With all that's going on internally with the F200EXR, it's not shocking that it takes 2.7 seconds to go from off to first shot. Its shutter lag in bright conditions pushes the limit of acceptable at 0.5 second, but it never felt slow in use. Low-light results were very good, though, only taking 0.6 second from pressing the shutter to capture. Shot-to-shot time was a respectable 1.4 seconds without the flash and 2.5 seconds with the flash in use. The full-resolution burst mode is limited to three shots, grabbing them in 1 frame per second flat.
To reiterate what was said at the top of this review, the Super CCD EXR sensor paid off in this camera and is more than just marketing mumbo jumbo. The photo quality is excellent, particularly the dynamic range and high ISO performance using the EXR settings.
Using the full 12-megapixel resolution, detail and sharpness are good at ISO 100 and 200. Subjects start getting a more painterly look at ISO 400 from noise reduction and picked up some noticeable noise at ISO 800, but the results are still usable. ISO 1600 and 3200 aren't really usable except at small sizes, maybe. If you're going to shoot in low light, I highly suggest using the EXR mode. Though this lowers the resolution to 6 megapixels, the end result is better with accurate colors and good detail.
As for dynamic range, in our lab tests there was little discernable difference in photo quality using the EXR D-Range setting. However, in my real-world shooting the improvement in lowlights and highlights was noticeable, retaining detail, sharpness, and color despite shadows or glaring sunlight.
Without the Super CCD EXR sensor, the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR is a very good 12-megapixel compact camera with a lot of shooting options. However, the extra flexibility of the sensor and the wide-angle 5x zoom lens pushes it beyond that, making it one of the best in its class. And with the price now hovering a little over $300, you're not paying more for the privilege.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Time to first shot | |
Typical shot-to-shot time (flash) | |
Typical shot-to-shot time | |
Shutter lag (dim) | |
Shutter lag (typical) |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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