Fujifilm FinePix E900

Reviewed January 2006

Interface & Software

Interface

The interface of the FinePix E900 is not quite as intuitive as those of other Fujifilm cameras. Some buttons display options on the monitor, while others simply display an icon each time they are pressed. Similarly, when the E900 is in Playback mode, the DISP button does not display information about camera settings, instead the exposure compensation button does, and when the camera has been started directly into Playback mode by holding the button, pressing that same button a second time switches the camera to the shooting mode.

But, if at first the idiosyncrasies of the E900 tend to cause some confusion, these clear up quickly with some practice with the camera, and the rest of the E900's user interface is generally easy to understand. For example, information about current camera settings is clearly presented on the edges of the monitor's image, and the contents of the menus are organized quite logically.

As is the case with many other recent Fujifilm digital cameras, the Setup menu is accessed through the main menus — Photography or Playback — as one of the options. The Setup menu is the most complex, gathering over 4 pages the most basic, and some the least commonly accessed, settings for the camera:

• Image Disp. specifies whether or not a just captured image is displayed while the camera is saving it:
  • Cont.: the image is displayed after the shot and stays on until the shutter release is touched.
  • 3 sec/1.5 sec: the image is displayed for the selected duration.
  • Off: the image is recorded without being displayed.

• Shutter Volume: sets the volume of the sound the camera makes when the shutter release is pressed (Off, 1, 2 or 3).
• Beep Volume: sets the volume of the operation sounds made by the the E900 (None, 1, 2 or 3).
• Playback Volume: serves to adjust the playback volume for movies and voice annotation (7 levels).
• Frame No.: Cont. or Renew. Specifies if images are numbered consecutively or restart from 1 after the card is formatted or a different card is used.

• LCD Brightness: sets the brightness of the LCD monitor over ± 5 increments.

• LCD: decides whether the LCD is On or Off, when the camera is turned in Photography mode.
• Digital Zoom: On or Off. Decides whether the digital zoom is available when the optical zoom reaches its maximum magnification.
• CCD-RAW: On or Off. When On the camera records RAW images exclusively.
• Auto Power Off: sets the delay before the camera shuts down automatically after a period of inactivity (5, 2 minutes or Off).

• LCD Power Save: On or Off, dims the LCD monitor after a few seconds when the camera is not in use.
• Format: serves to format the memory cards, deleting images if any, including those that are protected.

• Date/Time: the date and time on the E900.
• Time Difference: to set the time difference between a "local time" and a "destination time," useful when travelling.
• Language selects the interface language: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese or Chinese.
• Background Colour: selects the colour that will appear as the background to the menus.

• USB Mode:
  • DSC (Mass Storage): makes the camera appear as a hard disk on the computer.
  • PictBridge: serves to connect the camera directly to a PictBridge compatible printer.
• Video System: sets the video out signal (NTSC or PAL).
• Discharge: is intended for use with Ni-MH batteries and drains the batteries so they can be recharged fully, increasing their life.
• Reset: returns the settings to their factory defaults with the exception of the date and time, the interface language, the video out signal, and the selected background colour.

A printed manual accompanies the FinePix E900. The manual is clear, and easy to read and understand. It covers all aspects of the camera and includes information about connecting the E900 to a computer or a printer.

Software

As it is retailed in North America, a single CD-ROM, Software for FinePix (CX version 5.1d for Windows and Macintosh), is included with the Fujifilm FinePix E900. The disc contains FinePix Viewer (v5.1 for Windows and 3.3 for Macintosh), RAW File Converter LE and USB drivers. In addition, Pixela's Image Mixer VCD2 LE is included for both Windows and Macintosh. Installation of the software is automatic and smooth, but ends with an abrupt pop-up window that orders the user to "Restart your computer" and only provides an OK button. Clicking OK forces a reboot, interrupting what ever other program may be running, which can cause problems.

FinePix Viewer is primarily an image browser, presenting photos as thumbnails with or without some of the shooting data, or as a film strip with the selected image being displayed at a larger size above the film strip (see below).

FinePix Viewer offers the possibility of making automatic adjustments of images and some manual ones for brightness, saturation, tint, sharpness and contrast. Images can also be converted to black and white or sepia.

Moreover, by right-clicking on an image, FinePix Viewer allows transferring the image to a more elaborate image editor already installed on the computer. Beyond this, the FinePix Viewer can also be used to create slide shows and albums.

RAW File Converter LE is the application supplied with the E900 to convert RAW images to TIFF format. The conversion program is quite limited, and no correction to the RAW image is possible. It is possible, however, to convert a group of RAW images to TIFF.

Finally, Pixela's ImageMixer VCD2 can be used to create CDs or DVDs. But it is worth noting that only burning CD-ROM is possible, as only 3 Video CDs and no DVD-ROM can be burned until a full version of the program is purchased.