Fujifilm Finepix F610 Zoom
Review Date: May 5th 2004
|
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the default 6M 2848x2136 mode, which gives an average image size of 1.5Mb. Choosing the 12M mode increases the file size by about 1Mb.
Noise
There are 4 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm FinePix F610 Zoom which you can select at any time if the camera is in manual mode. Note that the file quality setting automatically defaults to 3M when ISO 800 is selected; ISO 800 isn't available at the 6M and 12M settings. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 160 (100% crop) |
ISO 200 (100% crop) |
 |
 |
ISO 400 (100% crop) |
ISO 800 (100% crop) |
 |
 |
The noise levels look OK at ISO 160, with some noise starting to appear at ISOs 200 and 400. Interestingly there doesn't seem to be that much difference between ISO 200 and 800 - it's a shame that ISO 800 is only available at the 3M file quality setting.
3M vs 6M vs 12M File Quality
Fujifilm have differentiated their cameras from the competition during the past few years by claiming that despite only having, for example, a 6 megapixel CCD, the camera can deliver a 12 megapixel image that maintains the same quality. I'll let you make up your own minds, so here are some 100% crops which show the various file quality settings of the Fujifilm FinePix F610 Zoom:
1M |
2M |
 |
 |
3M |
6M |
 |
 |
12M |
|
 |
|
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. As you can see, the out-of-the camera images set to Normal sharpening are a little on the soft side and will benefit from some sharpening during post-processing. Alternatively you can choose the Hard sharpening option in-camera.
Original 100% Crop |
Sharpened 100% Crop |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Chromatic Aberrations
The Fujifilm FinePix F610 Zoom coped extremely well with chromatic aberrations, even in very high-contrast situations, and I had to search through the sample images to find the following examples. Most purple fringing occurred at the edges of the frame rather than in the centre, and even then the fringing effect is only very slight.
 |
 |
Overall Image Quality
The Fujifilm FinePix F610 Zoom uses the same the 4th Generation Super CCD HR sensor as the Fujifilm S7000 Zoom and delivers images of similar quality, with nicely-balanced, sharp images that can be printed up to A3 in size. Noise is well controlled at all of the different ISO settings, although it is annoying that ISO 800 is only available for the 3M file quality setting. Chromatic aberrations in the form of purple fringing are a thing of the past with this camera, even in high-contrast situations where you would expect them to appear. Overall an excellent performance from the Fujifilm FinePix F610 Zoom and and another rave review for the Super CCD HR sensor.
|