The FinePix F50fd,
the latest addition to Fujifilm's F cameras,
offers a new design that holds a 12 megapixel Super CCD, a
3X optical zoom and a 2.7-inch monitor.
fd.
The top of the F50fd supports four controls and
an infrared communication port hidden under
the dark plastic surface. Starting from the left, the first
button is the power switch, which is mounted
flush to the surface so as to avoid any accidental activation
of the camera, and next to it on the left, the microphone.
On the right, the two-stage
shutter release that activates and locks
both the auto focus and auto exposure when held halfway down,
is surrounded by the zoom control.
As usual, with the F50fd set to the Playback mode,
the zoom serves to view images in an index view when pushed
to the wide angle/
side, showing first 2, then 9 then 100 images each
time it is pressed. And, when pulled to the telephoto side,
,
it allows zooming into a 12 megapixel image up to 6.3X.
The last control on top of the camera is labelled
and serves to control the CCD shift image stabilization
system. The system offers two modes, depending on the shooting
mode used:
a CCD shift image stabilization that
is available in all modes;
and one that adds an ISO sensitivity increase
to allow faster shutter speeds and which is only available
when the camera is set to the Auto shooting
mode.
Moreover, an option of the Setup menu makes
it possible to choose if the stabilization is continuous,
or occurs only when the image is about to be captured.
The remaining external controls
of the F50fd are on the back of the camera, squeezed
into the small space left by the large, 2.7-inch,
230,000 pixel monitor.
At the upper right of the monitor is the Mode Dial,
positioned so it can be turned easily with the thumb. The
dial has 8 positions, 7 of which correspond
to capture modes and 1 to the movie mode. When the Mode dial
is turned, an on-screen animation reproduces the movement
on the monitor, indicating the selected mode and adding a
short text explanation of the mode's use:
Auto is the
simplest shooting mode, placing the F50fd in
charge of all photographic settings with the exception
of the image quality and the colour mode.
The Natural Light
mode serves to capture images under low light
conditions without using the flash. The camera uses
the AF assist lamp to focus and increases sensitivity
up to 1600 ISO if necessary.
SP1/
SP2
These two Mode Dial positions
serve to access the 13 Scene Modes
of the F50fd. Any of the scene modes can be
associated with either of the dial positions so that
the mode can be recalled simply by selecting SP1 or
SP2. And, by pressing the MENU/OK button
(see further), a menu of all the modes can
be displayed, along with a photo typical of the mode
and a short explanation text for the use of the mode:
Portrait
Portrait Enhancer
Sport
Night
Fireworks
Sunset
Snow
Beach
Underwater
Museum
Party
Flower
Text
The Movie
mode captures video with mono sound at a frame size
of 640 x 480 pixels or 320
x 240 pixels and at a rate of 25 frames per
second. The recording length is only limited by the
capacity of the memory card in use. The zoom is locked
in position at the first frame, but the exposure and
white balance are adjusted as necessary as the recording
progresses.
A/S
Set to this position, the
camera provides two advanced capture modes, the choice
of which is made by pressing the MENU/OK button:
Aperture Priority: serves to select
the aperture — and therefore the depth of field
in the image — while the camera sets the shutter
speed. Available apertures are f2.8, f3.2, f3.6, f4,
f4.5, f5, f5.6, f6.4, f7.1 and f8 when the zoom is
set to the wide angle end, and f5.1, f5.6, f6.4, f7.1
and f8 at the telephoto end.
Shutter Priority: offers a shutter
speed range that covers from 1/1000 second to 1 second,
while the camera selects the aperture.
Manual mode
is in fact a Program mode. The camera selects
the shutter speed and the aperture, but all other camera
settings — sensitivity, metering, white balance,
auto focus mode, continuous mode, and exposure compensation
— are accessible to the user.
Natural Light and
Flash captures two photos consecutively, the
first without flash the second with flash (see above
for a description of the Natural Light Mode).
Below the Mode Dial, two round buttons balance out two others
that are positioned below the 4-direction button in the middle.
The one on the left, labelled,
starts the Playback mode. It can also be used to turn
on the F50fd if held pressed for more than 1 second,
starting the camera directly in the playback mode, which avoids
having the lens extend.
The other button, on the right, is labelled
and serves to display the FinePix menu. While
the camera is set to a capture mode, the menu presents the
following options:
Power Management has three sub-options:
Power Save: allows the monitor to
turn off if the camera is unused for 10 seconds.
Quick AF: speeds up the auto focus,
but uses up more power.
Clear Display increases the brightness
of the monitor, which consumes more power. The monitor
automatically shuts off after 30 seconds.
ISO serves to set the CCD sensitivity:
100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400 ISO or Auto (400),
Auto (800), or Auto (1600). Note that some conditions can
affect the choices that are available (see the Characteristics
section of the review).
Quality: serves to set the image size
and quality (see the Characteristics
section of the review).
FinePix Colour decides how colours are
recorded: Standard, Chrome (increases saturation) or Black
and white.
When the F50fd is in Playback mode, the button presents
a short menu:
IR Communication: allows sending or
receiving images to or from another Fujifilm camera equipped
with IR capability, or other devices with high-speed infrared
transmission capability, or any other mobile device IrSS
(IrSimpleShot) capability.
Trimming for Blog: allows resizing an
image to 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels and saving as a copy
so it can be used on an Internet blog. Should images have
been captured with a 3:2 aspect ratio, the sizes available
are 768 x 512 or 384 x 256 pixels.
Slide Show serves to review captured
images, and provides a choice of on-screen time and transition
effect. One option allows the camera to zoom in on a face
— if there is one in the photo — using the face
detection technology built into the camera (see further).
DPOF: serves to choose images that will
be printed and decide whether or not the date will be superimposed
on the image.
The next control on the back
of the camera is the four-direction control.
As always, it serves to navigate menus and the playback of
images, while the MENU/OK at the centre calls up the
menu that corresponds to the camera's current mode, and confirms
selections made there.
In addition, each of the four directions of the 4-direction
button serves to control a function when the camera is in
a capture mode, while only the up direction
also provides a Playback function:
With the camera in a capture
mode, the up direction serves to set
Exposure compensation providing a compensation
range of ±2 EV in 1/3 EV increments when the
camera is set to the Manual mode, or
set to the camera into aperture/ shutter speed selection
mode when the Aperture or Shutter Priority modes are
used (the aperture or the shutter speed
are then selected with the right and left directions).
With the camera in
Playback mode, the up
direction can be used to delete one or more unwanted
images.
The right
direction serves to select the flash modes:
Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Forced On (fill-in),
Forced Off, Slow Synch and Slow Synch with Red-eye Reduction.
The down
direction provides control over the Self-timer,
allowing for either of two delays: 10 or 2 seconds. A
bright white LED that also serves as an AF assist lamp,
blinks while the self-timer is active.
The left
direction selects the Macro mode allowing the camera
to focus on a subject that is between 7 and 80 cm (2.8
inches and 2.6 ft) from the front element of the lens
when the zoom is set to the wide angle end and 30 to
80 cm (1 to 2.6 ft) at the telephoto end.
The last two buttons, below the 4-direction control, complete
the external controls of the F50fd:
DISP/
BACK
Controls the amount of information
that is superimposed on the image, offering three display
modes when the camera is set to a capture
mode:
One mode indicates current camera settings on the
periphery of the image: capture mode, flash mode,
metering mode, image quality, the number of shots
that can be captured, ISO setting, battery status
and AF brackets.
Another mode displays the same information as detailed
above, but adds a composition grid to help align image
elements.
And finally one mode displays no setting information,
and only shows the AF brackets when the shutter release
is pressed halfway.
When the camera is set to the playback
mode, three displays are available as well:
The default display indicates the image's file
name on the upper right as well as its image size,
quality and ISO setting. The lower part of the screen
provides the date and time of capture and the aperture
and shutter speed used.
A press of the DISP. button clears
all superimposed information from the image.
A second press of the button displays an index view
with 9 images per screen, while on the left a column
indicates the capture date.
Moreover, the button can also be used to back out of a menu
without making a change or selection.
Last, the right side button
controls Intelligent Face Detection
system built-into the camera. This function allows the
camera to detect one or more faces and maintain the
focus on them even if they are moving. By default, face
detection is combined with red-eye reduction. Pressing
the button once cancels red-eye reduction, while pressing
it twice cancels the face detection system.
The Fujifilm F50fd
is small, light and easy to take anywhere. Its controls are
well devised and identified, making it easy to become familiar
with the operation of the camera. The monitor — there
is no optical viewfinder — is sharp and has
a high refresh rate, yielding a smooth and fluid image. But
just as importantly, the F50fd responds quickly to
its controls — including to the shutter release —
and to its menus.
Introduction
side, showing first 2, then 9 then 100 images each
time it is pressed. And, when pulled to the telephoto side,
,
it allows zooming into a 12 megapixel image up to 6.3X.
and serves to control the CCD shift image stabilization
system. The system offers two modes, depending on the shooting
mode used: 
,
starts the Playback mode. It can also be used to turn
on the F50fd if held pressed for more than 1 second,
starting the camera directly in the playback mode, which avoids
having the lens extend.
and serves to display the FinePix menu. While
the camera is set to a capture mode, the menu presents the
following options:
