Deciding between Canon A620 and Fuji F30

[fredlee70x7]

I currently have a Canon S410 which I'd like to upgrade to either of these

two. I'm aware of the differences between the two, e.g. size, image

stablization, noise level at high ISO, types of memory cards, size and

flexibility of LCD screen, lack of viewfinder etc.

 

Does anyone have experience of using BOTH cameras and tell me your thoughts on

them? Although I have not made prints larger than 5x7 with the 4MP S410, I may

do 8x10 (or slightly larger) with the new cameras because of their higher

pixels and newer/better sensor.

[photo5]

Forgive me for responding but I just bought a Canon A620 on newegg.com. They have a combo deal where you get a free 1gb SD card with the camera for $219.99. Dpreview has this camera reviewed and it got the highest rating. I'm pretty excited to get it and it will be a good companion with my Nikon D70s.

 

Dave

[ralph_jensen]

I have the Fuji F10 (predecessor of F30) and the 620; the F30 is so new that not many people have hands-on experience with it.

 

I think the image quality between the two under most lighting conditions is basically the same. 8x10s from both of my cameras look good; beyond that, they start to look like, well, highly-processed images from small-sensor digicams.

 

So it comes down to features, which only you can judge. For general purpose shooting, the flip-around screen of the 620 (and the super-close macro focus distance) are real pluses for the way I shoot. On the other hand, I really value the low-light capabilities of the Fuji. (I haven't used the video on the 620, though it's supposed to be quite good, and I don't know anything about that on the Fuji.)

 

So you'll have to weigh those two factors -- feature set vs. low-light capabilities -- among whatever else matters to you.

 

But again, I don't think most people would say that one camera has a clear advantage with regard to image quality; the two cameras should be fairly similar except at high ISOs (where Fuji really shines).

[Brad_]

I was considering the same two cams. For me, it came down to the swivel LCD screen of the

A620 vs higher ISO on the F30. Ended up buying the A620 for $219 and have been really

happy. Like the larger size of the A620, too.<P>

 

<a href="http://www.citysnaps.net/PAweb6-21-06">Here are some</a> street portraits I've

made over the last week or so with the 620.

[ulrich_michel]

Wath Ralph said about the A620, I shot somme movie at night under horrible lighting condition of a concert and was amazed at the relative good movie and white balance. The mike sucks of corse.

 

Don't know about the Fuji

[wilsontsoi]

I guess this is easy answer since you already bought the <a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=317651">Canon A620</a>, it's done deal. I don't think you'll regret it. I personally like the A620 swivel screen, nice hand grip, and use of AA batteries.

[frank_skomial]

Supposedly Fuji F30 has high ISO 1600, or 3200?

Some already criticized the high noise from F30 at high ISO, while others, (perhaps never used F30 ?), considered the high ISO as the most important advantage of this camera. Where is the truth ?

[wayne_campbell]

What's to decide? Get the A620...it's a no-brainer. If you have any doubts check out the photos of Wilson Tsoi (above). He uses the A620 and has some of the greatest shots on this forum.

[jeff_s]

<p>Sorry, I don't have experience with the Canon, and the Fuji F30 is very new to me, having only turned up locally a couple of weeks ago.</p>

<p>Impressions so far: For a small point and shoot, surprisingly little noise at ISO 800, still useable at 1600, and 3200 is lots better than nothing.</p>

<p>Handling: Nice! It's about as small as can be while still feeling comfy in my hands. Mostly metal shell looks very chic, fast startup times, feels responsive overall.</p>

<p>Some sample images, resized but otherwise unretouched except as noted</p>

<a href="http://www.boulder.net/~4season/buddha.jpg" target="new">

ISO 3200, handheld</a><br>

<a href="http://www.boulder.net/~4season/lamps.jpg" target="new">

ISO 1600, handheld</a><br>

<a href="http://www.boulder.net/~4season/alley.jpg" target="new">

ISO 800, stationary camera</a><br>

<a href="http://www.boulder.net/~4season/lenin.jpg" target="new">

ISO 400, handheld, slightly brightened</a>

[frank_skomial]

Thanks Jeff!

 

Fuji F30 turns out to be very good with low noise at higher ISO, based on your pictures.

 

I think noise of the F30 ISO 3200 compares to the Nikon Coolpix P4 at 800 ISO.

[tom_halfhill]

The sample Canon A620 pictures posted here are excellent photographs, but I can't help noticing they are virtually all pictures of static subjects. It looks like every one could have been taken on a tripod. So it doesn't answer an important question: Is the A620 fast enough for people pictures?

 

The abysmally slow response time of the Canon A95 is what prevented me from buying that camera, even though I liked its other features.

[bill_tuthill]

Well according to dpreview.com, Full-Press lag has been reduced from

9/10 of a second on the A95 to 6/10 of a second on the A620. The

Fuji F10 was timed at 5/10 for regular mode, and 3/10 of a second

for high speed mode. The F30 might be similar.

 

Personally speaking, the A620 seems like the same-old-same-old,

whereas the higher ISO Fuji models are finally interesting to me.

This is to replace my film P&S with 28-75 zoom with ISO 400-800 film.

Even that isn't fast enough for some situations, e.g. late afternoon

kayaking trips in winter.

[don_e]

Comparing fixed lens cameras without reference to what use it will be put to is not very useful. I buy them the way I buy a slr lens -- knowing what I need it for and then comparing the candidates to each other.

 

The A620 is a fine camera, and I would guess so is the F30, but both are 'bad' cameras if what I shoot is a lot of wide angle. I would be better served by comparing cameras with 28-24mm equiv lenses.

 

Good Luck,

 

Don E

[Tim_Lookingbill]

I've stated this before. At Walmart the A620 demo strapped to

their camera display shelf was practically in pieces because it's

lens barrel and casing is made of plastic.

 

The F10 at the time I was comparing cameras was made of

metal and was very compact and could fit in my back pocket like

a deck of cards. It was not broken even with it's extended plastic

barrel lens. The F30 is pretty much the same but with better

battery life, aperture priority and better LCD screen. Very fast lag

time for a P&S.

[Brad_]

<I>At Walmart the A620 demo strapped to their camera display shelf was practically in

pieces because it's lens barrel and casing is made of plastic.</I><P>

 

Huh? If it was in pieces, it was probably because it was dropped. Silly to draw a conlusion

from what you stated. How about all those metal leica cams that get sent in for repair every

year...

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<a

href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fuji/finepix_f30-review/i

ndex.shtml">Try this review on the F30</a>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

How could it be dropped if it was strapped to the display with a

cord that didn't reach the floor.

[Brad_]

Are you saying it just burst into pieces on its own? Again, silly... Mine certainly isn't like that

- it actually gets used.

[Tim_Lookingbill]

I guess I should've been more specific. The A620's lens cover

plastic gates that close when the barrel retracts were broken off

along with the front plastic lens face. The barrel was stuck in the

extended position and the two barrel units were wedged together

and crooked. It didn't look like it had been dropped.

 

But besides that, the whole feel of the all plastic camera didn't

set well with me as able to withstand rugged knock around

vacationing either at crowded parks or rock climbing or hiking.

[bill_tuthill]

Well Tim, more folks might have tried the Canon because it's a popular

brand, whereas Fuji is obscure as a camera maker, but thanks for the

datapoint. Also thanks for pointing us to the dcresource.com review.

Barrel distortion is well controlled, but at only 36mm equiv.

 

Does angle-of-view increase when using 3:2 mode? It yields 3024x2016

pixels instead of 2848x2126. I can't find info on this anywhere.

[terry_rory]

"the whole feel of the all plastic camera didn't set well with me "

 

Tim, you must have seen a different camera. My eldest daughter uses this camera (A620) and I can confirm the front and top are all metal not plastic. Also it feels very well made and my daughter can confirm it is quite rugged.

 

A friend uses one when rock climbing here in the UK and used to use an A80 with no problems either.

 

Judging a camera based on a vandalised/damaged demo model chained to a counter in WalMart is hardly fair.

[Tim_Lookingbill]

Valid points, I agree. I went back yesterday to check the new crop

of camera's at Walmart and they've replaced the A620 with a new

one and its all plastic front and back, but operable and all parts

intact.

 

I started noticing something else odd among this class of

camera. To Canon's credit when the lens barrel is fully extended

on all Canon models each section of the barrel is ridged and

can't be budged side to side or backward/forward. The other

models, Nikon, Fuji, Pentax and Olympus all had extended

barrels whose sections could wiggle side to side by as much as

a millimeter or two measuring from the lens face.

 

Hope this doesn't effect even flat focus field abilities.

[wilsontsoi]

...time to take the camera out and go shoot...^_^

[terry_rory]

Tim, first you said the A620 was all plastic and now you say it is plastic front and back...

 

"with a new one and its all plastic front and back, "

 

The Canon A620 has metal front and top. I can confirm this from looking at my daughter's own A620.

 

Also it says here...

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona620/page2.asp

 

Quote: "First impressions of the A620, like the A95 before it, are that this is a very solid camera indeed. The front and top are encased in lightweight metal, the rear and grip are plastic. The grip is a little larger than the A95's, which makes the excellent handling of that model even better. The large shutter release and zoom lever are well placed for single-handed shooting. You cannot fault Canon when it comes to the build quality of the A620; it does not feel in any way like a budget camera,.."

 

Unless our UK/European market is getting a different build spec to the USA versions I cannot see that you are talking about the same camera.

 

I can confirm that as far as low priced digi P&S cameras are concerned this model does feel very solid.

[Brad_]

Yep, mine is just like Trevor's - and agree with what he and dpreview said...