dcresource 602 review now online......

[Azrifel]

--
Sander

 

[yatho]

where's the link?

thanks~

--
Sander

 

[MikeBee]

thanks~

--
Sander

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fuji/finepix_s602-review/index.html

 

[tony gilmour]

Jeff Keller mentions the jaggies and the artifacts and the noise............they just should not be there to that extent.....I have printed plenty of images from the 6900z at A4 and never seen a jaggie translated to the finished print.and I have never downsized in Photo Elements to do this...I printed the Chigago building in question at A4.....the jaggies translated to the finished pint.............so what do you conclude from that ?....what is going on inside this camera that produces these results......it should be better in all respects than the 6900z.new super CCd , new noise reduction agorithyms etc etc.................i am not putting this camera down............but it is seriously flawed if the only way you can get a decent print is to downsize your image.

--
Sander

 

[Thomas L]

Interestingly, Jeff at dcresource says pretty much what I've read in this forum abut image quality: The pictures look great when printed or downsized from 6MP (fine?) to 3MP. Likewise are the colors good. However, I guess that we on-screen wont see pictures on par with Canon G2 in ISO 50 mode. For that there are too many jaggies and too much noise. But in real life that might not be a problem for the most of us as long as we get good pictures for print and for the web.

I've been considering the new Dimage 7i as well, but even if it turns out the image quality is better from that camera than S602 I dont want to pay an extra €300-400 for that camera. Already now, S602 can be preordered for €750 in Germany.

--
Sander

 

[Thomas L]

I just wonder if that thing with jaggies and artifacts could be avoided if you shoot in 6MP soft sharpening mode? Then you can do whatever processing you need to do afterwards in Photoshop.

--
Sander

 

[tony gilmour]

I won't be touching this camera with a barge pole which is unfortunate because it held so much expectation and I waited for the proof. Phil Askey will probably have something similar to say.

in the meantime I need a camera and it will be the Sony707, if Fuji can bring out the next incarnation of this camera with a 5 megapixel or six megapixel Super CCD and sort out the internal problems and show me that they have indeed progressed to the next level than they can win me back........but will it be like a dog chasing its tail,......... I hope not for Fuji's sake.

--
Sander

 

[zhelen]

I agree with you. From what I have seen and read it is a big disappointment.

--
Sander

 

[Nancy81188]

In my opinion, the best images out of the camera are the 3MP-Fine versions. Granted, you might get slightly better results by shooting 6MP-Fine and down-sampling but, as a practical matter, that's too much hassle for every shot.

Unimpressed by the quality of the Fuji's JPEG compression, I did a comparison in PhotoImpact of the JPEG compression quality levels - S602Z vs. Canon S30.

S602Z JPEG compression quality works out to:
Basic / Normal / Fine
84% / 88% / 96%

S30 JPEG compression quality works out to:
Basic / Normal / Fine
82% / 93% / 98.3%

Personally, I like to use 90-95% quality for my images and the S30's "Normal" default works out perfectly. The S602's default quality isn't good enough for me meaning that I'd have to shoot in Fine-mode all the time. Even at that, I'd only be getting 96% quality and have to resort to using giant-sized TIFF's to get any better.

Wide-angle barrel distortion is VERY noticeable - in the capital building shots, notice how everything leans toward the center of the shot (buildings, streetlights, etc). Certainly correctable with a good photo editor (lens distortion effects), but hardly ideal. I'm curious just how far off full wide-angle one needs to be to see barrel distortion reduced to reasonable levels.

As for the movies, the VGA size is nice and the compression-level seems reasonable but the sample movie was not as smooth as I expected (not compared to 720x480@30fps Mini-DV format). I actually had to verify the frame-rate to be sure I wasn't looking at 15-20fps. Also, I'm unsure of what compression codec is used. These are AVI files that only run when manually opened in QuickTime. I was unable to edit the movies in my video editor even with the variety of codecs that I already have installed. (The S30 movies are similar but there is a free LEAD MJPEG codec that allows standard viewing/editing). Hopefully, the video gurus out there will soon let us know where to obtain a free codec that works with these movies.

I had high hopes for this camera but these early reviews leave me with some reservations. Not that it's a bad camera but it does seem to have it's share of faults too.

 

[Azrifel]

I've been considering the new Dimage 7i as well, but even if it
turns out the image quality is better from that camera than S602 I
dont want to pay an extra €300-400 for that camera. Already now,
S602 can be preordered for €750 in Germany.

Precisely what I was thinking. And technology is moving on pretty fast. I'd like to learn as much as possible with a not to expensive reasonably good camera with a lof of features and buy something better for the same price or less in 5 years time or so. When you look at the dSLR's prices dropping like crazy while their resolution doubles........ In 5 years time I expect 10mp camera's with superb lenses, fast focus, excelent resolution etc etc, 5 gig microdrives or a simular technology, better battery performance etc etc.

The quality gain with a 5mp at this time is to little to justify the price, especially as you can expect a lot from digicams to come in the near future. This is still a market that's barely out of its nappy.

And to be honest, I am not overwhelmed by the picture quality of the D7 and don't expect too much to change with the i. The only good camera would be the 707, but its expensive, sony battery, stupid memorycrapsticks and I hear to much technical failures. And I have been to the Sony repair centre to much already. Same goes for the D7 wich seems to have exposure problems after using a external flash.

 

[Azrifel]

Wide-angle barrel distortion is VERY noticeable - in the capital
building shots, notice how everything leans toward the center of
the shot (buildings, streetlights, etc). Certainly correctable
with a good photo editor (lens distortion effects), but hardly
ideal. I'm curious just how far off full wide-angle one needs to
be to see barrel distortion reduced to reasonable levels.

Well, I want to wait for a test with a production model, or see some Japanese galleries of owners. This is a preproductionmodel, he explicitely states that at the beginning of the review.

I had high hopes for this camera but these early reviews leave me
with some reservations. Not that it's a bad camera but it does
seem to have it's share of faults too.

It will take a couple of years more before every problem at any company is ironed out I guess. Even D30's still get firmware updates and the G2 cracks, the D7 has exposure problems, F707's blue flash syndrome, Sony P1's have terrible battery faults, S20's had purple skies, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Richard Dunn]

In my opinion, the best images out of the camera are the 3MP-Fine
versions. Granted, you might get slightly better results by
shooting 6MP-Fine and down-sampling but, as a practical matter,
that's too much hassle for every shot.

Unimpressed by the quality of the Fuji's JPEG compression, I did a
comparison in PhotoImpact of the JPEG compression quality levels -
S602Z vs. Canon S30.

S602Z JPEG compression quality works out to:
Basic / Normal / Fine
84% / 88% / 96%

S30 JPEG compression quality works out to:
Basic / Normal / Fine
82% / 93% / 98.3%

Personally, I like to use 90-95% quality for my images and the
S30's "Normal" default works out perfectly. The S602's default
quality isn't good enough for me meaning that I'd have to shoot in
Fine-mode all the time. Even at that, I'd only be getting 96%
quality and have to resort to using giant-sized TIFF's to get any
better.

Wide-angle barrel distortion is VERY noticeable - in the capital
building shots, notice how everything leans toward the center of
the shot (buildings, streetlights, etc). Certainly correctable
with a good photo editor (lens distortion effects), but hardly
ideal. I'm curious just how far off full wide-angle one needs to
be to see barrel distortion reduced to reasonable levels.

As for the movies, the VGA size is nice and the compression-level
seems reasonable but the sample movie was not as smooth as I
expected (not compared to 720x480@30fps Mini-DV format). I
actually had to verify the frame-rate to be sure I wasn't looking
at 15-20fps. Also, I'm unsure of what compression codec is used.
These are AVI files that only run when manually opened in
QuickTime. I was unable to edit the movies in my video editor even
with the variety of codecs that I already have installed. (The S30
movies are similar but there is a free LEAD MJPEG codec that allows
standard viewing/editing). Hopefully, the video gurus out there
will soon let us know where to obtain a free codec that works with
these movies.

I had high hopes for this camera but these early reviews leave me
with some reservations. Not that it's a bad camera but it does
seem to have it's share of faults too.

Nancy,

I'm amazed that so many people are making judgments on images alone before the camera comes out. I will certainly wait until then and loan if from my camera shop and try it out, take lots of pictures and print them.

I had a Canon S30 for 2 weeks with a serious view to purchase, and there is no comparison between its printed output and the 6900 nor the F601 and I expect the F602 to be even better. I simply was unable to produce crisp clean A4 printed images with the S30 to the standard I could achieve even with a croppped 6900 image. The camera itself is OK but Canon do an awful lot of in camera processing (something people are now accusing Fuji of doing too much) to get a half way decent image out. The point is this limits post processing and therefore the extent to which you can enlarge/crop/colour process.

The video on the S30 is quite inferior to even the F601 and is time limited and no usable VGA mode.

I think once enough people have tried out the S602 opinions will rapidly change.

 

[jeff@dcresource]

Well, I want to wait for a test with a production model, or see
some Japanese galleries of owners. This is a preproductionmodel, he
explicitely states that at the beginning of the review.

Just to be totally clear here: the camera is a pre-production model but camera operation and photo quality is final. Those are the exact words I was told.

• Jeff @ dcresource.com

 

[Bradly]

Same cr@p was going on with the 6900 last year...... some people will never learn to wait till there's more to work with.

I think once enough people have tried out the S602 opinions will
rapidly change.

 

[Bradly]

There's a number of images that have blotchyness to them in certain areas.... hills, etc. You may have a bad camera.

Well, I want to wait for a test with a production model, or see
some Japanese galleries of owners. This is a preproductionmodel, he
explicitely states that at the beginning of the review.

Just to be totally clear here: the camera is a pre-production
model but camera operation and photo quality is final. Those are
the exact words I was told.

• Jeff @ dcresource.com

 

[tony gilmour]

The BFS and DSL problem with the Sony is well documented, does not affect every camera only certain model numbers and they are minor when you think they are correctable.

Still we are talking about a camera that is producing quality resolution not far off the very best DSLR's available .......and thats just not my opinion it is the opinion of just about every interviewer who has touched the camera.

I've been considering the new Dimage 7i as well, but even if it
turns out the image quality is better from that camera than S602 I
dont want to pay an extra €300-400 for that camera. Already now,
S602 can be preordered for €750 in Germany.

Precisely what I was thinking. And technology is moving on pretty
fast. I'd like to learn as much as possible with a not to expensive
reasonably good camera with a lof of features and buy something
better for the same price or less in 5 years time or so. When you
look at the dSLR's prices dropping like crazy while their
resolution doubles........ In 5 years time I expect 10mp camera's
with superb lenses, fast focus, excelent resolution etc etc, 5 gig
microdrives or a simular technology, better battery performance etc
etc.
The quality gain with a 5mp at this time is to little to justify
the price, especially as you can expect a lot from digicams to come
in the near future. This is still a market that's barely out of its
nappy.

And to be honest, I am not overwhelmed by the picture quality of
the D7 and don't expect too much to change with the i. The only
good camera would be the 707, but its expensive, sony battery,
stupid memorycrapsticks and I hear to much technical failures. And
I have been to the Sony repair centre to much already. Same goes
for the D7 wich seems to have exposure problems after using a
external flash.

 

[Floating_Fotoman]

Phil has been good about adjusting the sharpness level in a camera to find the best setting (which is often at -1). None of the reviewers have tried this so far. Perhaps this will give hope for the 6MP interpolated pictures printing without jaggies on A4.

From what I'm seeing, I'm not terribly encouraged so far, but the jury is still certainly still out.

I think once enough people have tried out the S602 opinions will
rapidly change.

 

[264]

There are two movie clips on the site: one short and one longer. Both have significant background noise and/or static. It does not APPEAR that the camera has a jack for an external mike. Anyone have insight into the audio recording quality of the camera?

Thank you.

• PMOCOMM

 

[elizard]

Thanks that's what I wanted to ask - I've been on this site for about 6 months, I've pre-ordered the S602 and I'm hoping this dialog about the quality of the S602 is similiar to what was said before the 6900 was out.

Is that the case? Did many people find details on web shots that were clearly not the best, but later were happy with the photo printing quality? Why would Fuji listen to consumers regarding all the wonderful changes this camera has and not do the obvious - make damn sure it takes great photos?

So tell me, for those of you have been here since the 6900 introduction - is it a similiar story?

I think once enough people have tried out the S602 opinions will
rapidly change.

 

[yatho]

thanks

thanks~

--
Sander

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fuji/finepix_s602-review/index.html