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[OM] Re: OT dpreview on the F30 - you heard it here first.

Subject: [OM] Re: OT dpreview on the F30 - you heard it here first.
From: ScottGee1 <scottgee1@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:10:16 -0400
Well done!  I'm still digesting the content.

Sure hope Fuji brings this technology to market in a camera that has a
viewfinder.  I've tried and just cannot seem to hold a camera steady
unless it's pressed to my face.

Thanks!/ScottGee1


On 7/30/06, Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> A while ago, I posted some results of shooting in low light with the F30
> vs. the F10 and an entry level DSLR, the 300D.
>
> Some of the replies seemed to ignore the point of the tests, nose and
> resolution, focusing instead on things like color balance, about which I
> had done nothing. Others seemed to politely express disbelief in my
> results and/or my interpretation of them.
>
> dpreview has posted their test of the F30. As to low light performance,
> they pretty much agree with what I concluded - even to the extent of
> putting up a page comparing the F30 to an entry level DSLR, the D50, at
> iso 800.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> "The FinePix F30 offers a tantalizing glimpse of how very different
> compact cameras would be if all manufacturers put as much effort into
> developing sensor and processing technology as they do into designing
> and marketing pretty cameras with features no one ever asked for. Our
> tests show that the F30's sensor gives you at least a two-stop advantage
> over the best that conventional CCD technology can offer, and in many
> cases a three-stop advantage, with ISO 800 output that can rival some
> cameras at ISO 200.
>
> Given that most 'average' casual snapshooters are likely to use their
> camera at (dimly lit) social occasions more than at any other time, this
> is a real, significant advantage; allowing flash-free photography
> without blur. More serious photographers will welcome a camera that
> brings the low light capabilities of a compact a step or two closer to
> those of most digital SLRs. It's also, surprisingly, significantly
> better than the F10, something I must admit I doubted would be true when
> I started this test."
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> They had less flattering things to say about daylight performance:
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> "On the downside the F30 is not as impressive on bright sunny days as it
> is indoors or at night; sure, the sharpness and low noise are still
> there, but the tone curve often produces images that lack highlight or
> shadow detail, yet can look a bit flat. You'll get some amazing results
> if you know your way around Photoshop (or similar), but I often (though
> by no means always) found the 'out of camera' results slightly
> disappointing. Add to this the tendency to over expose and you've got a
> camera that really needs to be used by someone who knows what they're
> doing to get the most out of it."
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> I agree here, too, both about the issue and the ability to "get some
> amazing results", if you know how. Perhaps, already used to the F10, I
> wasn't disappointed with the F30 in this area. Reading the details in
> the review, I think they are saying the same thing I have found. The
> F30, like the F10, easily blows out highlights, leaving little
> compressed detail to be recovered in post. On the other hand, it mostly
> compresses shadows, rather than dropping them to black. That means that
> shooting in any contrasty situation requires downward exposure
> compensation and/or use of spot metering to avoid blown highlights.
>
> With this particular camera, "expose to the right" is a formula for lost
> highlights; better to underexpose, and reorganize the histogram later.
> Fortunately, with the F30, Fuji has added an EV comp button to the back,
> making adjustment MUCH easier. I'm starting to routinely adjust it.The
> interesting thing about this, of course, is that it makes the camera in
> effect faster.
>
> You can see what I'm talking about in some of the shots I posted a
> little bit ago. When I first shot "Aerie", I made tow exposures a couple
> of stops apart to later combine to cover the full rightness range of
> bright sun. The next day, I took another, differently framed shot of it,
> and really underexposed it. When I started looking at the results, I
> started combining the light and dark shots. as I workde, i realized I
> could get everything from just the dark one. You can see both the out of
> camera image and the processed one here
> <http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Summita/pages/DSCF1135a.htm>. None of
> this would work if the camera didn't have such low noise, so the shadows
> can be pulled up without the noise you would get with most P&Ss
>
> On the original image, I"ve superimposed it's histogram. Notice I
> underexposed more than I needed to, wasting some histogram room on top.
> But see also how the shadow values are piled up high at the bottom, but
> don't hit the end. Convert to 16 bit, play around a bit, and I get a
> nice range of all the brightness of the original scene arranged as I
> want it. I then tried the even more underexposed shot
> <http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Summita/pages/DSCF1140a.htm>.
>
> Two other shots in high contrast situations also have original,
> unprocessed roll-overs. In one, I nailed the esposure, with the
> highlights just touching the top of the histogram
> <http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Summita/pages/DSCF1191as.htm>. With
> the other, I lost some highlights, should have gone odwn another 1/3
> stop, at least. But it does show what can be done with a very high
> contrast subject in bringing up the shadows. For a display version, I
> would probably leave them down a little further for drama
> <http://galleries.moosemystic.net/Summita/pages/DSCF1194a.htm>.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> "To sum up, the F30 is far and away the best low light compact camera on
> the market today, bar none. It's the perfect 'social' camera for the
> DSLR owner who doesn't want to lug all his or her gear to parties, and
> it is - in expert hands - capable of superb results in any light. I
> would even go as far as to suggest - funds permitting - getting one for
> low light work even if you already own a camera you use for daylight
> shooting... So then, Highly Recommended unless you rarely shoot indoors
> or at night."
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> What really surprised me is how much cleaner, sharper and more detailed
> the F30 is at iso 100 than the Canon SD 700 IS at iso 80. I hadn't
> expected superiority at low isos, but I'll be happy with it.
>
> Moose
>
>
>
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