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Pros
- Great image quality.
- Little noise at low ISOs.
- Minimal shutter lag.
- HDMI out.
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Cons
- Antiquated user interface.
- Less zoom than some same-size competitors.
- HD video capture is 24fps, not 30fps.
- Proprietary USB port.
Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR Specs
| 35-mm Equivalent (Telephoto): | 270 mm |
| 35-mm Equivalent (Wide): | 27 mm |
| Battery Type Supported: | Lithium Ion |
| Boot time: | 3.01 seconds |
| LCD dots: | 230000 |
| LCD size: | 3 inches |
| Lines Per Picture Height: | 1914 |
| Media Format: | Secure Digital High Capacity |
| Megapixels: | 12 MP |
| Optical Zoom: | 10 x |
| Recycle time: | 2.13 seconds |
| Type: | Superzoom |
| Video Resolution: | Yes |
The $299.95 FinePix F80EXR packs a 10x zoom lens into its inch-thick frame, which seems pretty impressive, but other same-size cameras deliver as much as 14x. And if you're looking for a slick interface or easy-to-use menus, be warned, this camera has one of the most-dated, unattractive interfaces I've seen. The thing is, though, this 12-megapixel shooter is near the top of the pack when it comes to image quality.
Design and User Interface
One word immediately comes to mind when you look at the F80EXR: glossy. Other superzoom cameras look downright dull next to the F80, whose shiny gun-metal gray finish gives it a slick look. The easily pocketable camera is similar in size to its competitors at 2.3 by 3.9 by 1.1 inches (HWD). To compare, it's roughly a quarter-inch shorter than Canon's compact superzoom, the 
).
The F80EXR 10x lens starts at 27mm and extends to 270mm (35mm equivalent). The 12x zoom on Panasonic's 
) for instance, bests the F80EXR on both ends by offering a focal distance of 25mm to 300mm. The 14x lens on Canon's SX210 goes for distance, starting at 28mm and extending all the way out to 392mm. The maximum aperture on the F80 is fairly standard as well: f/3.1 in the wide-angle position and f/5.9 at the telephoto end.
The large 3-inch, 230K-dot LCD that dominates the back of the camera is technically the same size as the display on the PowerShot SX210, but it feels much bigger. Both cameras shoot full-res images in a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the PowerShot's LCD features a 16:9 aspect ratio, so images don't fill the full screen and black bars appear on either side.
The user interface on this camera is, like in many Fuji point-and-shoot cameras, antiquated and unattractive. The text, icons, and graphics look like they belong on a Commodore computer from the early 1980s. If you're looking for a slick menu system, you won't find it here.
Performance
Powering on and shooting its first photo takes the camera 3.0 seconds, which is on the slow side. Many pocket shooters can manage about a half-second faster, though the F80EXR picks up speed once it's turned on. In my tests, the camera averaged 2.1 seconds between shots, and just 0.5 seconds between trigger push and image capture, which is very low for a point-and-shoot camera. The PowerShot SX210 excels in short shutter lag too, with about the same time.
In the PC Labs, we use the Imatest suite to objectively gauge image quality, and overall, the F80EXR scored well. Among a sample of 50 spots within a 12-megapixel image captured by the camera, it averaged 1,914 lines per picture height (this is a weighted average, awarding higher value to spots closest to the center.) The center of the frame averaged 2,160 lines, and Imatest measured 1,868 lines part way between the center and the corners and 1,066 near the corners. This isn't far from the PowerShot SX210, which averaged 2,130 lines: 2,541 in the center, 1,860 part way, and 1,290 in the corners.
The F80EXR is a very good low-light shooter capturing photos up to ISO 800 without visible image noise. To compare, the PowerShot SX210 could only shoot up to ISO 400 before reaching 1.5 percent noise, the noise-acceptability threshold.
EXR modes set the camera's image sensor to improve dynamic range, noise reduction, or sharpness. The sharpness and noise scores didn't improve drastically when in EXR mode, though, and to my eye there wasn't much of an improvement in dynamic range. The image sensor is impressive anyway in well-lit conditions—at ISO 100 (outdoors on sunny days) the Canon SX210 averages 1.29 percent image noise, and the F80 averaged just .67 percent. Images shot at ISO 100 looked very clean in my tests. Of the superzooms I've recently reviewed, only the Sony Cyber-shot HX5V could offer low ISO images with as little noise as the Fuji F80EXR.
Additional FeaturesLike the majority of its superzoom competitors, the F80EXR captures video in 720p HD. Unlike its competitors, video is captured at 24 frames per second instead of the typical 30fps, the difference is subtle, but important. At the other end of the frames per second spectrum is the Sony HXV5, which can record video at 60 (interlaced) frames per second, and the result looks much more fluid. You can use the 10x optical zoom lens while recording, and the F80 is extremely quick at refocusing while recording. Like most pocket cameras, the video will capture some noise from the lens motor while it is zooming and refocusing.
Connectivity on the F80EXR is good and bad. The upside: the F80EXR is equipped with a micro-HDMI port, so standard, available-everywhere cables will let you plug the camera right into your HDTV to display videos and pictures. The downside: the USB connection on the F80 is proprietary, so you can't replace it with a standard USB cable.
If you don't mind the dated interface, you'll like the photos from the $300 Fujifilm FinePix F80EXR. But our Editors' Choice, the ) offers more innovative features, and a much more slick user experience. But it, like the F80EXR tops out at 10x zoom. If zoom is your top priority, try the $350 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS, which packs a 14x lens in its compact body.
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