Fujifilm Finepix F700 Zoom
Review Date: 16th December 2003
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the default 3M 2048x1536 mode, which gives an average image size of between 800Kb and 2Mb. Choosing the 6M mode increases the file size by about 1Mb.
Noise
There are 4 ISO settings available on the F700 which you can select at any time if the camera is in manual mode. Note that the file quality setting automatically defaults to 1M when ISO 1600 is selected; ISO 1600 isn't available at the 3M and 6M settings. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 200 (100% crop) |
ISO 400 (100% crop) |
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ISO 800 (100% crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% crop) |
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The noise levels look good at ISO 200, with some noise starting to appear at ISO 400. Interestingly there doesn't seem to be that much difference between ISO 400 and 1600 - it's a shame that ISO 1600 is only available at the 1M file quality setting.
Fujifilm's 4th Generation SuperCCD SR vs Other Digital Cameras
The Fujifilm Finepix F700 Zoom is the first camera to feature Fujifilm's new 4th Generation SuperCCD SR, which Fujifilm claims "an innovative, state of the art digital sensor, which vastly improves tonal depth and overall picture quality". I only had the Fujifilm Finepix F700 Zoom at the time of this review, so I couldn't test it against another digital camera at exactly the same time and in the same conditions. Most of my test shots, however, are of the same subjects and in similar conditions, so here is the same subject taken with several different digital cameras (click on them to open the original file):
Fujifilm F700 Zoom |
Fujifilm M603 |
Olympus C-5050 |
Olympus 400 Digital |
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Looking at all of these sample images, I'm not convinced that I could pick out the Fujifilm F700 Zoom images as the ones with the greatest dynamic range, especially not the four-fold increase when compared to other digital cameras that Fujifilm claims. I guess it's impossible to make any definite conclusions without taking exactly the same shot with the same in-camera settings at the same time with a variety of different cameras, but how many photographers have that luxury?! Fujifilm claims that "enthusiasts and more casual users will easily be able to spot the difference between the images produced by this model and photos from conventional digital cameras" - I'm not so sure that they could. The Fujifilm F700 Zoom also suffers from clipping of the highlights, so that some areas of the image appear completely white and burnt-out. The new CCD doesn't appear to avoid this common problem that afflicts all digital cameras.
3M vs 6M File Quality
Fujifilm have differentiated their cameras from the competition during the past few years by claiming that despite only having, for example, a 3 megapixel CCD, the camera can deliver a 6 megapixel image that maintains the same quality. I'll let you make up your own minds, so here are some 100% crops which show the various file quality settings of the F700 (click on them to open the original file):
1M |
3M |
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6M |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 60 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. As you can see, the out-of-the camera images are very slightly on the soft side and will benefit from some sharpening during post-processing.
Original 100% Crop |
Sharpened 100% Crop |
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Chromatic Aberrations
As with most digital cameras, the F7000 does suffer from chromatic aberrations, especially in high-contrast photographs.
In the first sample image shown below, I was standing under a tree with the sun positioned just to the left of the main subject in the photograph. Consequently the edges of the leaves in the frame, especially in areas of details like the intricate branches shown below, exhibited quite a lot of purple-fringing.
Perhaps more worryingly, In the second sample image shown below, I was standing with the sun positioned behind me. If you look closely you can see a purple edge to the church tower on the right-hand side, and a green edge on the left-hand side. This occurred on quite a few of the sample photographs that I took.
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Overall Image Quality
The Fujifilm Finepix F700 Zoom's images are pleasing enough and certainly on a par with other 3 megapixel digital cameras, but I feel that they don't live up to all of the marketing hype and expenditure from Fujifilm. The 4th Generation CCD doesn't offer any great advantages over other digital cameras in terms of dynamic range, and the 6 megapixel setting does not compare to a true 5/6 megapixel camera. Although noise is well controlled at all of the different ISO settings, chromatic aberrations in the form of purple fringing were apparent in areas of high contrast and along the edges of clearly defined objects.
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