Fujifilm Finepix F50fd 12MP Digital Camera with 3 x Optical Image Stabilization by FUJIFILM
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Digital camera reviews of Fujifilm Finepix F50fd 12MP Digital Camera with 3 x Optical Image Stabilization
Digital camera Review: Allowed me to print VERY LARGE pictures
Summary: 4 Stars
I was preparing for a trip to Peru, and needed my first digital camera for my first trip out of the country. Because my room is very sparse, I was hoping to be able to decorate with some very large pictures. In fact, the only thing I cared about was the ability break a picture down into many smaller pieces, print each of them out, and to print each out so that they could be combined into very large pictures of high quality. In this, the camera worked perfectly! I printed one particular picture (that wasn't even in the highest resolution)on 12 pieces of photo paper. This gave me a picture that was 2.5 ft wide and almost 3 ft tall. The quality of the pictures is fantastic. Even when inspecting the picture from inches away I cannot see individual pixels. I am confident that, if I had enough photo paper, I could enlarge higher resolution pictures to more than 5 feet tall without any distracting loss of quality.
The only reason I didn't give this camera 5 stars is because I am not familiar enough with the more advanced features to give the camera a perfect overall score. All I can say is that for my uses, it was amazing!
Digital camera Review: Am satisfied with the camera.
Summary: 4 Stars
It's ok. The 12Mb I feel is a bit of an overkill
What I like.
* the size
* takes nice photos.
Dont like
* that the default ISO on AUTO is high.
* ISO not changeable on the N mode.
* The battery has to be taken out to be charged.
But overall, I paid USD$200 for it, I think it is exceptional value.
Digital camera Review: An... interesting approach by Fuji.
Summary: 3 Stars
First off I should state that I do not own this camera. I've been using my friend's F50fd against my own F31fd. He picked up the F50fd simply because he enjoyed how my camera worked.
It uses Fuji's typical interface: Simple but a bit clunky. After you've used it a bit you'll find it quite easy to configure to your liking. Of course changing modes to adapt to new conditions quickly is another story altogether.
Overall I'm torn between the handling of this and the F31. The smaller size does make it a lot easier to store in a pocket... and it just feels a bit more stable in my hands. This is of course due to the lack of massive battery and the fact that I'm left handed. I don't think it's a lot lighter but it just feels better. Then again I didn't get the same sense of security when I held the F50... it felt like it would slip out of my hands and shatter much easier.
In terms of performance it actually holds its own against its predecessor... at least in terms of well lit conditions. As most others have already stated when you restrain the ISO the pictures are sharp and full of detail. Colors are still a bit dimmer compared to say, a Canon camera. Then again it could just be the fact that Canon cameras tend to boost colors. Still... I like vibrant. In light pictures are also not as blown out as the F31. While taking a sunrise photo on a canyon his F50 basically bested my F31. It handles that sort of lighting much better.
In terms of shadow I'd have to say I'm rather disappointed. As most have said there is quite a bit of noise and fuzziness in the pictures. To be fair though when compared to some of the reviews of other 10+ megapixel cameras (*cough* Panasonic *cough*) they still look a bit more detailed. Then again this is comparing a real world shot to an online review. I'd hammer this part of the image quality more but it seems to have already taken a beating by everyone else.
EDIT: I know that my comment about the F50's performance in low lighting is rather harsh and perhaps unfairly biased. In truth it does no worse in low light than most cameras I've seen and toyed with. I believe that a lot of the major backlash stems from the excessively high expectations that people have held this camera to. Had it done low lighting well at 12 MP it would've been a small miracle. There are cameras with fewer MP that actually perform WORSE in low lighting than the F50.
On the plus side if you were to take away the 6 extra megapixels the camera has a lot going for it. The image stabilization works quite well. I was worried that because it's a bit of a hybrid between digital and sensor shift that it would end up looking much noisier but I was quite wrong. It's nowhere near as bad as having to boost the ISO and shutter speeds. So I like it. The face detection seems to work a bit better too. I never use mine much but the F50 seems to work a bit faster and could catch a face it odd positions much faster. I would test the whole standing on the head to fool the face detection feature but I don't feel like adding more stress to my life.
I hate the fact that this camera can take SDs and xDs. It's so easy to find them, and so hard to find the (hopefully) dying xD format. Not to mention a great deal cheaper.
Overall I like every single change that Fuji made to the F50... except the sensor. Since it is bigger I don't see why they couldn't have stopped at 7 (lucky) or even just at 8 or 9. It's like they took the F31, fixed its main weaknesses, and stripped it of its best strength. It's sad really... but it doesn't mean that this is a bad camera. Just don't take it against the F31 (at least when lighting conditions aren't optimal).
EDIT 2: This camera does take wonderful photos in mixed lighting situations. Though I'm no photographer I could never do that with my F31fd. Take a picture of a sunrise/sunset and you'll find it a bit easier to have a decent photo with the F50 and a much more difficult time with an F31.
Digital camera Review: Awesome low light camera for concerts without flash
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned an Olympus Stylus 600 (which i love, too). The Fuji is awesome. The ability to shoot at 1600 ISO in automatic is great. You can bump it up to 3200 in other shooting modes. The display is bright even in full sunlight. Color rendition is right on.Digital camera Review: Best Camera I've Seen On The Market Today
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start out by saying, I'm very picky on the way my photos look. Probably more picky than I should be. Recently, I have purchased the Canon SD850 and SD900, as well as the Sony DSC-T100. All three cameras were extremely disappointing and got returned after one week. My previous camera was a cheap little 3 megapixel Fuji. I wanted something newer and faster, but after side by side comparisons of photo quality, the three cameras I purchased could not compare to my six year old clunker. I decided to keep my old camera and watch for new models.
Now, onto this camera. Wow. I can't say enough about it. The pictures are beautiful, even in low light. I'm not sure where the bad reviews are coming from...from picture number one to the pictures I took tonight, they have turned out very perfectly (except for a few of my errors every now and again).
I initially held out on Fuji because of the lack of the optical viewfinder and the slow XD card format. So far, I haven't found lack of the optical viewfinder to be an issue for me. Beginning with the F40 (which I didn't want because of bad reviews and it doesn't have the manual controls), Fuji now supports SD and XD formats alike.
I have an active two year old son, so the speed of the camera matters to me. The Fuji F50SE (or F50FD, they are the same) gives me just what I wanted. I'm using a 2GB Sandisk SDHC card and the writing speed is super quick (comparable to all of the other major competition).
The manual controls were a big selling point to me, but I also wanted a camera that would perform well as just a point and shoot. Once again, on full auto mode, the pictures come out great.
As far as the interface, I have had no problems just picking up and using the camera. Maybe it is because I have owned a Fuji before, but I really don't think so. A lot has changed in 6 years (as I hope it would), but the features and menus are very easily accessed. I really like the fact that with the press of one of two buttons, you can turn on and off the face detection and image stabilization. To review the pictures, there is a playback button on the back of the camera (much easier than a wheel) and to get out of playback mode, you press the shutter down halfway. Very handy and intuitive.
Face detection on this camera works about as well as the Canons. It doesn't always lock on to faces, but that is to be expected. 2 times out of 10 it won't recognize a face. Not a big deal. When it does, it will snap the shot and immediately thereafter show you a close up of the eyes and will remove any red eye that it finds. This has worked flawlessly for me so far. With the Canons, you have to review the picture and then go into a separate menu to correct for the red eye (or just do it in a photo editor), but I found this to be painfully slow and most of my shots ended up keeping the red eye. With the Fuji, this is a two second automatic process (when you have face detection on).
Battery life seems to be about average for this type of camera/battery. As with all of the major manufacturers, the batteries are proprietary and I would recommend getting a second battery for backup.
The features can just go on and on. The two main things I wanted in a camera were photo quality and speed. Isn't that what everyone wants? I never realized how hard it was going to be to find. Now that I've been playing with this camera, I keep finding little things that make me smile and thank Fuji for a job well done.
All in all, I would recommend this camera to anyone and everyone. Most Best Buy stores have them in stock, so you can go play with the floor model before you buy. I'm extremely pleased with my purchase and hope that my year long camera ordeal will help others to not have to go through the same.