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94 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another excellent choice from Fuji, November 9, 2006
I just got this yesterday from Amazon. I got the orange model because it just looks so stylish (in picture and, indeed, in person). This is to be my backup compact camera, when I don't have my beloved Fujifilm Finepix F30 6MP camera with me. (Compared to the F30, the V10 is taller but thinner and shorter. They weigh about the same, I think.)
Here're my initial impressions:
PICTURE QUALITY: very good outdoors during the day, and average/above-average indoors. Fujifilm (aka Fuji) has produced a line of compact cameras, starting with the F10, renowned for their low-light, high-ISO performance. (ISO refers to the camera's sensitivity to light; the higher the ISO is, the less light the camera requires in order to capture an image with enough brightness and contrast.) The F30, my workhorse, is just superb in low-light conditions, pretty much rivaling (or even besting) my digital SLR, the Nikon D70. The V10 uses a slightly older sensor than the F30 -- in fact, the V10's sensor and "Real Photo" processor are the same as the discontinued F10. This means two things: 1) When there's enough light, the V10 turns in excellent-looking pictures; 2) When the light is dim, the V10 cannot match the image quality of the F30. In fact, it seems to be slightly worse than the F10 in capturing low-light images. But compared to most other compact digital cameras, even those from Canon and Nikon, the V10 does a quite respectable job. For example, if you use the V10 to capture a candlelight moment, the image won't steal your heart, but it'll make a nice memorable photo, provided you have steady hands or use a tripod.
VIDEO QUALITY: 640x320 (VGA) or 320x240 (QVGA) with sound. Recorded in AVI format which is great for mobile playback as almost all mobile video devices can support AVI. You cannot zoom during shooting (reason: zooming produces horrendous-sounding motor noise which could be amplified by the movie mode, hence Fujifilm disabled zooming during movie shooting). Very good video quality when played back on a PC or TV (in the VGA mode).
USABILITY: very fast, very responsive. The V10 also uses the same interface as other Fujifilm compacts, so if you've used a Fuji before, you'll be right at home with this one (except perhaps with the placement of the buttons). People switching from other brands will face an easy learning curve. The buttons are small but responsive. The gigantic 3.0" LCD viewfinder is very bright and high-resolution (230,000 pixels). It's also very fast, meaning you'll see scenes in real-time as you shoot pictuers or video.
GAMES: the only camera on the market to offer games! You get four of them. Quite entertaining, and the graphics of the games looks really great on the 3-inch LCD screen. The controls, however, are a bit awkward due to shape and placement of the four-way controller. If you have nimble fingers you'll get used to the controls fairly quick. I love the games.
BATTERY: don't know yet as I haven't run it through a torture test. Rated at 170 pictures according to the Japanese CIPA standard. My F30 is rated at 550 but I took over 500 shots plus loads of movies on one charge last time.
STYLING: not as thin as those crazy Sony or Casio models. (BTW I love Sony and Casio cameras, too. Canon and Panasonic also make great compact digital cameras - Panasonic ones have great image stabilization. I'm not hot on Nikon or Kodak or Minolta or Pentax, and to me HP cameras are too ugly. Won't even consider any other brands.) The orange color looks delicious. Overall styling is eye-catching, esp. that huge 3" LCD...
In summary, I think I like this Fuji a lot. It won't replace my F30 for important family photos, but it'll make a great tote-in-the-biker bag/handbag camera for everyday photo opportunities.
PS: I should mention this. Fujifilm is a huge sponsor of the conservation of giant pandas and other endangered specifies. I end up buying only Fuji cameras these days both because of their excellent quality and their generosity toward conservation efforts. Thank you, Fujifilm.
PPS: My unit is "made in Japan." When I first turned it on yesterday there was what looked like a green dead pixel on the LCD, but it magically disappeared after an hour or two, so now the LCD looks perfect and defect-free.
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice, November 27, 2006
I bought this camera on a recent trip to Japan. Its probably the most attractive camera currently available at any price. This is mainly because of its good looks, quality materials (it seems to be all metal) and 3 inch screen.
- The image quality seems to be about average for a budget camera. Dont expect too much in this area. From my experience, it seems to take excellent daylight photos. Indoor photos with flash are good to average.
- Movie quality is average but takes huge amounts of memory. Best to avoid using it.
- The screen is clear and displays photos nicely.
- The included games are pretty fun and make use of the big screen.
- The menus are well laid out and easy to navigate.
- It uses XD memory cards. For most people this is a negative because most PDA's and other cameras use SD cards. Most importantly, XD cards are a tad more expensive than SD cards. I bought a 256mb card which quickly filled up. I wish i bought 512mb.
One feature that i have found useful is the voice notes. You can select a photo and attach a 30 second voice note to it. The audio quality is very good too. It takes about 400kb of memory to use this feature.
If your after a reasonably priced camera that is refined and well built then get this one.
PS: One plus about this camera is that its made in Japan. Most budget ones are now made in China and feel cheap by comparison (plasticky and ugly).
PS2: Be prepared for people to compliment your camera wherever you go!
PS3: Yes i really have the orange colour.
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I love it. Not perfect, but still real good., February 13, 2007
For the price of $150 w/ shipping, this thing was a steal like a month ago. While it isn't perfect, you still are getting a pretty good camera for the price. Remember, you're getting a solid point and shoot ultra compact camera, this probably isn't going to win you any artsy awards for best photo, unless they're candid shots. Oh and don't think that the price is an indicator of the build quality, this camera is pretty sturdy, and as an added plus it's made in Japan, or at least mine was.
Note: If you're looking for something with better image quality, go for a F20 or F30. The Fujifilm F20's a tab bit more expensive, a bit bigger and uglier (well it is), but if size and price aren't a problem go for that instead of this, especially where image quality is a must. Back when I got my V10 the F20 was like $50+ more expensive, so I just settled, but now that they're about the same price I might have gone for F20.
Pros:
*It feels strong/sturdy, and looks sweet
*It takes pretty good pictures, at least for 4x6" prints. But, obviously for a compact camera, the pictures aren't going to turn out flawless, technology really hasn't progressed that far, really the biggest changes to todays cameras have been reduction in size and price. Oh, btw, I really don't see that much of a difference between 5 megapixels and 3 so.
*Inexpensive, the price alone tilted my rating positively.
*Responsive, it takes pictures pretty quickly and the controls don't lag. You can take candid pictures of people so easily, with this thing.
*Ultra-compact, and still affordable; sometimes I strap the camera (in a case mind you) to my arm and go running, it's really convenient.
*Adjustable ISO up to 1600, the ISO is the camera's sensitivity to light, the higher you set it the faster the camera will take the picture and the pictures will generally turn out a bit brighter. This is really useful for low light situations or when you're taking a picture of something moving at a decent speed, but keep in mind that the higher the ISO the more noise there is. Regardless, the pictures still print (4x6) alright, despite the very noticeable noise; so it's a trade off. Generally try to keep the ISO levels 400 or below, as you won't get much noticeable noise at those levels, though you might have some issues with blur, depending on the lighting.
*The screen. I love it. It it such an upgrade over my old Sony's 1.25". I can't believe how I managed without it before.
*The video it takes is pretty good. BTW, it comes with sound.
*It's really easy to move pictures off the camera, it's pretty much drag and drop, if that's how you use it.
*the zoom (3.4x which is .4x higher than most other cameras of it's size) is nice, but would be nicer if the camera had image stabilization.
Neutral:
*Battery life is okay, You need to charge it every so often, more so than some other cameras, but it's decent.
*It doesn't have built-in image stabilization, but I'll let it slide since practically no cameras under $200, especially cameras this size, include it.
*Holding it is a little wierd, since the screen takes up the entire back, there's no place else besides the screen to rest your thumb.
*It takes pretty good low light pictures, w/o flash compared to a lot of other cameras; you'll have to hold the camera really still though, which is a bit hard, or get a tripod. The images tend to be a little grainy, but that's pretty normal.
*Noise: On ISO 400+, like it's noticeable, but not glaringly noticeable, until 1600. Also as I said before there's a decent amount for night mode shots. Otherwise, it's pretty good with noise at levels below 400.
Cons:
*It only takes xD cards, thankfully, Fujifilm has seen the error in its ways and Fuji's newer cameras will be SD compatible, maybe the V20 will take SD. I really just hate how xD cards can only be used in Fuji and Olympus cameras, and they're like twice the price of SD cards.
*The screen's a fingerprint magnet.
*There's no hold switch, I know that like no camera has an actual hold switch, but it would be nice to have that so the lens doesn't accidentally extend if you were to have it in some enclosed area, pockets or bags.
*The USB cable isn't a standard mini-USB, I'm not sure what it is, but it just means I have to carry around one more cord, when I travel.
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