Fujifilm F100fd Optics

Zoom
A 5x optical zoom lens with an impressive 28mm maximum wide angle setting and very good overall performance. Digital zoom performance is better than average these days.

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd's 5x optical zoom range covers the equivalent of a 28-140mm zoom on a 35mm camera, with a much wider maximum wide angle setting than normal. Performance at full wide angle is very good, with sharp details throughout most of the frame, little blurring in the corners, and only moderate coma distortion. Results at full telephoto are also quite good, with well-defined detail. The camera's 8.2x digital zoom actually performs pretty well also, maintaining a good level of detail despite some losses in resolution and quality. Overall, very good results.

Macro
A small macro area with good detail and high resolution. Flash has trouble up close though.

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd's macro setting performed about average, capturing a small minimum area of 2.06 x 1.54 inches (52 x 39 millimeters). Detail and resolution were both very good throughout most of the frame, though there's a moderate amount of softening in the corners from the lens. (Most cameras have some softening in the corners in macro mode.) The Fujifilm F100fd's flash had trouble throttling down for the macro area, however, and was also partially blocked by the lens, resulting in a very uneven exposure. Plan on using external lighting for any macro shots with the F100fd.

Distortion
Moderate barrel distortion and pincushion.

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd's 0.7% barrel distortion at wide angle is about average, and actually quite noticeable in some images. However, given the camera's wide 28mm maximum wide angle setting, results here aren't bad. At the telephoto end, the Fujifilm F100fd's 0.3% pincushion distortion is moderate. This is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto).

Chromatic aberration
A moderate amount of distortion at both zoom settings, pixels at wide angle are quite bright.

Chromatic aberration is moderate at both wide angle and telephoto, showing about 5-7 pixels of coloration on either side of the target lines. At full wide angle the effect is more noticeable because of the brighter pixels. Distortion is not quite as bright at telephoto, but is still noticeable. The result is rather moderate considering the Fujifilm F100fd's large 12-megapixel image size. Chromatic aberration is visible as a slight colored fringe around the objects at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.

Corner Sharpness
Very slight blurring in the corners of the frame at wide angle and telephoto.

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd produced only minimal blurring in the corners of the frame at both zoom settings. Very good performance here, especially for a 28mm equivalent wide angle lens that reaches to 5x telephoto.

Coverage
Very good accuracy from the F100fd's LCD monitor.

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd's LCD monitor showed about 104% coverage accuracy at wide angle, and about 98% at telephoto. Pretty good results here, though a little loose at wide angle (this could be due to the difficulty of framing the image with more pronounced pincushion distortion, however).