F10, Best All Around Camera?

I, like a lot of people on this forum, are trying to detemine the best FIRST digital camera to buy. I read many rave reviews on the internet and have even run into people you have one and say similar things. The most important thing for me is great pictures. When I began my research, I was looking at the Canon SD500 and Nikon 7900. But, the dpreview of the F10 compared it to the Canon SD500 and Nikon 7900 and I could clearly see the difference. Some people make the comment that this camera gives the best pictures in "manual mode." Since my wife will also be using the camera (she would NEVER want to learn to change the right settings) it should also be fairly easy to use. I've spoke with some people who say Kodaks are easy to use and take good pictures. There seem to be many considerations...but perhaps I won't know what they are until I start using a digital camera.

Curious to know peoples thoughts.

Thanks.

The F10 is a great complementary camera, but I would not recommend it as a first camera.

I would recommend the F10 as a beginners camera since I think you will
get a higher number of usable shots from it than you will from any other
camera. Many of the people who use the F10 are enthusiasts, not
beginners so they are very critical of its lack of manual control which is
important from their point of view.

No camera perfect yet.

if you need to take many photos on low light. Fuji F10 and F100 maybe a good choice.

if you need a pocket size camera with big optical zoom, try ricoh caplio R3
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0509/05090702ricoh_caplior3.asp

or you also need to watch Canon A610 and 620

Newbie123 said:

No camera perfect yet.

if you need to take many photos on low light. Fuji F10 and F11
maybe a good choice.

Click to expand...

But remember it has no viewfinder so it is difficult to use in sunlight
fj

Newbie123 said:

if you need a pocket size camera with big optical zoom, try ricoh
caplio R3
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0509/05090702ricoh_caplior3.asp

or you also need to watch Canon A610 and 620

Click to expand...

f-j said:

But remember it has no viewfinder so it is difficult to use in
sunlight

Click to expand...

Just shade the display with your hand? Some are worse than others in sunlight though, and I don't know how this particular camera is on that aspect. We don't get that much sun on these latitudes, so it's not a major concern for me...

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I was comparing the F10 to the Sony P150 this summer upgrading from my Fujfilm F450 and found that the P150 was the better of the two. (P150 now replaced by similar P200).

The reason?
1) Smaller, easier to pocket size of the P150. (even smaller with the P200).

2) Both had very long (300+ shot) battery life, more than sufficient in my case to take 500+ photos over 6+ hours.

3) BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, only the Sony digicams tell you exactly, down to the very LAST MINUTE, how much remaining battery life you have in hh:mm! You can definitely rely upon the Sony to tell you how long you've got; the F10 will not, and you may think there's enough battery, but then find the unit dead sooner than you'd like.

4) The P150 LCD screen is more daylight viewable, and has a faster display response vs. the F10, which is sometimes jerky and sluggish in keeping up when you pan around. (The P200 screen is a bit larger, though smaller than the F10 2.5" but still very useable.)

5) BUT, the P150/P200 have the advantage of an optical viewfinder for those times where you simply can't see anything clearly on the LCD screen in bright daylight, or even prefer to keep the LCD off in a dark event concert/performance hall when taking photos of your kid.

6) I'm not the type to take lots of nighttime/low-light photos - thus, the tooted advantage of being at Disneyland at night simply doesn't exist for me for the F10's 800/1600 ISO feature.

7) The AF and response of the P150/P200 is superior to the F10. ESPECIALLY the AF lock, which is more sure on the P150/P200 than the F10, which occassionally hunts around and can't lock.

8) The DUMMY mode (ie. don't mean she's one) is super-easy to set on the P150/P200 -simply switch the knob to the green symbol!

On the F10, there IS NO one-button DUMMY MODE! If you've put it into anything but full auto, you have to hunt through the menus to get it back into AUTO mode!

9) For those night-time shots, you can 'preset' the camera for someone else into manual focus mode (eg. 0.5, 1.0, 3.0m,,etc) with forced flash on, and let that person take instant & beautiful indoor/nighttime shots of groups, babies, people, etc. w/o ever having to worry about not autofocusing in time or missing a fleeting moment.

This is and was a LIFESAVER for me - instantly, moving from my old F450, I was able to catch great group shots, dancing people, parties, etc. w/o every having to worry about the slow AF beam to lock focus at night, and I was able to catch shots few other P&S camera could (most only have full AF mode, not fixed/manual focus).

In daylight, this is a total lifesaver -- simply set the camera to 3.0m or 7.0m fixed focus mode, then let them at it. Every shot will fire instantly the moment the button is pressed all the way down, and almost every shot will be in crisp focus (using the fact that you've preset at a distance that will get you near hyperfocal for the lens). F10 can't do this, and you'll miss shots waiting for the AF to kick in.

10) Finally, the true test was printing the images. P150 images off my Epson RX500 6-color all-in-one inkjet printer straight, no manipulations, PIM mode, Best photo quality to Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper has filled my photo album this year with more saturated, colorful, amazing snapshots than the F450 I had. Photo after photo come out looking very good to great, and I'm certainly happy that I don't have to tweak many shots to get great prints.

And, take a 7.2MP P150 image to the lab, printed at 24x30" poster size, my beach shots come out looking better (less noise, same level of detail, smoother & less grainy) than my film shots from my SLR (Minolta 600si, 400ISO FujiFilm negative).

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If you want something smaller, the other Sony 5MP digicams such as the T5/T33/T7 are great picks with the same fast AF speed and manual focus lock feature.

I would say it is perhaps the best 'indoor' camera because you can get by without using a flash. About the only time you would need a flash is when it is very dark.

It's a lousy outdoor camera because you can't see through the LCD screen in the sunlight, it's worthless, and it has no viewfinder to help you.

You seem to have a lot of camera. Wanna send one over?

I'm about to buy the F10 BTW. $263.80 after $30 MIR.

I disagree that the F10 is "useless" outdoors. I have used mine in bright sunlight to take many worthwhile pictures. Yes, the LCD is more difficult to see and sometimes imagination comes in handy, but it does given an image in all but the most extreme light. In fact, I rarely have bothered to use the gain control to increase the brightness outside.

I mean no disrespect but have you looked at the photos on pbase? Please compare!

Respectfully disagree. I have 9 cameras and the F10 requires some intuitive camera setting.

I also had the 7900, Incredible out of camera-but lots of camera blur.

The Canon or the Casios have some great, fun, easy modes.

Even the Sony P200 great but some blur.

The Panny FX9 is another to consider.

Just my opinion...

Linda

Well- I just did the same thing-but paid $319 for it.

Less than 125 shots and the store will take it back for $100 less.

I am ready to sell mine. Boxing it right now to sell or ship back.

Linda

Tho I may return mine or sell it after 10 days, I put a special $20 antiflective protector on the screen and it makes a tremendous difference.

I had been using the ordinary kind and I can't believe how much better this is.

Got it at B & H.

Linda

boruike said:

I, like a lot of people on this forum, are trying to detemine the
best FIRST digital camera to buy. I read many rave reviews on the
internet and have even run into people you have one and say similar
things. The most important thing for me is great pictures. When I
began my research, I was looking at the Canon SD500 and Nikon 7900.
But, the dpreview of the F10 compared it to the Canon SD500 and
Nikon 7900 and I could clearly see the difference.

Click to expand...

If you're comparing to those two cameras, then maybe the F10 is an obvious choice. The F10 is a very small (not among the smallest, but small) camera, and sacrifices a lot to be so small. Zoom range, lens speed, lack of OVF/EVF, a few other complaints as reported by Phil in his review. Best all-around camera, IMO, would be a much bigger camera with a faster lens, maybe something like the Panasonic FZ30 or the upcoming Fuji 9500 (tough debating OIS versus better high ISO) ... and I like the looks of Panny's smaller FZ5, too. A number of cameras made it to my all-too-long short list of potential carry-everywhere cameras ... Oly C5500 (great bargain) and C7000. Panasonic FX9 and LZ2 (I like the possibilities offered by antishake, even if motion blur is involved). Of course, the Canon SD500 and Coolpix 7900 are nice, but neither offers anything to address low light photography (fast lens, IS or high ISOs). And Ricoh makes a couple really intriguing cameras, but availability in the US is tough and prices seem high.

Looking just at small cameras, I like the F10 a lot, except for the lack of a viewfinder. I think Fuji's natural light modes are terrific. At the moment, this is the camera I'm leaning toward picking up. I also have a relative who wants a digicam for Christmas and someone else looking for a recommendation for a camera for his wife to carry around and I'm thinking about the F10 for them as well.

• Dennis

--
Gallery at http://kingofthebeasts.smugmug.com

A lot of other people have given you some great advice here, but I thought I'd chip in with some things I've noticed about the F10.

As compacts go, it is a pretty capable digital camera. It's not especially easy to use, though. Menu navigation can be a bit tricky and if this is your first digital, you may find yourself getting a bit frustrated with settings hidden so deep in menus. Try one out at a store, I'm sure you'll be allowed.

Having said that, I bought a fairly cheap Kodak EasyShare as my first digital camera. I regret it. The camera is VERY slow, sometimes deciding not to work at all, there are only minimal settings to play with, and it stopped working after only a couple of years of occasional use.

You probably have a specific use in mind for the camera: family portraits, holiday snapshots, gatherings, reunions, or maybe you're a film photographer wanting to change format. Be aware of where you'll be using the camera most of all (indoors, outdoors, etc.) what kind of photos you'll be taking and how long you'll have to take them (action photos, for example), and then check for settings that best suit your needs and how easy it is to find them and how the camera responds. You can probably find sample images taken from the camera if you quickly search for it in google images.

The best camera for you is the one that best suits your needs and produces the photographs that look best to you!

Just a thought.

Linda,

Saw your message that you purchased a reflective cover for the F10 at B&H. I searched their site and can't find anything like that. I found clear protective sheets you can apply for about $7 and some stick on hoods but no reflective stuff. Can you post the item number or link to it?

Thanks
Pam

For me, the F10 represents the best combination of features and image quality. You should realize, that even though Phil's reviews test image quality to a very high degree, in reality, if most of your prints are 4X6, or the occasional 8X10, all of the cameras mentioned will give you great prints. Any differences are minor at best, and your skill as a photographer is much more important. However, what the F10 gives you is the ability to make high quality images at 400 ISO, 800 IS0, and even usable images at 1600 ISO. No other digicam, and ceratainly no other compact, can do this. What this means is that I can slip this camera in my pocket at the beginning of the day, take outdoor pictures all day long at 100, take building interiors at 400 and 800, and evening and performance shots at 1600. The camera has great resolution and nice color rendition. Because of this, I find myself reaching for this camera more than any other, including two other digital cameras and approx. 20 film cameras.

This is not however a total beginners camera. You have to understand ISOs and exposure compensation to get the best results. However, I think that these are easily mastered and understood, and the rest of the menus are not as necessary and can be worked with over time.

In short, I really like this camera and think it takes great pictures under conditions that would otherwise require a DSLR. After four months of using it, I would buy it again.

Eric

I like my F10 a lot. The low light/no flash capabilities are fantastic and it really isn't dificult to learn, but still have to know some things to get the most out of the camera. Will most likely get the F11 as soon as it comes out due to it having more manual controls. But as far as a first digital camera (assuming prior film experience was limited to point and shoot) I have to recommend the Casio P600. It is still not cheap, but a wonderful camera.

The P600 has great image quality, good indoor flash shots, extremely fast shutter response. I have taken many very usable shots from moving tour busses in very gloomy weather. (The darn tour busses just won't pull over everywhere I would like to take a picture).

The P600 is a great camera for indoor flash shots of children playing. I just really like its ease of use, many, many scene modes that work quite well and explain right on the screen what each one will do for you, but also does terrific as a simple "don't change any settings" "always on Auto" camera.

I would also check out the Sony V3. I have the V1 and it is also a great camera, but don't think it is available anymore. I would still be using it, but it got broken.

Good luck. It's hard to choose from so many. I would also listen to the people here, and read the reviews here and at Steve's and Imaging Resourse. I would not make a choice based on a salesperson's recommendation or just on a brand name.

gbH

Main cameras: PanasonicFZ30,FujiF10,PanasonicFX8,CasioP600 and others that don't get used so much anymore.

I would agree with Dennis