Fujifilm FinePix 4800 ZoomFuji updates their SuperCCD pocket camera with improved color and a hot-sync cradle!<<Video, Power, Software :(Previous) | (Next): Reference: Datasheet>> Page 12:Test Results & ConclusionReview First Posted: 08/16/2001 |
Test Results
In keeping with our standard policy, our comments here are rather condensed,
summarizing our key findings. For a full commentary on each of the test images,
see the 4800 Zoom's "pictures" page.
As with all Imaging Resource camera tests, we encourage you to let your own eyes be the judge of how well the devices performed. Explore the images on the pictures page, to see how well the 4800 Zoom performed, and how its images compare to other cameras you may be considering buying.
Overall, the 4800 Zoom produced very pleasing color in most of our tests. The camera's White Balance system handled most of our test lighting well, though it produced a slight warm cast in response to our studio lighting, particularly noticeable in the House poster and Davebox target. Likewise, both the Auto and Incandescent white balance settings resulted in very warm images in our Indoor Portrait (without flash). Still, overall color was accurate most of the time. The 4800 Zoom distinguished the tough tonal variations of our Davebox target well, and reproduced the large color blocks with good accuracy (despite the warm color cast). Skin tones often had a magenta tint, particularly in our Outdoor and Indoor portraits. In general, while we felt color accuracy wasn't spot-on, the manner in which it was off produced prints that we think most consumers will find attractive.
The 4800 Zoom did pretty well on our "laboratory" resolution test chart. It started showing artifacts in the test patterns at resolutions as low as 600 lines per picture height, in both horizontal and vertical directions. However, we found "strong detail" out to at least 1,000 lines. "Extinction" of the target patterns didn't occur until about 1,300 - 1,400 lines.
Optical distortion on the 4800 Zoom is quite low at the wide-angle end, where we measured an approximate 0.21 percent barrel distortion. Unfortunately, the telephoto end fared much worse, as we measured a 1.1 percent pincushion distortion. Chromatic aberration is very low, showing only about one or two faint pixels in the far corners.
The 4800 Zoom offers full automatic exposure control only, which reduces its performance in the low-light category. The camera produced usable images down to about one foot-candle (or 11 lux, comparable to a well-lit city street at night) with good color, at ISO 400. At ISO 125 and 200, images were only usable as low as two foot-candles (22 lux). At all three ISO settings, the target remained visible as low as one-half foot-candle (5.5 lux), but images were too dim for use. Noise remained fairly low at ISO 125, increasing to a moderately high level at ISO 400, which is still pretty good. Thus, night photography will require the use of the flash in most cases.
The 4800 Zoom's optical viewfinder is very tight, showing approximately 80 percent frame accuracy at both wide angle and telephoto. The LCD monitor fares much better, showing approximately 96 percent of the image area at all focal lengths. Given that we generally prefer LCD monitors to be as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the 4800 Zoom's LCD monitor does a great job here.
The 4800 Zoom did a good job in the macro category, capturing a smaller-than-average minimum area of only 2.39 x 1.79 inches (60.70 x 45.52 millimeters). Resolution is high, with a lot of distinct detail visible in the dollar bill. The brooch and coin details are very soft due to the limited depth of field when shooting this close, as well as a significant amount of corner softness. We also noticed a magenta tint to the gray background, probably resulting from the auto white balance attempting to compensate for the green of the bill. The 4800 Zoom's flash did a suprisingly good job of throttling down for the macro area, although it ended up fairly dim, producing a pinkish color cast.
Overall, the 4800 Zoom did pretty well. Despite a warm color cast in some of
our test images, the 4800 Zoom handles most light sources well. We'd like to
see the Incandescent white balance come out a bit more neutral, but Fuji has
made big strides in this area, and the 4800 is pretty comparable to other cameras
in this respect. Image quality and color are good, with the 4800 Zoom capturing
a lot of detail. Caucasian skin tones are a little "hot", but the
overall effect of its color is to produce very pleasing prints. Though its low-light
capabilities are somewhat limited, the 4800 Zoom should be able to handle typical
consumer-level shooting conditions quite well.
Conclusion
The FinePix 4800 Zoom is a compact, portable digicam with a sleek, sophisticated body design courtesy of sports car designer F.A.Porsche. The 4800 Zoom's high-tech, stylized look, and its broad range of camera functions (still, movie, audio, and videoconferencing) will likely appeal to the digitally savvy consumer market more than it will to the serious photographer. Users have a choice of fully automatic exposure control, which is great for people who don't want to hassle with complicated camera settings, or they can use the camera's manual mode, which provides limited exposure adjustments and a few simple creative options. Fuji's interpolation scheme, which turns 2.4 million sensor pixels into 4.3 million pixels in the image files has generated a lot of controversy, but does in our opinion create slightly more detailed files a straight 2 megapixel rendering. (Still, at the Imaging Resource, Marti's camera is a FinePix 6800, and we usually find ourselves running it in its "uninterpolated" 3 megapixel mode, rather than the 6 megapixel interpolated one.) While we make much of the sleek styling of the 4800 Zoom though, its most salient characteristic is the beautiful, vibrant color of its images. With its ease of use, rugged yet sleek portability, and excellent picture quality, we think it's a perfect choice for point & shoot users looking for a really portable digicam.
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