Pros: Fast startup/shutter response; better video than most; improved controls/menu; LCD; size; dock
Cons: Image quality - overprocessed and too compressed, also green cast to images; mode dial cheap
The Bottom Line: If you can find it cheap enough, I'd buy it over a medium level consumer camera. But it's image quality doesn't compete with high end compact consumer cams.
babka's Full Review: FUJIFILM FinePix F700 Digital Camera
I've owned a Fuji 6800, and an F601, so I thought that the F700 would be a natural upgrade to these very good Fuji cameras.
I was excited by the specifications of the F700: the usual superCCD resolution, 30 fps VGA video, full manual controls. And in reading reviews from the major review sites, I was most interested in the very fast operation of the camera – minimal shutter lag and shot to shot times.
So I bought one... and then returned it.
The camera is indeed very fast. It's where every higher end digital camera should be. It actually startles you by how quickly it wakes up. And it takes pictures very quickly, both with full shutter press and with pre-focus half shutter press.
Fuji has improved the overall layout with this camera. It's dimensions make it pretty nice to hold, and enhancements to the external controls make exposure adjustments much quicker than with the previous Fuji's.
The LCD is very nice to look at, being both large and clear. And the metal finish on the camera is appealing and feels good in your hand. But I overall found the F700 a little too light and cheap feeling (obviously light is good for a compact, but a little substance is nice, like for example on the Canon Elphs). Also, the mode dial feels like it should be on a child's toy. Very plastic and loose.
The included dock is nice for charging. I prefer plugging a cord into the camera to charge over using an external charger.
For modes and features details, read dpreview, dcresource, steves-digicams and imaging-resource. I find that they pretty consistently rate the pros and cons of this camera; and I agree with their assessments... except for imaging-resource, which gives the camera high marks for image quality.
And that is why I returned my F700.
The image quality is poor for this genre of camera. I agree with all review sites that note the high compression and over processing of F700 images. It seems that all the Fuji models this year have gone in that direction. And it's too bad. High jpg compression (ie. "normal" quality only available vs "fine" and "extra-fine") coupled with high ISO rating (default 200) make for poor image quality. I'm not surprised that the prices of recently released Fuji cameras are falling.
Perhaps Fuji did this to allow for the impressive speed and responsiveness of this camera. If so, it's a painful compromise. The images are ok for an entry or maybe medium level consumer camera. But not for a top end consumer camera. And as for the typically very good Fuji colour, it's questionable here. I found most images to have a green cast to them. When you combine this with a tendency toward high saturation and vividness, the photos look cheap and unnatural.
And regarding the VGA video at 30 frames per second. It's pretty nice, but honestly, it's not that much better than previous 16 fps at VGA size like on the F601. When you reduce them to half size, they look clean, but then so do the 16fps video clips. So don't expect to have a DV camera inside your still cam. Granted, it's better than most still camera video options.
So, I'm still shopping. The whole industry seems to be at a standstill of "where do we go from 5 megapixels with these super tiny CCD's?" I hope they stay put on resolution, but consider larger CCD's for better clarity, and especially, mostly, hopefully work towards faster shutter response without the image quality compromises that Fuji has made.
//
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 470 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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