Customer Reviews

Fujifilm Finepix Z10fd 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Wasabi Green)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I've been a Fujifilm faithful ever since my first digicam, the FP1300, seven digital cameras ago in 2001. With the Z10fd, it's easy to see why; tiny, sleek eye catching design (curvy and retro looking), intuitive, easy to use interface, and great image quality.

The Z10 is a 7 megapixel camera with 25MB internal memory. I made sure I got a large memory card, a 1GB XD card (the camera also takes SD and SDHC memory cards) which stores 294 images at the highest resolution, and 18.7 minute movie clips (640x480 at 30fps).

Having owned two cameras in the Z series; the Z1 and Z3, comparisons are inevitable. The first thing of note is that you no longer require the cradle to charge the camera, or download photos/movies/sound clips. It was quite a pain having to lug that around everywhere.

As with those two, the camera powers on by sliding back the lens cover. One gripe I have though is that there isn't a dedicated button for movie mode anymore. You must now go into the menu to access it, but I can live with that. There's only one button on top of the camera, the shutter button, everything else in located on the back, beside the LCD.

The 2.5 inch LCD display is toughened and scratch/break resistant. The resolution is excellent. The camera has 3x optical zoom which it does without extending out of the camera body, like most other cameras.

The battery charges in about an hour, much quicker than the 140 minutes stated in the manual. Camera start up is very quick too, just under 2 seconds from my timing.

The menu is even further simplified. If, for example, you select one out of the 18 shooting modes (i.e. Manual, Auto, Natural & Flash, Natural light, Party, Sports -for moving objects, etc. There's even a mode for Text), the screen displays text explaining what each mode is, with crystal clear sample images to illustrate. Each mode makes life easier for people like me who aren't into much tinkering to achieve great results. Natural & Flash is one of my favourites as it takes two images; one with flash, and one with natural light near simultaneously, and you get to select one, or keep both. Most times, the photo taken in natural light comes out tops.

Movies are shot in 30fps, TV quality mode, which is becoming standard in digicams these days. You can select either the higher quality of 640x480, or lower quality of 320x240 (which gives longer clips). Quality is very good, and it's amazing the way the camera adapts to changes in light intensity while shooting (e.g. moving from a darker indoors atmosphere to a sunny exterior).

Then we come to the major feature, face detection mode. This is a welcome feature for people like me who while handing my camera to strangers to "please take a photo of me", hope and pray that the photo taken manages to come out focused and okay at least. In this mode, the camera locks onto facial features, up to ten faces at a time, and automatically selects the best exposure for the shot as well as eliminates red-eye, enabling great shots to be taken every time. You can also use face detection mode with the self timer, ensuring those shots you take of yourself come out great. You can still use AF/AE lock as well.

You can edit photos too; clip, rotate, and even send or receive images with other IR enabled cameras by infra red. I tried it with my PC (which is IR enabled) and it didn't work though, shame!

The camera comes in a range of colours; black (my favourite), red, green, pink, blue, and orange.

There's an AV cable to connect to your TV to view images or movie clips (it uses the same port as the USB and has a nice little cover for the port), and as ever, the Finepix software is first class. Photos up to A3 size can be printed in crystal clear resolution.

This camera will not please those who are used to extensive manual settings and loads of tinkering with ISO levels, white balance, and other photographic jargon, but if you're like me, and just want to be able to whip out your camera, and without much fuss, capture the moment, this camera is for you. My current favourite gadget along with my iPod classic!

I really wanted to like the camera, but it failed woefully for my needs. The low-light performance is very poor, with significant noise present in any shots over ISO 200. Most small cameras have trouble in low-light, but after the success of the Fuji F20/F30/F40 series, I was hoping this camera would perform better. As it is, the Sony T-Series even though not great in low light, is worlds better. If you want to take indoor shots without flash, that's very important.

Almost everything else about this camera is very good:
-Nice construction
-Easy to use
-Good feature set
-Good image quality in brightly lit environments
-Nice "grid" option in viewfinder

One other issue - the "anti-shake" does not work very well, it is not true mechanical image stabilization, but rather a shutter-speed and iso boost.

So, if you shoot only in bright environments, go for it. Otherwise, look further!

Buy this camera because it is tiny, looks cool, and you think the price is low enough not to be bothered if you tire of the image quality.

The first thing to be aware of is that when the camera is set to Auto mode, flash pictures are taken at ISO 800 and look very grainy. In any mode other than Manual, the ISO is set to Auto ISO and you will see plenty of grain if the ISO is higher than 100, which is almost always the case. To get the best image out of this camera you need to set it to Manual and set the ISO to 64. The downside to this is that you will then need to hold the camera very steady or use a tripod to avoid blur, which totally negates the reason for buying such a camera in the first place. Alternatively, you can use noise reducing software such as NoiseNinja and get quite decent results from ISO 200 or 400 images.

Barrel distortion from the lens at wide angle is extreme.

I doubt that most people would really notice the image quality issues in a 4x6 print. It's a fine camera if you suddenly want to take a snapshot of people somewhere and post it on the internet. Everyone you are taking a picture of will think the camera looks cool and they'll probably tell you the picture is great, too!

Functionally, the camera works quite well and there's very little lag between pressing the "shutter" button and taking the picture. It is a decent camera for the price.

The Finepix Z10fd is exactly the kind of camera I need for my business. I'm a nail artist, and I need to be able to take clear, crisp, and up-close photos of hands and feet--and that's what I get with this subcompact little cutie. The controls are very intuitive, also; I didn't need the user's manual to figure out the basics, and only needed to peek at it couple of times for some of the more specific functions. The 7.2 pixels give me a whole lot of image to work with later in my photo editing software. I haven't had the opportunity to print anything yet, but when I do, I'll edit this review accordingly.

Oh, and the fact that the camera is HOT PINK does nothing at all to diminish my pleasure in its use, in case anyone was wondering :D

the camera is fun. It takes decent pictures. It has lots of features. What it will not do is allow you to zoom in while taking video. The camera works well for a camera but it's only okay as a video maker.

Don't let other venders try to convince you to purchase an extended battery. I tried to order this camera from 2 other websites that had it for a cheaper price. I got an e-mail soon after I placed my order saying to call them persoanlly. I called them because I was told that it was for my own security against fraud. I was soon told that I should buy an extended battery because "this camera came with a battery that would only last 20 minutes". When I refused the battery my order became cancelled. After argueing with these poeople for about a week (& in 1 case told my camera wouldn't arrive for a month) I ordered it from Amazon. I got the camera in about 3 days. The battery is fine. I had to charge once after about a week of normal use.

I recommend this camera. I also recommend getting it from Amazon & avoiding any hassle.

Well I just got this one today and it is just what I wanted. If you are going for a sub compact camera then size should be your biggest consideration. This little Z series is about as small as they come. I got mine in Sunset Orange and love the bright color. I mean its so small you could almost put it on your keychain. I have a Razor cell phone and this little camera is slightly thicker, slightly shorter and ever so slightly wider.The weight is about the same, I can actually put it in the Razor's leather case and snap it shut! The picture quality I am sure will continue to get better in the future but its pretty good now. Those who are reviewing this camera, remember its the size of a cell phone and it still delivers pretty nice pictures. The design does not allow it to be quite as good as the larger cameras. I mean the Canon SD1000 ELF series is the best in this category, and it is more expensive, considerably larger and the lens has to come out when trying to zoom. I was thinking of a camera I could slip into a cell phone case to carry with me just like my phone. I think I've found it here. The whole reason in my mind for a camera this small is portability. Thats means alot to me in that I will always have it on me and no more of this " if I had only had a camera with me " thoughts. The best pictures always come when we are not expecting them. I will no longer miss those shots. There are several really cool features on this little camera, one of which is really great macro shots, even has a text mode for taking pictures of script like all the spy movies used to have for photograghing secret documents. please be very careful to read the full description as I have only discussed the reason I feel this camera should be considered, SIZE.

I own multiple compact cameras - and this is by far one of my favorites. I have the Sony T10 and Samsung i6 and now the Fuji z10fd.
First off, the hardest part about purchasing this camera is deciding which color to get - all the colors are so cool, you just kinda wanna collect them all :-). I decided on the Green color. I can always find it in a room full of other camera's : )
Pros:
* Cute, this little cutie is a conversation piece.
* Small and easily fits in your pocket or purse.
* Fast startup
* Fast shooting
* Takes SD film :)
* User Friendly
* Easy to Open/Close
* Transfers pictures to other Fuji's "WOW"
* Scrapbook / Playback features are Fun.

Cons:
* Unable to Zoom in/out while shooting video :(
* Video starts playing automatically (playback mode) - I wish there was an option to turn that off - it gets annoying when trying to find videos.
* Unable to easily switch between Picture mode and Video mode - without going thru the menu.

this camera is small, compact, light, but sadly it doesnt take crystal clear images...
i've taken more than 100 trial shots in different modes and circumstances however this camera is far from satifying the minimum...evening shots are really bad...forget taking sharp landscape photos with it...the only good results you may get are with macro shots...
it was a wrong choice...my recommendation to those who are thinking of buying this digital cameara is to think twice...

This little camera is absolutely fantastic. I bought it for our trip out west. We came back home with over 400 beautiful pictures. Easy to operate.

My 16 year old daughter bought this camera and LOVES it. She does not read instructions and has still had great success with a lot of the features. It is very easy to use and understand. The image stabilization is good, the picture quality is beautiful, and the video feature is a lot of fun. Great camera, great price.