Fujifilm Finepix F420 Zoom
Review Date: August 21st 2004
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the default 3M 2048 x 1536 mode, which gives an average image size of around 1Mb.
Noise
There are 4 ISO settings available on the FinePix F420 Zoom which you can select at any time if the camera is in manual mode. Note that the file quality setting automatically defaults to 1M when ISO 800 is selected; ISO 800 isn't available at the 3M and 6M settings. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 160 (100% crop) |
ISO 200 (100% crop) |
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ISO 400 (100% crop) |
ISO 800 (100% crop) |
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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 1M file quality setting.
File Quality
Fujifilm have differentiated their cameras from the competition during the past few years by claiming that despite only having, for example, a 3 megapixel CCD, the camera can deliver a 6 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 FinePix F420 Zoom:
0.3M |
1M |
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3M |
6M |
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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 sharpened quite aggressively in-camera, although post-processing brings out a little extra detail.
Original 100% Crop |
Sharpened 100% Crop |
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Chromatic Aberrations
As with most digital cameras, the FinePix F420 does suffer from chromatic aberrations, especially in high-contrast photographs.
In the first sample image shown below, I was standing under a tree with the sun positioned just to the left of the main subject in the photograph. Consequently the edges of the leaves and tree trunk in the frame, especially in areas of details like the intricate branches shown below, exhibited quite a lot of purple-fringing.
In less high-contrast situations, chromatic aberrations is much better controlled by the FinePix F420, occasionally appearing as a slight purple edging, as shown in the second sample image below.
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Overall Image Quality
The FinePix F420 uses the same the 4th Generation Super CCD HR sensor as the Fujifilm S7000 Zoom and FinePix F610 Zoom cameras, and it delivered images of similar quality during the review period. The 3 megapixel images were sharp out of the camera and can be printed up to A4 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 1M file quality setting. Chromatic aberrations in the form of purple fringing do appear in high-contrast scenes, but they are largely avoided in most situations. Overall a very good performance from the FinePix F420 Zoom.
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