Fujifilm FinePix F50fd

Reviewed October 2007

Ergonomics

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.

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:

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	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:

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.