Fujifilm won a great many fans with its F30 and F31fd models, which combined slightly larger than average sensors containing fewer pixels than their competitors with some clever image processing, to produce some of the best high ISO images we'd ever seen from a compact camera. In fact, three years later, there are very few compacts we can think of that do a better job once the sun goes down.
While playing lip-service to the needs of low-light photography (and continuing to produce cameras whose processing give them a slight edge over their contemporaries), Fujifilm didn't appear to make further progress in the direction the F30 had pioneered. With the F200 EXR, Fujifilm seems to suggest that it wants to regain its low-light crown, based on a novel sensor technology it has developed (explained on the next page). In a time when compact cameras are becoming increasingly commoditized, it's interesting to see a company trying to use more than just marketing to differentiate its products.
And, even without its EXR cleverness, the F200 EXR is still a fairly well specified camera. It has one of the largest sensors used in any compact camera (it's a 1/1.6" type, which means it has a surface area of around 0.45cm2) combined with a lens that offers a very useful range, equivalent to 28-140mm in 35mm film terms. To put this in perspective, most DSLRs are supplied with lenses covering a roughly 28-85mm range. It's not the fastest (brightest) lens in the world but it's not excessively slow compared to its peers.
The F200 also offers image stabilization, which is one of the best features for ensuring consistently sharp images, along with modes that allow a reasonable amount of control over the camera and ones that take care of everything for you.
Looking at the differences between the F100fd and the F200 EXR (if you can find them), you very quickly come to the conclusion that the F200 EXR is essentially an F100fd with a clever new sensor inserted. This is no bad thing, since the F100fd was a pretty popular camera and change of sensor may well address the most discussed shortcoming (pink banding appearing in high-ISO shooting).
 Fujifilm F200 EXR |
 Fujifilm F100fd |
|
|---|---|---|
| Sensor | • 1/1.6 Super CCD EXR |
• 1/1.6 Super CCD VIII HR |
| Lens | • 28-140 mm (35mm equiv) • 5x optical zoom • F3.3 - 5.1 |
• 28-140mm (35mm equiv) • 5x optical zoom • F3.3 - 5.1 |
| Digital zoom | Up to 4.4x | Up to 8.2x |
| Maximum Image Size | 4000 x 3000 |
4000 x 3000 |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 100-12800 • Up to ISO 3200 at full res |
• Auto • ISO 100-12800 • Up to ISO 3200 at full res |
| Continuous Shooting | 1.4 fps max 3 images 5.0 fps max 12 images at 3MP |
1.7 fps max 3 images 5.0 fps max 12 images at 3MP |
| Shutter speed | 8 - 1/1500 sec | 8 - 1/1500 sec |
| Flash range, Auto ISO | Up to 4.3m (wide) | Up to 4.3m (wide) |
| LCD screen | • 3.0-inch TFT • 230,000 pixels |
• 3.0-inch TFT • 230,000 pixels |
| Battery life (CIPA standard, using LCD) | 230 | 230 |
| Image stabilization | Dual-IS (High ISO + CCD Shift) | Dual-IS (High ISO + CCD Shift) |
| Face detection | Version 3.0 | Version 3.0 |
| Movie mode | 25fps | 25fps |
| Dimensions | 98 x 59 x 23mm (3.8 x 2.3 x 0.9in) |
98 x 59 x 23mm (3.8 x 2.3 x 0.9in) |
| Other | EXR modes: |
| Sensor | • 1/1.6 " Super CCD EXR |
|---|---|
| Image sizes | • 4:3 : 4000 x 3000, 2816 x 2112, 2048 x 1536 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels @ 30 fps • AVI (Motion JPEG ) |
| File formats | • JPEG (Exif Ver. 2.2 ) • Movie : AVI (Motion JPEG ) with sound • Audio: WAVE format, Monaural sound |
| Lens | • Fujinon 5x Optical zoom lens |
| Image stabilization | CCD-shift |
| Digital zoom | Approx. 4.4x |
| Focus | Auto Focus |
| AF area modes | • Center |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | • Normal: Wide angle: Approx. 45cm / 1.5 ft to infinity Telephoto: Approx. 80cm / 2.6 ft. to infinity • Macro: Wide angle: Approx. 5cm/ 0.2 ft. to 80cm / 2.6 ft Telephoto: Approx. 50cm / 1.6 ft to 1m / 3.3 ft |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto |
| Metering | TTL 256-zones metering |
| Exposure modes | Programmed AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual |
| Shutter speed | Auto : 1/4 sec to 1/1500 sec All other modes : 8 sec to 1/1500 sec |
| Aperture | Wide: F3.3 – F9.0 Tele: F5.1 - F14 |
| Shooting modes | • Mode dial: EXR, P (Program), M (Manual), Movie, SP (scene modes), Natural Light, Natural Light with Flash, Auto • SP: Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Underwater, Museum, Party, Flower, Text |
| White balance | • Auto • Presets: Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Underwater • Custom |
| White balance fine tune | No |
| Self timer | Approx. 10 sec./ 2 sec. delay |
| Continuous shooting Modes | • Top-3 (1.4 fps for 3 frames) • High-speed Top-12 (5 fps for 12 frames, 3MP only) • Final-3 (1.4 fps for 3 frames) • High Speed FInal-12 (5 fps for 12 frames, 3MP only) • Long-period |
| Flash | • Auto flash Effective range: 4.3 m |
| LCD monitor | • 3.0 inch |
| Digital input/output | • USB 2.0 High Speed |
| Video output | NTSC / PAL selectable |
| HD OUT | Analog component/HDC-1 component video cable for digital camera |
| Storage | • Internal memory (Approx. 48 MB) • xD-Picture card(16MB-2GB) • SD/SDHC memory card |
| Power | • Rechargeable NP-50 Li-ion battery (included) |
| Weight (no batt) | Approx. 175 g |
| Dimensions | 98 x 59 x 23mm (3.8 x 2.3 x 0.9in) |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
|
Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
 |
This article is Copyright 2009 dpreview.com and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR 12MP Super CCD Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom | $229.49 |
Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR 12MP Super CCD Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom | $229.49 |
Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR 16 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom (Red) | $151.77 |
Fujifilm FinePix F750EXR Digital Camera (White) | $139.99 |
Fujifilm FinePix F660EXR Digital Camera | $151.09 |
Fujifilm FinePix F750EXR Digital Camera (Red) | $149.00 |
Fujifilm Finepix JX500 14-Megapixel Digital Camera | Silver | $75.99 |
Fujifilm FinePix F750EXR Digital Camera (Black) | $218.04 |
Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR 16 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom (Black) | $241.50 |
Fujifilm Finepix S200EXR 12MP Super CCD Digital Camera with 14.3x Optical Triple Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD | $624.46 |
Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR Digital Camera | $352.19 |
   |
|
Connect with dpreview
|
Comments