Introduction

Ease of Use

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR is outwardly virtually identical to its predecessor, the F70EXR model. It's a fairly compact digital camera that just fits into the palm of your hand, with very similar subtle curves on the top, left and right of the metal camera body. With dimensions of 99.3(W)× 58.9(H)× 28.4(D) mm and weighing 183g, this is a camera that you can slip into a pocket or small bag and not notice until you need to use it. The principal external difference between the F70 and the F80EXR is the latter's larger 3 inch LCD screen, while it retains the same versatile 10x, wide-angle 27-280mm lens. The Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR is quite pleasing on the eye, with either a champagne, pink, red or more serious black colour scheme and a rounded, compact appearance, and it retains the excellent overall finish that we've come to expect from Fujifilm Finepix F-series cameras.

The Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR is a little more tricky to hold than it really should be, with your right thumb naturally positioned on the round Mode Dial on the back of the camera, and a tiny handgrip on the front. Your right forefinger is then free to operate the shutter button and the tactile zoom lever, which surrounds the shutter button. Thankfully, despite the smooth all-plastic body, the camera is not too slippy when gripping it. The various buttons are well-made and easy to operate, and the camera feels well-balanced in your hands. Overall the Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR is well constructed and designed with no obvious signs of corners being cut - even the tripod socket, although plastic rather than metal, is centrally located.

The Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR has relatively few external controls, just 10 in total, although it does offer a much wider range of photographic controls than that number would initially suggest. All 10 controls are clearly labeled using industry-standard symbols and terminology. You can set the flash, macro, self-timer and exposure compensation options by clicking on the four buttons around the navigation pad.

As with most other digital cameras, the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR has a Menu/OK button in the centre of the navigation pad which, as you would expect, gives you access to the main software menu system. Depending on which shooting mode is selected, this lets you set various parameters including auto-focus, metering, continuous mode, image stabilisation, plus the Setup menu, which offers 23 options that you will probably set once and then forget about.

There is also a small button above the navigation pad marked "F", which opens what Fujifilm call the F-Mode menu. This allows you to set the ISO speed, image size and the film simulation mode. All of these are also replicated in the main menu. Due to the large 3 inch LCD screen, the various options and icons are perfectly easy to read.

The Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR's Mode Dial allows you to quickly change the camera's shooting mode. The 8 modes are Auto, EXR, Program/Aperture Priority, Manual, Movie, Scene, Natural Light, and Natural Light & Flash. The Mode Dial has a fairly positive action, but I did get caught out on a couple of occasions when it had been inadvertently moved to the wrong position whilst stored in a pocket.

Front	Rear

The Program setting on the Mode Dial can be toggled between Program and Aperture-Priority in the main menu, although disappointingly there are just two f-stops available in aperture-priority, wide-open f/3.3 and stopped-down f/11 (depending upon the zoom setting). There's also a Manual mode which lets you set both the shutter speed and the aperture, although again there's only the same two aperture settings to choose from. The aperture is set by pressing up and down on the navigation pad, and the shutter speed by pressing left and right. A simple horizontal line in the bottom-right of the LCD screen helps you to set the correct exposure. Note that there is no dedicated shutter-priority mode.

The EXR shooting mode is one of the F80EXR's most exciting, headline-grabbing features. There are three different EXR options. Resolution Priority (HR) mode uses all 12 megapixels to capture the highest resolution image, much like any other camera. High ISO & Low Noise (SN) mode combines adjacent pixels to create larger photodiodes and improve low-light quality, producing a 6 megapixel image that makes dark scenes as bright and detailed as possible with minimal noise. D-Range Priority (DR) mode simultaneously takes two images at different exposures and then combines them to produce a single 6 megapixel image with increased dynamic range (up to 800%), preserving detail in the shadow and highlight areas that would otherwise be lost. If you can't decide between the three modes, EXR Auto will automatically select the correct one for the current scene. In practice, EXR Auto picked the mode that I personally would have chosen about 90% of the time, so you can safely leave the F80EXR on this setting and not worry about having to keep changing the EXR mode.

You can see the results of using the the different EXR modes for yourself on the Image Quality page. There is a side-by side comparison of the ISO speeds in Resolution Priority (HR) and High ISO & Low Noise (SN) mode, an example which was shot using each EXR mode, and one which was shot using D-Range Priority (DR) mode at each % level. Setting the camera to High ISO & Low Noise Mode produces slightly less noisy images at each equivalent setting, but the image resolution drops to 6 megapixels, the range is only 100-1600, and to be honest the difference between the two modes isn't as pronounced as we'd have hoped. The D-Range Priority (DR) mode is much more successful, resulting in images that have noticeably more dynamic range that those shot in the Resolution Priority (HR) mode, and far surpassing other compact cameras. If you want to shoot images that retain detail in both the highlight and shadow areas, this mode and this camera are made for you.

The Pro Focus and Pro Low-light modes use clever multi-bracketing technology to create DSLR-like effects. Pro Focus takes up to three different exposures at different focal points and aligns them to produce a single frame with a shallow depth of field, while Pro Low-light takes a series of four high sensitivity/low-noise shots in quick succession and combines them into an image with less noise than the single exposures. You can see examples of both shooting modes on the Image Quality page.

The Natural Light mode forces the F80EXR to select a fast shutter speed in order to freeze subject movement more effectively, whilst setting a fast ISO speed without firing the flash for more natural results. It's an effective automatic way of taking photos of children indoors, for example. Natural Light and Flash is a little more exciting. When selected, the camera instantly takes 2 photos, one with flash, one without, giving you the option of which one to choose later (both are saved by the camera).

Side	Front

The F80EXR introduces high-definition video for the first time to the Fujifilm F-series, capturing 1280 x 720 pixel footage at 24fps with mono sound, full use of the 10x zoom, a maximum recording time of 15 minutes per clip, and a mini-HDMI port. Alternatively there are also 640 x 480 pixels and 320 x 240 pixels modes at 30 fps. As with most other cameras with HDMI ports, there's no HDMI cable included in the box. You could use Fujifilm’s optional HD Player Kit instead, which includes an HD card reader that connects the camera to your HDTV, and even a wireless remote control.

The LCD screen on the rear of the camera is a 3 inch model which only has an adequate 230,000 dots. The LCD monitor has a glossy finish which tends to show fingerprints, and it's also slightly recessed, which should lead to fewer scratches. There is no optical viewfinder on the Finepix F80EXR, leading to a few moments of frustration in very bright sunlight when it can be difficult to see the image on the monitor clearly. On a more positive note, it is viewable at 160 degrees both vertically and horizontally and offers 100% scene coverage.

The Face Detection function is accessed via a dedicated button below the navigation pad. This feature is a welcome one that works well in the right situations. It's really best for posed group shots where your subject(s) is standing still at a moderate distance, but it also works if the subject is moving quickly or has their head turned sideways or even upside down. Movement tracking keeps the camera 'locked on' to its subjects until they move out of the picture. Face Detection 3 detects up to 10 faces and is faster and more accurate than the previous iteration, especially with subjects that aren't looking directly at the camera, and also has the added benefit of also offering red-eye reduction if you require it.

Fujifilm have included an image stabilisation system on the F80EXR. Activated via the Dual IS Mode Setup menu option, you can set the system to Continuous, Shooting Only or Off. The F80EXR's image stabilisation system uses a combination of mechanical CCD-shift and the use of high sensitivity settings of up to ISO 6400 to help keep shutter speeds high enough to avoid subject blur in low light conditions. Note that the camera will only automatically adjust the ISO speed when using the Auto shooting mode - in the other modes the ISO speed that you select will always be used, so only the mechanical CCD-shift part of the system is used.

The Film Simulation setting is a throw-back to the days of film. Remember that? I doubt if most F80EXR purchasers do, yet Fujifilm still persist in referring back to their film past. There are five Film Simulation options - Provia, Velvia, Astia, Black & White and Sepia - with the first three supposedly mimicking the natural tones of Provia, vivid colors of Velvia, and the soft tones of Astia. Perhaps recognising that most users won't know what Provia, Velvia, Astia actually signify, the F80EXR also helpfully calls them Standard, Vivid and Soft. Film Simulation can also be used in combination with other shooting modes too, including EXR, so you can shoot a black and white image in D-Range Priority mode, for example.

Memory Card Slot	Battery Compartment

Super Intelligent Flash is a rather grandiose sounding feature that is a little more specialised that its name suggests. It essentially throttles down the flash when taking macro shots, so that the subject isn't over-exposed by a blinding white light. Integrated into the Auto shooting mode, in practice it does produce quite effective close up shots that don't suffer from over-exposure, and which exhibit much less camera-shake when you're shooting hand-held (although ideally you should use a tripod for ultimate sharpness).

The F80EXR introduces Face Recogntion for the first time on a Fujifilm camera. This allows you to register up to 8 different people, which are then automatically recognised by name when they appear in your pictures (up to five registered people on screen at the same time). Even better, the F80EXR will even prioritise the exposure and focus for a named subject if Face Recognition is turned on, making sure that your friends and family are always the centre of attention. In addition you can assign registered faces to different categories and also enter their birthday.

If you have never used a digital camera before, or you're upgrading from a more basic model, reading the comprehensive and fairly easy-to-follow manual before you start is a good idea. Unfortunately Fujifilm have chosen to cut costs and only supply the full manual as a PDF on a CD, rather than in printed format (there's just a short printed guide to the camera's basic features). Not much use if you're taking pictures and need to find out what a particular option does. The F80EXR's battery-life is a little disappointing, with the camera only managing 200 shots using the supplied NP-50 Li-ion battery, meaning that you'll need to carry a spare with you for longer trips.

The start-up time from turning the Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR on to being ready to take a photo is quite quick at around 2 seconds, and it takes about 2.5 seconds to zoom from the widest focal length to the longest. Focusing is very quick in good light and the camera achieves focus most of the time indoors or in low-light situations, helped by a powerful focus-assist lamp. In the normal shooting mode it takes a snappy 0.5 second to store an image, with a very brief LCD blackout during which you can't take another picture. In Continuous mode the camera takes 1.6 frames per second at the highest image quality, not particularly quick, and it's limited to only 3 frames. There is a mode that allows you to take up to 12 frames at 4 fps, but only at 3 megapixel resolution. All in all the Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR is fairly quick in terms of operational speed.

Once you have captured a photo, the Fujifilm Finepix F80EXR has a good range of options when it comes to playing, reviewing and managing your images. You can instantly scroll through the images that you have taken, view thumbnails (up to 100 on the same screen!), zoom in and out, sort images by date, view slideshows with lots of different settings, delete, protect, trim, and rotate an image. You can also add a sound clip to an image, remove red-eye, resize for blogging, and set the print order and the transfer order. The Display button toggles detailed settings information about each picture on and off, such as the ISO rating and aperture/shutter speed. Disappointingly there is still no histogram available either in shooting or playback mode, which is now a long-standing omission on this range of cameras.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 4.5Mb.

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR produced images of good quality during the review period. The 12 megapixel sensor produces noise-free images at ISO 100 and 200, with some limited noise starting to appear at ISO 400. ISO 800 exhibits fairly visible noise and loss of fine detail but is still very usable, while ISO 1600 is even noisier. The fastest but reduced-resolution settings of ISO 3200, 6400 and 12800 aren't really worth using.

Setting the camera to EXR - High ISO & Low Noise Mode produces slightly less noisy images at each equivalent setting, but the image resolution drops to 6 megapixels, the range is only 100-1600, and to be honest the difference between the two modes isn't as pronounced as we'd have hoped. The D-Range Priority (DR) mode is much more successful, resulting in images that have noticeably more dynamic range that those shot in the Resolution Priority (HR) mode. The Pro Focus and Pro Low Light modes are useful, although their reliance on combining multiple exposures limits their versatility as you really need to use a tripod.

The F80EXR didn't suffer too badly from chromatic aberrations, with some purple fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The pop-up flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate exposure. The wide-angle lens did exhibit obvious barrel distortion at the 27mm setting. The night photograph was OK, with the maximum shutter speed of 8 seconds allowing you to capture enough light in most situations.

Anti-shake works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the 270mm telephoto end of the 10x zoom range. Macro performance is merely average, allowing you to focus as close as 5cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the camera and ideally require further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, as you can't change the in-camera setting if you don't like the default results.

Noise

There are 8 ISO settings available on the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting. On the right are 100% crops showing the ISO range of the EXR - High ISO & Low Noise mode, which captures 6 megapixel images from a more limited ISO range of 100-1600.

Program Mode	EXR - High ISO & Low Noise Mode
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)
ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR's 10x zoom lens offers a versatile focal range for such a compact camera, as illustrated by these examples:

27mm	270mm

 

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 ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can't change the in-camera sharpening level.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR handled chromatic aberrations quite well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Example 1 (100% Crop)	Example 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro Shot	100% Crop

Flash

The flash settings on the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR are Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash and Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Suppressed Flash - Wide Angle (27mm)	Forced Flash - Wide Angle (27mm)
Suppressed Flash - Telephoto (270mm)	Forced Flash - Telephoto (270mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced Flash setting or the Red-Eye Correction option caused any red-eye.

Forced Flash	Forced Flash (100% Crop)
Red-eye Reduction Auto	Red-eye Reduction Auto (100% Crop)

Night Shot

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR's maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds in the Manual mode, which is fairly good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 8 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night Shot	Night Shot (100% Crop)

Anti Shake

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are much sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length	Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)	Anti Shake On (100% Crop)
1/20th / 27mm
1/10th / 270mm

EXR Mode

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR's offers three EXR options. Resolution Priority (HR) mode uses all 12 megapixels to capture the highest resolution image. High ISO & Low Noise (SN) mode combines adjacent pixels to create larger photodiodes and improve low-light quality in the resulting 6 megapixel image. D-Range Priority (DR) mode simultaneously takes two images and then combines them to produce a 6 megapixel image with increased dynamic range. Here is an example which was shot using each EXR mode.

	Example 1
Resolution Priority (HR)	High ISO & Low Noise (SN)	D-Range Priority (DR)
100% Crop	100% Crop	100% Crop

Dynamic Range

When the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR is in EXR - D-Range Priority (DR) mode, you can set the Dynamic Range to either 100%, 200%, 400% or 800%, or Auto. When the camera is in the Program / Aperture-priority or Manual shooting modes, you can set the Dynamic Range to between 100%, 200% or 400%, but the full range is only available if the ISO speed is also increased (ISO 100 only allows 100%, ISO 200 allows 100% and 200%, and ISO 400 allows 100%, 200% and 400%). Here is an example which was shot using EXR - D-Range Priority (DR) mode at each % level.

100%	200%
100% Crop	100% Crop
400%	800%
100% Crop	100% Crop

Pro Focus

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR's Pro Focus scene mode creates images with a shallow depth of field, with the camera taking a rapid series of exposures at different focal points and aligning them to produce a single frame showing a sharply focused subject against a soft, out-of-focus background.

Pro Focus	Pro Focus (100% Crop)

Pro Low-Light

The Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR's Pro Low-Light scene mode produces better image clarity at high ISO levels, with the camera taking a series of four high sensitivity/low-noise shots in quick succession which are then combined together using in-camera processing into an image with less noise than the single exposures.

Pro Low-Light	Pro Low-Light (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera / Lens Extended

Isometric View

Isometric View

Rear of the Camera

Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed

Rear of the Camera / Turned On

Rear of the Camera / Main Menu

Rear of the Camera / F-Mode Menu

Bottom of the Camera

Bottom of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Side of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Front of the Camera

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Fujifilm F80EXR is a modest upgrade to last year's excellent F70EXR model, most notably adding more megapixels, a larger 3 inch LCD screen, HD movies, and face recognition. While all these new features make the F80EXR one of the best-specced cameras at its price-point, the 12 megapixel sensor delivers slightly worse image quality than its predecessor.

While most travel-zoom rivals now offer 12x and even 14x lenses, the F80EXR's 10x lens still offers a versatile 27-270mm focal range in a compact, stylish and well-made body. The ability to set the aperture and shutter speed (although slightly limited) is a major plus-point, although Panasonic and Samsung's competing models also provide a similar level of creative control. The HD video mode may not be full 1080p quality, but the 720p quality is more than adequate, albeit only with mono rather than stereo sound.

In a bid to keep up with the market-leaders, Fujifilm have also increased the screen size and megapixel count, but not entirely successfully. While the bigger screen estate is welcome, the 230K dot count is disappointingly low. Similarly the 12 megapixel sensor provides more resolution, but in direct comparison with the older F70EXR, does so at the expense of less fine detail in pictures taken at most ISO settings.

All of our previous lavish praise about Fujifilm's EXR mode applies equally to the F80EXR - it is as effective in practice as it is revolutionary in principle. The D-Range Priority (DR) mode in particular is literally a real eye-opener, recording much greater dynamic range and preserving more detail in the shadows and highlights than either the F80EXR's own high-resolution mode, or most other compact cameras that we've reviewed. And the 12 megapixel sensor does have the benefit of automatically increasing the EXR resolution to 6 megapixels, which some people believe is the optimum resolution for a digital camera.

Despite all the new features, the F80EXR retains the same very attractive official retail price of £229.99 / $299.95 as its predecessor, easily making it one of the most capable mid-range compact cameras around. It it wasn't for the slight drop in image quality, we'd be awarding the F80EXR top marks, but as it stands, this is still one of the best value and best performing compacts - highly recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	5

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR from around the web.

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