Yes, I have a problem! Another day, another camera. Seriously though, I’m going to try and stop buying new old cameras for a while and get to know the ones I’ve now got. Lots of part 2 posts should be coming over the next few weeks.
Picked this one up after discovering that it’s got the “Super CCD” Fujifilm sensor, which lots of people highly rate. I was also very happy to be told it came with a 1GB XD card. I’ve got a 128MB one (for some reason), but with memory, bigger is always better. 1GB will store about 340 top resolution images on the F10, more than enough for me. As always, this review is in the form of photos I’ve taken, if you want details about the camera, links are provided in the see also section at the bottom.
All photos linked to Flickr album.
Initial Conclusion
I’ve only had this little beauty for a day, but I’m loving it right off the bat. Compared to the Olympus C4040Z, probably my favourite camera, this one is a lot smaller, and seems to focus a lot better and quicker. Even if the green light flashes, warning that I’m not in focus, I’ve had some shots that are fine to my eyes. I bought this one as a “shove in pocket in case I might need it” item and I’m planning on putting it through its outdoor paces very soon.
To answer my ongoing existential question: “is this one better than the C4040Z?”, my answer after one day is…
maybe it is.
See Also
Notes
Following notes are from Best settings for Fuji F10 DP Review thread:
For better or worse, with the F10 you will probably need to intervene with some manual adjustments. Luckily, you can combine manual ISO settings with automatic functions of the camera. The F10 does a rather poor job of automatic ISO selection! Luckily, it does a very good job of white balance selection.
First off, many people, including me, think the F10 overexposes slightly by default. Set the exposure balance to -1/3 for all conditions. You may need to set it to -2/3 for high contrast situations like partial sunlight.
Secondly, I seem to have a steady hand. I consider 1/30s to easily be handheld, and with something to lean on I can get useable 1/8s sometimes. So, you may want to bump ISO settings higher to get the high shutter speeds.
Finally, I don’t use the flash. I believe the F10 can take perfectly good photos in indoor conditions without it. Only if you needed to capture movement in dark conditions would it be required. So, keep flash supression off, to prevent the camera automatically enabling it.
1. Sunny day outdoors
Set ISO to 80, everything else auto. Might need exposure compensation to -2/3.
2. Cloudy day outdoors
As above with ISO at 100, maybe 200.
3. Daytime indoors
As above, ISO 200 if sunny, bright room, 400 otherwise.
4. Night time with bulb light indoors
Use ‘natural light’ mode. For some incandescent bulbs, may need whitebalance on incadescent. ISO 200 for directly lit surfaces, otherwise 400, may need 800 for darker areas. Use of any zoom will force ISO higher, or else get into tripod land.
5. Macromode outdoors
As normal daylight, but watch for the highlights if sunny and the auto-metering. Best to use spot metering I find, and hunt for the right exposure level.
6. Macromode indoors
As for outdoors, without the highlights problem. ISO probably 400.
7. Portrait indoors
Portrait mode, ISO 400.
8. Portrait outdoors
Portrait mode.
9. Landscape
Landscape mode, will need to boost ISO for full zoom on cloudy day to 200.
10. Night time outdoors with and without tripod
Annoying! Night mode has minimum 3s shutter. Natural light mode has maximum 1/4s shutter. There’s nothing in between! So, you can try ISO 1600 in natural light mode, and see if you can live with the noise. Or, you can try lower ISO in Night mode, but you’ll need something to lean on, or a tripod.
11. Fireworks
Did that just on last weekend. Tripod! Night mode (preferably with manual exposure control), low ISO and set it to 3s or maybe more. Then focus on something on the horizon (some lights) hold the button half pressed and turn the camera to the fireworks again and shoot (with self timer!). You can also try to focus on the fireworks.
12. Night time portraits with background ( Like Vegas )
Should work with night mode + slow sync or other flash mode (just try). The available flash modi depend on the setting of manual or automatic exposure time control. The portraited persons just shouldn’t move around. Their contours will affect the image during the whole exposure time, while their faces etc. only during flash.
13. Baby pictures indoors
I’d suggest portrait or natural light modi (depending on available light), not too high ISO but try to get faster shutter speeds, else use flash.
Updates
2025-03-03: Add Notes section with F10 tips
