Fujifilm F100fd Performance

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Fuji F100fd Performance

Timing and Performance

Average to somewhat slow speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	3.5 seconds	Time it takes for the LCD to turn on, the lens to deploy, and capture a shot.
Shutdown	1.7 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens.
Buffer clearing time	8.0 seconds in LF JPEG, 12.0 seconds in Top 12 mode	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.

Startup time is a little sluggish and buffer clearing time is longer than average.

Mode Switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.5 second	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to Play	0.9 second	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	1.9 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.

Mode switching times aren't too bad, though 1.9 seconds to display a recorded image may seem a little long out in the field.

Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus Wide	0.50 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.85 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Full Autofocus Flash enabled	0.66 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position, flash enabled.
Prefocused	0.019 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Continuous AF	0.51 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects.

Shutter response is on the slow side of average for this class of camera, at 0.50s and 0.85s respectively. Enabling the flash increases lag slightly, as expected. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a lag time of only 0.019 second, which is super fast.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	3.27 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode 640x480 Normal JPEG	1.93 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	Yes	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG Long Period Mode	1.16 seconds (0.86 frames per second); 2 frames total; 8 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 2 shots, then slowed to 3.13 seconds or 0.32 frames per second.
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG Top Three Mode	0.58 second (1.72 frames per second); 3 frames total; 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous mode 640 x 480 JPEG Long Period Mode	1.90 seconds (0.53 frames per second); 20 frames total; 4.5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG Top Three Mode	0.58 second (1.72 frames per second); 3 frames total; 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous mode 2,048 x 1,536 JPEG Top 12 Mode	0.21 second (4.87 frames per second); 12 frames total; 12 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Flash recycling	7.8 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with an Olympus Type-H xD-Picture card. Slower memory cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and other settings may also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are also on the slow side, at about 3.27 seconds average for large/fine JPEGs. The camera actually captures the first two images with a 1.18 second cycle time before dropping to the longer 3+ second timing afterwards. A consideration here is the very large 4,000 x 3,000 resolution, which is a lot of data to handle and write to the memory card for every shot. The FinePix F100fd also drags a little in its Continuous modes, with nearly identical timings in its Long Period option. The Top Three mode is much faster however, capturing at a 1.72 frame rate for large/fine JPEGs, but for only three frames. That said, the F100fd does offer a Top 12 Continuous mode, which drops the resolution down to 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, but captures at a much faster frame rate of 4.87 frames per second. The flash takes 7.8 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is fairly slow.

Download Speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	2,172 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are good.

Bottom line, the Fujifilm FinePix F100fd isn't the most responsive consumer digital camera on the market, but it should handle most average conditions well. Its standard Continuous modes aren't zippy enough for very fast action, but the Top 12 mode is fast enough for running children as well as sporting events. Overall though, the FinePix F100fd should fare pretty well in most situations.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Slightly below average battery life for a Lithium-ion design.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery, (CIPA standard)	230

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Battery life is slightly below average, so we recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd accepts xD-Picture Cards and SD cards, and also has 57MB of internal memory.

Image Capacity with 57MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal
4,000 x 3,000	Images	11	19
4,000 x 3,000	File Size	4.8 MB	3.0 MB
2,848 x 2,136	Images	18	37
2,848 x 2,136	File Size	3.0 MB	1.5 MB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	69	-
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	817 KB	-
1,600 x 1,200	Images	86	-
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	657 KB	-
640 x 480	Images	356	-
640 x 480	File Size	160 KB	-

Though the Fujifilm F100fd includes approximately 57MB internal memory, we strongly recommend buying a large capacity xD memory card or SD/SDHC memory card – at least a 2GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)