"Sunlit" Portrait:
(This is my new "Outdoor" Portrait test - read more about it here.)

High resolution and strong detail, with good color. Contrast is rather high though, with limited detail in the highlights.

• Exposure compensation: +0.3 EV, less than average.
• Contrast/Tone: Rather high, some highlight detail lost, even with dark midtones.
• White Balance: Auto is best, though Daylight is similar. Manual setting just a bit red.
• Color accuracy: Pretty good overall, blues are slightly purple, reds a bit over saturated and magenta-tinted. Still good overall though.
• Skin tones: Pretty good, but a little too pink.
• Resolution/sharpness: Good detail, with excellent definition.
• Shadow detail: Very good, low noise.

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV, see files F10OUTAP0.HTM through F10OUTAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

High resolution and strong detail, though contrast is again quite high.

• Exposure compensation: +0.3 EV, less than average.
• Exposure/Tone: High, bright highlights create slightly harsh skin tones.
• Detail: Stronger detail, excellent definition, only slight loss of subtle detail to noise reduction processing.
• Distortion: Good, 3x zoom lens avoids distortion close-in like this.

To view the entire exposure series from -0.3 to +1.3 EV, see files F10FACAM1.HTM through F10FACAP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Normal Flash (EV adjust doesn't affect flash exposure)

Slow-Sync Flash (EV adjust doesn't affect flash exposure)

Underexposure with the flash in the normal setting, exposure adjustment doesn't affect flash exposure.

• Exposure: Dim at default exposure, and EV adjust unfortunately has no effect on flash exposure, as witness the results at +1.3 EV. Slow-Sync mode is a little brighter overall, but still dim.
• Flash balance with room lighting?: Good, no blue cast to the highlights, but slow sync overall color balance is very warm.
• Color: Red skin tones, dark colors in bouquet.
  

 To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.3 EV in the normal flash mode, see files F10INFP0.HTM through F10INFP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

To view the same exposure series in the Slow-Sync flash mode, see files F10INFSP0.HTM through F10INFSP4.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

Auto White Balance

Incandescent White Balance

Manual White Balance

Good color with the Manual white balance setting, slightly high exposure compensation required.

• Exposure: +1.3 EV adjustment needed, a bit higher than average.
• White Balance: Manual very good, Auto and Incandescent settings rather warm.
• Color: Skin tones a little pink, but good. Blue flowers dark and purple, red flowers slightly magenta, other flowers a little dark. (About average though, given the tough light source.)
  

To view the entire exposure series from zero to +1.7 EV, see files F10INMP0.HTM through F10INMP5.HTM on the thumbnail index page.

ISO Series:
Images from the Fuji F10 were just remarkably "clean," with image noise levels far below what I'm accustomed to seeing from consumer-level digital cameras. Noise was pretty much non-existent at low ISO settings, and with very little loss of subject to the anti-noise processing. At ISO 400, the anti-noise processing just began to blur the finer details, but the results were far better than any other consumer-grade camera I've tested in recent memory. At ISOs 800 and 1600, the images blurred quite a bit more, but the noise levels remained surprisingly low. ISO 800 shots were a little marginal for 8x10 inch prints, but looked great at 5x7, and even ISO 1600 ones looked OK at that size. Shots at ISO 400 looked just great when printed as large as 8x10 inches. All in all, a very impressive performance!

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Good color, with high resolution and strong detail.

• Sharpness/Detail: Good, a lot of visible fine detail.
• Sharpness in Corners: Very good, only slight falloff.
• Color: Auto and Manual white balance settings both very close, Manual just a hint magenta. Daylight setting also good, just a little warm.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: Relatively slight, just barely noticeable in shaded brick patterns.

High resolution and strong detail, but high contrast limits the dynamic range on the highlight end. Some softening in the corners, but not too much.

This image is shot at infinity to test far-field lens performance, and to present a near-infinite range of detail to the camera. NOTE that this image cannot be directly compared to the other "house" shot, which is a poster, shot in the studio.

• Sharpness/Detail: Excellent, lots of very fine detail. (Even better if you apply strong/tight unsharp masking in Photoshop(tm), try 170%, 0.3 pixel radius.)
• Sharpness in Corners: Good, relatively slight falloff, doesn't extend very far into the frame.
• Color: Bricks are a bit more red than in real life, but very good overall.
• Dynamic Range: Pretty good, slightly limited on the highlight end though.
• Detail lost to anti-noise processing?: Little or none in this particular shot.
  
  

Resolution Series:

ISO Series:
As above, really excellent high-ISO image quality. ISO 400 shot shows amazingly little noise, yet still holds relatively good subject detail. ISO 800 and 1600 are quite soft, but still far better than anything I've seen at those ISO levels from other consumer-level digital cameras I've tested.

Color Effects Series:

Color Effects Series
Black & White	Chrome

Lens Zoom Range

A typical 3x zoom range.

The F10's focal length range of 36-108mm equivalents is typical of most point & shoot digital cameras. It corresponds to a moderate wide angle to a modest telephoto.

	Wide Angle
	3x Telephoto
	Digital Telephoto

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Good color, though a hint warm. High resolution and strong detail.

• White Balance: Auto and Daylight white balance very similar, both good but just slightly warm, though Auto best overall. Manual setting slightly magenta.
• Color: Slightly red skin tones, purple tints in the blue robe and background.
• Sharpness/Detail: Very good, strong detail. (Close to the limits of the poster though.)

Standard Macro Shot

Macro with Flash

A very small macro area with great detail. Flash has some trouble up close though.

• Minimum Macro Area: 1.43 x 1.08 inches (36 x 27 millimeters), very good.
• Softness in corners?: Some blurring in the corners, but not too strong. (Most cameras get fairly soft corners in macro mode.)
• Flash performance in macro mode?: Flash partially blocked by the lens, with overexposure in the top left corner. Typical macro distances should be OK, but plan on using external lighting for your very closest shots.
  

Auto White Balance

Daylight White Balance

Manual White Balance

Better than average color accuracy, good exposure.

• White balance: Though slightly magenta, Manual setting best overall. Auto and Daylight settings both slightly warm, Daylight has stronger cast.
• Color Accuracy: Better than average color accuracy, despite the slight magenta tint. Reds highly saturated, magenta shifted toward red a bit, cyan towards blue (a common trick to get better-looking sky colors), yellow is a bit undersaturated. Overall though, better than average results.
• Shadow detail and noise: Good detail in the briquettes, low noise.

The results in the tests below mirror those seen above in other test shots. The test series are repeated here without further comment, for the benefit of our more quantitatively-oriented readers.

ISO Series:

Color Effects Series:

Color Effects Series
Black & White	Chrome

Low-Light Tests

Very good low-light performance, with low noise and good color balance. Should handle most average city night scenes very well, and even darker.

• Exposure limit: 1/16 foot-candle at ISOs 200, 400, 800, and 1,600. (About 1/16 as bright as typical city street lighting at night.) 1/8 foot-candle at ISO 100, and 1/4 foot-candle at ISO 80.
• Autofocus Limit: A bit beyond 1/4 foot-candle with AF-assist off, down to complete darkness (on nearby objects) with AF-assist light turned on.
• White Balance: Good.
• Noise Levels: Pretty low overall. Slightly higher at ISOs 800 and 1,600, but still pretty good.
• Detail loss to anti-noise processing?: Minimal at one foot-candle, stronger at 1/4 foot-candle and lower.
• General Notes: Thanks to its remarkable high-ISO performance, the Fuji F10 does a superb job at low-light shooting. Its autofocus works down to a bit less than 1/4 the brightness of typical city street lighting even when its autofocus-assist light is turned off, and in total darkness (on nearby objects) with the AF-assist enabled. In terms of image quality, its images are exceptionally clean and crisp-looking: Its ISO 800 shot at the darkest level I test at looked better than the vast majority of cameras' ISO 400 shots in broad daylight. A really excellent job.

(Note: If you'd like to use a light meter to check light levels for subjects you might be interested in shooting, a light level of one foot-candle corresponds to a normal exposure of two seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 100.)

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux
ISO 80	1 sec f2.8	5 sec f2.8	13 sec f2.8	15 sec f2.8	15 sec f2.8
ISO 100	1/1 sec f2.8	4 sec f2.8	10 sec f2.8	15 sec f2.8	15 sec f2.8
ISO 200	1/2 sec f2.8	1/1 sec f2.8	5 sec f2.8	10 sec f2.8	15 sec f2.8
ISO 400	1/5 sec f2.8	1/2 sec f2.8	1 sec f2.8	5 sec f2.8	10 sec f2.8
ISO 800	1/10 sec f2.8	1/4 sec f2.8	1/2 sec f2.8	1 sec f2.8	5 sec f2.8
ISO 1600	1/20 sec f2.8	1/9 sec f2.8	1/3 sec f2.8	1/2 sec f2.8	1 sec f2.8

Flash Range Test

Slightly underexposed at eight feet, with decreasing intensity to 14 feet.

• Flash range at telephoto lens setting: Barely eight feet.

8 ft	9 ft	10 ft	11 ft	12 ft	13 ft	14 ft
1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80	1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80	1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80	1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80	1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80	1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80	1/100 sec f5.0 ISO 80

ISO-12233 (WG-18) Resolution Test

Very good resolution, 1,400-1,450 lines of "strong detail." Low barrel distortion at wide angle, virtually no distortion at telephoto. Low chromatic aberration, particularly at telephoto, better than average sharpness in the corners.

• Resolution: 1,400 lines vertically, 1,450 lines horizontally.
• Artifacts begin at: ~800 to 1,000 lines.
• Extinction point: Beyond 2,000 lines.
  
  
• Barrel/Pincushion distortion: 0.4 percent barrel at wide angle, less than one pixel at telephoto.
• Chromatic Aberration: Low at wide angle and telephoto.
• Corner Sharpness: Very slightly soft at wide angle, very good at telephoto, much better than average overall.

Resolution Series, medium focal length

Wide Angle	"Fine" JPEG	"Normal" JPEG
2,848 x 2,136	F10RES2848F	F10RES2848N
2,048 x 1,536	F10RES2048	-
1,600 x 1,200	F10RES1600	-
640 x 480	F10RES0640	-

 

Resolution Test, Zoom Series

2,848 x 2,136 (Fine, Wide Angle)	F10RESW
2,848 x 2,136 (Fine, Telephoto)	F10REST