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Average rating:
4.38
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User reviews
(36)
4.38
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| Quick links: | Announcement | Forum |
| Announced: | Sep 29, 2005 |
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Average rating:
4.38
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Opinion: Pros:
Excellent add-on to an SLR, superb picture quality, low noise even at high ISO settings, astonishing powerful flash, fast shooting mode is impressive and handling is intuitive.
Cons:
No real show-stopper but charging concept is a bit arkward and no metal tripod mount (but centered to the lens).
Problems: No problems so far.
Opinion: I love it very much. Very nice picture quality, very low noise, very long life battery. The only problem is the lack of Viewfinder.
Opinion: Plenty to like about this camera:
- exceptional low-light performance / low noise at high ISO. Flash benefits from this to offer extended range.
- top-notch build quality (for reference, my sample was made in Japan)
- best-in-class battery life (the 500 shot CIPA rating is realistic)
- very good macro mode (low distortion)
- generally excellent pictures, clean
- fairly high resolution screen that gains up in low light
- very quick, apart from flash cycle time
- sharp, low distortion lens
Camera is very easy to use for a beginner (useful when lent to friends/family members), but the more advanced controls are buried in rather unattractive menus. Reading the manual is recommended to understand the options available, as some are only enabled in specific modes.
P.S. Firmware update 1.01 is available since 12/22/05 on Fujifilm's japanese website
Problems: Limited dynamic range is compounded by a rather high default contrast setting, which tends to blow out highlights. Unfortunately, the only alternate contrast setting is the cryptic 'Chrome', with even higher contrast and saturation. Use of manual mode with exposure compensation is a must for high contrast/backlit situation.
Purple fringing is an overly common occurence in high contrast situations.
Minor issues:
- dumb dongle required for recharging (camera's proprietary port looks like mini-USB port but isn't one)
- no latch on battery, which tends to fall off when door open
- xD cards are expensive and slow. This is mitigated by the F11's moderate-for-6MP file sizes, which top out around 3MB at minimum compression.
- movie mode decent, but encoded in obsolescent MPEG2
- 4-way controller's buttons cannot be reassigned, although the defaults are not bad (I would prefer quick access to exposure compensation and white balance to 'macro' and 'screen brightness up' functions)
- only pouch available from Fujifilm is of the vertical style, which is unsuitable when worn on the belt for potbellied owners like me ;) The fine finish and large unadorned surfaces would make scratches quite visible on this camera if unprotected.
- the tripod mount is plastic; it is very close to lens centerline, but probably forward of sensor's plane.
- no infinity focus mode
Opinion: This is pretty much the same camera as an EISA award winning F10 albeit with a more detailed LCD screen (added 40% more resolution) and fully functional MANUAL MODES ( A & S) missing entirely from a previous model. All the highlights are still there - Super CCD sensor with very low noise and high sensitivity to light, sharp lens, quick operation and a powerful battery round the package. My first impressions are very positive! One nice camera if only a bit heavy!. It is my 5-th digital compact and I like it best among others ... Would recommend it without a hesitation to anybody. (Note: Made in Japan - and possibly a last compact from Fujifilm with such an inscription).
After using the camera for a few weeks now, I can attempt to put together some loose observations about F11 ...
1. The lens is SURPRISINGLY SHARP across the field for a compact (tested results). Best results achieved at f4.0 and f5.6. (Bokeh is best looking at f3.6 and eventually f5.0)
2. It produces some harsh flash at short distances (camera has a trouble adjusting flash power in macro mode)
3. The lens is awfully slow at tele end (f 5.0) which seriously limits it's use at night in any other than wide zoom setting (f 2.8)
4. My camera has only minor number of hot pixels (there were between 18-22 locations at 8 sec. long exposure). Not bad at all!
6. The menu system is divided into two sections (different settings hidden under two separate buttons) and a bit cumbersome at that, but on the other side I never had to read the manual (my first experience with a digital camera!) so this is still a logically designed one.
7. There is no separate battery charger within a kit. You have to plug the camera into a two section cable to charge it or establish a connection with the computer. It feels AWKWARD!
Fujifilm is selling a separate "quick" battery charger BC-65 which plugs directly into an outlet. A "must" accessory and on my future shopping list, but also a bit overpriced in my humble opinion.
8. SNAPPY! The shutter lag is greatly reduced and camera feels very responsive.
9. In good light and with strong contrast subjects, the auto focus is quick and generally very accurate (!). It uses a green AF aid light when it is dim, but it searches for a focus points starting at closest distance and gradually working toward the infinity (sometimes it misses) and this takes some time to complete. Unfortunately camera has no provision for a manual focus (even infinity lock is missing) and other than macro setting there are no AF options to choose from... it may use an infinity lock in program modes but these are of limited use to me ...
10. There is only a cheap string to be attached to the camera (no soft bag or anything else to protect it within a kit). Still I was able to get a generic case (hard shell with soft padding inside) which is more solid than proprietary accessories. It fits very well inside!
P.S. Even if the camera is only designated for domestic Japanese market at the moment, it seems that Fujifilm may have plans to ship it overseas at one point. The model currently available in Japan has menus in only two languages (J / E), but the camera manual lists a few more ... lets hope!
Problems: The camera lacks any indication of shutter speed/aperture information in preview mode ( NOTE: This got fixed with firmware update 1.01 released in Dec 2005. It displays now both values ). Also an almost standard feature nowadays - the HISTOGRAM is wholly missing so there is really nothing to help you with exposure evaluation other than deceptive LCD view. Still KEEP IN MIND that I am generally "nit picking" - IT IS A VERY CAPABLE CAMERA(!) and I already took surprisingly good pictures with it. I also would recommend anybody to read Mr.Musoyama's comments (previous entry) - He has a lot of even more detailed observations about the camera and the way it operates ...
The xD picture cards are overpriced(!) and painfully slow at that - their actual transfer rates at about 650 KB/sec are the worst I have seen in flash memory formats (SD cards are blazingly fast in comparison), so it takes forever to copy pictures from the xD card to the computer using a dedicated USB card reader (fortunately F11 has a large internal memory buffer, so this is not a major issue when taking pictures with the camera).
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 | 22.3 megapixels 3.2" screen Full frame sensor |
