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S6000fd |
Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd Review
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Review
Date: Nov 14, 2006 |
Category:
Beginner
to Serious Amateur
HANDLING & FEEL
The Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd continues
to be one of the best looking long zoom digital
cameras around. Pick it up and your fingers wrap
comfortably around the adequately large handgrip.
Your index finger naturally falls over the shutter
release button, and the thumb can easily rotate
the Mode Dial. A very nice and comfortable neck
strap is included.
The Fujifilm S6000fd comes in a black (with silver
accents) solidly built plastic composite body.
Unlike some long zoom digital cameras that weigh
very light and feel like toys, the Fujifilm S6000fd
has a nice heft to it which gives it a quality
feel and helps when you want to hold it steady.
The FinePix S6000fd replaces the S5200 with 6.3MP
and the addition of "face detection"
(which is what the "fd" stands for).
But what really sets this long zoom digital camera
apart from its competitors is the addition of
a manual Zoom Ring, manual (fly-by-wire) Focus
Ring, and wide-angle 10.7x optical zoom lens.
These three features add a new dimension of professionalism
to the S6000fd that is usually available only
in more expensive "prosumer" models.
Startup time is fast at around 1 sec., shot to
shot times are average at approx. 2 sec., and
there is no practical shutter
lag. Autofocus is fast and precise.
| STYLE |
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Colours: overall black with silver
accents |
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Looks: professional, SLR-look, very
attractively (and ergonomically) designed |
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| FEEL |
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Comfortable to hold and operate |
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Non-slip textured handgrip |
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| DIMENSIONS &
WEIGHT |
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Best way to carry this camera is slung
over the shoulder or around the neck |
| - |
Dimensions: 130.7 x 97.2 x 119.5mm
/
5.1 x 3.8 x 4.7 in. |
| - |
Weight: feels nicely hefty at 660g
/ 23.3 oz. (including batteries and
xD-Picture Card) |
| - |
Takes 4 AA type alkaline batteries
(included) or 4 AA rechargeable NiMH
batteries (optional) |
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| SPEED OF OPERATION |
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Fast startup - no lens extension required
and LCD turning on in about 1 sec. |
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Shot to shot time in less than 2 sec.
(including time to write to card) |
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Included in the box are 4 AA Alkaline batteries
that are supposed to be able to take about 200
shots with LCD on (CIPA standard). But we found
that they lasted much shorter so you might want
to invest in 4 AA rechargeable NiMH batteries
(2500 mAh) and battery charger (if you don't have
them already). NiMH batteries should last for
approx. 400 shots on a fresh charge (CIPA standard).
There is an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with
115,000 pixels resolution and a large 2.5-in.
LCD monitor that both gain up very well in low
light (though grainy, as to be expected). The
frame coverage is approx. 100% for both.
The Terminal compartment is on the left side
of the camera (viewed from the back) with a rubber
flap that opens up wide to allow easy and frustration-free
access.
The flash has a range of 60 cm - 8.3 m / 2.0
ft. - 27.2 ft., which is excellent. Though it
is of the type that pops up automatically when
needed, you can nevertheless set it to OFF so
it does not surprise you when you don't want it
to. Perfect for both beginers and advanced users.
You can set the flash to Off, Slow Synchro, Red-Eye
Reduction & Slow Synchro, Auto, Auto Red-Eye
Reduction, or On [Forced Flash].
Controls
The controls on the Fujifilm S6000fd are similar
to those on the S5200 with the following exceptions:
- the AF/MF button which was on the top of the
S5200 has now been moved to the left side of the
lens barrel [viewed from the back] and now incorporates
a One-Touch AF.
- the Zoom lever at the back of the S5200 has
been replaced by an excellent manual Zoom Ring
around the lens.
- the S6000fd also now has a manual (fly-by-wire)
Focus Ring, which makes manual focusing a snap.
These 3 improvements equip the Fujifilm S6000fd
with advanced controls found only on more expensive
models. I mean there is just no comparing a manual
Zoom Ring with a Zoom Lever, or a manual Focus
Ring with using UP and DOWN arrows.
The power switch is around the shutter release
button, as is also Playback. Behind the Shutter
Release Button is the Drive button (Top 3, Auto
Bracketing, Final 3, Long Period) and Exposure
Compensation/Histogram button
The Mode Dial has the standard AUTO, PASM (Programmed
Auto, Aperture-Priority, Shutter-Priority, and
Manual) modes, plus Movie mode, 4 Scene Modes:
Anti-Blur, Natural Light, Portrait, Landscape,
and a Scene Position that gives access (via the
MENU) to 10 more scene modes: Sport, Night, Fireworks,
Sunset, Snow, Beach, Museum, Party, Flower, Text.
The Mode Dial can be rotated with the thumb and
has a positive locking click to it. During an
actual shooting session, there is not much risk
that the Mode Dial is inadvertently switched to
another shooting mode.
The Natural Light Scene Mode disables the flash
(even if it is popped open) and takes full advantage
of the low-light capability of this camera (made
possible by the use of Fujifilm's SuperCCD HR
image sensor and Real Photo Technology) to capture
an image that retains the natural ambience of
low-light photography (indoors, by candlelight,
in restaurants and museums).
The Anti-Blur scene mode tells the camera to
use a high ISO and a fast enough shutter speed
to minimize blur caused by camera shake and/or
a moving subject. This scene mode is also referred
to as Picture Stabilization and tends to be confused
with Image Stabilization. No, the S6000fd does
not have Image Stabilization but, thanks to the
low-light capability of its image sensor, you
can safely use a high ISO (up to ISO 400) and
a faster shutter speed to achieve the same effect
of minimizing blur that true image stabilization
does. Of course, it would be ideal if Fujifilm
would start equipping its digital cameras with
image stabilization -- this, plus their low-light
sensor, would make Fujifilm digital cameras the
unequivocal best in their categories.
You can record movies with monaural sound at
either 640 x 480 pixels 30fps or 320x240 30fps.
Thanks to the manual Zoom Ring, you can zoom to
your heart's content during recording.
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Video Storage Capacity
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1GB
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4:3 VGA
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640x480
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30fps
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14m 54s
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4:3 QVGA
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320x240
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30fps
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29m 20s
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xD-Picture Card Storage
Capacity (approx. # images, JPEG)
|
| Quality |
Pixels |
File Size
(MB) |
1GB |
| 6M F |
2848x2136 |
3.0 |
341 |
| 6M N |
2848x2136 |
1.5 |
680 |
| 3:2 |
3136x2352 |
1.5 |
680 |
| 3M |
2560x1920 |
780KB |
1305 |
| 2M |
2560x1920 |
630KB |
1639 |
| 03M |
2560x1920 |
130KB |
7995 |
| RAW |
2048x1536 |
13.4MB |
76 |
As the above chart shows, at 6MP Fine image quality,
you can store approx. 341 images can be saved
on a 1GB xD-Picture Card. We recomend that you
purchase either a 1GB or 2GB xD-Picture Card,
depending on the number of images you normally
shoot in one session.
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| FUNCTIONS ACCESSIBLE
BY CONTROL BUTTONS (Top of Camera) |
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Mode Dial (AUTO, PASM, Movie, Anti-Blur,
Natural Light, Portrait, Landscape,
SP) |
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Exposure Compensation button |
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Drive button (Continuous Shooting) |
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| CONTINUOUS SHOOTING |
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Top 3-Frame: allows you to shoot up
to 3 frames at max 2.2fps |
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Auto Bracketing: takes 3 shots of
the same image with different exposure
settings (correctly exposed, over-exposed,
under-exposed). The Auto bracketing
settings can be specified in the MENU
as ±1/3 EV, ±2/3 EV, or
±1 EV |
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Final 3-Frame: This is an incredibly
useful feature for increasing your chance
of catching action at just the right
moment. Press and hold the shutter release
button down as the action nears the
point where you want to take the shot.
The camera will take up to 40 shots
(max 2.2fps) as you follow the action.
When you let go of the shutter release
button at the right moment (say, as
the puck or soccer ball goes into the
goal), the camera retains the last 3
shots. |
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You select a Continuous Shooting mode
by pressing and holding down the Continuous
Shooting button and using the LEFT and
RIGHT arrow keys |
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Long Period: Shooting continues as
long as you hold the shutter button
down -- up to the capacity of your xD-Picture
Card. It's however not particlularly
fast: I was able to take approx. 5-6
shots in 10 sec. |
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The camera is reset to Single Shot
when the camera is turned off/on. |
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| EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
/ HISTOGRAM |
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To access the exposure compensation,
you press and hold the Exposure Compensation
button down and use the LEFT and RIGHT
arrow keys to select a value. |
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There is no live Histogram
display during Record mode, but if you
press and hold down the Exposure Compensation
button during Playback, a histogram
will display, together with other exposure
info. The Histogram disappears when
you let go of the Exp. Comp. button. |
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Once set, the Exposure Compensation
Indicator conveniently stays displayed
on screen until it is reset to "0" |
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Range: -2 EV to +2 EV (13 steps in
1/3 EV increments) |
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The screen brightness will increase
or decrease to reflect the value you
use |
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Note: the exposure compensation value
selected is retained even when mode
is changed or camera is turned off (so
remember to reset to "0" after
using it or the next time you turn the
camera on, your shots may be over- or
under-exposed.) |
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Manual Focus has been tremendously improved thanks
to the manual Focus Ring. A One-Touch AF button
will engage the AF to focus the scene once. You
can then use the Focus Ring to precisely adjust
the focus. A Focus Indicator Mark turns yellow
to indicate the scene is focused. A small arrow
appears at the bottom of the Focus Indicator Mark
to indicate in which direction to turn the Focus
Ring to achieve focus. The LCD resolution is also
improved from 115,000 pixels on the S5200 to 235,000
pixels on the S6000fd. The Owner's Manual does
not mention this but you can press the Digital
Zoom button to magnify the screen and allow a
better view; just remember to press the Digital
Zoom button again to disable it before you take
your shot.
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| FUNCTIONS ACCESSIBLE
BY CONTROL BUTTONS (Back View) |
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Intelligent Face Detection Button:
Mercifully, face detection is not ON
by default. Press the button and the
camera will instantaneously recognize
up to 10 faces (as long as they are
facing toward the camera) and give focus
priority to the one nearest to the center
of the picture. |
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EVF/LCD monitor selector |
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Digital Zoom: up to 2x |
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4 Way Arrows: UP/DOWN = Program Shift;
LEFT = Macro; RIGHT = Flash |
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MENU/OK |
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DISP/Back |
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Photo (F) Mode (ISO, Image Quality,
Color) |
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| ISO |
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ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 |
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Surprisingly, there's no ISO AUTO
in PASM. |
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Doubly surprisingly, there's no ISO
AUTO 400 or ISO AUTO 1600 in PASM --
as is available in the FinePix F30. |
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I believe this is an oversight and
requires a firmware fix. I don't really
care for ISO AUTO, but there should
be at least an ISO AUTO 400 to take
advantage of the wonderful low noise
characteristic of the image sensor up
to ISO 400. The photographer can park
the ISO to ISO AUTO 400 in PASM with
the confidence that image quality will
not be compromised as far as noise is
concerned. |
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| SIDE VIEW |
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Flash (no manual pop-up button; pops
up automatically if you set it ON using
the RIGHT Arrow) |
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Focus Mode Selector Switch / One-Touch
AF button |
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Memory Card compartment (accepts xD-Picture
Card) |
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Speaker (the slits right in front of where the
notch of the memory card compartment
door is) |
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Rubber Terminal Cover (A/V, USB, DC
IN) underneath the Memory Card Compartment |
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Lens barrel: on the S5200, the notches
on the lens barrel did not turn and
were just for esthetics and to provide
a good grip, but the S6000fd actually
has a manual Zoom Ring and a manual
Focus Ring behind it. |
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LCD & Menus
There is an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with
a large eyepiece and diopter correction, as well
as a larger 2.5 in. LCD monitor with a high resolution
235,000 pixels resolution and approximately 100%
coverage. The LCD has a fast refresh rate for
a smooth display. It gains up slightly in extreme
low-light situations to permit you to compose.
The Low-Light View button on the S5200 has been
removed but you can still increase the brightness
of the LCD monitor (but not the EVF) by holding
the Exposure Compensation button down and pressing
the Disp/Back button simultaneously. This feature
is useful when the sun is shining on the LCD.
The circular projection between the flash and
the handgrip is the AF-assist illuminator. The
AF-assist illuminator (green light) is quite effective,
but you have to remember not to get your fingers
in the way; also, the relatively long lens barrel
can be in the way of the AF-assist light illuminating
a subject that is very close (e.g. in macro photography).
A cool lens shade comes standard and you'll use
this outdoors to cut out glare in bright conditions.
Indoors, you'll want to remove it because it will
block the light from the AF-assist Illuminator
as well as from the flash.
The AF-assist Illuminator is very effective and
I've found auto focusing to be quite fast and
precise in low-light situations.
You can also display a framing grid of horizontal
and vertical lines by pressing Disp/Back button,
which is very useful when you need to align vertical
and horizontal lines precisely. The lines are
fine and grey and do not interfere with the composition
-- the way we like them.
 
A great feature is the AF Area focusing mode.
Press in the One-Touch AF button and use the ARROW
keys to move the AF target point to any of with
(7 horizontal x 7 vertical =) 49 positions and
the camera will focus where the AF target point
has been moved. I find this very helpful in macro
photography and whenever the subject is off-center.
The implementation is also intuitive and does
not require access to the MENU to set it on.
Advanced photographers will be glad to know that
it is possible to save images in the RAW file
format. Unfortunately, it takes more or less 9
key presses to set it in MENU - SETUP - CCD-RAW
ON. It takes about 4 sec. to save an image in
RAW. Continuous Shooting is not available for
RAW. RAW mode is kept even when you turn the camera
off, so don't forget to reset it if you only meant
to use RAW for only a couple of shots.
There are 2 MENU screens and 4 SETUP screens.
The user interface is very well implemented and
easy to use. The MENU screens are semi-transparent
(but easily read); the SETUP screens have a solid
white background.
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MENU 1 of 2
- Self-timer: 10 sec. or 2 sec.
- Photometry: Multi, Spot, Average
- White Balance: AUTO; Custom; Fine (Sunny);
Shade; Fluorescent 1, 2, 3, Incandescent
- High-Speed Shooting: On, Off (speeds up
AF, uses more battery)
- AF: Center, Multi, Area
- Sharpness: Hard, Standard, Soft
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MENU 2 of 2
- Flash Bracketing: 0, ±1/3 EV,
±2/3 EV
- Auto Bracketing: ±1/3 EV, ±2/3
EV, ±1 EV
- SETUP
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SETUP 1 of 4
- Image Disp.: Continuous, 3s, 1.5s, Zoom
(Continuous)
- Frame No.: Continuous, Renew
- AF Illuminator: On, Off
- CCD-RAW: On, Off
- EVF/LCD Mode: 30fps, 60fps
- Focus Check: On, Off
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SETUP 2 of 4
- Date/Time
- Beep Volume
- Shutter Volume
- Playback Volume
- LCD Brightness - Digital Zoom ON/OFF
- Format
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SETUP 3 of 4
- Language: 13 languages to choose from
- Auto Power Off: 5m, 2m, Off
- Time Difference: Home, Local
- Background Color: 6 colors to choose from
- Discharge
- Video System: NTSC, PAL
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SETUP 4 of 4
- Reset
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LANGUAGES
- displays in 13 languages
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SCENE MODES 1 of 2
- Sport
- Night
_ Fireworks
- Sunset
- Snow
- Beach
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SCENE MODES 2 of 2
- Museum
- Party
- Flower
- Text
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White Balance
- AUTO
- Custom
- Fine (Sunny)
- Shade
- Fluorescent 1 - Daylight FLuorescent
- Fluorescent 2 - Warm White Fluorescent
- Fluorescent 3 - Cool White Fluorescent
- Incandescent
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Photo (F) Mode - ISO
- Ships from factory set to ISO 200
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Photo (F) Mode - Image Quality
- Ships from factory set to 6M N
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Photo (F) Mode - Color Effects
- Chrome
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Photo (F) Mode - Color Effects
- B&W
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PROGRAMMED AUTO MODE
Clockwise from Top Left:
- Face Detection ON
- Flash OFF
- Super Macro ON
- Self-timer 2 sec.
- Multi AF
- Custom WB
- Image Quality 6MP Fine
- Available frames: 341
- High-Speed Shooting ON
- Auto Bracketing
- ISO 100
- Focus check warning
- Face Detection has detected Allegra's
face (green rectangle)
- Camera Shake warning
- Histogram (displays only when Exp. Comp.
button is held down)
- Program Mode
- Shutter Speed and Aperture values with
Program Shift indicator
- Exposure Compensation Indicator
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NATURAL LIGHT MODE
- Camera disables flash and selects a higher
ISO
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ANTI-BLUR MODE
- Camera selects a fast shutter speed to
reduce camera shake (aperture and ISO are
adjusted accordingly for correct exposure)
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MOVIE
- 640x480 @ 30fps
- 320x240 @ 30fps
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MOVIE
- 14m39s left
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POST SHOT ASSIST WINDOW
- Displays last 3 shots
- Not available in RAW
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PLAYBACK
- No info displays in Playback until you
hold down the Exposure Compensation button
- Besides a Histogram, Highlight Warning
will flash the areas that are overexposed
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Note: Some of the screens may have
been "blackened" to permit a clearer view
of the settings.
The Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd is a well-designed
long zoom digital camera with excellent handling
and super fast operations. It wins hands down
where looks and handling are concerned. The addition
of advanced controls suce as a manual Zoom Ring
and a manual Focus Ring, both of which work extremely
well, vaults this camera above its closest competitors.
It is also choked-full of features that are well
implemented for a frustration-free use.
Beginner amateur photographers will find this
camera easy-to-use and producing great images
with its wonderful image sensor with low noise
characteristics; advanced amateur photographers
will love the manual Zoom Ring and manual Focus
Ring as well as the versatility and full exposure
flexibility it provides.
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