thinking of buying the F10

[macca]

i read jeff's review of the F10 a few days ago and i must say i am now very tempted to buy this camera!
i currently own the Fuji F601.

however, there are a few things that i have reservations about the F10.

how 'low resolution' is the LCD? i think in jeff's review he says that it's not so good. but does anyone else notice this and does it bother them? are the images not rendered very well on the LCD because of this low-resolution?

on some sample shots i've seen there seems to be what i think is called purple fringing. like when there is a dark shape next to a bright shape- there is a purple halo/outline. does this bother any F10 owners?

does that separate adaptor get on anyone's nerves? seems very odd to have to have that little black box...

is it true that you cannot reformat the card, and that one's photos will always be numbered consecutively? on my current camera/smart media card it always goes back to DSCF000 whenver i wipe the disc.

maybe these are small things to overlook in what seems a great little camera for the price.

the last 2 Fuji cameras i had both had things go wrong with them. am i mad for wanting to buy another Fuji?!?! they perform very well but i'm getting the impression these point and shoot cameras are only supposed to last a certain time and no longer.

any ideas would be welcome...
many thanks!

[sjseto]

how 'low resolution' is the LCD? i think in jeff's review he says that it's not so good. but does anyone else notice this and does it bother them? are the images not rendered very well on the LCD because of this low-resolution?
I'm not bothered by it too much. It's good enough for a viewfinder, and for me to see if the image was exposed properly afterwards. The refresh rate is fine and it gains up in low light, plus you can brighten the LCD with the touch of a button. Like most LCD's it is hard to see in bright sunlight, but not impossible. I do find that I need to zoom in to make sure my subject is sharp and in focus. Not sure if this is because of the relatively low resolution. Compared to what I had before (a 5-year-old Olympus Camedia D-460Z), I'm thrilled.


on some sample shots i've seen there seems to be what i think is called purple fringing. like when there is a dark shape next to a bright shape- there is a purple halo/outline. does this bother any F10 owners?
Other than not being able to manually control aperture, shutter speed, and focus, I have to admit that the purple fringing problem is my least favourite thing about the F10. But I've found that PF, when it does occur, is usually not enough to ruin the shot for me. Also, it isn't very visible when when the pictures have been reduced to a reasonable web-viewing size (e.g. 1024x768), so I doubt it would be much of a problem in a print. I try to minimize PF as much as possible when I know it's going to occur by dialing in -1/3 to -2/3 EV exposure compensation, or by minimizing the amount of bright sky in the picture, or, if possible, shooting at a different angle or at a different time of day. It challenges you to be creative.


does that separate adaptor get on anyone's nerves? seems very odd to have to have that little black box...
No, I don't mind it at all, and I don't know what all the fuss is about. It stays hooked up to my computer and I largely forget about it. I don't travel with all the cords that the camera came with anyway, but if I had to, the adapter really doesn't take up much extra space.


is it true that you cannot reformat the card, and that one's photos will always be numbered consecutively? on my current camera/smart media card it always goes back to DSCF000 whenver i wipe the disc.
I've never tried to reformat the card, but page 85 of the manual says that you can. There is also an option to have the file numbering system start from "0001" when a new card is inserted. I don't have my F10 set up that way, so I can't tell you much about it.


maybe these are small things to overlook in what seems a great little camera for the price.
That was my thinking exactly. To be honest, it isn't full-featured enough to be the "camera I use when pictures really matter". That honour goes to my Nikon F80 SLR (I still love film). But the F10 gives me what I wanted in a second camera. It's compact. I can carry it with me at all times. I can get my photos right away, I don't have to wait until I finish an entire roll of film. Picture quality is awesome (aside from the occasional PF problem). And, most importantly, I can switch from low to high ISO settings without having to change rolls of film (something a film buff like me really appreciates), and I know that degradation in picture quality will be relatively minor when I shoot at 400 and above, unlike every other compact digicam currently out there. I refused to buy another digicam until there was one that could meet that last requirement. For that alone, the F10 is remarkable, and all it's other shortcomings are, for me, easy to overlook. I'm very pleased with mine so far.


the last 2 Fuji cameras i had both had things go wrong with them. am i mad for wanting to buy another Fuji?!?! they perform very well but i'm getting the impression these point and shoot cameras are only supposed to last a certain time and no longer.
Haven't had it long enough to report on reliability, so only time will tell. I did get an extended warranty just in case.


any ideas would be welcome...
many thanks!
Hope this helps. No camera is perfect; just keep in mind what's most important to you, and what you can live with and live without, and base your decision accordingly.

Feel free to visit my F10 gallery (http://www.pbase.com/sjseto/fujifilm_finepix_f10) for some full-size samples.

[macca]

thanks a lot for your informative reply! i'll take a good look at your gallery.

one more question. jeff says this in his review:

"There's no way to delete a photo immediately after it is taken, though. You must enter playback mode to do that."

does that mean you don't get a 'preview' of the image you just took, along with the 2 options: OK to save it or BACK to delete it?
that seems totally annoying if it's true. i always liked the option of seeing what i just took right away on the LCD and having the option whether to commit to it or not.

[sjseto]

Once you've taken a picture, the image is briefly displayed on the LCD. But you aren't given an option to delete it right then and there. You must go into playback mode. It is slightly annoying if you're used to having that "instant delete" option on other cameras. Fortunately the playback mode is accessed by a dedicated button, rather than having to rotate the mode switch on the top of the camera, so it's pretty easy to get into it to delete the picture if you need to.

[macca]

thanks for the info.
but wow- this has seriously put me off buying the F10.

how can fuji go back a step with something as basic as this? both my other fujis let you see the image and then OK it, or BACK to delete it.

very disappointing!

btw- i read somewhere else that its operating noises sound like a "dying insect" (?)

[sjseto]

thanks for the info.
but wow- this has seriously put me off buying the F10.

how can fuji go back a step with something as basic as this? both my other fujis let you see the image and then OK it, or BACK to delete it.

very disappointing!
*shrug* It's never really bothered me. Of all the shortcomings the F10 has, that barely even registers. But hopefully the folks at Fujifilm will one day put the F10's imaging technology into a more full-featured body. Until then, I'll enjoy my F10.


btw- i read somewhere else that its operating noises sound like a "dying insect" (?)
It only occurs during focussing, and it's actually more like a fluttering sound. It isn't loud, but it is a bit strange.

I'd highly suggest that you handle the camera at a store so you can see for yourself if all of the concerns you have are enough to keep you from purchasing it.

Out of curiosity, what other cameras are you considering? My first runner-up was the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P200. The Casio Exilim EX-Z750 was also a strong contender.

[waruwaru]

I just got my F10 this afternoon and having a blast with it. I bought the Fuji after owning a 2.1 megapixel Sony Cybershot for 5 years. Here are some responses to the comments above.

- LCD is not super-low-res, to me, the screen looks bright, sharp, and beautiful. My co-worker remarked that it looks better than the screen on his Sony camera. If you have the Sun directly in the front/above you, it does get pretty hard to see the screen (could use the screen as a mirror at that point). Fuji allow you to press up on the direction pad to brighten the screen. I forgot to try to set the screen to maximum brightness and see what that looks like. Will give that a try later. Overall, it would've been nice to have a view finder, but I am very happy with the screen.

- I did format my xD card and the number continued where it left off. But like sjseto mentioned, there is a setting in the menu to set the numbering to renew, or continue. Havn't tried it though.

- Deleting a picture right after you take the shot. Hmmm, it takes 4 clicks to delete a new shot just like my Cybershot. Press the Play-Mode-button->Press up arrow to delete->Press left arrow to select OK for delete->Press OK to delete. After taking a shot, the camera shows you the pic it just took while it writes to flash card, and then the screen changes to view finder mode so you can take the next shot. This probably let you take the next shot quickly. Your finger doesn't have to leave the shutter button. It seems pretty logical and not cumbersom for me. Maybe because my old Sony was the same way.

- the auto focusing does seem a bit slower than my old Sony. When it focuses (especially noticeable in macro mode with all sounds turned off), you can hear little "clicky" sounds as the camera focus. This is a bit strange to me.

I think I took ~100 shots already today. The pictures comes out very well. The "auto" mode did produce a couple of shots that were too bright. With the high ISO 1600, I was able to take some shots in a darkened room without flash (amazing!). The camera also has a very quick start-up time. So far, there are some quirks, but I am very pleased with the F10. If possible, you should go to a local store with an F10 on display and play with it.

[macca]

thanks for your replies and info everyone.
i ordered my F10 and it should be arriving tomorrow... :) ;)