Fujifilm Finepix F11

Review Date: January 27th 2006

Page 1
Introduction / Price
Page 2
Features
Page 3
Specifications
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Ease of Use
Page 6
Image Quality
Page 7
Sample Images
Page 8
Conclusion / Links

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:

ISO 80 (100% crop)

ISO 100 (100% crop)

   

ISO 200 (100% crop)

ISO 400 (100% crop)

   

ISO 800 (100% crop)

ISO 1600 (100% crop)

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.

Original 100% Crop

Sharpened 100% Crop

   
   

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.

6M Fine (3,034Kb)
6M Normal (1,425Kb)
   

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.

Example 1
Example 2
 

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.

Macro Shot (click to view full-sized image)

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.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (36mm)

Auto Flash - Wide Angle (36mm)

ISO 64
ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (108mm)

Auto Flash - Telephoto (108mm)
ISO 64
ISO 64
   

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.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
   

Flash - Red-Eye Reduction

Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop)
   

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.

Night Shot (click to view full-sized image)

100% Crop
   

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.

Page 1
Introduction / Price
Page 2
Features
Page 3
Specifications
Page 4
Design
Page 5
Ease of Use
Page 6
Image Quality
Page 7
Sample Images
Page 8
Conclusion / Links

DIWAPhotographyBLOG 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.