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Fujifilm FinePix F470 Review
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Review Date: May
5, 2006 |
USER'S EXPERIENCE
Friday, Apr 21, 2006 - Here's what I receive
in the box:
- FinePix F470
- No memory card
- Li-ion Rechargeable Battery NP-40N & Battery
Charger BC-40
- Hand Strap
- Interface Cables: A/V; USB
- Documentation (English and French): Quick
Start, Owner's Manual
- Software CDs: Software for FinePix CX Version
5.1f
The Fujifilm FinePix F470 is ultra-compact,
with a pleasant design, and very good build. Its
features are basic and will mostly appeal to point-and-shoot
photographers who desire an easy-to-use and staightforward
take-anywhere digital camera that gives very good
results. It's slim enough to slide into your jeans
pocket.
Unlike its big brothers that use Fujifilm's innovative
Super CCD HR image sensor, the Fujifilm F470 uses
a "Square Pixel CCD" -- so don't expect
similar low-light capabilities.
It has AUTO and Scene Modes, plus a very limited
Manual mode (exposure compensation and preset
WB only). There is no AF-assist Illuminator. There
are no long exposure times. There is only Multi-Pattern
metering mode. There is no Custome WB. There are
no long exposure times. Like we said, very basic.
Having said that, we found the Fujifilm F470
a delight to use. It handles very comfortably,
though its tiny buttons might be problematic to
some with large hands.
There is an extra-large 2.5-in. LCD monitor that
is very clear whether used outdoors in the sun
or inside. It's only 115,000 pixels resolution,
but the refresh rate is a high 60fps, and it shows:
it's beautiful to view. A note of caution, though:
"Images on the LCD appear better than they
may actually be." There is a manual LCD Brightness
feature that will brighten the LCD a notch for
low-light viewing.
We mentioned that the Fujifilm F470 has a "Manual"
or M scene mode (you can only access this mode
by rotating the Mode switch to SP). This M mode
is essentially "Programmed Auto" or
P mode. You can only dial in an exposure compensation
and specify a preset White Balance. There is no
Custom WB, so inside shots under artificial light
will look the usual cool or warm depending on
the colour temperature of the light. Note that
in AUTO mode, you can still specify ISO.
For Canada, Fujifilm has provided both the English
and French printed versions of the Owner's Manual.
They are both well illustrated and written, and
the print font is easy to read. However, there
is no index, and many of the illustrated camera
parts and features do not have an associated page
number for easy reference, and can sometimes make
it challenging to quickly find what you are looking
for.
In the field, the Fujifilm F470 performs very
well, the camera being point-and-shoot simplicity
to use. Macro at wide-angle is only 10 cm (3.9
in.) and we find it to be not close enough. We
prefer to use Tele macro for a tighter composition.
Transferring images to your PC is simply a matter
of connecting the USB cable and either using the
Fujifilm FinePixViewer to index the images or
simply drag-n-drop in Windows Explorer.
Fujifilm FinePixViewer
The FinePixViewer software (version 5.1) is user-friendly.
Each image's filename is clearly visible and you
do not need to launch another window to view the
EXIF info. You can do basic image editing, re:
Correct Red-eye, Adjust Image Quality, Sharpness.
Sepia/B&W, Rotae, Resize.
The Fujifilm FinePix F470 produces very
good image quality. Exposure metering is accurate,
and colours are very pleasing. It is mostly a
sunny take-anywhere digital camera which is point-and-shoot
simplicity to use.
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