Fujifilm FinePix Z10fd

It isn't everyday that we get a product into the office that comes in a 'wasabi green' colour scheme. However FujiFilm's FinePix Z10fd is just that. Coming in a variety of colours it is certainly a stylish device that has a number of cool features such as wireless connectivity to IRSimple compatible devices. But its pictures leave quite a lot to be desired and so if you are at all concerned with image quality you may wish to look elsewhere.

From the second we opened the pictures one thing was clear; the chromatic aberration was far higher than normal. There was a massive amount of haloing in high contrast areas. It was just about the worst we've seen. Our Imatest software corroborated this, giving the Z10fd a massive score of 0.423 per cent which is the highest ever.

Pictures captured by the 7.1-megapixel sensor were fairly sharp at small and medium magnifications, but they did look a little soft at times. Thus the unit's Imatest results of 1522 for sharpness with 22.9 per cent come as no surprise. We also noticed some barrel distortion in these test shots, although it wasn't too severe.

Colour response was quite poor, with inaccurate shades across most of the spectrum. Many of our outdoor shots had a blue tinge despite being set on the outdoor white balance preset and the automatic white balance mode failed to properly adjust to different lighting scenarios.

Our shots also came out relatively noisy, even at ISO 100, with Imatest giving a score of 0.75 per cent at this setting. As we ramped up the sensitivity, the noise became more prevalent and the pictures lost a little clarity. Overall the images are quite poor, however keep in mind that they'll still look reasonably good as a standard 4x6in print.

Considering how simple the Z10fd is, it really isn't targeted at people who want to make sizeable enlargements. The interface does have a 'manual mode', but this is really just full automatic that gives you the luxury of altering ISO, white balance and exposure. There is also a burst mode that operates at three frames per second for three shots or a much slower one frame per second until the card fills up, but that is about it for features.

In our other speed tests it did fairly well, exhibiting a very quick 0.04 seconds of shutter lag, 1.8 seconds shot-to-shot time, and two seconds to power up.

One of the unit's selling points is its built-in IRSimple support. IRSimple is an infrared wireless protocol that operates faster than traditional IR. It allows the Z10fd to transmit pictures to any compatible infrared device, providing line of site is available. This makes for quick and easy printing provided you have an appropriate printer.

Aesthetically, this camera is quite stylish. Coming in a variety of colours it is sure to please fashion-conscious buyers and the slider that covers the sensor is a smooth and intuitive way of turning the device on and off. It feels fairly sturdy and should be able to take a few knocks.

Meanwhile the controls are nicely laid out and are kept extremely simple. Combined with the basic feature set, this makes for a great beginner's camera that should suit even the most novice user.