Product Description

Fujifilm FinePix F50fd 12MP Super CCD, 3x Optical Zoom, 2.7" LCD, New Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 2.0 with New Red Eye Reduction System, New Portrait Enhancer Mode, IR-Simple for sharing photos with friends, xD/SD/SD-HC Compatible Media Slot.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13469 in Camera & Photo
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Fuji
• Model: FinePix F50fd
• Released on: 2007-09-19
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .90" h x 2.30" w x 3.60" l, .50 pounds
• Memory: 0KB
• Display size: 2.7

Features

• 12-megapixel Super CCD sensor
• 3x optical zoom with Dual Image Stabilization; 2.7-inch LCD display
• Face Detection 2.0 optimizes focus/exposure for up to 10 faces
• Wirelessly transfer images to IrSimple-equipped devices, including other digital cameras
• Stores images on xD or SD memory cards (not included); powered by lithium-ion battery (battery and charger included)

Manufacturer Description
Introducing the Finepix F50fd digital camera, featuring all the latest developments in face detection, image processing, and image stabilization into a compact digital camera

The newly developed Face Detection 2.0 chip adds the data of side-on faces and angled faces into the originally developed Face Detection chip, and greatly expands the camera’s ability to detect faces. Face Detection 2.0 detects up to 10 faces in as little as 0.05 seconds even though the subject may be turned sideways or is lying down. This next generation technology not only optimizes focus and exposure of detected faces but also enhances total quality by setting the ideal white balance to give stunning sets of photos.

Moreover, the FinePix F50fd employs clever red-eye correction software which, when combined with Face Detection 2.0 technology, instantly identifies and corrects red-eye, either as the shot is taken or in playback mode.

The FinePix F50fd incorporates a Fujinon 3x optical lens and the newly developed 7th-generation 12-megapixel Super CCD. This new 12-megapixel Super CCD gives exceptional resolution. Every photographer, from beginners to photo enthusiast, will marvel at the ability of the F50fd to distinguish small details like single strands of hair and to faithfully reproduce fine skin tones. The new 12.0-Megapixel sensor works closely in conjunction with the RP (Real Photo) Processor? and features several key improvements that increase the camera’s efficiency. Even at the highest ISO 6400 sensitivity, image quality is amazingly high with minimal noise interference.

In addition, this is the first time that CCD shift Image Stabilization has been introduced into a FinePix camera. Combining CCD shift Image Stabilization with high ISO sensitivity, the F50fd offers a synergistic effect of excellent anti-blur protection, called Dual Image Stabilization. Even in dark scenes and at night, the Dual Image Stabilization system gives crisp results every time. High sensitivity allows camera to increase shutter speed to freeze the action, while CCD shift Image Stabilization automatically compensates for camera shake.

Fujifilm FinePix F50fd Highlights

Face Detection 2.0 New Face Detection 2.0 by Fujifilm advances Face Detection technology to a whole new level. By combining our existing advanced Face Detection with new processing capabilities, Face Detection 2.0 delivers better recognition of faces, even at angles never able to be detected by other systems. Additionally, Face Detection 2.0 allows for other useful features to be added such as Automatic Red-Eye removal. The most advanced Face Detection technology available today!

Dual Image Stabilization The FinePix F50fd gives you the best of both worlds where image stabilization is concerned. With industry standard optical images stabilization, the photographers hand is steadied for a clearer, blur free shot. Add to that the addition of Fujifilm’s Picture Stabilization Technology, and increase clarity and sharpness is achieved, even in low light conditions or when shooting moving subjects. The combination of the two is the ultimate in stabilization technology.

Automatic Red-Eye Removal With the help of Fujifilm’s new Face Detection 2.0, the F50fd has sophisticated intelligent software algorithms that detect red-eye and correct it in-camera. More than just red-eye reduction--this is red-eye elimination, after the image has been captured, to assure every picture looks its best.

IrSimple wireless transfer Transfer your images quickly and easily from your FinePix F50fd to any IrSimple-equipped device. A fast infrared technology, IrSimple makes getting those photos out of your camera a breeze. Want to share with your friends? No problem, you can even transfer images to another IrSimple equipped camera too!

xD/SD-compatible slot The Finepix F50fd features an xD/SD compatible slot, allowing the use of either xD Picture Card or SD media to store and transfer your photos. This convenient and flexible capability assures compatibility with a wider variety of applications than ever before, and allows users to choose the media technology that is right for them.

What's in the box

Fujifilm Finepix F50fd digital camera, Li-ion cattery NP-50, battery charger BC-50, strap, AV cable, USB cable, CD-ROM, owner's manual

Customer Reviews

I didn't think I would, but I'm probably going to get one now...
I must say that I was very negative about this camera when it was just announced. Why? I've got one word for you - Megapixels! I realize that for a regular consumer the more megapixels in a camera, means better picture quality. But if you know even just a little more about the digital technology and how it works, then you know that the above statement is nothing but simply a myth. The more megapixels on the same size sensor only means that you can blow up the picture that you've taken to a larger size. But what good does it do for you if the picture quality is actually worse?! By "worse" I mean that there is more digital noise present in photographs at higher ISO's. Several months ago I actually considered getting an F30, and the only reason I didn't was because it uses the stupid, and very slow xD card format. I have waited for Fuji to fix this "mistake" and implement the somewhat standard nowadays SD format, but they didn't with F31fd. Then shortly thereafter came F40fd, and I almost wet my pants out of excitement when I found out that Fuji finally did include the support of SD, in addition to xD format. They did of course increase the number of megapixels from 6 to 8, but they also put a larger sensor in it, so that was actually not a bad thing. However, I was extremely disappointed when I found out that not only the picture quality slightly decreased for some reason (judging by the samples that I've seen), but also Fuji decided to eliminate the manual controls (shutter and aperture priorities) from it as well. Why, for crying out loud?! So my quest for the "perfect" compact digital camera continued, and I ended up with Panasonic LX2, which I'm still very happy with. However, since I've decided to replace my wife's Casio S770, and always wanted to have something better for low-light situations, I kept my eyes open on Fuji's line of F-cameras, which are considered to be the best in its class for that type of photography, mainly due to the Super CCD sensor that they use. And from what I've seen in the past, I wasn't very surprised when I heard the announcement of a new F50fd camera soon. I was expecting more megapixels, but I was still a bit upset to see a jump to 12MP. Believe me, unless you're printing poster size pictures, 6MP is more than enough! So my expectations of the camera were very low, despite the fact that Fuji kept the support of SD card format, and even brought back the manual controls! I was waiting for some samples/reviews to show up on the web, but up until now haven't seen any, probably due to the fact that the camera hasn't been sold anywhere yet (Amazon lists October 1st as a shipping date). So imagine my surprise when I saw it at a local Best Buy store this afternoon. I happened to have my SD card with me, so in it went into the camera, and half an hour later (I didn't have more time as I was on my lunch break) I came out of the store having a card with a bunch of samples. After I came back to work, I loaded the sample images from the card onto my computer, and all I could say was WOW! Even at large magnifications, the pictures still maintained a good amount of clarity and detail. I was really amazed. I'll break it down to Pros and Cons again for the ease of use:

PROS:
Ergonomics - Very well designed and solidly built. I don't think I would add and/or subtract anything from it. The form, the lines, the button layout were certainly very well thought of by Fuji engineers, so the camera is easy and pleasant to use.

Display - The LCD is big and bright. It's got the same number of pixels as previous models, but it's slightly larger, 2.7" vs. 2.5", and it's a welcome upgrade.

Image Stabilization - YES!!! Finally, Fuji decided to implement this very important feature in this model. It really helps if your hands are a little shaky, and/or when shooting in dim light.

Picture Quality - As I already mentioned, I didn't expect this to be the case, but the picture quality is actually very, very good. I was really surprised to see an output like that from a tiny compact digital camera, especially considering the amount of megapixels that they've managed to squeeze into such a small sensor. The colors were very natural, the pictures looked very sharp all throughout, properly exposed, with good amount of detail, even when enlarged at 100%. Hats off to Fuji! However, if you are expecting to see less noise at higher ISO's comparing to F30/F31fd models, you will be disappointed - it's actually noisier. But no doubt that those who approach it with lower expectations will be delighted.

CONS:
Wide Angle - I'd love to see the lens that starts at more than just 35mm. I think it's very much doable, and wouldn't require a lot of effort on Fuji's side. Why didn't they do it? I don't know. But it sure would be nice to take beautiful panoramic shots with this camera.

Zoom - 3x Optical Zoom just doesn't cut it these days. We need more!

Menus - Perhaps I just got spoiled with Casio's controls and navigation menus, but some of the ones that I've seen on this Fuji just didn't seem very logical to me. It's probably just a matter of preference and getting used to though, since I've never owned a Fuji camera before.

Megapixels - Yes, the picture quality is excellent. I could only imagine though how much better it would be if this was only a 6MP camera! Too bad, but I understand why they did it - market demands.

SUMMARY:
To summarize, I'm going to repeat myself here, but I didn't expect much of this camera when it was announced. However, after I got a chance to evaluate it, I must say that my opinion has changed dramatically. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the picture quality that this camera is capable of producing is on par, and even better than most of the top point and shoots out there, and in competent hands will produce stunning results. However, I'd recommend to wait for some professional reviews, as well as compare samples so you can judge for yourself prior to making a purchasing decision.

a good camera, but a bit disappointed
I've now played with my F50FD for about a week. It's very easy to use, and I'm happy with it overall- it will serve me well as a extremely portable grab-n-go camera. (It fits in my jeans pocket *with* my cell phone and keys. It's very thin!)

The user interface is clean, easy to use, with helpful on-screen reminders that manage not to get in the way. Other pluses: the battery charger is travel-friendly (no cord), and there's no lens cap to lose. Autofocus performance is quite good-- hugely better than my previous Optio 555.

But my expectations were high, and it hasn't met them all. As we all feared, image quality above ISO400 is a disappointment. ISO800 is marginally useful, but at higher resolutions, the distinctive "oil painting"-style artifacts caused by their noise reduction algorithm become increasingly significant. At ISO1600+, your photo may be 12MP, but the effect of the noise reduction is that there's probably only about 1MP of actual information in the photo. I would much prefer that Fuji allow us to save photos in RAW format, so that we could use better noise reduction algorithms ourselves. The higher ISO modes should be viewed as a novelty.

Flash performance is mixed: red-eye hasn't been as bad as I feared, but the flash seems a bit weak. On sunny days, I could not coax the camera to adequately fill in the shadows on a subject's face from a distance of about 7'. On the other hand, the camera seems to be able to reduce the flash power as needed, making it usable at close ranges without burning out the subject.

The image stabilizer was of course a big draw, and there's definitely some improvement with it. There are no miracles here, but it's good for an f-stop or two.

Other nits: movie mode disables the zoom (grr!), and I cannot imagine a use for the IR transfer feature.

Overall, it's a fine camera and I'm happy with it. It didn't live up to all my expectations, but this camera had a lot of (perhaps unrealistic) buzz to live up to.

Head of the class
I own a Canon S2IS and was looking for something more compact and less complicated to use. The first camera I tried was the Fuji F40fd. It's watercolor NR system and lack of a dual IS left me wanting more. Shortly after I purchased it the F50fd came out so I returned the F40 in favor of the F50.

I tried a few other compact cameras as well which are included in the following list but so far nothing has been able to nudge out the F50.

Sony Cybershot DSCW80 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot (Silver)

Fujifilm Finepix F40fd 8.3MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7S 7.2MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

In "blind" (not knowing which camera took what photos) tests, I asked family and friends to view, compare, and comment on images (both on the computer screen as well as prints), and the F50fd was consistently chosen as having the sharpest photos with the most "true" color representation among all the other cameras mentioned above. The F50fd is on par with the Canon S2IS in regards to image quality. It lacks the 12x zoom and the full manual controls of the S2IS but the F50fd is compact, easy to transport, handle, less complicated, takes much better low light and night shots than the Canon.

What I liked about the F50fd:

* Dual image stabilization.
* The noise reduction system is an improvement over the F40fd.
* The LCD on the F50fd is slightly larger.
* The F50fd is an excellent low light shooter.
* Face detection 2.0 is a definite improvement over the previous model's fd system.
* Manual aperture or shutter control.
* A simple and intuitive menu system.
* Great battery life.
* Options for memory cards (XD, SD. SDHC).


What I didn't like:

* The F40fd's "auto" mode started @ ISO 100. Fuji changed the "auto" mode to a minimum of ISO 400 on the F50fd (?).
* Fuji removed the on screen histogram from the F40fd (?).
* Continuous shooting speeds are a very slow with both models.

Keeping the ISO @ 100 seems to be a growing theme these days among compacts. Anything above 100 and you get noisy fast or a NR system kicks in and blurs all your details away. Fuji's "noise" is still easier to deal with than that of other camera manufacturers in my opinion. Sure you could use ISO 3200 but why would you want to? Even a DSLR would have noise issues at that speed. This camera isn't a replacement for a DSLR. Its a fun, compact, good low light shooter. The ability to set either manual aperture or shutter speed along with the "night" mode and the "night" mode with "long exposure" makes for some amazing low light / night shots. I think that compared to other models in this price range the Fuji F50fd still manages to stay above the competition (Especially when you consider the $[...] rebate). The F50fd isn't perfect but what is?