Latest – Review by PCWorld (added 25 August’08)
Fujifilm FinePix F50fd features:
- 12 megapixel
- Mechanical CCD-shift image stabilized
- Full manual control
- 2.7 inch LCD
- ISO range from 100 to 1600
- I-flash intelligent flash
- Improved face detection
- xD / SD / SD-HC compatible cards
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Read More Reviews – (updated 25 August’08)
PCWorld has reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and they write -
“In our image-quality tests, the F50fd earned the highest mark in this group for having the least distortion and received very high marks for sharpness.”
Rating: 
DevHardware has reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and they write -
“Like its predecessors, the F50fd is capable of reaching ISO levels higher than most other comparable compacts. This camera will reach levels up to ISO 1600 at the full 12 MP. You can take it a step further and go up to ISO 3200, but the resolution will fall to 6 MP. Finally, you can take this camera to a ground-breaking level of ISO 6400, but the resolution again drops to 3 MP. At the highest ISO levels you can still manage to get usable small prints with minimal image noise. The experts seem to agree that while the F50fd does produce solid photos, its performance isn’t quite up to its predecessor’s standards in both performance and image quality.”
Imaging-Resource – 08 February’08 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and felt it was slow operationally. Here’s a summary of their review -
“With an increase in megapixels you do get better detail but you also get an increase in digital noise particularly at ISO 400 and above. Images have colors that are natural looking, in fact, most people who are used to other cameras doing a lot of massaging with the color may be taken off guard with theF50fd’s colors since they look remarkably normal. One particular irritating things was the slick body finish. while it looks really cool it does not provide descent gripping.”
DPExpert – 28 February’08 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and feels it’s a good camera – up to a point. Here’s a summary of their review -
“Image quality is simply outstanding. Right on exposures, peppy performance and outstanding resolution make this camera capable of producing some of best images the reviewer had ever seen. Now the problem… The beautiful images stop if you move past ISO 200. Pictures taken above ISO 200 deteriorate because of excessive pixel density. In camera noise reduction is very aggressive resulting in photos that appear grainy and soft. Bottom Line – If you can stay below ISO 200 this is one sweet little camera.”
DCResource – 08 February’08 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and thinks it’s just an average digital camera with better than average ISO performance. Here’s a summary of their review -
“It took the reviewer 3 different F50’s until he could find one that produced sharp images which does not speak very highly of Fujifilm’s quality control. The camera has some nice features but picture quality is a little unpredictable. Generally colors are good but detail around the edges of pictures tends to be a bit blurry. bottom line – This is not a bad camera but there are better choices out there.”
DigitalTrends – 04 January’08 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and felt the pictures taken in low light were far too soft. Here’s a summary of their review verdict -
“If you take into consideration the price and feature set this is a pretty tough camera to beat. As a carry around point-and-shoot the camera would probably fit the bill but just because it packs 12 megapixels does not mean you’ll end up with consistent high quality photos. As would be expected high ISO shots have digital noise and the camera tends to go into slow mode when saving large multiple files.”
TrustedReviews – 26 December’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and thought its low light performance was not very good. Here’s an excerpt from their review verdict -
“While the F50fd is by no means a bad camera, and indeed it performs as well as any of the other 12MP compacts on the market while undercutting most of them on price, it has lost the low-light, high-ISO advantage of the F31fd and F40fd. It is still a very well made and sensibly designed compact camera with some useful features, and at low ISO settings its image quality is very good, but it doesn’t stand out from the crowd.”
DPReview – 05 December’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and based on performance and quality of pictures it snagged a high recommendation. Here’s an excerpt from their review conclusion -
“In spite of the minor flaws and the slightly pedestrian feature set, despite the fact that Fujifilm has actively narrowed the gap between its Super CCD sensor and conventional CCD compacts by squeezing too many pixels in – and despite the fact that there is little if any real benefit to the resolution hike, the F50fd is still one of the better pocket cameras on the market.”
Pocket-lint – 05 December’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and compared to the rest of its performance the flash recycle is really slow. Here’s an excerpt from their review verdict -
“Good image quality, good design good price and a good set of features combine overall to make an excellent digital compact. ‘Nuff said.”
Cameras.co.uk – 03 December’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and points out this camera has a lot of useful features not generally found in this class of camera. Here’s an excerpt from their review verdict -
“This is an impressive camera. Small enough to fit into a pocket it can take a decent photo in most situations. It is one of the best lowlight compact cameras around. It also has a few extra features than a typical point and shoot camera.”
Steves-Digicams – 15 November’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and notes that both indoor and outdoor photos are colorful and well exposed. Here’s an excerpt from their review conclusion -
“There were several changes to the features of the F50fd that make this camera very easy to use. With Manual, Aperture and Shutter Speed priority modes, this model will allow the novice photographer to have as much fun with this camera as a beginner can with the fully automatic mode and 16 pre-programmed shooting modes. We feel this is a nice ultra-compact that will please any user, whether for home use or in an office. The image quality won’t disappoint when shooting indoors or out, and with 12-megapixels you can create beautiful 13×19-inch or larger prints. With a price tag of US$299 or less, it offers a good value for a very capable consumer model.”
PCWorld – 15 November’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and comments that if you are really concerned about the quality of your pictures, this might be your camera. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“In our image-quality tests, the F50fd earned the highest mark in this group for having the least distortion and received very high marks for sharpness. Its flash is a bit weak, so it didn’t get high scores for its flash shots, but overall, it earned a rating of Very Good.”
PCW – 12 November’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and thought the build quality was good and the face detection was very fast. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“Overall, the results are good and you’ll end up with fewer unusable images than on many competing cameras, but when compared to the F31fd the advantages of the extra resolution are not always obvious as the increase in pixels seems to have brought with it a noticeable increase in image noise.
Browsing your photos is also very quick and easy, thanks to a ‘micro-thumbnail’ view which allows you to browse through 100 images on screen at a time.”
PCMag – 06 November’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and thought one of the most impressive aspects of this camera was the face detection system. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“The F50fd doesn’t quite edge it out, although it comes at a competitive price, and its combination of successfully implemented advanced automatic tools, ergonomic design, and satisfying shots makes it easy to recommend.”
PopPhoto – 05 November’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and comments the cameras manful mode is not really full manual but a combination of auto settings. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“The lab results and high ISO image quality are disappointing. We’ve come to expect great high-ISO images from the FujiFilm F series, and ultimately, the F50fd falls shorter than our expectations in terms of image quality, and that’s what matters most. We’d really love to see FujiFilm put these technological advances — IS, Face Detection, irSimple, dual-memory format — in a replacement for the 6-megapixel F30 or F31fd, to make the most of the F50fd’s feature set and the F30’s image quality.”
DigitalCameraReview – 31 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and notes the lens displays a little softness on the edges in both the wide angle and telephoto. Here’s an excerpt from their review conclusion -
“Fujifilm touts the F50fd as the “pinnacle of technology in a compact camera”, and this latest F-series addition to the family maintains Fuji’s grip on the high ISO performance envelope, although perhaps not as firmly as earlier models. 3200 and 6400 ISO sensitivities give the camera a range not normally found in cameras of this class.
The camera offers good shutter performance and a surprisingly good continuous shooting capability at reduced resolution. Image quality and color reproduction are good, and a full suite of automatic scene modes are complemented by aperture and shutter priority manual settings.”
CameraLabs – 26 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and suggest for the money this is probably the best value 12 megapixel camera on the market. Here’s an excerpt from their review verdict -
“Ultimately the FinePix F50fd is good but not remarkable. It has a pedestrian 35-105mm optical range, a screen and IS system which are bettered by rivals, and arguably doesn’t match Canon, Panasonic and Sony for industrial design. It is however a solid performer with effective indoor flash facilities, reasonable manual control and represents good value considering its high 12 Megapixel resolution. As such we can recommend it, but it’s not the F30 / F31fd successor we were hoping for.”
PhotographyBlog – 25 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and comments that this may be a fast camera but its image quality is lacking. Here’s an excerpt from their review conclusion -
“The Fujifilm Finepix F50fd is a frustrating beast. On one hand it offers a number of significant improvements when compared with the older F31fd, but on the other it takes a serious backwards step in terms of image quality, which is ultimately what every camera should primarily be judged by. We whole-heartedly gave the F31fd a Highly Recommended award one year back at the start of 2007, commenting “this compact camera still has no rivals in terms of low-light performance”. This time around, the F50fd is no longer the low-light leader that the F31fd was. The dramatic increase in megapixels from 6 to 12 is most definitely a bad thing.”
Neocamera – 24 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and comments that this is one fast camera, in fact, one of the fastest in its class. Here’s an excerpt from their review conclusion -
“The F50 remains an excellent camera but going to 12 megapixels weakened its lead. The new high-resolution sensor shows moderately higher image-noise than the F31fd’s 6 megapixels sensor and the size of its output files had a detrimental effect on shot-to-shot speeds. Still, the F50 produces high-quality images above and beyond what is customarily seen among ultra-compact digital cameras.”
Megapixel – 23 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and notes there was evidence of digital noise even at ISO 100. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“The Fujifilm F50fd is small, light and easy to take anywhere. Its controls are well devised and identified, making it easy to become familiar with the operation of the camera. The monitor — there is no optical viewfinder — is sharp and has a high refresh rate, yielding a smooth and fluid image. But just as importantly, the F50fd responds quickly to its controls — including to the shutter release — and to its menus.”
DigitalCameraInfo – 19 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and comments that anything beyond ISO 100 the dynamic range falls off and noise increases, a lot. Here’s an excerpt from their review conclusion -
“We want to love the F50fd, but we can’t give it our full recommendation. Yes, it’s packed with lots of features at a great price. But its noise and dynamic range performance are terrible, and its colors aren’t anything to brag about either. The resolution may be fantastic, but the processing time is so annoying that it’s hard to enjoy much about this camera. It takes too long to open up the Playback mode, scroll through pictures, and write images after a 3-shot burst. Those logistical concerns coupled with the lackluster performance overpower the excellent resolution and great price.”
CNET – 09 October’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and thinks its advanced exposure controls will be appreciate by advanced photographers. Here’s an excerpt from their review -
“As long as you don’t mind the between-shot sluggishness or slight texture that the noise creates, even at lower ISOs when viewed on a monitor, then the Fujifilm F50fd would make a nice choice for advanced photographers looking for a pocket camera to supplement an SLR. I say this not only because of the merits mentioned above, but also because the camera’s aperture- and shutter-priority modes give you up to 10 choices when choosing an aperture or shutter speed, while a lot of compact cameras with those shooting modes limit you to significantly fewer choices, sometimes as few as two.”
TomsGuide – 28 September’07 – reviews the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and writes;
“With an internal memory of only 25 MB, we at least expected to find a memory card in the bundle: the lack of one is a real black mark for the manufacturer. The other basic accessories are all accounted for: a USB cable for transferring your photos to a computer, a charger for the removable battery, and finally a video cable for viewing your photos and video on your TV set. The included CD-ROM offers a driver and a photo management application – which unfortunately does only that and nothing more.”
CNET Asia does a first take review and video of the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd and likes the fact that Fujifilm has finally replaced the ISO based image stabilization with more accurate CCD shift image stabilization. However, they were not so impressed with the image review mode. A whopping 100 images on the 2.7 inch LCD is just too much to handle.
Bottom Line: The crew at CNET Asia like the camera a lot. And they can’t wait to receive a full production camera from Fujifilm so they can test this camera completely.
Sample Photos
[Sample Test Photos at DevHardware]
[Sample Test Photos Imaging-Resource]
[Sample Test Photos DCResource]
[Sample Photos at TrustedReviews]
[Sample Photos at DPReview]
[Sample Photos at Pocket-lint]
[Sample Photos at Cameras.co.uk]
[Sample Photos at Steves-Digicams]
[Sample Test Photos at PopPhoto]
[Sample Test Photos at CameraLab]
[Sample Test Photos at PhotographyBlog]
[Sample Test Photos at Neocamera]
[Sample Test Photos at Megapixels]
[Sample Test Photos at DigitalCameraInfo]
[Sample Test Photos at TomsGuide]
[Sample Test Photos at Fujifilm]
Videos
Specifications
[Official Fujifilm Specifications]
Owners Manual
Drivers and Software
[Drivers and Software Download Page]
Press Release – (added 26 July ‘07)
Valhalla, N.Y., July 26, 2007 Digital photographers looking for a top-of-the line compact digital camera can now take advantage of the latest in Fujifilm’s F-Series digital cameras with the 12-Megapixel FinePix F50fd. Following a long line of award winning F-Series models, the FinePix F50fd, like the FinePix F31fd and F40fd before it, offers consumers a super-compact digital camera that takes beautiful shots with the most advanced features and technology available, so that missing great shots is not an option.
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