Color (8.96)
This Fujifilm digital camera uses a Real Photo image processor, just like the highly acclaimed FinePix F10. However, the F10 performed well in other areas instead of color, so we headed into the color testing with some apprehension. Because the camera doesn’t have a manual white balance mode, we tested it in both the auto and incandescent modes. The incandescent results were best, so those are the ones we have reported.
We tested the V10’s colors by snapping shots of the GretagMacbeth color chart, which is used by many imaging companies for standardization. The chart consists of 24 tiles, each a different color. We run the V10’s pictures of the chart through Imatest imaging software, which quantitatively compares the V10’s colors with those on the original chart. The chart below is modified by the software to show the original GretagMacbeth colors in the inner vertical rectangles, the V10’s colors in the outer square of each tile, and the ideal tones corrected for luminance, in the inner square.
For those readers who prefer a more linear illustration of the color variance, this next chart shows the ideal colors as squares and depicts the Fujifilm V10’s produced colors as circles. The line linking the two shapes represents the color error. The longer the line, the more inaccurate the camera’s production of that particular tone. Ideally, these shapes should be stacked on one another – but it’s extremely rare for a compact digital camera to reproduce every color exactly as it appears.
Indeed, the Fujifilm FinePix V10 doesn’t stack its circles atop the squares but comes quite close. With an 8.96 overall color score, the V10 clearly surpasses the F10’s 6.68 score. The Fujifilm FinePix V10 ended up with a mean color error of 5.2, which is also a huge improvement upon the F10’s 7.44 score. Colors in the V10 were over-saturated by 11.3 percent, which isn’t bad at all for a compact – just enough to make colors sparkle. All in all, the Fujifilm FinePix V10 pleasantly surprised us with lovely, natural colors.
Still Life
Below is a shot of our majestic still life scene, captured with the Fujifilm FinePix V10.
Click on the image above to view the full resolution file.
Resolution / Sharpness (3.6)
The new V10 is often compared to the older Fujifilm FinePix F10 because they incorporate some of the same technology. Both cameras have the same 5th generation sensor technology – although the sensors themselves are different in size. The old F10 had a larger 1/1.7-inch Super CCD with 6.1 megapixels, while the new V10 carries a 1/2.5-inch Super CCD with 5.1 megapixels. Last year’s F10 produced some incredible resolution results, especially for a compact model.
We tested the Fujifilm V10 by taking several exposures of the ISO 12233 resolution chart, which is another industry standard chart. We uploaded the images into Imatest, which output results in terms of line widths per picture height (lw/ph). This is a theoretical measurement of how many alternating black and white lines could fit in the frame horizontally and vertically without blurring together.
Click on the resolution chart to view the full resolution image.
The image above was the sharpest we captured with the FinePix V10. It was shot at a focal length of 17.6 mm, an aperture of f/4.9 and a shutter speed of 1/40th of a second at the ISO 64 setting. Horizontally, the V10 resolved 1644 lw/ph and over-sharpened by 13.9 percent. Vertically, it over-sharpened by 15.8 percent and read 1539 lw/ph. This is far more detail than many of its compact competitors with slightly less in-camera sharpening imposed. For example, the slim Kodak EasyShare V530 advertises 5.1 megapixels on a 1/2.5-inch sensor, but only garnered 1225 lw/ph horizontally and 763.7 lw/ph vertically. While the Fuji V10 has fantastic resolution compared to its thin competitors, it still can’t replace a higher-end digital camera. For example, the 5.1 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 has the same sized sensor but read 1723 lw/ph horizontally and 1835 lw/ph vertically.
Noise – Auto ISO (2.29)
The Fuji V10’s performance in the automatic ISO setting is a concern. We tested the camera in optimal lighting, but unfortunately, its in-camera meter chose a much higher ISO than needed. With bulbs emitting about 3000 lux of light in our test, the V10 automatically selected ISO 640. This metering problem caused the noise levels to jump in the test, giving the camera an overall auto ISO noise score of 2.29.
Noise – Manual ISO (11.09)
True to its FinePix roots, the V10 performed much, much better when the ISO was manually selected. The compact digital camera offers manual settings from 64-1600, which is a nice wide range. This allows users to set the ISO 64 option in optimal lighting so the auto mode won’t pick out higher ISO settings and produce more noise in shots. We tested the noise levels at each of the manual ISO settings and created a graph that shows the noise on the vertical axis and the ISO ratings on the horizontal axis.
The noise remains quite low with little jumps from 200 to 400 and 800 to 1600. The highest ISO available, 1600, still produces usable pictures – which can’t be said of every compact digital camera. Many slim models produce more noise at the ISO 400 setting than the Fujifilm FinePix V10 does at ISO 1600.
To determine the V10’s overall score, we entered the individual ISO setting results into a regression analysis. The overall manual ISO noise score is 11.09, which is almost as good as the F10’s 11.42 result. With the difference in performance, it would be absurd to leave the ISO set to auto. When the ISO is manually set, noise can be easily managed to accommodate a range of lighting situations and print sizes.
Low Light (6.0)
With ISO sensitivities extending to 1600, the V10 is designed to handle available light shooting indoors and perform well in low light situations. It has a Natural Light mode that uses high ISOs and relatively quick shutter speeds while disabling the flash. It also has a Natural Light & With Flash mode, which extends that first mode into a pseudo-burst that takes two shots quickly – one with and the other without the flash.
We tested the V10’s ability to record in low light by capturing several exposures of the GretagMacbeth color chart in decreasing light levels. The first was taken at 60 lux, which is roughly the amount of light from two soft lamps in a living room. The next shot is at 30 lux, which is equivalent to a single 40-watt bulb. The third shot is captured at 15 lux, which is quite dark. At 5 lux, users probably won’t be able to see too much beyond the camera. Still, the latter two shots are taken to catch a glimpse of how the sensor and processor work in extremely low light.
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Low Light Tests
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60 Lux
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30 Lux
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15 Lux
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5 Lux
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The V10 was tested using both the Manual and Night modes. In the Manual mode, the camera’s shutter wouldn’t close slower than 1/4 of a second, so the image was unusable at 5 lux. This is true even with the highest ISO 1600 setting. The Night mode’s shutter speeds slowed down quite a bit. Once again, the metering system was a bit strange and automatically chose an ISO 200 setting in minimal illumination. The graph below shows more noise in the Manual mode that uses the higher ISO – as expected - than the longer exposures with the lower ISO. The noise levels show up on the vertical axis and the shutter speeds appear on the horizontal axis. The blue line shows the results from the Manual mode and the red line shows the Night scene mode.
While the V10 performed well in the Night scene mode, the white balance could not be selected in that mode. Thus, inaccurate colors will likely result.
Overall, the FinePix V10’s low light performance was fair. It unfortunately did not quite live up to Fujifilm’s marketing, but this had more to do with the camera’s lack of a customizable white balance setting than an inability to record in low light. The manufacturer claims that its digital cameras do so well at the higher ISO sensitivities that its cameras don’t need image stabilization systems, which are becoming increasingly common on point-and-shoot cameras this year. While users can bump the ISO up a stop or two or three and get faster shutter speeds and effectively minimize blur from camera shake, they will also have to accept the additional noise that comes with the amplified signal. This is the design concept behind the V10’s Natural Light mode.
While other digital cameras that include optical image stabilization systems claim about a 3-stop shutter speed advantage, the V10 can keep pace in that aspect. Unfortunately the optical image stabilization included on many competing models can keep pictures from blurring with less noise. However, the V10 would likely have an edge in low light situations if it only offered a manual white balance setting. As it stands, the V10 will provide well-exposed images in low light without the flash, but users will have to bring the image into a software application and do some major color corrections post-capture.
Dynamic Range (7.0)
The Fujifilm FinePix V10 has an ISO range of nearly 5 stops, which is unusual among small compact cameras. Dynamic range, the ability to capture detail and surface texture in both bright and dim subject matter in the same image, is typically limited in digital cameras. Small sensors like the one in the V10 often have particularly limited dynamic range, especially at higher ISOs.
We test cameras' dynamic range by photographing a Stouffer step chart, which is a calibrated target with a range of light and dark patches. We run the images through Imatest software, which measures how well the camera captures each patch. Imatest measures dynamic range at a number of quality levels. High quality measures the number of stops of range shown with less than 1/10 of a stop of noise. Low quality measures the number of stops of range with less than 1 stop of noise.
As the chart above shows, the V10 maintained about 6.5 stops of High quality range from ISO 64 to 200, dropping about a stop each at ISO 400 and 800, and less than a stop from 800 to 1600. At Low quality, the V10 dropped about half a stop with each step of ISO, with the exception of the step from 400 to 800, where it didn't drop, and from 800 to 1600, where it lost a full stop.
Fujifilm V10 Dynamic Range - ISO 64
Fujifilm V10 Dynamic Range - ISO 400
Fujifilm V10 Dynamic Range - ISO 1600
The Imatest results are for comparison with other cameras only – it's unlikely that users will achieve these levels of dynamic range in normal shooting.
Though the V10 performs better at low ISOs than high ones, it does well at high ISOs compared to other cameras. Fujifilm's efforts to improve high-ISO performance have paid off as measured by dynamic range.
Speed / Timing
Start-up to First Shot (8.13)
The V10 took 1.87 seconds to power on and take its first image in our timing tests. This result is pretty good for a compact camera with a telescoping lens. 1.87 seconds can be an awfully long time when one is trying to catch a fleeting moment, though, so we suggest turning the V10 on before a photo opportunity arises.
Shot to Shot Time (9.13)
The V10 has three burst modes: Top 3 takes the first three images in quick succession. In our test, it shot the three images in 0.87 seconds, for a rate of 3.4 frames per second. The Final 3 burst mode records images at the same rate, but only saves the last three images. 40 frames mode records images at the rate of 1.05 frames per second. We ran out of memory card space after 9 shots, but it is supposed to run for up to 40 shots.
Shutter to Shot Time (8.03)
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about compact digital cameras in general is the lag between pressing the shutter and actually capturing the shot. The limiting factor is usually the focusing mechanism. The V10 compares pretty well with its competition: it got off shots about 0.15 seconds after we pressed the shutter. That's not good enough for hockey or other high-speed action, but it should be suitable for candid pictures at parties.
