[john53]

Does anybody else have these cameras here at headfi?

I own both and i think these cameras are some of the best compact digital cameras ever made.They have nice image quality,not too soft and not too oversharpened,nice colours and you can get good image quality at iso 400(and even iso 800 for small prints),which is very good for a compact.Battery life is also very good,and the screen is nice and helps you when you check the photos(if the focus is ok)

Feel free to post your images of these cameras here too,if you want!

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I've got an F100fd, but I can certainly appreciate what the F30 generation has going for it.

The newer generation still has quite good ISO performance (ever so slightly worse than the F30 et al) but with a larger zoom range and greater resolution/dynamic range options. I think the biggest advantage for the F30 over its' descendants is battery life.

 

[majid]

I have a F31fd. There's a reason why they sell for more used on eBay that they used to cost new. Manufacturers have been emphasizing pixels at the cost of signal quality, and using cheaper but noisier small sensors, the end result being cameras that can't take decent photos beyond ISO 200 in the best of circumstances, vs. ISO 800 on the F31fd. The battery life on the F31fd is also ridiculously long.

That said, the Sigma DP2 is a better camera, if less versatile. So will the Olympus E-P1 camera rumored to be announced today.

 

[linuxworks]

I have an f20 that I got as a 'low light' shooter.

my complains are: xd card (sigh) and too 'cooked' an image out of the cam (too sharpened, too much contrast, no processability).

if you look at the sharpening, you see 'hatchies' as I call them (sharpening/contrast pattern noise). but a lot of cams have that when they try to 'reduce noise' in jpg.

if I ignore that (and I often can) it does produce good high iso shots for a small cam.

 

[john53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by majid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a F31fd. There's a reason why they sell for more used on eBay that they used to cost new. Manufacturers have been emphasizing pixels at the cost of signal quality, and using cheaper but noisier small sensors, the end result being cameras that can't take decent photos beyond ISO 200 in the best of circumstances, vs. ISO 800 on the F31fd. The battery life on the F31fd is also ridiculously long. That said, the Sigma DP2 is a better camera, if less versatile. So will the Olympus E-P1 camera rumored to be announced today.

once i wanted to try dp1 but at the end i found a canon 400d at a good price amd bought it.I also think that maybe lx3 is a better overall camera but i've never tried it either.

The olympus is the one with the micro 4/3 sensor?The last mounths i don't visit so often the large sites(dpreview,imaging resource,photozone etc)and i don't know what's new(basically for the compacts,because i check for the dslr's a bit more now)

Another plus of the f30/f31 is the good lens quality,it's sharp from the centre to the edges(f100/200 have a little problem with edge softness) and it had low chromatic abberrations.My canon 18-55 image stabiliser is noticably worse in that respect.

 

[john53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have an f20 that I got as a 'low light' shooter. my complains are: xd card (sigh) and too 'cooked' an image out of the cam (too sharpened, too much contrast, no processability). if you look at the sharpening, you see 'hatchies' as I call them (sharpening/contrast pattern noise). but a lot of cams have that when they try to 'reduce noise' in jpg. if I ignore that (and I often can) it does produce good high iso shots for a small cam.

I noticed something similar when i first got the f31fd.It had a bit more sharpening and a bit more colour saturation than the f30,and to tell the truth,i prefered the f30.But i don't think that they have too much sharpening to produce hallos and jaggies,maybe the f20 has more.

I like to print my favorite photos at a camera shop who has a fuji minilab frontier and good quality fuji semi-matte paper(and without auto correction selected on the minilab because it destroys a good photo) and the picture quality at 13*18 and 15*21 is really very satisfying for a compact camera.I've seen some similar prints from other compacts (older and newer models,sony,nikon,canon,olympus,panasonic)and most of them look more artificial because of the oversharpening,noise,and not so good lens quality.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john53 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another plus of the f30/f31 is the good lens quality,it's sharp from the centre to the edges

fuji is BAD on purple fringe, though ;(

it often ruins my shots.

 

[john53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif fuji is BAD on purple fringe, though ;( it often ruins my shots.

Yeah that's true.Though it happens mostly at high contrast conditions.If you close the uperture at f4/f5.6 it improves a little(i tried it at high contrast night low light shots with some stronge lights in the frame and it improved a little but not by much)

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john53 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another plus of the f30/f31 is the good lens quality,it's sharp from the centre to the edges(f100/200 have a little problem with edge softness)

This is true, however the edge sharpness of the latter isn't exactly a major problem. I doubt much of anyone is going to be printing 20x30" landscapes from these cameras, and even if they were, the F100 still has less loss of sharpness at the edges than MANY SLR lenses, as you hinted at.

It's a typical trade-off, shorter zoom with better performance versus longer zoom with some compromises.

At least in this case the minor compromises are worth the range to me. Not so with the Nikon 18-200mm VR though

 

[ka-boom]

Funny this thread came up.

I just noticed Thom Hogan is having a spring cleaning sale and selling a F30 for $89.

Spring Cleaning by Thom Hogan

 

[majid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john53 /img/forum/go_quote.gif once i wanted to try dp1 but at the end i found a canon 400d at a good price amd bought it.I also think that maybe lx3 is a better overall camera but i've never tried it either.

The 400D is an altogether different beast and not directly comparable. It will have better image quality and responsiveness, obviously, but can't fit into your jacket pocket.

Don't believe the LX3 hype. I bought a D-Lux 4 (the posh variant of the LX3) a month or so ago and returned it because the noise levels are horrendous as early as ISO 320.

 

[dj_mocok]

My LX3 does not have horrendous noise even at ISO 400. You might have purchased a faulty one.

 

[kugino]

proud f31fd owner here...best point and shoot camera i've owned. prior to this it was a bunch of canons, all of which died out on me...besides the purple fringing, the only major complaint i have is the media card...i wish they'd used SD cards instead of that stuff fuji uses...

edit: i just went to ebay to see what people are shelling out for these...really!? hmmm, maybe i'll put mine up for sale to fund a new pair of...oh, never mind...

 

[olblueyez]

F30 here, also the best point and shoot for me as well. I have no plans to replace it. Works like a charm. I even have people here and on ebay asking what kind of camera I use.

You guys use the Fuji Color setting or standard? I like the Fuji Color setting.

 

[mightyacorn]

I have a F30, but haven't used in a while- the LX3 has taken it's place. Hoping for a Micro Four Thirds with a proper viewfinder.