Fujifilm announced the FinePix F300EXR compact digital camera with advanced features. The FinePix F300EXR features a 12-megapixel EXR Super CCD, a15x Fujinon Super Wide-Angle lens (24mm – 360mm equivalent), a 3.0” High-Contrast 460K LCD, HD movie capture at 720p, Intelligent Image Stabilization, EXR Sensor Technology with Hybrid High Speed AF where Phase Detection AF and Contrast AF offer fast auto focus speeds in all scenes, Motion Panorama 360, Pro Focus Mode, Face Recognition of up to eight faces, along with names, birthdays and categories, Tracking Auto Focus, Super Intelligent Flash, EXR AUTO Technology, Face Detection and Automatic Red-eye Removal, and Photobook Assist to select and organize images in your camera to create a digital photobook.
The Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR digital camera will be available late August 2010 for $329.95.
Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR Digital Camera Press Release
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Pro’s
Nice color reproduction,
24 mm wide-angle,
Design,
Features,
Excellent outdoor image quality,
Very good indoor image quality using proper settings,
excellent image stabilization,
fast focus on subjects
Con’s
Ease Of Use “But not an issue for me read on”
flash pops up even if not in use,
location of flash
Video quality a weakness for most people
When I first purchased this camera I began shooting pictures indoors because I always arrived home from work during the late evening. This is a terrible way to start since like most compacts shooting indoors is not one of its strong points. However I did manage to get a few nice low-light pictures by using a feature called pro low-light. Many of these pictures printed very well even at 8×10 and also the pro low-light ones.
At first I didn’t give this camera a chance because I was too busy reading reviews. I felt that those reviews were discouraging and immediately started looking for another camera. I tested the Sony DSC WX5 and the DSC H55 which were both very good cameras with better image quality in terms of noise. They only offered better indoor pictures without fussing with the settings, but like I mentioned you can achieve nice indoor pictures with the F300.
In this camera’s defense getting pretty decent quality pictures is quite simple when you begin to explore it’s features and what they all mean. FYI I never use auto mode for anything as I have observed that it locks down too many options for me. So a clear understanding of the cameras limitations help you achieve your picture taking goals.
So up to this point I would have to give this camera good review with indoor image quality being a minor negative for me. Indoor picture taking can be corrected well enough for me to find them acceptable. Everything else about this camera is ideal for my needs as I have accepted its limitations.
Video recording quality is somewhat of a letdown so don’t try to use this as your only video camera. The actual video quality isn’t terrible but the camera has a problem focusing on the subject while zooming in and out. Also you can hear the sound of the motor as the camera is focusing. I just wanted to mention that but this is not a problem for me since I rarely shoot video. We do however have a dedicated video camcorder for that.
Ease Of Use would be a con but not for me. The problem that the some people would have is understanding how to use this camera outside of the auto modes. I don’t personally think this camera is a good choice for someone who is impatient and doesn’t want to learn. While the auto modes still produce good results, it’s my experience that better image quality is achieved with more manual control.
So overall I would recommend this camera to the user who wishes to learn more about it. It is not the average point-and-shoot so if all you do is shoot in auto you will be pleased under certain conditions. Using a combination of the cameras other features will please you with even better details resulting in higher picture quality.