Fujifilm won a great many fans with its F30 and F31fd models, which combined slightly larger than average sensors containing fewer pixels than their competitors with some clever image processing, to produce some of the best high ISO images we'd ever seen from a compact camera. In fact, three years later, there are very few compacts we can think of that do a better job once the sun goes down.
While playing lip-service to the needs of low-light photography (and continuing to produce cameras whose processing give them a slight edge over their contemporaries), Fujifilm didn't appear to make further progress in the direction the F30 had pioneered. With the F200 EXR, Fujifilm seems to suggest that it wants to regain its low-light crown, based on a novel sensor technology it has developed (explained on the next page). In a time when compact cameras are becoming increasingly commoditized, it's interesting to see a company trying to use more than just marketing to differentiate its products.
And, even without its EXR cleverness, the F200 EXR is still a fairly well specified camera. It has one of the largest sensors used in any compact camera (it's a 1/1.6" type, which means it has a surface area of around 0.45cm2) combined with a lens that offers a very useful range, equivalent to 28-140mm in 35mm film terms. To put this in perspective, most DSLRs are supplied with lenses covering a roughly 28-85mm range. It's not the fastest (brightest) lens in the world but it's not excessively slow compared to its peers.
The F200 also offers image stabilization, which is one of the best features for ensuring consistently sharp images, along with modes that allow a reasonable amount of control over the camera and ones that take care of everything for you.
- 12MP Super CCD EXR sensor with 6MP dynamic range and high sensitivity modes
- Dual Image Stabilization (High sensitivity + CCD shift)
- 5.0x optical zoom (28-140mm equiv)
- 3.0-inch TFT screen with 230.000 dots
- ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution
- IR Communication (IR simple™/IR SS™)
- VGA movie capture of 25 frames per second with sound
- Micro thumbnail view (up to 100 thumbnails visible)
- 5fps continuous mode (3MP, 12 frames max)
- Aperture priority modes
Super CCD EXR
The F200 EXR is, as the name suggests, built around Fujifilm's newly developed Super CCD EXR technology. It's a continuation of the Super CCD designs that the company has been developing over the past couple of years but optimized for small-sensor cameras.
The EXR system differs from conventional sensors (the vast majority of which are based around the same underlying idea), in two ways. The first change is in the pattern of different colored photosites (a re-arranged color filter array, if you want to be precise about it). The new pattern means that, unlike conventional sensors, there are always two adjacent photosites detecting the same colour.
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| The common 'Bayer' pattern used in most digital cameras | The color filter array pattern of Fujifilm's Super CCD EXR sensor |
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The advantage of this layout becomes apparent when you think about what happens when you start 'pixel-binning,' the process of combining information from four or more pixels into a single 'super pixel' to increase sensitivity. Doing so with a Bayer sensor results in a huge loss of resolution (due in part to the need to blur away the color artefacts introduced by you combining photosites detecting different colors). EXR gets over this by combining two pixels (rather than four or more) of the same color, so the increase in sensitivity is more modest, but the loss of resolution is considerably lower too.
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| With the Bayer pattern, the nearest similarly colored photosite is always a pixel width away | The EXR arrangement means that there is always an immediately neighboring photosite of the same color |
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The EXR arrangement means there are always adjacent photosites of the same color, which means that data from these adjacent pixels can be combined without producing the strong color artefacts (moiré) introduced when binning with Bayer sensors. It is the need to remove these fringes (using blurring) that causes the huge loss of resolution seen with binned output from Bayer sensors. This arrangement, along with some changes to the way the underlying sensor is used, allows the F200 EXR to capture light in three distinct modes:
HR mode
In most situations, the F200's uses its high resolution 'HR' setting in which it uses the full resolution output from its sensor much like any other camera. This is also how the camera behaves when it's not placed in EXR mode. When the mode dial is set to EXR, it will also use HR mode when it determines that there is enough light for it to offer the best quality result.
SN mode
In low light situations, the camera can use its SN mode, which makes use of the designed-for-binning color filter array. Because most noise that can build up in an image occurs randomly, combining the results from two photosites helps to average-out that noise. As such, the SN mode aims to improve the signal-to-noise ratio by producing a pixel-binned six megapixel image from the twelve megapixel sensor.
DR mode
The EXR sensor does more than pixel-binning, though. The underlying circuitry has two read-out channels that take their information from alternate rows of the sensor. The result is that it can act like two interleaved sensors, with different exposure times for each half of the photosites. This means that half of the photosites can be intentionally underexposed so that they fully capture the brighter areas of the scene. This retained highlight information can then be blended in with the output from the other half of the sensor that is recording a 'full' exposure, again making use of the close spacing of similarly colored photosites.
 | The EXR sensor is able to 'underexpose' half of its photosites by reading out data from them before the end of the full exposure. Again the arrangement of the color filter array means pairs of pixels can be easily combined. |
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These techniques clearly promise a lot in terms of addressing some of the shortcomings that can hold back cameras with small sensors. However, these additional sensor modes do mean that some unusual image processing is required, prompting Fujifilm not to provide the RAW sensor data output capability some potential users have asked for.
And, even without its EXR cleverness, the F200 EXR is still a fairly well specified camera. It has one of the largest sensors used in any compact camera (it's a 1/1.6" type, which means it has a surface area of around 0.45cm2) combined with a lens that offers a very useful range, equivalent to 28-140mm in 35mm film terms. To put this in perspective, most DSLRs are supplied with lenses covering a roughly 28-85mm range. It's not the fastest (brightest) lens in the world but it's not excessively slow compared to its peers.
The F200 also offers image stabilization, which is one of the best features for ensuring consistently sharp images, along with modes that allow a reasonable amount of control over the camera and ones that take care of everything for you.
- 12MP Super CCD EXR sensor with 6MP dynamic range and high sensitivity modes
- Dual Image Stabilization (High sensitivity + CCD shift)
- 5.0x optical zoom (28-140mm equiv)
- 3.0-inch TFT screen with 230.000 dots
- ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution
- IR Communication (IR simple™/IR SS™)
- VGA movie capture of 25 frames per second with sound
- Micro thumbnail view (up to 100 thumbnails visible)
- 5fps continuous mode (3MP, 12 frames max)
- Aperture priority modes
The F200 EXR isn't an overly demonstrative camera - it doesn't try to look retro, it doesn't shout about megapixels or have crazy design flourishes to distinguish it from last year's model - it just looks like a sensibly-styled compact camera. But we rather like that simplicity. And, when you look closer at the F200 you discover that the buttons and dials are nicely styled and well laid out.
In your hand
 | The FinePix F200 EXR fits nicely in the hand and puts the zoom lever and shutter button directly where you want them. The mode dial effectively acts as somewhere to rest your thumb but thankfully it's hard to move accidentally. |
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In use, the F200 EXR is very straightforward - if you simply want to point-and-shoot, you can do but, if you want to get a bit more involved in the process, all the key functions are easily accessed (an area that recent F-series Fujifilms haven't always handled well). On the whole, the camera is also very good at warning you when it's had to change other settings as a result of your choices (for instance, the lowest available ISO is dependant on the DRng setting), and usually resets the affected setting when you swap back.
Body elements
 | The familiar modes, including Fujifilm's signature 'natural light and flash,' are here, but the big novelty is the EXR mode. This accesses the camera's three sensor modes, either in an automated or user-selected manner. Other than movies, we can think of few reasons to ever move the dial from this position. |
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 | The 'F ' button gives rapid access to all those settings that directly affect the appearance of the final image - ISO Sensitivity, Dynamic Range Expansion, White balance, Image size, Image Quality and, last but not least, Film Simulation mode. |
 | In all this excitement about sensor technology you can easily lose track of the rest of the specifications. Which is a shame because, although it looks like it's just another 3X zoom camera, the F200 EXR has a 5X zoom lens. More importantly, is covers a 28-140mm equivalent range, offering wide-angle as well as reach. |
 | The SD card slot and battery take up much of one side of the camera. The battery has a rating of 3.7 Wh (1000mAh at 3.7V), which is enough for 230 photos, according to CIPA standard tests. This is not particularly good for a camera of this class, which is a shame - battery life was another area in which the F30/F31fd excelled. |
Operation and controls
The F200 EXR offers a good range of manual controls, if you choose to step out of the comfort of the automatic modes. And thankfully the interface has been radically overhauled since the launch of the F100fd (which behaved like a mad uncle - probably quite likeable if you have to put up with it, but distincly disconcerting when first encountered).
The F200 EXR is a much more conventional affair and one that works simply and consistently. The mode dial selects the mode (whether that be a scene mode, auto mode, program, manual or the EXR modes), the Menu/OK button provides camera behavior options and the 'F ' button changes image settings.
Like many compact cameras, the F200 only allows only two aperture settings at each position of the lens (fully open and fully open minus three stops, by way of a combined physical stop and ND filter). This limited control, means that manual control is only really of any use when you want your exposure to diverge from the metered value by more than the +/– 2 EV offered by exposure compensation. There's also an Aperture priority mode, selected from within Program mode, but again that two-aperture design reduces its usefulness (the fully open aperture doesn't give a very shallow depth-of-field and the 'stopped-down' position appears mainly makes use of a filter, rather than a significantly smaller aperture, so doesn't give drastically different results).
Setting the mode dial to 'EXR' gives access to the things that promise to make the F200 special. This can either be done in an automated manner, where the camera selects the sensor's behavior based on its analysis of the scene you're pointing it at, or by manually selecting which EXR mode you wish to use. We can imagine many users leaving the mode dial in this position for the entire life of the camera.
Rear of camera
The F200 manages to find room for a 3 inch screen on its rear, while still having space left over for a reasonable selection of buttons. It's still a 230,000 dot panel, which is pretty standard but not as pleasant to use as the 460,000 dot units that are starting to crop up. Thankfully, the F200 borrows its buttons and dials from the F60fd rather than the F100fd. This means the F200's four-way controller doesn't also act as a dial (a rather strangely-utilized feature on the F100fd anyway), and gives direct access to exposure compensation in all modes where it is available (again, not the F100's strong point).
It's quite a conventional interface but is all the better for that. If you've used a compact camera (particularly a Fujifilm), recently, then it won't take you long to pick up how to get the most out of the camera.
Top of camera
 | There are virtually no controls on the top of the F200. There's a zoom lever, the power button and a shutter button. There's also an infrared window for those people who have another IR Simple device. |
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Display and menus
The F200 EXR's interface is generally pretty simple to use - the setup menu contains those settings you'll rarely want to change (and, slightly annoyingly, the 'Format' option), the Menu button brings up a list of camera behavioral settings (such as AF and metering settings), and the 'F ' button brings up settings that alter the appearance of the output, such as ISO and Film simulation.
Like previous Fujifilms, the F200 EXR does not offer a histogram to help you assess the accuracy of your exposure, either in preview or playback mode. It's not a devastating omission but, given that it's a feature on most contemporary cameras, it's an annoying one.
Record
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There are four main record screens: | The menu found via the 'Menu' button contains the key camera settings such as AF, metering (or 'Photometry' as Fujifilm would have it), and image stabilization. |
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| The 'F ' menu contains setting such as Film Simulation mode and ISO that directly affect the appearance of the image output. | Meanwhile, the Setup menu, which is accessed through the main menu, contains all the camera's underlying settings. After you've first set the camera up, you're only likely to use it for formatting your memory card. |
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| In EXR Auto mode the camera will select from a series of scene modes and apply the EXR mode of its choice (it tells you which it's going to use when you half-press the shutter button to allow the camera to meter). | Alternatively you can press the OK/Menu button to directly select the EXR mode you think is most appropriate. At this point you can also change the shooting settings such as exposure compensation and white balance that are unavailable in Auto mode. |
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| A cute feature on the F200 is that if you change a setting that will have a knock-on effect on other settings, then you are warned about the other settings changes that it's going to make. Here the camera is warning that moving to ISO 100 will limit dynamic range expansion to 100%. | It also notifies you that the change has been made when you return to the shooting screen. This is particularly useful on a camera that shoots at reduced resolutions in some of its modes. The camera is generally good at returning to your previous settings when they become available again. |
Playback
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At its most basic, there are two display modes: with and without shooting info. | Nudging the zoom control to the left zooms into the image. |
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| Pulling the zoom control to the right 'zooms out' first to a two image screen (that actually shows another two thumbnails to establish where the viewed two appear in the list). | Then there's a nine-image grid, followed by a 100 thumbnail display which is often very pretty and colorful but not terrifically practical, due to the moderate resolution of the screen. |
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| Alternatively, pressing the display button allows you to search through your images by date, via a calendar view. | The 'F ' button lets you select images for printing, while the OK/Menu button lets you perform actions such as copy or rotate |
White Balance
The F200 EXR offers six white balance presets (Fine, shade, fluorescent day, fluorescent warm white, fluorescent cool white and incandescent) as well as the usual auto white balance and a custom (manual) setting.
In your normal daylight shooting situation white balance is generally very accurate and the 'Auto' setting will produce fine results. Indoors, under artificial light, the story is a slightly different one. The Auto setting's results under tungsten light are poor and the shot taken under fluorescent light shows a color cast as well. The white balance presets offer slightly better results, but if you're shooting in artificial light and want your whites to be properly white, custom white balance is the way to go.
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| Incandescent - Auto WB Red 10.9%, Blue -12.8% Poor | Incandescent - Incandescent preset WB Red 4.7%, Blue -7.8% Average |
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| Fluorescent - Auto WB Red 2.1%, Blue -5.0% Average | Fluorescent - Fluorescent preset WB Red 4.1%, Blue -4.3% Average |
Flash Performance
The F200 EXR's small built-in flash has a range of around 0.6 - 4.3m (2.0 - 14.1 ft) at the wide angle and 0.6 - 2.8m (2.0-9.2 ft) at the tele end of the zoom and using Auto ISO. The camera offers Red-eye removal and Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash and Slow Synchro modes.
Like most compact cameras the F200 EXR uses Auto ISO (up to ISO 800) to increase their flash range. The Fujifilm is quite eager to increase sensitivity when shooting flash but you can avoid that by setting your ISO manually (just make sure your subjects are still within the flash range). Flash exposures are generally spot on.
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| Skin tone Good color and exposure | Color chart Slight cool tone, good exposure |
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Macro Focus
The F200 EXR's macro capabilities are pretty average for this kind of camera. It can focus down to as close as 5 cm at the wide end of the zoom, capturing an area around 58mm across. At the tele end of the lens the minimum focus distance is a less impressive 50 cm in macro mode, capturing an area 118 mm across. Distortion is hardly visible at the long end of the lens. However, the corners are a little soft. At wide angle the image is visibly more distorted but there is a little less corner softness.
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| Wide macro - 58 x 43 mm coverage 68 px/mm (1735 px/in) Distortion: Average Corner softness: Average Equiv. focal length: 28 mm | Tele close focus - 118 x 88 mm coverage 34 px/mm (860 px/in) Distortion: Very low Corner softness: Higher than average Equiv. focal length: 140 mm |
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Barrel and Pincushion Distortion
Distortion is hardly a problem on the F200 EXR. At wide angle barrel distortion is visible but low at 0.8%. At the telephoto end of the zoom pincushion distortion is just about measurable at 0.1%. We did not find any evidence of vignetting either.
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| Barrel distortion - 0.8% at Wide angle Equiv. focal length: 28 mm | Pincushion distortion - 0.1% at Telephoto Equiv. focal length: 140 mm |
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Specific image quality issues
The F200 EXR is a pretty well sorted affair that can be trusted to meter and focus extremely well. If it's occasionally frustrating to not be able to apply exposure compensation to the automated EXR mode, that frustration is mollified when you look back at your photos and find it's very rarely required.
Noise reduction
However, the F200 EXR also suffers from a problem we've seen in previous Super CCD cameras - odd artefacts instead of fine detail (almost certainly the result of the unusual arrangement of the photosites). In this case, these artefacts appear to trigger the camera's noise reduction, resulting in strange smudged patches, particularly in areas of fine, low-contrast detail. The problem is particularly prevalent in the 12MP mode, which implies it may be a side-effect of the sensor's unique color filter array. It's not a problem we encountered in many images, but it's pretty disconcerting when it happens.
In fact, at a pixel level, the output from the 6MP DR mode is generally cleaner than the full 12MP output. As we'll see on later pages, in many respects the DR mode is where the F200 is at its best.
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| 28 mm equiv., ISO 100 | 100% crop |
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| 28 mm equiv., ISO 100 | 100% crop |
ISO Sensitivity / Noise levels
ISO equivalence on a digital camera is the ability to increase the sensitivity of the sensor. This works by turning up the "volume" (gain) on the sensor's signal amplifiers (remember the sensor is an analogue device). By amplifying the signal you also amplify the noise which becomes more visible at higher ISOs. Many modern cameras also employ noise reduction and / or sharpness reduction at higher sensitivities.
To measure noise levels we take a sequence of images of a GretagMacBeth ColorChecker chart (controlled artificial daylight lighting). The exposure is matched to the ISO (i.e. ISO 200, 1/200 sec for consistency of exposure between cameras). The image sequence is run through our own proprietary noise measurement tool (version 1.5 in this review). Click here for more information. (Note that noise values indicated on the graphs here can not be compared to those in other reviews.)
First we have compared the camera in its full resolution (HR) mode to its performance in 6MP sensitivity priority (SN) mode. Then, to show what difference the pixel binning mode makes, we've downsized the 12MP output to 6MP (using Photoshop's Bicubic Sharper setting).
HR mode vs. SN mode vs. Downsized HR mode.
HR (12MP) mode ISO 100 | SN (6MP) mode ISO 100 | HR downsized to 6MP ISO 100 |
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HR (12MP) mode ISO 200 | SN (6MP) mode ISO 200 | HR downsized to 6MP ISO 200 |
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HR (12MP) mode ISO 400 | SN (6MP) mode ISO 400 | HR downsized to 6MP ISO 400 |
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HR (12MP) mode ISO 800 | SN (6MP) mode ISO 800 | HR downsized to 6MP ISO 800 |
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HR (12MP) mode ISO 1600 | SN (6MP) mode ISO 1600 | HR downsized to 6MP ISO 1600 |
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The differences between the full resolution 'HR' mode and the pixel-binned 6MP 'SN' mode are subtle, to say the least. By ISO 1600 it's obvious that the SN mode, which combines the data from similarly colored photosites, is does a better job of reining-in chroma noise but there's not a lot to choose between the two in terms of detail or, until the higher settings, luminance noise. (The downsized HR images look slightly sharper because the downsizing technique used applies additional sharpening to counteract the inherent softening effects of downsizing). In terms of measured values, the SN mode does offer a benefit over the HR mode but visually, it's too close to call.
Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 vs. Canon Powershot SD 960IS
Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR n/a | Panasonic LX3 ISO 80 | Canon SD 960 IS ISO 80 |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 100 | Panasonic LX3 ISO 100 | Canon SD 960 IS ISO 100 |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 200 | Panasonic LX3 ISO 200 | Canon SD 960 IS ISO 200 |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 400 | Panasonic LX3 ISO 400 | Canon SD 960 IS ISO 400 |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 800 | Panasonic LX3 ISO 800 | Canon SD 960 IS ISO 800 |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 1600 | Panasonic LX3 ISO 1600 | Canon SD 960 IS ISO 1600 |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 3200 | Panasonic LX3 ISO 3200 | Canon SD 960 IS n/a* |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 6400 | Panasonic LX3 n/a | Canon SD 960 IS n/a |
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Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR ISO 12800 | Panasonic LX3 n/a | Canon SD 960 IS n/a |
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*The Canon SD 960 IS (IXUS 110 IS) does have an ISO 3200 mode but you cannot apply exposure compensation or custom white balance, so it can't be used to achieve a result that would be meaningful in this test.
Having seen that the full-resolution HR images are not significantly different in terms of either noise or detail, here we use them to compare to two other, more conventional cameras: the Panasonic LX3 and the Canon SD 960 IS. The Panasonic has a sensor of a similar size to the Fujifilm, while the Canon uses a sensor with a surface area around 40% smaller. Even from as low as ISO 200, that size advantage is very apparent with the Fujifilm and Panasonic trouncing the Canon's muddied output.
The Panasonic however is able to retain detail better than the Fujifilm and with similar or lower levels of noise. The inescapable conclusion of these tests is that the F200's pixel-binned output is not significantly better than one of its full-resolution images downsized and that this output isn't quite as good as the very best out there. It's a distinct improvement on most, though.
Luminance noise graph
Cameras compared:
Fujifilm FinePix F200 EXR, Panasonic LX3, Canon SD 960 IS
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| F200 EXR in 12MP mode | F200 EXR in 6MP EXR SN mode |
Indicated ISO sensitivity is on the horizontal axis of this graph, standard deviation of luminosity is on the vertical axis.
The Canon appears to produce the lowest noise from ISO 400 upwards but as we've seen from the crops further up this page, this is mainly due to the high levels of noise reduction being applied. The F200 EXR produces less luminance noise (both in the blacks and at middle gray) than the LX3 all the way up to ISO 800 in HR mode. In SN mode it is at least as good as the LX3 all the way up to 1600.
RGB noise graph
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| F200 EXR in 12MP mode | F200 EXR in 6MP EXR SN mode |
Indicated ISO sensitivity is on the horizontal axis of this graph, standard deviation of each of the red, green and blue channels is on the vertical axis.
It's a similar story for Chroma noise, with the Canon's image-degrading noise reduction seemingly giving it an edge at ISO 1600. In image quality terms though, the crops show that it's a straight fight between the F200 and the LX3. Both cameras are pretty evenly matched, regardless of whether the F200's HR or SN mode is used.
Noise contras
Low contrast detail
What the crops and graph don't show is the effect of noise reduction on low contrast fine detail such as hair, fur or foliage. An inevitable side effect of noise removal is that this kind of detail is also blurred or smeared, resulting in a loss of 'texture'. In this test the crops below show the effect of the noise reduction on such texture (hair) as you move up the ISO range. Here we see how the camera performs in terms of retaining fine detail in both 12 and 6 megapixel modes.
12mp mode
100% Crops | ||
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| ISO 100 | ISO 200 | ISO 400 |
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| ISO 800 | ISO 1600 | ISO 3200 |
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| ISO 6400 | ISO 12800 | |
Even at base ISO there are patches of the image with no fine detail and where any edges have been smudged together. Inevitably this gets worse as the sensitivity rises, though it's not significantly worse at ISO 400 than it is at 100. At ISO 800 the effects of noise reduction are all too easy to see, with all but the most prominent detail disappearing into a slightly muddy mess. Beyond that point there's more noise than detail, so it's not worth looking too closely.
6mp SN mode
100% Crops | ||
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| ISO 100 | ISO 200 | ISO 400 |
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| ISO 800 | ISO 1600 | |
ISO 100 in SN mode if anything does a better job of rendering fine texture, despite the lower resolution. This fine detail is progressively, though not terribly, reduced as the ISO rises and again it's not until ISO 800 that the loss of distinction becomes really noticeable.
The ISO 800 result reasonable enough though there's little subtlety remaining and ISO 1600 is as bad as ISO 800 was in full resolution mode (not pretty but entirely acceptable, given that 1SO 1600 from a small sensor is a lot to ask).
Image stabilization
Fujifilm labeled the image stabilization in the F200 EXR 'Dual IS'. 'Dual' because the camera uses not only its new CCD-shift system when shutter times get too long but also pushes up ISO and tries to find the best balance between the two measures. In our image stabilization lab test we lock ISO and exposure times and thus isolate the effect of the CCD-shift mechanism. You can chose between two different IS modes in the menu: Continuous (IS on all the time) and 'Shooting only' (stabilization is only activated when the button is half-pressed to lock exposure). Continuous mode in theory makes framing easier - the system steadies the preview image - but obviously uses more battery power (it's on all the time).
The stabilization test
In this simplified version of our SLR IS test, ten hand-held shots were taken of a static scene with the stabilization off and on. The shutter speed was decreased for each shot (from 1/125 sec to 1/2 sec). The zoom was set to its maximum position (105mm equiv.), the test target was 2.0 m away from the camera. The test was repeated 3 times and an average taken.
The resulting images were then inspected and given a blur score - 'Sharp' (no visible blurring at 100%), 'Mild Blur' (the kind of camera shake that is tolerable at small print sizes) and 'Heavy Blur' (virtually unusable due to camera shake) and 'Very Heavy Blur' (little discernible detail).
Hand-held, no stabilization (140mm equiv.)
As you can see from the chart below only you can only be sure of getting sharp shots at shutter speeds of 1/125th of a second or faster.
Hand-held, stabilization on (140mm equiv.)
As we've seen with Fujifilms before, the image stabilization is not hugely effective. Our tests suggest you'll only see an improvement of around one stop. Even so, it's a feature worth having because that one stop of stabilisation can allow you to keep ISO settings that bit lower, so long as your subject isn't moving too fast.
Dynamic range
In addition to its low-light pixel-binning mode, the F200 EXR also has a mode to allow the capture of a wider range of tones (and therefore offer greater dynamic range). Again this takes advantage of the neighboring pairs of same-colored photosites but also makes use of another new capability of the underlying hardware. The F200's sensor has two readouts with each receiving the output from alternate rows of photosites. In EXR DR mode, the readout process for one half of the sensor begins before the end of the full exposure, giving underexposed information for half of the photosites. This underexposure helps prevent the brightest areas of the image becoming overexposed. The camera then combines the information from these underexposed photosites with the other, fully exposed ones, providing additional detail in the highlights.
In its 12MP modes, the camera also offers the more conventional dynamic range boosting modes seen on previous Fujifilm cameras. These underexpose the entire shot to retain highlights, then apply a different tone curve to present the correct final exposure. The downside of this process is that additional noise tends to be generated as the dark, potentially noisy, regions of the image are 'pulled-up'. These modes limit the sensitivity settings that are available, so that 200% dynamic range is only available at ISO 200 and upwards (because the camera is under-exposing its base ISO by a stop and hence appearing to use an ISO 200 exposure).
However, thanks to the EXR technology, the F200 can underexpose half of its photosites and incorporate that additional highlight data without creating additional noise in the shadows (the detail for which is captured by the other half of the sensor). This allows it to offer up to 400% DRange expansion at ISO 100 (with half the photosites reading out a quarter of the way through the full exposure to provide two extra stops of dynamic range).
At ISO 200 the camera can even provide 800% DRange expansion, but still with the level of shadow noise you'd expect to see in a normal ISO 200 exposure. The results are astonishing for a compact camera, with impressive amounts of additional detail being retained in some scenes. Confusingly, some of the capability (but not the 800% option, oddly), appears to be available in the non-EXR modes if you reduce the resolution to 6MP. Certainly it's possible to engage 400% DR at ISO 100 in 6MP mode but don't expect the user manual to come to your aid in understanding the camera's capabilities.
It's worth being aware though, that you can manually select the amount of dynamic range expansion being used in EXR DR mode, (though you can't set the ISO, as the camera needs to retain the ability to push to ISO 200 to use the 800% mode). The risk is that it's possible to accidentally leave the camera locked at DR 100% - substantially limiting the DR mode's capability.
In the real world...
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| HR mode (12MP) DR 100% | 100% crop |
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| DR mode (6MP) DR 100% | 100% crop |
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| DR mode (6MP) DR 200% | 100% crop |
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| DR mode (6MP) DR 400% | 100% crop |
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| DR mode (6MP) DR 800% | 100% crop |
As can be seen, the effects in terms of retaining highlights are extremely impressive, with a great deal more detail being retained. And, since the camera has kept the overall ISO to 200, there isn't the same noise penalty to be paid as when conventional sensors try to underexpose and then pull the brightness back up. There's a slight increase in shadow noise but the F200 seems to be very good at using data from its underexposed photosites to build the highlight areas of the image and the normally-exposed photosites for the dark regions.
For this shot, setting DRange to 'Auto' saw the camera select 400% but it can sometimes be a bit conservative (it rarely appears to select the 800% setting), so it's often worth making sure you've specified a high DRange expansion if there's a high degree of contrast in your scene.
It's worth remembering that if you're want to fit a broader range of tones into your image (by capturing more data between complete black and clipped white), then the tone curve of the image has to be made more gentle, resulting in lower overall contrast. On the whole the F200 EXR seems to strike this balance about right, pulling additional detail into the image without making it look too 'flat' or gaining too much of the 'unreal' appearance that can mar poorly tonemapped HDR images.
In the studio...
We were so intruiged by this result that we subjected the F200 EXR to a version of our dynamic range test. Because the F200 EXR does not offer full manual control or fixed ISO in its DR mode, it was impossible for us to conduct our dynamic range test in as controlled a manner as we'd like. As such, the results should not be considered absolute or comparable to other cameras.
The graph gives a good idea of how the F200 is reintegrating the highlight data that its underexposed photosites are capturing. With DRange set to 100% the camera has a very conventional tone-curve much like the result we'd expect to see from any other compact camera. As dynamic range expansion is applied the top end of this curve is noticably flattened to accomodate the additional highlight data. Also significant is the way that the tone curves for all settings are identical from middle grey downwards. You appear to get an additional 1EV of highlight range for each step you take up through the range as you might expect (meaning around three additional stops of highlight DR at the 800% setting).
Our tests seem to suggest that the F200 can, in its DR mode, capture in excess of 10 EV - a great result even if you choose to compare this camera to DSLR standards. You're still going to get washed-out skies and tiny areas (such as reflections) of high-contrast images clipping to white but, if you can live with 6MP and a minimum of ISO 200 you'll also find fine highlight detail being retained in circumstances in which most other cameras would simply give up.
Movie mode
The F200 EXR offers movie recording but its 640x480 at 30fps is not exactly state-of-the-art. In a time during which many compacts are starting to offer HD video, traditional VGA risks appearing a bit 'old hat.' That said, there are probably many people for whom video is simply a nice little extra to have, and they're unlikely to be perturbed by the fact that the F200's video capability is so terribly last season.
The movies are recorded in motion JPEG (.avi) format, with fairly heavy compression; they work out at around 0.93 MB/sec, meaning you can fit approximately 18 minutes of 640x480 / 30fps footage onto a 1GB card.
The movie quality is pretty much what you would expect from a camera of this class and the image stabilization helps with framing at the long end of the lens (although you can't zoom either optically or digitally while recording a movie). Playback and recording options are limited to the bare minimum though. There are some cameras that give you a little more control over shooting parameters, while a few even offer limited editing functions, but there's none of that for the F200 EXR.
 | Unlike stills recording you cannot choose the amount of information overlaid on the live preview image. An indication of the remaining time using the current settings is the only information on display. |
|---|---|
 | The F-menu is even shorter than normal in movie mode. Image size is the only parameter that can be changed. |
 | During recording the time remaining on the card is counted down. Focus is fixed at the moment you press the shutter button, but exposure and white balance are adjusted continuously. There is no optical or digital zoom available whilst filming. |
 | Playback mode is a very straightforward affair. Audio volume, playing, pausing and moving forwards or backwards a frame at a time are all controlled on the 4-way dial. There are no in-camera editing options or other extras available. |
To see the sample video click here....
FinePix F200 EXR specifications
| Sensor | • 1/1.6 " Super CCD EXR |
|---|---|
| Image sizes | • 4:3 : 4000 x 3000, 2816 x 2112, 2048 x 1536 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels @ 30 fps • AVI (Motion JPEG ) |
| File formats | • JPEG (Exif Ver. 2.2 ) • Movie : AVI (Motion JPEG ) with sound • Audio: WAVE format, Monaural sound |
| Lens | • Fujinon 5x Optical zoom lens |
| Image stabilization | CCD-shift |
| Digital zoom | Approx. 4.4x |
| Focus | Auto Focus |
| AF area modes | • Center |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | • Normal: Wide angle: Approx. 45cm / 1.5 ft to infinity Telephoto: Approx. 80cm / 2.6 ft. to infinity • Macro: Wide angle: Approx. 5cm/ 0.2 ft. to 80cm / 2.6 ft Telephoto: Approx. 50cm / 1.6 ft to 1m / 3.3 ft |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto |
| Metering | TTL 256-zones metering |
| Exposure modes | Programmed AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual |
| Shutter speed | Auto : 1/4 sec to 1/1500 sec All other modes : 8 sec to 1/1500 sec |
| Aperture | Wide: F3.3 – F9.0 Tele: F5.1 - F14 |
| Shooting modes | • Mode dial: EXR, P (Program), M (Manual), Movie, SP (scene modes), Natural Light, Natural Light with Flash, Auto • SP: Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Underwater, Museum, Party, Flower, Text |
| White balance | • Auto • Presets: Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light, Underwater • Custom |
| White balance fine tune | No |
| Self timer | Approx. 10 sec./ 2 sec. delay |
| Continuous shooting Modes | • Top-3 (1.4 fps for 3 frames) • High-speed Top-12 (5 fps for 12 frames, 3MP only) • Final-3 (1.4 fps for 3 frames) • High Speed FInal-12 (5 fps for 12 frames, 3MP only) • Long-period |
| Flash | • Auto flash Effective range: 4.3 m |
| LCD monitor | • 3.0 inch |
| Digital input/output | • USB 2.0 High Speed |
| Video output | NTSC / PAL selectable |
| HD OUT | Analog component/HDC-1 component video cable for digital camera |
| Storage | • Internal memory (Approx. 48 MB) • xD-Picture card(16MB-2GB) • SD/SDHC memory card |
| Power | • Rechargeable NP-50 Li-ion battery (included) |
| Weight (no batt) | Approx. 175 g |
| Dimensions | 98 x 59 x 23mm (3.8 x 2.3 x 0.9in) |
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