Digital Camera - December 2007
90% Editor’s Choice“The F50fd is easy to love and live with. Controls are quick and intuitive, and even the most cunning features work intuitively and effectively. Image quality is excellent in almost any shooting conditions, combining high levels of sharpness and with beautiful tone and colour, and a marked absence of aberrations…Overall, this is by far the best F-series Fujifilm camera to date."
Digital Photography Review - December 2007
Highly Recommended"The F50fd is an excellent point and shoot camera that deserves a place near the top of its class... The sensor/processing unit of the F50fd is quite an achievement. From ISO 200-800 it puts most of the competition to shame, and even ISO 1600 can produce usable output within limits. Images show natural colours and good detail, there's no need to spend hours with your imaging to get pictures ready for print, they are perfect straight out the box...
In general, the F50fd is an enjoyable camera to use, the buttons are in the right places and the materials feel good in your hand. Even the plastic used on the back has a ‘premium' feel to it. The latest generation of the Real Photo processor is a great performer, not only image quality wise but also in terms of speed and operation. Apart from the fairly long writing file times (especially in burst mode) the camera always feels snappy and responsive. Like most compact cameras the F50fd was not designed for action photography but it never lets you down when you need to take a quick shot."
Digital Camera Buyer November 2007
"For party and low-light shots, the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd is our winner for a variety of reasons. The Face Detection works very well and shots taken with the flash show a better balance between artificial and natural light than you will usually get. Where this camera really scores, though, is its handling and ease of use. When you’ve got a new feature like Face Detection, you want to know where it is, how to activate it and what to look for. On the Fujifilm it’s obvious… It’s the same with the natural light modes. These may be seen as small points individually, but they all add up to a camera that’s much simpler and quicker to use than the rest."
The Independent - November 2007
The Ten Best Compact digital cameras
Best Buy
“A sophisticated compact with a large screen, a huge 12 megapixels of resolution, image stabilisation, and even a function to hide blemishes and wrinkles – what more could you want?”
T3 - December 2007
Test Winner - 5 stars"It's got a capable 12-meg sensor, ISO 6400 for those really dark shots and the latest face-detection tech. Wrinkles can be digitally polyfilla'd and red-eyes undemonised, it has aperture and shutter priority modes, and a blog mode to resize pics automatically. Best of all, it serves up detail and contrast with electrifying confidence and speed."
PCPlus - December 2007
Editor's Choice - 5 stars
"In the battle to produce low-noise images at higher ISO sensitivity ratings, the new Fujifilm F50fd wins out over the other two cameras on test here, thanks to a new generation of Fuji's Super CCD HR sensor. This is further enhanced by a ‘Natural Light' mode, which breathes life into dimly lit scenes and is great for indoor shooting without a flash... Extending the shooting options beyond fully automatic ‘programme' and scene modes, the camera also features aperture-priority and shutter-priority, each with one-third stop adjustment increments. Along with a wealth of other features, this makes the F50fd much less of a point-and-shoot camera than its competitors.
It's still great in fully automatic modes, but offers a far higher level of creative control when you want it. With a pin-sharp lens and beautiful overall image quality, this compact camera is an absolute steal at the price."
Personal Computer World - January 2008
4 stars"The F50fd (fd standing for face detection), comes in at the top of Fujifilm's compact range and succeeds the F31fd. With a 12 megapixel CCD, it's a huge step up from its six-megapixel predecessor. Its metal-bodied case houses a 2.7in LCD and a 3x optical zoom lens. It feels very well built yet is extremely light and compact. In general operation, the F50fd is both fast and responsive, and it's quick to focus and take shots... Fujifilm cameras are well known for their high-ISO modes and the F50fd is no exception. With ISO 1600 available at full resolution and as high as ISO 6400 if you step down to three megapixels, it's a great camera for those who like to use natural light rather than flash."
CNET - November 2007
“Up to ten faces can be focused on and exposed for by Fujifilm’s ‘Face Detection 2.0’. This is a step above other manufacturers' Face Detection systems, which cannot cope with profiles and are often confused by spectacles. The FinePix F50fd has one of the fastest Face Detection features we’ve used, snapping faces instantly and spotting profiles quickly in most conditions.”
PC Advisor - November 2007
"The Fujifilm FinePix F50fd is a compact camera that has all the latest features and takes great shots. Fujifilm offers flashier, more colourful models. But if you're more concerned with what your pictures look like, than what your camera looks like, then the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd is probably a good bet."Computer Arts - September 2007
"Fujifilm is well known for cramming state-of-the-art technology into ultra-compact cameras, but this new model takes the biscuit. The FinePix F50fd features a whopping 12-megapixel Super CCD, automatic Face Detection technology (ideal for portraits) and image stabilisation."CITY A.M - November 2007
"So which digital camera should you invest in this Christmas? This one would appeal to the snapper who likes plenty of settings to muck around with... One of the jewels in the camera's crown is its Face Detection technology - which focuses on your subject's features for extra definition. Used in conjunction with the portrait enhancer mode, your Facebook profile will have never looked better."
PC Advisor - February 2008
Awarded PC Advisor Gold award
"Fujifilm has another award-winner on its hands with the FinePix F50fd. This camera will please all, from beginners to more advanced photographers. With its magnificent new features, the Fujifilm offers up a real argument for upgrading a perfect good older camera to a newer and almost perfect model."
Daily Express - December 2007
"No need to look less than model-perfect in all your Christmas pictures with the new Fujifilm FinePix F50fd. The camera has a special portrait enhancer feature which will automatically retouch your pictures to remove blemishes and minor wrinkles and even out skin tone."
Macworld - February 2008
"Fujifilm has given the FinePix F50fd all the latest whizz-bang digital camera features too, including image stabilisation and, according to the company, a newer version of face-detection technology that can detect faces at up to a 90 degree angle, against 30 degrees with the company's older models... In our image quality tests, the F50fd earned the highest mark of any recent point-and-shoot for having the least distortion. The FinePix F50fd also received very high marks for sharpness."
What Mobile - March 2008
5 stars
"Stepping up to 12-megapixels hasn't harmed the image quality either. There's lashings of rich detail in images, strong colours and crisp exposure. Exposure priority modes give you plenty of creative freedom, and even if the autofocus occasionally fails to lock on in low light, the F50fd's overall performance is still excellent, especially considering its price."
The Independent - April 2008
"When it comes to bang for your buck, you can do no better than to lash out £190 for the F50fd," Michael Says. "Facial recognition and optical image stabilisation are present and correct, making short work of framing shots for even the most incompetent lensman, while a stonking 12-megapixel sensor says adios to tiny Facebook-style thumbnail snaps." Other highly acclaimed features include peerless sensor and processor and quality build. "This is simply the most complete compact camera money can buy."
Dive Magazine - June 2008
FinePix F50fd and WP-FXF50 underwater housing
"The F50fd produces a stunning image. Even at 100 per cent in Photoshop, it is crisp, produces punchy saturation, and the levels were almost spot on in auto mode. The system does have an optional external strobe priced at £149.99, which is essential if you want to take it below 10m or to capture close-ups, but I simply shot subjects in the shallows and used the manual white balance to correct the colours, with amazing results."
Verdict: "A whooping 12MP gives excellent images."
