Fujifilm FinePix F10

Reviewed June 2005

Image Quality

For quite a few years now, Fujifilm has marketed a number of cameras using its own invention, the Super CCD, a sensor that is composed of octagonal photosites.

The FinePix F10 is one of these, equipped with a 5th generation Super CCD HR (High Resolution), which is now mated with a new RP (Real Photo) image processor. But, unlike all previous Super CCD equipped cameras, the highest image quality of the F10 is not interpolated and produces an image that has a size that is directly related to the physical resolution of the CCD.

In comparison to many other consumer digital cameras, the FinePix F10 offers few image capture modes. And, although a Manual mode is available which provides control over white balance, exposure compensation and metering, the camera retains control over the selection of aperture and shutter speed, as it does in all other modes. These other modes include 5 well-chosen scene modes, and of course the ubiquitous Auto mode that lets the camera decide everything.

Of these 5 scene modes, one particularly caught our attention: the Natural Light mode.

This mode is designed to capture photos without flash under low lighting conditions, adjusting the F10's CCD sensitivity up to a maximum of 1600 ISO if necessary. Interestingly, at such a high sensitivity, noise is very well controlled — albeit visible in the shadow areas — and the images exhibit natural colours that may not have been easily discernable to the naked eye under the ambient light.

In fact, the Natural Light mode is clearly designed to take advantage of one of the FinePix F10's strengths, a comparatively low sensitivity to the noise that often plagues the high ISO photos captured with compact digital cameras.

As has been the case recently with a number of other non-professional Fujifilm digital cameras, the FinePix F10's image size and compression are linked, with the exception of the highest resolution, where at 6.3 megapixel the user is given a choice of Fine or Normal.

Set to 6M Fine, the F10 yields images that show no trace of the compression, are sharp, and which accurately capture a very high level of detail. Likewise, colours are generally accurate, greens turning out best, while blue sky can occasionally turn out a touch turquoise-toned.

Equipped with a 3X optical zoom, the FinePix F10 provides a focal length range equivalent to a 36 to 108 mm.

Images do not reveal any chromatic aberration, nor any barrel distortion at the wide end, a problem commonly associated with wide angle shots. Indeed, no distortion is detectable with most subjects photographed from an average distance, while at the telephoto end, images show no pincushion distortion. Still, we did note that, with the camera we tested, the upper left corner of wide angle shots were not as sharp as the rest of the frame.

In at least one respect, the F10 is a bit of a non-conformist. For example, although it is equipped with 3 metering modes, the icons that represent two of these are not those that are commonly used by most other camera manufacturers, a potential source of confusion.

For example, the advanced and very effective metering mode called Multi, which combines measurements made within 64 segments of the frame and scene recognition, is identified with an icon, , that is similar to what is commonly used for a centre-weighted pattern.

The Centre-weighted pattern however, is called Average, and its icon, , seems to indicate that the entire frame is metered, and that no special attention is given to the centre. Spot, the third mode, is the only one that seems to follow accepted standards, as does its icon: .

The F10 is fast, be it when powered on, or when its controls and menus are used. Its large 2.5 inch LCD monitor is a pleasure to work with, even outdoors. Best of all, the F10 has an image quality that can only be described as excellent. It is able to reproduce very small details and yield useable images over its entire ISO range.

In our opinion, the FinePix F10 is the best Super CCD compact digital Fujifilm has produced to date, and the first to fulfill the promise of the Super CCD.