3x optical zoom lens, with a maximum aperture
of F2.8(W)–F4.9(T).
We find the overall image quality of the Fujifilm
F470 to be very good, with low noise at ISO 64
and images retaining most of the details.
| 3x Optical Zoom
Range |
 |
 |
| Wide-angle
5.8mm [35mm] |
Tele
17.4mm [105mm] |
The Fujifilm F470 provides 3x optical zoom. In
the above pictures, we show the coverage for 35mm
and then 105mm (35mm equivalent). It takes about
2 sec. to zoom from wide-angle to telephoto (I
counted 5-6 steps).
Besides Auto mode and easy-to-use Scene Modes,
the Fujifilm F470 also has "Manual"
(really, Programmed Auto) mode, which allows you
to select White Balance and apply exposure compensation.
There is no Program Shift, Auto Bracketing, Custom
White Balance or Histogram.
Shutter speed ranges from 1/4-1/1,500 sec. in
all modes (2 sec. in Night scene mode). There
are no slower shutter speeds so don't expect to
do much low-light and Night Photography.
| Macro |
 |
Macro
17.4mm, Manual, Pattern
1/500 sec., F4.9, ISO 64, Macro |
The Fujifilm F470 lens allows you to focus as
close as 10cm (3.9 in.) at wide-angle and 40cm
(1.3 ft.) at Telephoto. The above picture was
taken at telephoto macro.
AF takes on average about 1 sec. and locks well
in adequate light. There is no AF-assist light,
so subjects with low contrast might be difficult
to get a focus lock in low-light. We recommend
that you pre-focus; this way, there is no practical
shutter lag.
There is only one metering mode: TTL 256-zones
metering (Multi-Pattern).
| White Balance
Indoors |
 |
 |
| AWB |
Fluorescent 3 |
As the above pictures show, the auto white balance
is not quite accurate indoors under artificial
light [I have those special white light fluorescent]
but is still better that any of the other preset
WB settings. Outdoors, under natural light, the
AWB works very well.
| ISO
Comparisons |
 |
| ISO 64 |
 |
 |
| ISO 100 |
ISO 200 |
 |
|
| ISO 400 |
|
You can set the ISO on the Fujifilm F470 from
64 to 400. The 100%
crops above (area delimited by the white square)
demonstrate that noise at ISO 64 and 100 are under
control. Noise starts to be visible at ISO 200
but is usable. At ISO 400, the presence of noise
takes the form of faint coloured splotches but
is still usable. Note that the F470 seems to be
somewhat challenged to correctly expose these
low-light ISO samples.
| Chromatic
Aberrations |
 |
CA is present in everyday high contrast shots.
In the high contrast shot above, the corner delimited
by the red square at middle, and reproduced at
100% crop at bottom right, shows purple fringing.
The Fujifilm F470 allows the use of a 2 sec.
shutter speed in Night scene mode, so we are unable
to bring you our usual long exposure sample. Noise
reduction (NR) automatically kicks in at shutter
speeds slower than 1/2 sec. and you'll notice
a slightly longer processing time before the next
picture can be taken.
The onboard flash is effective up to 15.1 ft.
at max. wide-angle and 8.5 ft. at max telephoto.
For closeup, the flash range is from 1 ft. to
2.6 ft.
The LCD is one of the nicest we've seen. However,
don't rely on the LCD to estimate correct exposure
since the LCD automatically brightens. While this
allows for a nice bright view for easy composition,
it may also be misleading.
Overall, very good image quality for a 6.0MP
digital camera: sharp pictures, very good image
detail, vibrant colours, well-exposed.
The pictures in the Fujifilm FinePix F470
Photo Gallery page provide a good sample of
what the camera is capable of. I have provided
samples at 800x600 pixels (compressed to Quality
60/100 in Photoshop Elements). Remember that this
version is of slightly lesser quality than the
original 2816 x 2112 version.
You can safely assume that most macro shots
and slow shutter speed shots required the use
of a tripod. Any image that is adjusted for levels
in Photoshop has "_adjusted" appended
to the file name.
I have defaulted the image size to 800x600 pixels.
For those who have their monitor resolution set
to 1024x728 pixels, everything should snugly fit
and you should not have to scroll to see the whole
image. If your monitor is set to 800x600 pixels
resolution, start the slide show and then scroll
to the right to position the image within your
screen width. Then, press F11 (if you are using
Internet Explorer) to switch to full screen mode,
and the image should fill your screen nicely.
Press F11 again at any time to switch your monitor
display back to normal mode.
To return to this page from the Photo Gallery,
click on the animated graphics of the camera.
Please open and download the original size version
only if you need to and only once
to your hard drive -- and save me some precious
bandwidth. Thanks!
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