Fuji Finepix Z10 fd Review

The Fuji Finepix Z10 fd is a very simple, pocket sized digital camera. It is a seven megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. It is available in a wide variety of colours and I get the feeling Fuji are looking to sell the Finepix Z10 fd based on its appearance and compactness. The fd in the camera's name stands for face detection, with special focusing technology included to try to produce portrait shots with sharply focused faces.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
Focusing is the biggest issue I have with this picture. Sharpness is one of the most important aspects of any photo in my book and I am not particularly impressed with what is quite a soft photo. There is also a fair amount of detail lost to sun glare. The Finepix Z10 fd is not off to the best of starts.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
Some purple fringing (purple lines added to the edges of light coloured objects) shows on the boat on the left hand side of the photo. This is not something I see very often with smaller compacts. Focusing also fails to meet the standard set by a number of other models.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
Yesterday I was testing the Casio Exilim EX-Z1200. This is another pocket sized camera that perhaps does not quite have the same look as the Finepix Z10 fd. The fact is though that the Casio model managed to produce a much sharper photo than this effort.

Outdoor Portrait
This is a better photo, but! Despite using face detection focusing the face is not as sharp as I am used to seeing. On top of this I can see some noise causing a loss of detail in the hair. This is something I am not used to seeing. There is also more detail lost where the light strikes the forehead. Again this is something most other cameras cope well with.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
One of Fuji's big selling pitches is how well their cameras cope with lowlight. Although this photo is no worse that other cameras I have tested in terms of sharpness and noise it suggests that once the light starts to dip it is time to turn on the flash.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
This is a better photo than the indoor portrait without flash. I am not convinced that the photo is quite as sharp as some other cameras have managed, but it is not far off. There is also no red eye showing in the shot. This doesn't mean that red eye will never occur, but it does suggest that red eye reduction on the Finepix Z10 fd can do a decent job.

Colours
Overall I have no real complaints about the colours. Although for my own personal taste they could be a bit stronger.

Macro
The macro shot falls into the average category. The photo is not quite pin sharp, but it is not a bad effort.

ISO 400
Already there are signs of a sinigicant loss of picture quality as noise levels show up. Some of the colours also start to break up.

ISO 1600
At this level the Finepix Z10 fd is really struggling.

Overall
Well it will come as no surprise to hear me say I wouldn't buy this camera based on picture quality. To be honest it is disappointing.

A single photo without flash took 0.25 seconds. Five photos were captured in 8.22 seconds. These are fast times. With the flash a single photo took 0.48 seconds and five photos took 11.62 seconds. Again these are very acceptable times.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The Finepix Z10 fd looks very small. It comes in seven different colours so you should be able to find one you like. The emphasis is on brightness. As with other cameras with the lens tucked away in the top right hand corner I find it difficult to get a good hold of the camera without getting my fingers in the shot.

91.2 x 56.55 x 18.75mm

Lithium ion (NP-45). A battery and charger are supplied as standard.

I was able to store 28 photos before the 54mb of built in memory became full. The Finepix Z10 fd is also compatible with xD and SD cards.

Click here to save money on memory cards.

Very Good - This is about as simple as you can get. There are very few buttons and dials and the menu system is straightforward too.

Ease of use - choice of colours - large internal memory

Picture quality

Well for me a good looking, fun camera is let down by picture quality. If picture quality is not the be all and end all then the Fuji Finepix Z10 fd could be of interest to you. This is especially true if you are looking for a camera that is easy to use.

Front View

Top View

Back View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Fuji Finepix Z10 fd