Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR

The Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR ($379.95 direct) is a 16-megapixel point-and-shoot?camera?with a long 20x zoom range. Despite packing such an ambitious lens, it's small enough to slide into your pocket, and manages to squeeze in quite a few physical controls. Unlike the similar FinePix F750EXR ($349.95, 3.5 stars), it packs a GPS and Raw shooting, the latter feature being a rare one in this class.?On image quality, it runs neck and neck with our Editors' Choice, the Sony Cyber-shot HX30V ($419.99, 4 stars), but that camera is faster, integrates Wi-Fi, and is more well rounded than the?F770EXR.

Editor's Note: This review is based on tests performed on the Fujifilm FinePix F750EXR, a camera that is nearly identical to the F770EXR, but lacks Raw shooting support and GPS. While we didn't perform lab tests on this specific camera, we expect similar performance.

Design and Features
The curvy F770EXR looks a lot like the other cameras in its family, including the Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR ($349.95, 3 stars). The body has some interesting lines, including a rounded top plate and an angled Mode dial.? The camera measures 2.4 by 4.1 by 1.4 inches, weighs 8 ounces, and can be had in white, red, or black finishes. This makes it roughly the same size and weight as the Canon PowerShot SX260HS ($349.99, 4 stars)?it is 2.4 by 4 by 1.2 inches and 7.7 ounces.

There are ample physical controls, including a programmable Function button, as well as dedicated controls for EV Compensation, macro focusing, flash control, movie recording, and the self timer. If you need to adjust other settings, you'll need to launch the overlay menu system, which is split into two parts. A short version, launched via the F-Mode button, gives you access to ISO, Image Size, Drive Mode, and Film Simulation effects. To adjust more esoteric items, you'll need to dive into the full version of the on-screen menu, launched via the Menu/OK button. There's also a physical button on the left side of the camera to raise the flash?unlike the F600EXR it is purely mechanical, which works more consistently than the electronic button found on that camera.

The 3-inch rear LCD features a fairly sharp, but-not-outstanding, 460k-dot resolution. It's certainly adequate for image framing and review, but is noticeably lacking in quality when compared with the excellent 921k-dot display found on the Nikon Coolpix S9300 ($349.95, 2.5 stars). The lens has a 20x zoom factor that covers a 25-100mm (35mm equivalent) focal range. It isn't the longest zoom available on a pocket camera?that honor goes to the 21x (23-483mm equivalent) lens on the Samsung WB850F ($379.99, 3.5 stars).

Performance and Conclusions
The F770EXR starts and shoots in about 2.2 seconds, captures a 6-shot burst of photos at about 3 frames per second, and records a 0.3-second shutter lag. This level of performance is good for a compact superzoom, but not the best we've seen. The Editors' Choice Sony HX30V can start and shoot in only 1.5 seconds, shoots a 10 shot burst of photos at close to 7 frames per second, and delivers nearly unperceivable shutter lag.

I used?Imatest?to check the sharpness of photos captured by the F770EXR. The camera scored 1,877 lines per picture height, which exceeds the 1,800 lines required for a sharp image. It's certainly adequate, but not the sharpest lens we've tested. The Samsung WB850F notched 2,377 lines on the same test.

Imatest also measures the level of noise present in photos. As you increase the sensor's sensitivity to light, measured numerically as ISO, noise increases in kind. When an image has too much noise, over 1.5 percent, it looks grainy and detail suffers. The FX750's only manages to keep noise under control through ISO 400, possibly because it does not apply too much digital noise reduction. Images at ISO 400 are full of detail, and although shots at ISO 800 are a little grainier, they manage to capture a good amount of detail as well. The Nikon Coolpix S9300 scored better on the Imatest noise test?keeping it below 1.5 percent through ISO 1600?but close examination of the images shows that the F770EXR does a much better job capturing detail at ISO 400 and 800.

Video is recorded in QuickTime format at 1080p30 resolution. The footage looks okay, but not great. Colors are good, but details are not as crisp as they are on other point-and-shoots. ?You can zoom in and out while recording, but the sound of the lens moving is audible. There's a mini HDMI port to connect to an HDTV, and a proprietary USB port for computer connectivity. Standard SD, SHDC, and SDXC memory cards are supported.

The Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR is a very good compact superzoom, but there are cameras out there that deliver more features and better image quality. The Canon PowerShot SX260 HS edges the Fuji out in terms of image quality, also sports a GPS, and is available for a little less money. Our Editors' Choice, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V, is $40 more, but produces top-notch images and adds Wi-Fi connectivity. If you like the design of the F770EXR, but don't need a GPS or Raw support, consider the?Fuji F750EXR, which is essentially the same camera, only without a GPS and Raw shooting support, but priced $30 less.

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