Fujifilm FinePix E550: Fuji's Newest Packs a Punch
by Stephen Caston on October 15, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
Resolving Fine Lines
For our resolution test, we used manual WB and recorded three images with differing quality options: 6M JPEG, 6M RAW, and 12M (interpolated). The camera was set to Aperture priority mode at f5.6 with +1.3 E.V for all three images. The CCD RAW image was converted to JPEG in Photoshop. For more information, refer to our Testing Procedures page. Below are 200% crops of the test. Click on a crop to see the full chart. Click here to download an uncompressed TIFF version of the CCD RAW chart(WARNING: TIFF file is 17MB).
| 6M JPEG |  Click to enlarge. |
| 6M RAW |  Click to enlarge. |
| 12M F JPEG (Interpolated) |
 Click to enlarge. |
As expected, the 6M RAW image produced the cleanest chart out of the three and showed resolution out to the 15 mark. The 6M JPEG image showed a fairly average resolution, retaining clarity until 13. The 12M interpolated JPEG image surprised us by surpassing the limit of the RAW chart and making it until the 16 mark before losing definition. However, we should point out that the 12M interpolated image contains the most artifacts out of the three charts.
| 6M JPEG | Click to enlarge. |
| 6M RAW | Click to enlarge. |
| 12M F JPEG (Interpolated) |
Click to enlarge. |
The vertical crops show the same resolution with each setting. Overall, we were impressed with the RAW and 12M interpolated settings. It is nice to have the option to shoot in 12M mode if you don't want to deal with as much post-processing as the RAW file demands. The E550 proves to be a camera that can capture a great amount of detail, and surprisingly, the 12M interpolated setting manages to gain a bit of resolution over the RAW version.
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dugweb - Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - link
This was my first digital cam. I really like it. Ive hesitated buying a digital camera because i hate the lag times in between shots, and before shots, and startup... This camera hardly has lag (except flash to flash pics)im very happy with it.
inbeechwood - Saturday, March 26, 2005 - link
I owned the Fuji FinePix 550 and I agree that it offered a lot of bang for the buck. The picture quality was excellent and the movie mode was very impressive also.However, I think everyone considering buying this camera should know that it does not offer a focus assist lamp and as a result, it has a very hard time (read impossible) of focusing in low light conditions. Also, the LCD screen is nearly impossible to see in dimly lit rooms. Forget about using this camera in a church or at a wedding reception. I returned the camera for this reason.
Souka - Saturday, October 16, 2004 - link
Ok... I've read the first sentence...I'm already annoyed/ticked to post....but hey, It's just me.Why?
"Fujifilm stands out amongst other digital camera companies because of its research in sensor technology."
Like their earlier cameras that say 4mp, but are really 3mp? (I remeber it having to do with some sort of pixel shifting....can't remember exactly, but that always made me distrust fuji digi-cams).
Anyhow....I'm sure this is nice enuf of a camera...as I"ll soon find out from reading.
:)