First off, let me state my F700 arrived at the local FedEx warehouse this morning, and it should be in my hands by this evening. So of course I am biased towards the F700.
Secondly, I have added the asterisks for my emphasis, they do not appear in the quoted text I show below.
Concerning Phil's review:
1) I've spent many hours on this site looking at various noise tests, and now for the camera I'm interested in, he does not perform the noise test! Phil said "Thus instead of posting crops of gray patches I thought it more appropriate ..." That's great, but he should do the standard noise test as well. Also he says, "After examining higher ISO images in detail we discovered that this is because the camera drops its sharpening considerably to keep noise down." Well, he was critical of the over-sharpening earlier ("I found the F700's sharpening to be too harsh, this is either down to too much sharpening or an unsophisticated sharpening algorithm"), so this should be ok!
2) In conclusion, Phil says "Con: ... ISO 1600 limited to one megapixel image size (1280 x 960)". Why is this a con? Yes it’s too bad the image sized is reduced, but do other cameras even attempt such a high ISO equivalent? I don't know, but from many other reviews I've seen, most only go up to 800. To me, this is one more feature which you could get some use out of, not a Con.
3) In Timings and Performance, Phil says "One action which is simply too slow is playback magnification ... Otherwise this is one of the fastest consumer cameras you can buy!" Fastest consumer cameras you can buy !! Why isn't this listed in the Pros??? He does mention the fast startup/shutdown, but he should have gone further with that comment.
4) In Design, Phil says "the F700 is quite a bit thinner than the Canon PowerShot, it's also better designed with clean lines and an expensive feel ." I agree it’s overpriced, so I'm glad to see Phil thinks it at least looks the part!
5) Also in Design, "One thing which surprised me was how poorly the LCD live view performed in low light." I have not heard anyone else comment about this. I hope it’s not too bad. I'll find out tonight!
6) Concerning dynamic range: In Conclusion Phil says: "Con: SuperCCD SR doesn't live up to its promise (the improvement is not significant)" This should not be a Con. Reading the Dynamic range section of the ISO Sensitivity / Noise levels section, he states: "When I first used the F700 I have to be honest and say I didn't see what I was expecting. However after more use and more examination of F700 images it's clear that there is better reproduction of bright detail, however it's not as impressive as I had hoped nor does it do away with the harsh 'clipping' which is such a signature of most digital camera images." It may not be as good as Fuji says, or as good as Phil was hoping or expected, but it is still better than before, and most likely better than other cameras. This is not a Pro, but I don't think it should be a Con by any means. If you think you pay for a feature that is not significant, then give a low rating for value (which he did of course), but don't disparage the feature if it is better.
7) I know a lot of people complain Phil doesn't examine the Soft sharpening mode. I'll defend Phil here. He has to draw the line somewhere, or these reviews will come out after the model has been retired. But thanks to all in this forum for the good advice on that subject.
8) In Conclusion Phil says: "Pro: "Thirds grid" overlay option on live view is useful". What is this useful for? I'm not being sarcastic, I just don't know!
It was good to read Phil’s review. I certainly don’t agree with some of his opinions, but that’s what opinions are for. I do think the F700 is over-priced, but I figured I waste a lot of money in other places as well. I’m sure I will love the movie mode, and the fast response. I’ll shoot in 6MP-Soft mode and I’ll have to get some good sharpening techniques before I print, but I’m sure it will allow me to print excellent 4x6’s and very good 8x10’s. I’m also sure it will fit nicely in my pocket. Hopefully the battery performs well. The owners in this forum seem to think it does.
My Rating: “Highly Recommended” (and I don’t even have it yet!)
A big thanks goes to everyone in this forum. Especially (in no particular order), Chris Gunn, Doug Kerr, Fotonut, Karl Gunter Wunsch, WmAx, Thomas, David314, carmenF700, Raist3d, psurfer, Box Bronie and last but certainly not least, George Chen!
Since I am now an owner, or should be by tonight, let me know if I can help. I’ll post some pictures of my 6-day-old son soon. I’m sure his pictures will turn out excellent no matter what the conditions.
And finally, if you’ve read this far, thanks for “listening” !!
-Steve Schweizer
Secondly, I have added the asterisks for my emphasis, they do not appear in the quoted text I show below.
Concerning Phil's review:
1) I've spent many hours on this site looking at various noise tests, and now for the camera I'm interested in, he does not perform the noise test! Phil said "Thus instead of posting crops of gray patches I thought it more appropriate ..." That's great, but he should do the standard noise test as well. Also he says, "After examining higher ISO images in detail we discovered that this is because the camera drops its sharpening considerably to keep noise down." Well, he was critical of the over-sharpening earlier ("I found the F700's sharpening to be too harsh, this is either down to too much sharpening or an unsophisticated sharpening algorithm"), so this should be ok!
2) In conclusion, Phil says "Con: ... ISO 1600 limited to one megapixel image size (1280 x 960)". Why is this a con? Yes it’s too bad the image sized is reduced, but do other cameras even attempt such a high ISO equivalent? I don't know, but from many other reviews I've seen, most only go up to 800. To me, this is one more feature which you could get some use out of, not a Con.
3) In Timings and Performance, Phil says "One action which is simply too slow is playback magnification ... Otherwise this is one of the fastest consumer cameras you can buy!" Fastest consumer cameras you can buy !! Why isn't this listed in the Pros??? He does mention the fast startup/shutdown, but he should have gone further with that comment.
4) In Design, Phil says "the F700 is quite a bit thinner than the Canon PowerShot, it's also better designed with clean lines and an expensive feel ." I agree it’s overpriced, so I'm glad to see Phil thinks it at least looks the part!
5) Also in Design, "One thing which surprised me was how poorly the LCD live view performed in low light." I have not heard anyone else comment about this. I hope it’s not too bad. I'll find out tonight!
6) Concerning dynamic range: In Conclusion Phil says: "Con: SuperCCD SR doesn't live up to its promise (the improvement is not significant)" This should not be a Con. Reading the Dynamic range section of the ISO Sensitivity / Noise levels section, he states: "When I first used the F700 I have to be honest and say I didn't see what I was expecting. However after more use and more examination of F700 images it's clear that there is better reproduction of bright detail, however it's not as impressive as I had hoped nor does it do away with the harsh 'clipping' which is such a signature of most digital camera images." It may not be as good as Fuji says, or as good as Phil was hoping or expected, but it is still better than before, and most likely better than other cameras. This is not a Pro, but I don't think it should be a Con by any means. If you think you pay for a feature that is not significant, then give a low rating for value (which he did of course), but don't disparage the feature if it is better.
7) I know a lot of people complain Phil doesn't examine the Soft sharpening mode. I'll defend Phil here. He has to draw the line somewhere, or these reviews will come out after the model has been retired. But thanks to all in this forum for the good advice on that subject.
8) In Conclusion Phil says: "Pro: "Thirds grid" overlay option on live view is useful". What is this useful for? I'm not being sarcastic, I just don't know!
It was good to read Phil’s review. I certainly don’t agree with some of his opinions, but that’s what opinions are for. I do think the F700 is over-priced, but I figured I waste a lot of money in other places as well. I’m sure I will love the movie mode, and the fast response. I’ll shoot in 6MP-Soft mode and I’ll have to get some good sharpening techniques before I print, but I’m sure it will allow me to print excellent 4x6’s and very good 8x10’s. I’m also sure it will fit nicely in my pocket. Hopefully the battery performs well. The owners in this forum seem to think it does.
My Rating: “Highly Recommended” (and I don’t even have it yet!)
A big thanks goes to everyone in this forum. Especially (in no particular order), Chris Gunn, Doug Kerr, Fotonut, Karl Gunter Wunsch, WmAx, Thomas, David314, carmenF700, Raist3d, psurfer, Box Bronie and last but certainly not least, George Chen!
Since I am now an owner, or should be by tonight, let me know if I can help. I’ll post some pictures of my 6-day-old son soon. I’m sure his pictures will turn out excellent no matter what the conditions.
And finally, if you’ve read this far, thanks for “listening” !!
-Steve Schweizer
