Fuji Tiara (DL Super mini)

[reiki_]

Im contemplating getting a Tiara as an all purpose point and shoot, the lens is supposed to be fantastic, and it has scale focus which is excellent when i get one of my street" phases, but Im wodering about general usability, that is ease of use, the viewfinder etc. Do ou find yourself wanting to shoot wit it, does it get out of your way? Thanks for all the input.

 

[nosmok]

There is scale focus, but the camera doesn't stay in that mode once you retract the lens. Also, you can only go up in distance, not down; so if you want to change from 10ft to 3 ft you have to cycle up to infinity and back to the beginning (it defaults to close focus). Other than that, it's a great camera. Not sure that it's built for the long haul, the sliding door on off switch doesn't feel really robust. Just my 2 cents.

nosmok

 

[johannielscom]

Handled one recently, liked the metal front etc but not the plastic rear door and internals.
If it were more robust I'd have made an offer, even though I don't need another camera

 

[kaiwasoyokaze]

i had a super mini, and here are some thoughts on using it:

on my sample:
the viewfinder is tiny, the back plastic surround portion around the viewfinder is easy to knock off, (that strip bit), the front slide door to turn on the camera fell off after a couple of months of use (although it was an easy fix with some super glue and careful positioning) front sliding metal part is attached via PLASTIC bits....

it does get out of the way to let you shoot relatively quickly, but it does need some time to retract and also get the lens in position.

the body is small (which is a good thing and bad thing). it is a bad thing cause my fingers appeared on some of the shots due to the way i held the camera so it might also be my fault, but it was a common mistake of mine.😱 i also had a huge ding on the side of the camera but it kept on ticking right up into the moment i sent it off the miyazaki san for conversion to m-mount.....in that case the lens really shines and is very very good.

 

[p.giannakis]

I loved it while i had it. I wrote a user review of the camera here. One thing i absolutely hated was the "go-to-sleep" mode - if you don't use it, the camera goes to energy-saving mode. I didn't use the scale focus, it sounds good but in practice i didn't find it any useful. It is a noisy beast when you switch it on/off but the lens is excellent. I am not a p&s compact kind of person so i sold it.
If your heart is set on the DL, buy it. Otherwise, have a look around for a Nikon L35AF,the lens is just as good although it is the size of a house brick.

 

[reiki_]

Thanks guys. P. giannakis , I HATE any and every sleep mode , being a spastic shooter, so thanks for that additional info.

 

[FalseDigital]

I was given one of these cameras as a gift. At the time I didn't know it was a special camera because it was one of those things that had been sitting in a closet and was going to be thrown out or donated if I didn't accept it.

I'm really happy I did though!
The lens is REALLY sharp and the flash fill isn't overwhelming either.
I've only shot about 4 rolls with it so far but I plan on shooting a lot more.
I'd even compare it to the quality of my Ricoh GR1.

Here's a sample, scanned with minimal color adjustments and no sharpening.
Kodak Pro Image 100 film , Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV scanner

 

[jamin-b]

I have both the super mini and the zoom models. They are great for what they are - tiny, practically weightless point and shoots with good+ IQ and enough control t enable you to take the shot you want to take (fill flash / negating flash / scale focus etc.) I use the landsscape mode al ot to negate flash and force s a smll aperture when outside. I use them for family travel, on the beach etc. where the lack of weight and concern about protecting fancy equipment matter. And panorama mode at times is fun "lomo" feature when you aren't taking yourself too seriously...

See my samples: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=96319283@N08&sort=date-taken-desc&text=tiara&view_all=1

 

[BlackXList]

I also have both the super mini and zoom.

In use, and in results they're absolutely fantastic, I'd put them up there among the best of point & shoots (especially the super mini).

however, they do have the one issue that many point and shoots do, you have to cycle through flash modes on turning them on, which means that I don't take them out quite as often as I should.