There are three things
that are part of the first impression made by the Fujifilm
F810: its elongated shape, its wide screen LCD, and the speed
at which it is ready to shoot after being turned on (around 1
second).
The wide 2.1 inch LCD monitor occupies most of the camera's back,
is composed of 173,000 pixels and has a 16:9 aspect ratio, the same as
a high-definition television.
To relieve the drain that the
constant use of the LCD monitor can place on the battery, an
optical viewfinder is available. The viewfinder is simple — it
does not provide a diopter correction — but has a circle
to indicate the AF area.
On the far left of the camera's back, and next to the optical viewfinder,
a button is provided to manually release the pop-up flash. Worth noting,
while the flash does not open automatically, if open it is retracted automatically
when the camera is turned off.
The top of the F810 supports
only 3 controls: the 2-stage Shutter
Release, the Power Switch, which also serves to
select the Playback mode []
or the capture mode [],
and the Mode Dial which is positioned closer to the middle
of the camera.
The Mode Dial provides 10 positions, each a capture mode, and of these
one is a Movie mode:
Leaves most of the settings
up to the F810, while the user can set the resolution,
the sensitivity and the colour mode. In addition, the user
has control over the flash, the macro mode, the burst mode
and and the self-timer. Worth noting: this is the only still
image mode which has access to Auto ISO.
Program Mode is both
a standard Program mode with which the camera selects
the aperture and shutter speed, and a Program Shift mode
that lets the user select other combinations of aperture
and shutter speeds which will result in a similar exposure.
Shutter Priority Auto Mode provides
user control over the shutter speed while the F810 tries
to match the selected speed to an aperture. Set to this
mode, the F810 has a shutter speed range that covers from
3 seconds to 1/1000 second, in 40 steps.
Aperture Priority Auto Mode gives
the user control over the aperture while the F810 matches
the selection to a shutter speed. The range of apertures
available for selection varies according to the zoom position.
With the lens set to the widest angle the user has a choice
of 10 apertures from f2.8 to f8; while with the lens set
to its maximum telephoto, that range is limited to 4 apertures
ranging from f5.6 to f8.
Manual Mode provides
full control over both aperture and shutter speed but,
while the aperture range it offers is similar to the Aperture
Priority Auto mode, the shutter speed range extends from
3 seconds to 1/2000 second.
The Movie Mode of the
F810 records video with sound at a fixed 30 frames per
second, whatever the selected frame size. A choice of 4
frame sizes are available:
STD: 640 × 480 pixels.
STD: 320 × 240 pixels.
WIDE: 640 × 360 pixels.
WIDE: 320 x 184 pixels.
During the recording, the zoom is locked at the position
it was in at the start of the sequence, focus and white
balance are established at the first frame, while exposure
is adjusted as needed. Recording lasts as long as there
is space on the memory card.
Night Scene Mode: the
F810 gives priority to a slow shutter speed — down
to 3 seconds — and sets the sensitivity to 100 ISO
although it remains adjustable by the user (Auto ISO is
not available). If the flash is popped-up the only choices
are slow synch with or without red-eye reduction. A tripod
should be used to prevent camera shake.
Sports Mode: the F810
gives priority to a high shutter speed so as to stop action.
The mode sets a sensitivity of 100 ISO, but it can be modified
by the user if desired (Auto ISO is not available). If
the flash is opened, it is restricted to Auto or Forced
On.
Landscape Mode: the
F810 sets the sensitivity to 100 ISO, but the setting can
be modified by the user (Auto ISO is not available). The
smallest aperture available to the camera is used to maximize
depth of field, and sensitivity is set to 100 ISO but can
be modified by the user. The flash is forced off and cannot
be used.
Portrait Mode: accentuates
skin tones and softens the contrast. A 100 ISO sensitivity
is set by default but can be modified by the user (Auto
ISO is not available).
The zoom position is adjusted with two buttons placed at the top right
of the F810's back. In Playback, the control serves to zoom in and out
of an image displayed on the monitor. The extent of the magnification that
can be done in playback is a function of the image's resolution, but at
the largest image size of the camera, magnification can be up to 30X.
Below the zoom control is the Command
Dial, a vertically positioned wheel on the edge of the
LCD monitor. In some of the capture modes the Command Dial
serves to select apertures or shutter speeds, or switch to
Program Shift mode when the Mode Dial is set to P and
choose alternative combinations of apertures and shutter speeds.
With the camera set to the Playback mode, the Command Dial simply serves
to move to the next or previous image.
The button labelled with the is
the Photo Mode button. Pressing it displays a special
3 option menu that provides choices for image size, CCD sensitivity
and colour when the camera is set to a capture mode, and serves
to select images for printing when the F810 is set to playback
mode.
Nearby, a slider switch
serves to select the STD (Standard) or the WIDE image format,
a special feature of the F810, and adjusts the LCD display accordingly. (See
the Characteristics section of the review for more detail
on the resolution capabilities of the FinePix F810.)
More controls are positioned on the lower right of the LCD monitor, starting
with the DISP. button:
Controls the monitor and
the information superimposed on it. With the capture
modes, the default display mode superimposes all the
basic camera settings on the periphery of the frame.
Moreover, it shows the selected AF point, the shutter
speed and the aperture when the shutter release is pressed
halfway.
Pressing the button once adds a black line grid to the display to
aid in composition, while pressing it a second time clears all info
from the screen, allowing only the AF point and the shutter/aperture
info to show when the release is pressed halfway. A third press of
the button turns off the monitor altogether, making it possible to
conserve power while using the optical viewfinder.
In playback, pressing the DISP. button
instantly clears the information overlaid on the image
by default (date/time and image file number). Pressing
the button once more displays thumbnails of the photos
stored on the card (12 thumbnails per screen). And pressing
it again organizes the thumbnails by shooting date.
Finally, with a menu displayed
on the monitor, the button serves to BACK out of
the menu, or out of an option.
The 4-direction control is last on the right side of the monitor, and has
a button at its centre (MENU/OK) to call up the menu and confirm
selections. As usual, the control is used to navigate the menus and their
options, and to select images for review when the camera is in playback
mode. Moreover, three of its four arrows have additional functions in some
of the capture modes:
Selects the Metering Mode:
Multi, analyses
the subject taking into account distance information
and the readings obtained from 64 zones of the frame.
Average, calculates
exposure based on the entire frame.
Spot, calculates
the exposure based on the reading metered at the
precise centre of the frame.
serves to select the Flash modes:
Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Synchro, and Slow
Synchro with Red-eye Reduction.
Macro Mode lets the
F810 focus on a subject from 7.5 to 80 cm (3 to 31.2 inches)
when the zoom is set to wide angle and 30 to 80 cm (12
to 31.2 inches) when the zoom is set to the maximum telephoto.
Two other buttons are
aligned on the left side of the monitor:
Selects the Continuous
shooting Modes:
Top 4-frame Continuous
Shooting: captures 4 frames at up to 3
frames per second.
Auto Bracketing:
captures 3 photos over a range of ± 1EV
selectable in 1/3EV increments.
Final 4-Frame Continuous
Shooting: lets the camera shoot a burst — as
long as the shutter release is held down — at
up to 3 frames per second for up to 40 frames,
recording only the last 4 frames before the end
of the burst.
Long Period Continuous
Shooting: only applies to the Auto mode.
The mode captures up to 40 shots at a maximum speed
of 1.6 frames per second at an image size of 1600
x 1200 pixels when the camera is set to record
the STD format, or 2048 x 1152 pixels when
it is set to the Wide format.
The last button on the back of the FinePix F810 offers a variety of functions:
First, this button controls exposure
compensation over a range of ± 2EV in increments
of 0.3 EV when the camera is set to one of the P/S/A modes,
displaying a scale ()
on the lower right of the monitor, and adjusting the compensation
is done using the Command Dial.
In the Manual mode, pressing the button
while turning the Command Dial allows modifying the camera's aperture,
while the Command Dial by itself controls the shutter speed.
In the Playback mode, when
the button
is pressed while an image is on the monitor, the camera
displays the shooting data for the image and a histogram.
The data presented includes the shutter speed and aperture
used, exposure compensation if any, the ISO setting and
colour mode, in addition to the date, time, image file
number and resolution that are normally briefly shown when
an image is first displayed.
In terms of its ergonomic design,
the FinePix F810 deserves a lot of praise. The camera is remarkably
responsive, and the layout of its controls clearly well thought-out.
Worthy of special mention, the unusually shaped vertical Command
Dial turns out to be remarkably practical and easy to use. Less
positive, the large and sharp LCD monitor that has such a great
image in the shade, becomes nearly indecipherable when the sun
strikes it.
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Introduction
]
or the capture mode [
],
and the Mode Dial which is positioned closer to the middle
of the camera.
is
the Photo Mode button. Pressing it displays a special
3 option menu that provides choices for image size, CCD sensitivity
and colour when the camera is set to a capture mode, and serves
to select images for printing when the F810 is set to playback
mode.
)
on the lower right of the monitor, and adjusting the compensation
is done using the Command Dial.
