The conventionally designed F70EXR from Fuji is a smart looking unit available in silver or gun-metal grey that initially appears to be no different from any other ordinary compact camera.

That is, of course, until you pick it up, shoot with it and look a little closer.

Like a breath of fresh air, the F70EXR is a relief from the stuffiness of an often over-crowded compact camera marketplace, brimming with units struggling to differentiate themselves.

This attractive unit from Fuji offers consumers a fairly solid overall package with some unique selling features that surpass the gimmicky nature of many competitors obvious feature ‘add-ons’ that often help to sell cameras but in reality are of little to no use at all.

A personal favourite feature is the ‘natural & flash’ mode, which, as the name suggests, takes two images each time the shutter is pressed: the first using available light and the second firing the flash.

After a few seconds of processing, this handy feature then provides the user with two images, identical in all aspects bar the lighting, from which they can analyse the style of light that best suited the conditions and use said image for sharing and printing etc.

While simple in its idea, this feature is one not seen before despite being quite a practical and logical addition to a compact camera. It means users can simultaneously have the best of both worlds while learning whether ambient or flash lighting offers better results across a variety of shooting situations.

The F70 comes equipped with Fuji’s award winning EXR technology (2009 Technical Image Press Association, Europe) which, when selected, can either: maintain the highest possible detail in high resolution priority mode (HR), achieve the best possible tonal range and preserve detail in both the shadows and highlights in D-range priority (DR), or minimise noise while maintaining clarity in low light conditions (SN).

EXR auto mode is also available for advanced automatic scene recognition that will determine the optimum ISO, exposure, white balance and focal distance for the given shooting conditions whilst also switching to the best sensor mode for capture.

EXR auto is a slightly more advanced automatic option for point-and-shoot photography that promises more sophisticated and informed results than the general automatic mode available on the F70, which tends to perform solidly as an all-purpose option.
It is important to note with the F70 however, that its images do have a unique look about them that is likely to win over some users but turn others away.
 
Particularly noticed when shooting indoors, the F70 produces images that have a noticeable painterly effect about them where hard edges seem slightly smudged and softly blended in to one another.
 
So, if you’re a sharpness aficionado who demands crisp lines and fine detail, the F70 may not be your best choice. If, however, you enjoy nicely blended skin tones and an overall creaminess to your images then this camera may be one to consider.
 
The F70 generally seems to perform at its peak outdoors where it reproduces vibrant colours and handles bright, sunny conditions well. 
 
The generous 27mm wider viewing lens makes it possible to capture nice full landscapes or all of your friends/family in a single expansive shot while the combined 10x zoom allows users to get up close and personal to subjects in the distance while admittedly, at the cost of a degree of image quality.

On the affirmative, the F70 is generally extremely fast in focusing and takes less than two seconds shot-to-shot when in any mode other than ‘natural & flash’ and ‘pro focus’, which both require a few seconds of processing time.
 
The latter mode mentioned is another interesting feature on the F70 allowing users to isolate their subject from the background, which is gently blurred out after a moment of in-camera processing.
 
The feature will only work if the camera can easily detect your primary subject, which means either filling most of the frame or physically separating your subject from the background for definition.
 
The results can be quite striking, especially for portraits, and particularly considering compact cameras don’t always have the best control over depth-of-field.
 
Speaking of aperture, a manual mode is available on the F70, which allows for control over both shutter speed and aperture along with white balance and ISO.
 
Program mode and movie mode with sound are also available as well as ‘scene position,’ which offers some 15 options ranging from portrait enhancer, party, and flower, through to beach, text, landscape etc.
 
Make sure you take a look at some sample photographs produced by the F70 prior to purchasing to make sure the unique look of its images suits your eye.
 
If so, you’re unlikely to disappointed with this neat compact camera’s solid performance across the board and its distinctive set of features that flow on from a comprehensive set of standard elements included.

Appearance rating	4 stars
Functionality rating	3.5 stars
Image quality	4 stars
Lens quality	3.5 stars
View finder / LCD screen	3 stars
Value for money	4 stars
RRP (AUD)	$499
Effective Pixels	10 Million mega pixels
Image Sizes	8 Sizes
Lens - zoom wide [mm]	27mm (35mm equivalent )
Lens -zoom tele [mm]	270mm (35mm equivalent )
Lens - Optical Zoom	Yes, 10x
Resolution Settings	From 1,920 x 1,080 to 3,616 x 2,712
Shooting Modes	15 Scene options
Face Detection	Yes, up to 16 faces
Manual Focus	No
Auto Focus	Yes
Focus Range [cm]	45cm - infinity
Aperture Range	Wide: F3.3 / F6.4, Telephoto: F5.6 / F11.0
Aperture Priority	Yes
Macro	No
Macro Range [cm]	-
Shutter Speeds	(Auto mode) 1/4sec. to 1/2000sec., (All other modes) 8sec. to 1/2000sec.
Shutter Priority	No
ISO	100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400 / 12800
LCD Monitor	2.7-inch, Approx. 230,000 dots, TFT color LCD monitor, Approx. 100% coverage
Viewfinder	No
Flash	Red-eye removal ON/OFF: Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro.
Hot Shoe	No
White balance	Auto, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm white), Fluorescent light (Cool white), Incandescent light and Custom
Self Timer	Yes, 10sec. and 2sec
Movie Options	Yes. Limited only by memory card size.
Video Out	Yes
Storage Type	512MB ~ 2GB xD, Micro SD via MASD-1 Micro SD adapter (included)
Storage Included [Mb]	47MB Internal Memory
Image / Audio Formats	JPEG, AVI, WAV and DPOF
Connectivity	USB 2.0 High-speed
Power Source	CP-50 with AC power adapter AC-5VX
Battery Options	NP-50 Li-ion battery
Dimensions	99.3 (W) x 58.9 (H) x 22.7 (D) mm
Weight	180g (excluding accessories, battery and memory card)

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