First Impressions Review
Jan 07, 2006
- By Emily Raymond
At a time when multiple consumer electronics are being converged into single devices Fujifilm announced the FinePix V10, a digital camera that has many of the same imaging guts of the Fujifilm F10 but adds a video game feature. The V10 has a 1/2.5-inch, 5.1-megapixel Super CCD – the same type of 5th generation sensor in the F10. The Fujifilm FinePix F10 was released last year and turned in some excellent test scores – beautiful color, hardly any noise, fast startup and burst times – but came in a fairly unattractive package. The V10 fixes that problem. It comes in a durable metal housing with a 3.4x optical zoom lens that extends from the camera body. The back of the compact model is completely dominated by a large 3-inch LCD screen that has 230,000 pixels. The Fujifilm FinePix V10 will begin shipping in March for a retail price of $349.
| Likes |
|
- Large 3-inch LCD screen with 230k
- Video games for the bored masses
- Large 64-1600 ISO range
- Stylish metal body
- Same Super CCD that the F10 had (except smaller)
|
| Dislikes |
- Flash placement awkward
- Slightly uncomfortable navigational control
- No metering options
- Vertical view of LCD solarizes
- Short battery life |
Conclusion
With 5.1 megapixels, the Fujifilm FinePix V10 has just an average amount of resolution. Its 3.4x optical zoom lens has just enough focal length to be above average. The V10’s 3-inch LCD screen is excellent and its metal body is slim and stylish. It gets better. The camera has a gaming feature that can occupy kids for hours – or at least until the battery dies. The FinePix V10 definitely has a few quirks. Its playback mode button is a black hole, the navigation controls are tiny and not as comfortable as more traditional multi-selectors, and the highly touted games are buried in the playback menu. Nevertheless, the Fujifilm FinePix V10 has some very lucrative features: 64-1600 ISO sensitivities, good solid imaging guts, and a huge screen to view and capture pictures on. Overall, the V10 is simple to figure out. Users won’t have to wrestle it to get great pictures. The Fujifilm FinePix V10 will retail for $349 when it begins selling in stores in March.