Full Review

I decided to spend the summer in Florence, and quickly recognized that carrying my Canon 20D DSLR around the city and countryside would be difficult. I would not have a car, much less a bike, and would be sharing an apartment with 11 strangers. Henceforth, I started a search for a compact point and shoot camera. I already had a Canon G3 (4 MP) P&S camera, however that model is much too slow to focus and take photos. I’ve grown spoiled with my 20D, and wanted something equally fast.

Besides fast, the most important features I wanted were decent resolution, good image quality, light and compact, a good sized LCD, a viewfinder, brand name rechargeable batteries (i.e. not the AAA type), and reliability.

My search led me to consider several brands and models. The highest rated were the Panasonic Z7 and Z30, the Canon S80 and G6 models, and the Fuji F10 (F11 is not available in the U.S.). I dropped the Z7 due to high noise in sample photos online, the Z30 was too big, the S80 had high distortion in wide angles and was a bit expensive, and the G6 was equally slow as the G3, despite the more advanced DIGIC II sensor. The G6 was also substantially much more expensive: over $600 from any reliable store online. The F10 arrived home at $280 from B&H.

Another reason I liked the Fuji line over the rest is that Canon, Nikon, and other brands all source their small sensor chips from Sony; and Sony has a poor record in reliability. In fact, Sony’s 7.1 MP chip problems led to recalls across several brands last year. I could not afford risking being in Europe, and watching my camera melt on me. Fuji makes its own sensors, and they are rated very high in quality.

The F10 model has everything one wants from a compact P&S, except the optical viewfinder. Besides the quick 1 second start-up, and 0.01-second focus and shooting capabilities, it also sports an extra high 1600 ISO setting that lowers the amount of light needed to take shots in the dark. This is a benefit at every ISO setting, reducing noise across the board. Check out these photos I took in Florence:

Galleria di Uffizi
http://photos.imageevent.com/slo007/italia/florenceatnight/large/2006_05100036.jpg

Ponte Vecchio
http://photos.imageevent.com/slo007/italia/florenceatnight/large/2006_05100032.jpg

Both images are ISO 200, 0.7 sec, f/ 2.8, in the night scene mode. They are at the widest focus possible, and there’s no crop.

:-: Things I Like :-:

- 1 second start-up
- 0.1 second focus
- 0.1 second shooting
- 2.5 inch LCD screen with adjustable brightness for sunny days
- Extra high ISO settings with low noise; there’s no need to use flash
- Compact and light, it hangs on my neck inside a pouch I bought at Circuit City
- Included battery lasts forever (I never ran out in over two weeks of use).
- Reasonable image processing speed (around 1-2 seconds) with Type H xD 512 MB memory
- True 6 MP sensor (vs. software)

:-: Things I Miss :-:

- Rotating LCD screen from G3
- Aperture control (see F30)
- Exposure time

:-: Things I Could do Without :-:

- Terrible flash, ruins most images. I have opted to turn it off permanently.
- xD memory is expensive, and only comes in small sizes (up to 1 GB). It should be SD.
- Included xD memory is a waste of space. Camera should ship without one.

:-: Counter Point :-:

Many reviewers online complain about having to take an extra box, the size of a match box, along with the camera on trips. This item is required to upload photos, recharge the camera, and connect it to a TV via an S-video cable (included). I personally don’t mind the extra box, as it decreases the size of the camera that I have to hold. The smaller the body, the easier it is to handle and maneuver. Of course, having some more size and weight makes a camera less likely to shake when the shutter is depressed – and I’ve lost many images due to vibration. One might consider a model with image stabilization if their hands are not steady.

In addition, at least one person mentioned you need to be charging the camera to upload photos. That’s not correct. It connects fine with my Sony VAIO laptop, without being plugged in the outlet.

By the way, the charger is 110-240 volts compliant. One only needs an outlet adapter to take the camera to Europe. Italy uses outlets with 3 round prongs (the middle is ground).

The battery charges quickly inside the camera. I believe the specified time for a full charge is two hours.

I’ve used the camera in bright sunny conditions, and found the normal LCD brightness to be sufficient. I recall almost never having to use the viewfinder on the G3; and, when doing so, the view was partially blocked by the lens. This is one feature I don’t really miss. I do miss being able to rotate the LCD… but that’s a feature few cameras have.

The menu in the Fuji F10 is very user intuitive. I read the quick user manual, and never opened the larger book. There are five buttons located next to the LCD, in the format of a joystick, which makes moving across the menus very easy.

Another feature I liked is that one can be watching recorder images, press the shutter half-way, and be in shooting mode automatically. There’s no need to flip any switch.

The only serious shortcoming for me is the lack of aperture control, and the time the shutter stays open for exposures. I often like to take long shots (say 15 seconds) to use wind effects on the water of a river or lagoon as a haze effect (dilute the light refractions). Water falling from a waterfall, for example, takes on a magical tone in a long exposure. One has a harder time to pull through this effect with the F10.

The up and coming F30 will allow users to adjust such the two items described above.

:-: Resources :-:

:- Reviews -:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf10zoom/

:- Images -:

I recommend Amazon.com for its huge user database on the F10. You can see the camera used in a variety of different situations there. The only shortcoming is that photos are very small.

More of my images:

Artist
http://photos.imageevent.com/slo007/italia/florenceintheday/large/2006_05100002.jpg

Ponte Vecchio
http://photos.imageevent.com/slo007/italia/florenceintheday/large/2006_05100018.jpg

Florence, Italy
http://photos.imageevent.com/slo007/italia/basilicadisanminiatoalmonte/large/2006_05140015.jpg