Fujifilm Finepix F11
Review Date: January 27th 2006
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using
the 6M Fine mode, which gives an average image size of around
3Mb.
Noise
There are 6 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm Finepix
F11 which you can select at any time if the camera is in the
manual exposure modes. Here are some 100% crops which show
the noise levels for each ISO setting:
There is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest settings
of ISO 80 and 100, and ISO 200 also looks very clean. Noise
is starting to appear at ISO 400, bit it is still very well
controlled at ISO 800, and even the fastest speed of ISO 1600
gives useable results. A remarkable performance by the Fujifilm
Finepix F11.
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality
50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening
applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little
soft and benefit from some further sharpening in a program
like Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately you cannot change the
in-camera sharpening levels, so you will always have to do
some post-processing if you don't like the default results.
File Quality
The Fujifilm Finepix F11 has 2 different file quality settings
available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here
are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various
options, with the file size shown in brackets.
Chromatic Aberrations
The Fujifilm Finepix F11 handled chromatic aberrations extremely
well during the review, so well in fact that I could only
a couple of examples with limited fringing in test shots with
extreme contrast.
Macro
The Fujifilm Finepix F11 offers a Macro setting that allows
you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera.
The first image shows how close you can get to the subject
in Macro mode (in this case a compact flash card). The second
image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Fujifilm Finepix F11 are Auto,
Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro.
and Red-eye Reduction + Slow Synchro. These shots of a magnolia
coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Auto Flash - Telephoto (108mm) |
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And here are some shots of yours truly. As you can see, neither
the Flash On setting and the Red-Eye Reduction option caused
any red-eye.
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Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100%
Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Fujifilm Finepix F11 maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds,
which is good news if you're seriously interested in night
photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed
of 15 seconds, aperture of f/5 at ISO 80. I've included a
100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
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100% Crop |
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Overall Image Quality
The Fujifilm Finepix F11 produced images of fantastic quality
during the review period. The 6 megapixel images are a little
soft straight out of the camera and ideally require some further
sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately
there are no in-camera sharpening options. The Fujifilm Finepix
F11 dealt very well with chromatic aberrations, which only
appeared in a few of the test shots - very limited fringing
effects could only be seen in very high contrast situations.
Macro performance is above avearge, allowing you to focus
as close as 5 cms away from the subject. The built-in flash
worked well indoors with no red-eye and good overall exposure.
The night photograph was very good too, with the maximum shutter
speed of 15 seconds offering lots of scope for creative night
photography. The Fujifilm Finepix F11's most impressive feature
in terms of image quality is the extensive and very usable
ISO range of 80-1600. I have never reviewed a compact digital
camera before that has been able to match the F11's ISO performance.
ISO 80-400 is virtually noise-free, whilst ISO 800 and even
1600 produce acceptable results. This makes the a great camera
for low-light photography without having to resort to using
the flash, which in turn can produce more natural results.
PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Fujifilm Finepix F11
have been submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
member sites.
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