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New F700 for $99, a good deal ?

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Zarathustra

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Hi folks,
Is this camera worth it for that price in todays market.
I'm really interested in its High Dynamic RAW feature.
Have newer RAW software bring to life this camera lately ?
As I understand it was difficult to get some extra dynamic range out of it.
Is there newer firmwares since its realese.

What is the verdict.
Thanks for your opinions.

Zara

--
 
Zarathustra said:
Hi folks,
Is this camera worth it for that price in todays market.
I'm really interested in its High Dynamic RAW feature.
Have newer RAW software bring to life this camera lately ?
As I understand it was difficult to get some extra dynamic range
out of it.
Is there newer firmwares since its realese.

What is the verdict.
Thanks for your opinions.
Click to expand...
I have the F700. It's a superb camera even by today's standards. It doesn't have the full size ISO 1600 that the new Fuji's have or image stabilization but other than that it is a great digicam. It's features include:

-Resolution of about 4+ MP which is more than adequate(don't listen to that 6mp stuff they throw at you, it's a 4mp camera)
-Very good video mode (not mpeg4 but still... VGA @ 30FPS is quite impressive)
-ISO 800 (most current P&S cameras have only ISO 400) and iso 1600 at 1mp
  • Manual controls (Shudder and aperture priority as well as full manual controls)
-Fast operation (even by today's standards)

As for firmware updates, there isn't much to talk about here. Just the addition of pictbridge (a camera - printer communication protocol so you can print without a pc)

About the dynamic range: Sadly the improvement there isn't that great. If you search this forum you should be able to find some examples of what can be achieved (which, at times,can be decent IMHO) but, still, it takes 5s to store a raw photo and it's 13MB per photo! Not exactly practical.

But for $99, I'd consider the F700 a bargain (unless you are one of those peole that just have to have Image Stabilization, mpeg4 video and or ISO 1600)!!
May I ask where you found this offer?
--
-Gee,Brain.What do you wanna do tonight?
-The same thing we do every night,Pinky.Try to compare cameras!
 
Thomas said:
I have the F700. It's a superb camera even by today's standards. It
doesn't have the full size ISO 1600 that the new Fuji's have or
image stabilization but other than that it is a great digicam. It's
features include:
-Resolution of about 4+ MP which is more than adequate(don't listen
to that 6mp stuff they throw at you, it's a 4mp camera)
-Very good video mode (not mpeg4 but still... VGA @ 30FPS is quite
impressive)
-ISO 800 (most current P&S cameras have only ISO 400) and iso 1600
at 1mp
  • Manual controls (Shudder and aperture priority as well as full
manual controls)
-Fast operation (even by today's standards)
As for firmware updates, there isn't much to talk about here. Just
the addition of pictbridge (a camera - printer communication
protocol so you can print without a pc)
About the dynamic range: Sadly the improvement there isn't that
great. If you search this forum you should be able to find some
examples of what can be achieved (which, at times,can be decent
IMHO) but, still, it takes 5s to store a raw photo and it's 13MB
per photo! Not exactly practical.
But for $99, I'd consider the F700 a bargain (unless you are one of
those peole that just have to have Image Stabilization, mpeg4 video
and or ISO 1600)!!
May I ask where you found this offer?
Click to expand...
Yes Outpost.com just don't tell everyone ;-) 'cause I've yet to buy one.

The only thing that is stoping me now, is my commitment to use just one camera, I think I better put that $99 on some Pro1 accesories I need.

But I think I'll buy it just to toy around with it, and if I'm very happy I keep it, and then I'd need to buy a xD card too.

--
 
Zarathustra said:
Yes Outpost.com just don't tell everyone ;-) 'cause I've yet to buy
one.
The only thing that is stoping me now, is my commitment to use just
one camera, I think I better put that $99 on some Pro1 accesories I
need.
Click to expand...
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this site does not appear to be that safe.See:
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1773.html
On the other hand:
http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/cust_reviews__mid--142.html

I don't think they are that safe a choice. They may be one of those places that force you to buy a ton of overpriced, unnecessary accessories in order to sell you the camera. Be careful if you choose to buy from them.
--
-Gee,Brain.What do you wanna do tonight?
-The same thing we do every night,Pinky.Try to compare cameras!
 
Is weird, Outpost is legitimate store and I haven't heard any kind of scams.
I've purchased stuff from them before and no problems.

I'll report back when I get it.

Thanks all for your comments.

Zara

--
 
Outpost should be one of the most safest sites to buy, it is a online store of Fry's Electrionics - one of the most popular giant retailers in the Western United States.
 
Absolutic said:
Outpost should be one of the most safest sites to buy, it is a
online store of Fry's Electrionics - one of the most popular giant
retailers in the Western United States.
Click to expand...
Good to hear. Best of luck with your purchase.You made a very good choice.
--
-Gee,Brain.What do you wanna do tonight?
-The same thing we do every night,Pinky.Try to compare cameras!
 
Hopefully "refurbrished" really means they have fully checked the camera (especially the lens) and the battery is factory fresh. I also have to cough up some more $ for an decent sized memory card.

I think Fuji is forcing us to use the RAW mode by compressing the JPEG too much and therefore we have to buy extra large memory cards :P.
 
I was looking for a cheap, pocketable digicam with raw, so this was perfect. Hopefully the refurb works like new. Thanks for the heads up.

It should be noted, if anyone else picked one of these up, that it appears that only the old 512mb XD cards will work with this camera. The new M and H cards apparently will not work, nor will the 1gb cards. The F700 is one of two exceptions.
 
Disko is that right ?

I was suspecting something like this since this was one the first cameras to come with that format.
If so how can one knows what type of xD 512MB card to buy.

Newegg have one 512 xD now for $30 after rebates but I was planning to buy it only after I try the camera.
That is a bummer 'cause I'm planning to use RAW and the video part.
disko said:
I was looking for a cheap, pocketable digicam with raw, so this was
perfect. Hopefully the refurb works like new. Thanks for the heads
up.

It should be noted, if anyone else picked one of these up, that it
appears that only the old 512mb XD cards will work with this
camera. The new M and H cards apparently will not work, nor will
the 1gb cards. The F700 is one of two exceptions.
Click to expand...
--
 
henryhscheng said:
Hopefully "refurbrished" really means they have fully checked the
camera (especially the lens) and the battery is factory fresh. I
also have to cough up some more $ for an decent sized memory card.
Click to expand...
True, from my experience refurbished products seems to have a double QC,and sometimes are even New with just1 pass QC. Many manufacturers use the reburbished label to let out also overstock merchandise, at prices well bellow MSRP. So being refurbished is the least of my concerns.
henryhscheng said:
I think Fuji is forcing us to use the RAW mode by compressing the
JPEG too much and therefore we have to buy extra large memory cards
:P.
Click to expand...
I think you can put this camera to minimum sharpening using the soft setting so is easier for the jpeg compression, which likely use a fixed Q setting. From the samples I saw, it seems like is not a big deal.
But yeah I'll be using RAW if eDonkey cooperates ;-).

Bear in mind that only the optional Fuji RawConvertor EX will let you control settings for the RAW output.

In either case the in-camera processing for this camera seem to be good, so I can live happy with it as a jpeg only camera.
For sure I'llbe using that interesting "5fps burst fom the past" feature.

--
 
hey zara,

this is my first chat in this forum andy your topic cought my eye...

i've had my fujifilm s7000 or s7500 depends on where in the world you are at for a year now

the thing i love about this little beauty is that it is so versatile

you can shoot 6mg-12mg on it, shoot dvd quality movies on it and the frame is only dependent on the size of your cf or xd card and the audio captured is so direct and clear, switch it to macro mode for superfine close ups and it also has a reasonable zoom

i bought it for $800 AUS in Feb 2005 and if you can get it for $99 US then seriously consider it if this is going to be your first digital camera

one other thing you might want to factor in is the newly release s9000

now i do not know the retail prices out there but for a 6mg digital slr, this is a little beauty.....

i have a recent photo that i took that i could show you, but i don't know how to attach a file to this dicussion yet.....

maybe i will ask the rest of the fourm memeber...

regards,

egle-eye
 
I got an email back from Fuji today about this. It wasn't very helpful, about all it said was...

"We are sorry to inform you that the FinePix F700 Digital Camera is not compatible with Type M xD-Picture Card. "

Luckily, there are still quite a few non M-type 512mb cards around, as far as I can tell, although some sites are confusing as to which type the cards they are listing are.
 
Hi disko,
thanks for this valuable information.

It inmediately became one of my main concerns especially because I like to shoot RAW.

I just research a bit the issue, it seems that after the F700 was released a new method to pack more flash memory was invented (Multi Level Cell).

It is also used in CF and SD cards, the only difference is that unlike CF & SD, xD don't come with a embedded controller, making some older cameras incompatibles with MLC.
Here in DPR it was announced, but not word about the compatibility issues.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/04092701xdcard_1gb.asp

So the lagest xD card the F700 supports is 512MB, Sandisk has a model that also sell as a rebranded Olympus, it is the model# SDXD-512-A10.
Newegg has it for $46 including shipping.
Here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820171081
I saw it in Staples this model next to M types, but it was $59.

However Staples also has a 128MB xD card for $19, shelf price label was higher but on their website shows the actual $19 price.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=90227

For me the 512MB is OK. But I'm gonna hold it until I use the camera.

I don't know if this card will be discontinued, so I'll have to buy it sooner than later. My local Circuit City only have M type.
disko said:
I got an email back from Fuji today about this. It wasn't very
helpful, about all it said was...

"We are sorry to inform you that the FinePix F700 Digital Camera is
not compatible with Type M xD-Picture Card. "

Luckily, there are still quite a few non M-type 512mb cards around,
as far as I can tell, although some sites are confusing as to which
type the cards they are listing are.
Click to expand...
--
 
I work at Sears part-time, and they have the non-M type 512mb xd card for $55, plenty of stock at the store I work at.

I saw the price at Newegg.com, and that's just about the cheapest I can find. Was hoping there would be a lot of clearance prices on these cards, but that just doesn't seem to be the case.

It's too bad the camera won't take a 1gb card, but I can settle for two 512mb cards considering how good of a deal they had on the camera. I just wish it was something more standard, like SD.
 
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