Maybe help choosing a Fuji?

Question

Between the F31fd, E900, and F30; which should give a better enlargement 11X14 or larger? Am I just nit picking or is it automatically the 9 megapixel camera?

Answer 1

Actually, the 9mp might actually hurt the photos. I'm a fan of the F31fd due to the facial recognition and great pictures. I find the color is better too. 6mp is more than enough for 11x14 blowups!

Here's a side by side comparison that might help:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=fuji_finepixf30%2Cfuji_finepixf31fd%2Cfuji_finepixe900z&show=all

It also has higher iso for low light and natural light pics.

Here's a COSTCO link on what resolution is needed: http://www.costcophotocenter.com/helpphotoresolution/t_=0 You'll see 6mp is more than enough for 16x20 or better.

Answer 2

I'm sure you have found the reviews, etc. Open up a copy of internet explorer and go to the sample pictures. I'll include links to each to make it easier. You can enlarge these to full size images if you click on the file name shown below the picture. You will have to then put your cursor in the white space to the right of the picture and click once. After that, you can pass your cursor over the image and it will turn into a magnifier. Click it as a magnifier once and the image will go to full size and you can really examine the detail or look for artifacts like purple fringing around items in high contrast photos or noise in darker areas of the picture.

F30: http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/fujifinepixf30_samples/
F31fd: http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/fujif31fd_samples/

Try to find comparable images and A-B them, such as:
http://dpreview-img.fotki.com/gallery/fujif31fd_samples/originals/dscf2000.jpg
http://dpreview-img.fotki.com/gallery/fujifinepixf30_samples/originals/dscf0281.jpg

Or:
F31fd ISO 1600: http://dpreview-img.fotki.com/gallery/fujif31fd_samples/originals/dscf1048_gs.jpg - my God, this blows me away!
F30 ISO 1600: http://dpreview-img.fotki.com/gallery/fujifinepixf30_samples/originals/dscf0795.jpg - compare her eyes to the cat's eyes.

I didn't check the E900, since it is rather old.

Vint, I've got to tell you that your quest for a Fuji camera has been an eye-opener for me. The Fuji F31fd makes some really beautiful images for a 6 MP camera. The F30 is a little "creamier" to my eye, but it's still extremely nice.

Just for fun, I'll throw in some comparable shots on my chosen one, the 10 MP Canon SD900:
ISO 1600: http://dpreview-img.fotki.com/gallery/canonsd900_samples/originals/img_0016.jpg

I can't find a comp on the flower, but here are a couple of my own. Click on "All Sizes" and the "Original" to evaluate sharpness.

ISO 80, Macro, but cropped quite a bit from 10 MP: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/636589061/
ISO 80, not macro, almost the full image, the focus in in the center band of the photo, so look there for sharpness: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/691503028/
Maybe this is the best for side-by-side comparison: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/691503224/

This isn't a comp to anything, but I'm just showing off now. This is one of my favorite flower shots, but it is a monstrous crop and it has a fair amount of post-processing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/516855394/

Here's a new one that might be a closer comp to the flowers: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/843563558/ It's actually the same rose bush seen in the the previous picture, but this was taken today and I didn't play with anything to alter the colors or image quality. I did a minor levels adjustment and applied 50% unsharp mask @ 1 pixel. That's not much and I'm sure they did as much in the review site samples.

This would give you an idea about a 10 MP camera with a similar size sensor, as far as asking about the pixel count and print size. You have my permission (haha - as if anyone needs it!) to download the originals and see how big a print you can make. You WILL see a difference between 10 MP and 6 MP, but the Fuji's have really impressed me.