Fujifilm F300EXR compact superzoom with Hybrid Autofocus

Description: Fujifilm F300EXR compact superzoom with Hybrid autofocus system

Encased in a beautifully crafted black metal case with a double lacquer coated finish with diminsions of just 23mm thick, the Fujifilm F300EXR has a 12-MP EXR Super CCD, a big, 3.0-inch 460k high-contrast LCD, Smart Image Stabilization plus HD 720p video capture .

Clear, Sharp 15x Zoom Lens
The Fujifilm F300EXR sports a 15x Fujinon Super Wide-Angle zoom optical lens which creates sharp high res results all the way through the entire focal range, from a 24mm wide-angle through 360mm telephoto zoom. The F300EXR lens also contains Super EBC Coating which reduces ghosting and lens flare to a bare minimum, providing optimal image quality.

EXR Sensor Engineering, with Hybrid Fast Speed Autofocus
The F300EXR with a next generation EXR CCD sensor incorporates built-in Phase Detection pixels to accomplish Hybrid High Speed Autofocus. It contains the aptitude to intelligently make a decision between a pair of focusing systems inside the camera. As an example, as a brilliant, high-contrast object is placed in the middle of the frame, then Phase Detection Autofocus takes over to work fast and accurately; while in dark scenes, the Contrast Autofocus takes effect to work precisely.

The F300EXR employs both Phase Detection Autofocus plus Contrast Autofocus to provide quick auto focus speeds for all scenes. To pull off this incredible AF speed of just 0.158 seconds, Fujifilm's engineers positioned phase detection pixels in pairs on the EXR image sensor, which function similar to external sensors on DSLR cameras. The F300EXR automatically chooses the best focus method (Contrast or Phase Detection), by calculating the quantity of illumination or contrast coming from the scene. The advantage tor the photographer is instant and obvious, a practically instantaneous acquisition of the scene into the frame, without lost shots or with subjects half in-the-frame.

Smart Image Stabilization
Long-zoom range cameras require stabilization more so than any other type of compact, as shaky hands and subject movement being a particular issue in poor light at telephoto reach and in video mode. Containing a newly updated gyro sensor, the latest image stabilization arrangement promises additional improvement of image quality with decrease blurring and noise of still photos and even when capturing video at the extended 15x optical zoom range or in exceptionally poor-lighting.

The new image sensor has the ability to prevail over handshake and can counterweigh for both wide and sharp and hand movements, thereby increasing of ISO settings to freeze the action is not as necessary, allowing beautiful sharp poor-light photos can be accomplished at 400 ISO, instead of 800 or 1600 ISO for night subjects. The Fujifilm F300EXR also acts to cut down blur to the least amount by accomplishing high ISO sensitivity by automatically raising shutter speeds, while CCD image Sensor Shift Stabilization offsets the handshake issues. By cleverly integrating these two, blurring is cut down to a bare minimum.  

Low light photography could be improved, I have seen compacts from Canon and Sony shoot much better poor light photos, in poor light I noticed quite a lot of graininess and reduced vibrancy. But that may be because I did not use the correct settings. It's not all that bad, although there are better, it's definitely not a show stopper.

The camera's mode selection dial is a real pain. It is installed using a 45 degree angle from the case of the camera, and it seems that each time I take the camera from its case, my jacket pocket or my backpack, the camera set is in in another mode than when it was when I put it away, squandering some initial photos. I've never seen a camera have this problem before now.

The life of the battery pretty terrible. I barely had a few hours in of photographing with the Fuji on day one before the battery croaked. I am able to shoot for days on end using a Canon PowerShot. The SD memory card is accessed using the same opening as the battery, at the case's bottom. Similar to most compact digital cameras, this means the battery or the memory card cannot be accessed when the camera is attached to a tripod.

Announced Jul 21, 2010  Aug 10, 2011

Features

• Super Intelligent Flash The FinePix F300EXR offers a flash control system which efficiently controls the level of flash for a given exposure to produce beautifully balanced flash illumination across the foreground and background.

• EXR AUTO Technology Prized for bringing a new level of image quality to the consumer compact market,

• Face Detection and Automatic Red-eye Removal To provide perfectly exposed and focused portrait shots.

• Photobook Assist Photobook Assist lets you select and organize images in your camera to create a digital photobook.

Camera Includes

• Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR Digital Point and Shoot Camera
• NP-50 Lithium-Ion Battery (3.7v 1000mAh)
• Battery Charger BC-45W
• Hand Strap
• USB Cable
• A/V Cable
• CD-ROM
• 1-Year Limited Warranty

Accessories

Memory Cards & Card Readers Batteries & Power Bags & Cases Flash & Flash Accessories Medium format Lenses

Remote Control & Cords Tripod & Support Books & Tutorials Sensor Cleaning LCD Screen Protector

Viewfinder Accessories Filters Teleconverters Software Photograhy Field Guides

Reviews 12/01/2010

DCRP (dcresource) has posted their review of the Fujifilm FinePix F300EXR, a 12MP resolution (1/2.0-in. Super CCD EXR) compact digital camera which allows you to optimize the image capture according to the scene: : High Resolution, Wide Dynamic Range or High Sensitivity & Low Noise, and, according to PhotographyBLOG, produces "fantastic out-of-the-camera JPEG images with low noise and amazing dynamic range." The F300EXR features sensor-shift image stabilization, a 15x wide-angle optical zoom (24-360mm equiv.), a 3.0-in. LCD (460k-dot), PASM, Motion Panorama, and HD Movie 1280×720 @ 24fps. You can read the Fujifilm F300EXR Review at: DCRP (dcresource).