I was just searching for a new cam to replace my old Fuji S5100. Was checking the Fuji F70 when I found the lens Aperture to be F3.3(T) and F5.6(W). Even my old fuji has F2.8 (T) and F3.3(T) lens.

Ok the above may not be a fair comparison as they are totally of different size. But I dont see any good lens there in the newer zoom cameras lately. Even the compacts from canon seem to have poor lens compared to their older models. I dont get it, the company invests so much in getting the best image from those tiny sensors and goes a step back by using poor lens. Apart from few handlful models all seems to use poor lens these days

The aperture alone doesn't make a lens poor, it just makes it "slow" and a little less useful in low light. Optically, the lens can still be very good, and probably will be as the lens will be less complicated to make. The trend of large zoom ranges in p&s and compact size makes it harder and more expensive to use a lens that starts at f2.8 or lower. There are still quite a few cameras that start at f2.8 or lower...they just tend to cost more.

yes the lens may not be poor but with a p&s cam noise being a big issue in low light slapping a f3.3 will make significant difference over f2.8 lens. Basically all the R&D done to reduce noise is simply waste or halved by using wrong aperture lens :/

There are some P&S digicams that have maximum apertures of f/2.8, but not a lot. And the larger the aperture, the more complex the lens, especially an optically stabilized lens, so the less likely it is to provide good image quality.

Also, btw, the larger the maximum aperture, the harder it is to squeeze into a compact package.

As I said, there are some, but they are limited in other ways (i.e.; size, zoom, etc.) If you really want large apertures without the compromises, you might want to consider a dSLR.

i've noticed this too!

all the P&S cameras these days start in the mid 3's and end in the high 4's or mid 5's for apertures. it's disappointing and it's why I'm thinking about getting a DSLR with a constant aperture f/2.8 lens