Fujifilm FinePix F100fd First Thoughts

[Jim Keenan]

Fujifilm's F series compact digitals with the Super CCD sensor have enjoyed a reputation for better than average high ISO noise performance dating back to at least the F30. When the F50fd got a healthy boost in sensor resolution (to 12 megapixels, from its predecessor's 8.3) on the same 1/1.6" sensor, noise performance slipped a bit, at least by Fuji standards. Now the F50fd has been joined by the Fujifilm FinePix F100fd in the Fuji fleet.

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The new camera features a 5x optical zoom lens with a 35mm-equivalent 28-140mm focal length range, a 2.7-inch LCD monitor, face detection and automatic in-camera red-eye correction technologies, normal ISO sensitivity to 3200, and dual image stabilization. The F100fd matches the F50fd with 12 megapixels on a 1/1.6" sensor, but both the sensor and the processor are the latest generation, so perhaps the F100fd will get back some of that high ISO performance.

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What can be said with certainty after a brief shooting period is that the F100fd has good shutter response and produces good quality images with rich and accurate color.

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We'll have a complete review of the F100fd (including its ISO performance) in a few weeks.

[usapatriot]

Those shots look very good to me, ISO 800 performance seems to be above average as well.

[David Rasnake]

I thought so as well. I still feel that the F50fd was very good at high ISOs - though maybe only a hair's breadth beyond the competition, whereas the F30/F31/F40 all seemed much farther ahead of anything else out there. As J. Keenan's opening paragraph suggests, Fuji standards for high-ISO performance are pretty serious.

dr

[chengdude]

Really looking forward to this review, especially now that Fuji has paired the Super CCD with 28mm capability in a pocketable camera. 12MP is way, way too many pixels for me, but I love watching the competition to build the "ultimate compact".