Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W1 slammed in early review, company responds point-by-point
By Ross Miller 
posted August 24th 2009 12:12AM
posted August 24th 2009 12:12AM
Read - W1 3D camera review
Read - Fujifilm's response
posted August 24th 2009 12:12AM
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I'd say a 3D point and shoot is pretty niche.
...and Apple should be more humble then.
dude, whyy... what does this topic has to do with apple?? you're just annoying!
Finepix Real 3D W1 = worst camera ever fail
The true FAIL is the review. The ISO100 shot is underexposed, looking at the picture its pure user-error. Yes, shooting a small subject on a large white background can throw off AE on point-and-shoots but its hardly rocket-science.
Akihabaranews is a HORRIBLE review site regarding photographic products, half their photographs aren't even properly focused, and the reviewer lacks any degree of technical knowledge involving photography. There is more to writing a review then snapping a picture at a given ISO and doing a 100% crop.
I'd agree that 3d functionality is limited market, and more a novelty at this point then anything, but the site doesn't even review any 3D photographs at all, and their 2D photographs aren't even properly taken.
Yeah, reading the review and the companion piece their complaints come down to:
1) GUI isn't great. Uh, read the manual, learn how to use your product and all will be well? Not to say this isn't a serious black mark against the camera, a bad GUI in this day and age is almost unbelievable, but it's not a deal breaker.
2) Poor Quality Photos. This is just a stupid argument, of course it's not going to be up with other cameras in the same price range, it's packing a hell of a lot more tech than a 2D camera so you need to scale your expectations accordingly. Read the companion piece and they admit it's not actualy bad for a point and shoot camera.
3) Limited 3D use. Uh.... surely if you're considering buying this product you'll do the research into 3D tech and decide whether or not you're going to make the investment? By all means point it out as an issue but to consider the product "the worst camera ever" is ridiculous. This is, currently at least, a niche product. People buying it aren't going to be looking to send 3D pictures via e-mail to friends and family just yet.
Basically, only their first point has any real merit from the point of view of reviewing the actual product and it actually sounds okay. The reviewer just missed the point of the camera by several miles and went for sensational headlines rather than a proper review.
While the camera may indeed have faults that need to be addressed, I can't possibly see how this reviewer can be taken seriously. It's like listening to a thirteen year old banter on XBOX Live. The fact that he has early access to Japanese gadgets and a successful blog is a grave injustice and I hope other major manufacturers take note of this before they entrust a pre-release product to someone so unprofessional.
for a camera looks nice but DAMN worst camera ever made lol
What the hell are you saying?
Go back to your Tap Tap Revolution.
Yeah what he said. Take your nasty Swiss cheese and rye bread somewhere else.
Cool fail.
The worst, Fujifilm.
Maybe it's the worst ever camera. But it sure is the best japlish translation of an article.
The camera may be naff, but the review itself was pathetic.
The question is why Engadget legitimizes this garbage by featuring it. This "review" is childish, incompetent, and an insult to readers.
Worst. Review. Ever.
The camera may be only mediocre, but seriously. The review consists of "ranting about buttons" and "look ISO images". That's not a review, that's a shame for the tech community.
the read links are so full of engrish it makes my head hurt
"Worst ... camera ... ever!"
I think we all know The Comic Book Guy wrote that review.
Gimicky compact no goodie good? The review is kinda... reduced... but it gets the problems across pretty well.
The Akihabara News review is terrible. The sample images are bad mostly because the person who took them didn't even take the time to set up a decent test. The first 3D image he took has his finger in the right frame, and the other two are useless because the subject has no depth.
That being said, for less than $600 you could get two decent P&S cameras and tape them to each other. I suppose what you are really paying for is the lenticular screen on the back, which makes people nauseous.
If Fuji was serious about a digital stereo 3D format, it would be an open format (like, a left and right JPEG) so we could make our own stereograms, or perhaps even do some dual-lens HDR images, or cyan/red tone images so we can use retro 3D glasses. There are so many useful things you can do with dual-lenses, but it's just not here.
I'll wait for Real 3D W2, but it's not because of the Akihabara News review.
"We are not going to go too much in details here of what has been discuss, Fujifilm gave us many information in order to better “understand” their W1 concept that we cannot share with you,"
Then you're not a news site, you're a secrets agency. It's stupid to say, "Oh, well they told US so-and-so, but we can't tell YOU that." Every big-name blog does it, and it's not a good practice. Report what you can, not what you can't. If there's an NDA, don't pussyfoot around it awkwardly.
The video he posted in the review was pretty good looking to me, I played it and two WMP windows popped up, I aligned them and crossed my eyes to focus them in and the effect was stunning. Maybe it doesn't work with Windows versions prior to 7?
The review is worse than the camera could possibly be. "Due to the low ambient brightness surrounding me during our test," where was he testing? On the moon?
Bummer...I was hoping to pick this one up. In the meantime, I've been playing around with a 3D Camera app for the iPhone, and it works quite well.
Terrible review. Most of his complaints are irrelevant to me.
The downsides to my old 3D camera are:
1) fixed focus, very little control
2) film-based - expensive to use.
3) two-weeks to process before you know if your pictures are any good.
4) large camera (size of an SLR without the lens, and the flash unit was hot shoe mounted)
5) the company went out of business in the mid-1990's
This camera brings all the advantages of digital: I can see the results right away, delete the one I don't like. 3D movies sound cool. The prints will still have to be ordered, but I can pick just the ones I want. Meanwhile, I can enjoy the pictures and movies in the 3D frame.
I'll wait for DPReview.com's review instead.
Is it just me, or does this review seem to be written by an ignorant, stuck up 13 year old? Heres some of the more informative bits of the review :
"Believe it or not there's ALSO a video mode… my comments will be simple… LOL"
"I struggled for hours to understand how to set the ISO and I had to read the user's manual (lame)"
"How many pictures you may miss if you have to first understand how these different settings works"
"When I pressed the shutter, check the quality on the W1 display, fired-up PhotoShop CS3 and just cried… See for yourself… I cried like a baby and then had a good laugh."
I think this cam is worth it if the 3D images have effects like the 3D cinema, u know, where u wear glasses, like in the movie My Bloody Valentine 3D.
I think the reviewer's main point was that the Finepix W1 is not for everyone, which is true. The problem is that this drawback was emphasized to the point of being unfair. This is fine for a user review, not for an expert review. Maybe the former has been mistaken for the latter.
I can't take this review seriously. Despite it written poorly (uneducated?), the reviewer was way too opinionated and close minded on what he thought of the camera. This guy should not be writing any reviews and should stick to articles about hentai and Shibuya crimes...
I'll wait until this camera falls into the hands of a photo site with objective reviews....reading the article was a waste of my time.
The guy had the camera for a week but could only get ISO 400!! Where
does he live, the Antarctic in winter? He must have 'sat' on this
camera for 6.5 days and at the last minute decided to have a quick
look with little or no research, then write a crap review. Even his
test subjects were lousy.
The guy is totally ignorant of 3D. I have the camera and don't use
3D prints or the 3D photo frame to view the pictures in 3D! I use
Sterescopic Player for the video and Stereo Photo Maker for the
stills. I use a modified HD65 Optoma projector to view in 3D on a 6
foot screen, GREAT!
What about the file format? Is it something where Pokescope Pro can use it? I'll be supporting museum people who use this and then feeding files to a volunteer using Pokescope. Any info would be appreciated.
I decided not to wait for the US release of the W1 and ordered directly from a website in Japan. The camera arrived just one day before I left for a short vacation to NYC. I used the camera everyday of my trip, took both stills and movies in 3D. The camera is a delight! I got some very nice 3D shots at the Madam Tussuad wax museum near Times Square. I don't plan on buying the overpriced 3D digital frame. Instead I used the freely distributed StereoPhotoMaker, I have been shooting 3D photos for 25 years now, so I could hardly be considered a 'nooby' in this field, so I can tell you this: this camera is awesome! The person who made a bad review of the W1 either has no clue about his job, or has a personal grudge against Fujifilm for whatever reason.
There is a better review on photographyblog which calls the camera "merely competent" in 2D mode but gives it a "recommended" 4 stars for the niche use it is intended for. http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/fujifilm_finepix_real_3d_w1_review/