Benefiting from a large 2.5 inch monitor, the FinePix F10's
interface is clear and, although it presents information using
relatively large characters and icons on the periphery of
the screen, it does not interfere with the monitor's image
— a critical element as the monitor is also the viewfinder.
Moreover, the system provides displays such as a composition
grid, a tool that is very useful to ensure that the horizon
is level; or the Post Shot Assist Window, an unusual presentation
that includes the last 3 shots on the left side of the screen,
quite useful when repeatedly shooting the same subject.
The menu system is also revised with the F10, and is much
more legible, even outdoors, thanks to the use of uniform
colour backgrounds. Similarly, options are clearly identified
using text, which can clarify the meaning of an icon. And,
in addition, the interface always displays the icon for the
last setting to have been modified, another helpful detail.
Whatever the camera mode, the menu always includes an access
to the Setup menu. The Setup menu is the longest menu, its
options spread over 4 screens:
Image Disp.: specifies whether or not a just captured
image is displayed on the screen for a brief period after
it is captured (3, 1.5 seconds or Off).
Shutter Volume: serves to adjust the shutter sound
(Off, 1, 2 or 3).
Beep Volume: serves to adjust the operation sound
(Off, 1, 2 or 3).
Playback Volume: serves to adjust the playback
volume for movies and voice annotation.
Frame No. provides two possible settings: Cont.
which numbers each new image sequentially, or Renew
which restarts numbering frames from 1 after the memory
card has been formatted, or a new card has been inserted.
LCD Brightness: sets the brightness of the LCD
monitor over ± 5 increments.
Digital Zoom: turns ON or OFF the digital zoom.
AF Illuminator: controls whether or not the AF
Assist light comes on when the ambient light is too low
for the contrast detection AF system to operate reliably.
Long Exposure: activates the manual control over
exposure time — from 3 to 15 seconds while the camera
is set to Night Mode.
Auto Power Off: to decide the delay until the camera
shuts down automatically when there is no activity (5, or
2 minutes or Off).
LCD Power Save: On or Off. When On, the monitor
is automatically turned off if the camera is unused for
10 seconds.
Format: serves to format the memory card.
Date/Time: sets the time and date on the F10.
Time Difference: to set the time difference between
a "local time" and a "destination time",
useful when travelling.
Lang. sets the interface language: Japanese, English,
French, German, Spanish or Chinese.
Background Colour: selects the colour that will
appear as the background to the menus.
USB Mode allows selecting the USB protocol:
Mass Storage, so that the camera will be recognized as a
removable hard disk by the computer's operating system;
or Pictbridge, so that the camera can be directly connected
to a similarly compatible printer.
Video System: selects the AV out signal, either
NTSC or PAL.
Reset: returns the camera to its factory defaults,
with the exception of the date and time, time difference,
background colour, interface language, and the video out
signal.
A relatively short printed manual accompanies the the FinePix
F10. While the manual is generally well-organized — including
a detailed table of contents and diagrams of the camera under
different angles identifying its parts and the page numbers
that contain explanations about them — the translation
is not perfect, and occasionally lacks clarity.
Software
In Canada, the FinePix F10 is
retailed with a single CD-ROM called Software for FinePix (version
5.0a). It contains FinePix Viewer (v5.0 for Windows
and version 3.3 for Macintosh), USB drivers for the
Mass Storage mode, and — although the camera does
not have a RAW file format mode — the utility RAW
File Converter LE (v1.1 for Windows and Macintosh)
in addition to Pixela ImageMixer VCD2 LE for FinePix.
FinePix Viewer is
an image browser that shows folders on the left pane of the
program's window, and the images contained in the selected
folder in the right side pane. Three views are available to
the user: one that shows thumbnails, one that shows thumbnails
as a film strip at the bottom of the window while the selected
image is presented at a larger size (as shown here),
and a view that simply lists file names and details. Moreover,
with the view shown here, the current image can be magnified,
or rotated.
In addition, another image
editing program such as Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or
ACDsee can be linked into FinePix Viewer, and serve as the
primary image editing tool.
FinePix Viewer itself also allows making a few corrections
or modifications to images. Brightness, saturation, tone,
contrast, and sharpness can be adjusted, and a Before
and After view is presented, assisting with the correction.
Moreover, photos can be adjusted for red-eye, or resized,
or have a comment added — even as text — and be
re-saved as another format (TIFF, JPEG or BMP).
ImageMixer VCD2 is a program
that allows the creation of photo albums and slide shows and
then makes it possible to burn them on to CD-R or DVD-R discs.
Worth noting, the DVD burning option only becomes accessible
when the full version of the program is purchased.
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Interface & Software
