Fuji F40fd
Fuji F31fd
Every now and then, I'll have someone ask me, "What's the best digital camera on the market today?" Well, as a professional photographer, I'm more inclined to use digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras as opposed to "point and shoot" compact cameras. But I realize that most consumers don't want the expense or weight of an SLR and would much rather have a camera to put in a purse or pocket.
I can't argue with the logic of owning a small camera. I think having a camera available with you immediately because it is small and portable is better than not having a camera with you at all. Why do you think there is such popularity with taking pictures with a cell phone? But beyond the cell phone camera craze, the small and affordable "point and shoot" camera catagory is your best bet if you want a good quality camera that's portable.
Before deciding on which camera is best for you, I believe you have to ask yourself, "Do I want convenience features or do I want the best image quality?" There are models on the market today that offer incredible features for the money but sacrifice image quality to get it. And conversely, there are models that offer incredible image quality but lack certain features.
As a pro, I often have to make this determination as well. When I chose my digital SLRs for use in my business this year, I had to decide whether I wanted the superior feature performance of the Nikon D200 camera over the superior image quality of the Fuji S5 Pro camera. The Fuji S5 camera body is the identical body to the Nikon D200 because Nikon makes the S5 for Fuji and uses the D200 body to do it. But Fuji put in their own image sensor and firmware to control the camera. In doing so, they came up with a camera that in my opinion offers a superior image quality, but lacks in some features such as burst rate speed (the ability to capture multiple images in rapid succession) due to its limited firmware (most likely.) In the end, I felt that image quality was more important for me and my clients and decided to sell off my two Nikon D200's and purchase two new Fuji S5 Pro cameras for my work. Yes, each Fuji S5 camera is about $550 more expensive than each Nikon D200.
For point and shoot cameras, I'd have to say choosing between image quality and features is a harder decision because you want as many features as you can get for the size and money, but you really don't want to lose image quality either. The whole point of a "point and shoot" camera is convenience really. So should someone make a purchase decision on features and convenience over image quality when buying a point and shoot camera?
In 2005 I sold a Canon A95 to purchase a Fuji F10 point and shoot camera for my wife (who never uses it at all but my daughter and I do.) We still have that Fuji camera and I have a hard time justifying a replacement in 2007. Why? Because it does a fantastic job! I can't fault it's image quality for a point and shoot camera at 6 MP. It can shoot in very low light without a flash (as high as ISO 1600 in sensitivity) and I shoot a lot of images without a flash. So for me, it does a great job.
So what is the best point and shoot camera on the market? Well, for performance vs. cost, I'd have to say it has to be either the Fuji F31fd or Fuji F40fd. These two camera are very similar to the older F10 but offer upgraded image quality. The new F40fd offers a slightly lower sensitivity capability over the F31fd (ISO 2000 instead of ISO 3200) and makes up for it with a slightly higher megapixel count, but also offers picture stabilization which can help in camera blur. That's a feature that might be worth having in a point and shoot camera. But I tend to favor the older F31fd because it offers Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority modes that the F40fd does not have and these are features I like a lot. My F10 doesn't have these modes and I wish it did. Plus the F31fd costs only $210 (after rebate) as opposed to the F40fd's cost of $265 (also not a bad price.) When you think about it, to get a quality digital image maker for well under $300 is absolutely amazing!
But these two cameras do not offer the highest Megapixel count and they do not have the most features compared to other point and shoot cameras. And, they are bigger and bulkier than other cameras too. So why do I favor these models today?
Well, I think it comes down to image quality for me as the most important feature when deciding on a camera. No matter how fancy a camera is and how many bells and whistles it offers, if it can't make a good image, I can't justify buying it or recommending it. From what I've seen from various reviews and having owned a Fuji F10 (the camera that the F31fd and F40fd was based), I'd have to say that these two Fuji models offer the best image quality in the Point and Shoot category.
You may think that I'm just a Fuji enthusiast. After all, today I own two Fuji S5 Pro's, I owned a Fuji S3 Pro last year and I own a Fuji F10 point and shoot camera. Well, the decision to own these came after a lot of research, "soul searching" and cost. I had to sell perfectly good cameras to afford these for my business and the decision to do so was very difficult for me. I have been a Nikon and Canon user for many years (although I favor the Nikon system over Canon in general for it's ease of use and familiarity) and so going to Fuji was relatively foreign to me. But I'd have to say that the image quality of Fuji's products (at least these cameras, not all Fuji cameras) impressed me enough to buy them and recommend them to others.
There is a great article on DP Review about high ISO (this gives the ability to capture images in low light) and I recommend you read this if you are looking at point and shoot cameras that will allow you to shoot without a flash in lower light: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/compactcamerahighiso/
If you would like to read a review of the excellent Fuji F31fd, check this out: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/
So are the Fuji F31fd and F40fd the best point and shoot cameras on the market today? For image quality at low light, I'd have to say... probably. Check out the review and look at the comparison images to determine this for yourself.
I can't argue with the logic of owning a small camera. I think having a camera available with you immediately because it is small and portable is better than not having a camera with you at all. Why do you think there is such popularity with taking pictures with a cell phone? But beyond the cell phone camera craze, the small and affordable "point and shoot" camera catagory is your best bet if you want a good quality camera that's portable.
Before deciding on which camera is best for you, I believe you have to ask yourself, "Do I want convenience features or do I want the best image quality?" There are models on the market today that offer incredible features for the money but sacrifice image quality to get it. And conversely, there are models that offer incredible image quality but lack certain features.
As a pro, I often have to make this determination as well. When I chose my digital SLRs for use in my business this year, I had to decide whether I wanted the superior feature performance of the Nikon D200 camera over the superior image quality of the Fuji S5 Pro camera. The Fuji S5 camera body is the identical body to the Nikon D200 because Nikon makes the S5 for Fuji and uses the D200 body to do it. But Fuji put in their own image sensor and firmware to control the camera. In doing so, they came up with a camera that in my opinion offers a superior image quality, but lacks in some features such as burst rate speed (the ability to capture multiple images in rapid succession) due to its limited firmware (most likely.) In the end, I felt that image quality was more important for me and my clients and decided to sell off my two Nikon D200's and purchase two new Fuji S5 Pro cameras for my work. Yes, each Fuji S5 camera is about $550 more expensive than each Nikon D200.
For point and shoot cameras, I'd have to say choosing between image quality and features is a harder decision because you want as many features as you can get for the size and money, but you really don't want to lose image quality either. The whole point of a "point and shoot" camera is convenience really. So should someone make a purchase decision on features and convenience over image quality when buying a point and shoot camera?
In 2005 I sold a Canon A95 to purchase a Fuji F10 point and shoot camera for my wife (who never uses it at all but my daughter and I do.) We still have that Fuji camera and I have a hard time justifying a replacement in 2007. Why? Because it does a fantastic job! I can't fault it's image quality for a point and shoot camera at 6 MP. It can shoot in very low light without a flash (as high as ISO 1600 in sensitivity) and I shoot a lot of images without a flash. So for me, it does a great job.
So what is the best point and shoot camera on the market? Well, for performance vs. cost, I'd have to say it has to be either the Fuji F31fd or Fuji F40fd. These two camera are very similar to the older F10 but offer upgraded image quality. The new F40fd offers a slightly lower sensitivity capability over the F31fd (ISO 2000 instead of ISO 3200) and makes up for it with a slightly higher megapixel count, but also offers picture stabilization which can help in camera blur. That's a feature that might be worth having in a point and shoot camera. But I tend to favor the older F31fd because it offers Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority modes that the F40fd does not have and these are features I like a lot. My F10 doesn't have these modes and I wish it did. Plus the F31fd costs only $210 (after rebate) as opposed to the F40fd's cost of $265 (also not a bad price.) When you think about it, to get a quality digital image maker for well under $300 is absolutely amazing!
But these two cameras do not offer the highest Megapixel count and they do not have the most features compared to other point and shoot cameras. And, they are bigger and bulkier than other cameras too. So why do I favor these models today?
Well, I think it comes down to image quality for me as the most important feature when deciding on a camera. No matter how fancy a camera is and how many bells and whistles it offers, if it can't make a good image, I can't justify buying it or recommending it. From what I've seen from various reviews and having owned a Fuji F10 (the camera that the F31fd and F40fd was based), I'd have to say that these two Fuji models offer the best image quality in the Point and Shoot category.
You may think that I'm just a Fuji enthusiast. After all, today I own two Fuji S5 Pro's, I owned a Fuji S3 Pro last year and I own a Fuji F10 point and shoot camera. Well, the decision to own these came after a lot of research, "soul searching" and cost. I had to sell perfectly good cameras to afford these for my business and the decision to do so was very difficult for me. I have been a Nikon and Canon user for many years (although I favor the Nikon system over Canon in general for it's ease of use and familiarity) and so going to Fuji was relatively foreign to me. But I'd have to say that the image quality of Fuji's products (at least these cameras, not all Fuji cameras) impressed me enough to buy them and recommend them to others.
There is a great article on DP Review about high ISO (this gives the ability to capture images in low light) and I recommend you read this if you are looking at point and shoot cameras that will allow you to shoot without a flash in lower light: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/compactcamerahighiso/
If you would like to read a review of the excellent Fuji F31fd, check this out: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/
So are the Fuji F31fd and F40fd the best point and shoot cameras on the market today? For image quality at low light, I'd have to say... probably. Check out the review and look at the comparison images to determine this for yourself.
Do the two cameras offer the best features for the money? No. They are lacking in many features that make other models more attractive such as physical size, focus speed, zoom ratios, etc. But to me, the image quality is the determining factor over the features when I buy cameras. And, don't get fooled about the megapixel count either. You'll see in the review's comparision photos that even at only 6 megapixels, it outperforms others with higher megapixel counts. The megapixel race isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Don't buy a camera solely on this specification. And don't be fooled by the claims of "high ISO" from other manufacturers either. Check out the article on High ISO and you'll see why.
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