The FinePix S2000HD has a 1/2.3-inch CCD
sensor with effective support for 10 megapixels. The sensor's diagonal
measurment is about 0.43 inches, which compares to 1.7 inches for a frame
of 35 millimeter film.
Pixel crunching in the S2000HD is done by Fuji's RP processor. The chip
does a good job of reducing noise in photos but it isn't always accurate
in rendering faithful color in shots, especially in low light conditions.
Neither is the processor a speed demon. Start-up times for the camera
are in the 2.3 second range. Times for shooting an exposure bracket of
three images at best quality and writing them to a card was in the neighborhood
of eight seconds. Shot to shot times at best quality exceeded three seconds.
Eight image sizes can be captured by the unit ranging from 3648 x 2736
to 640 x 480 pixels. At its largest resolution, two quality settings are
available, Fine and Normal. In addition, images can be captured at a 3:2
aspect ratio--3648 x 2432--and 16:9 ratio--3648 x 2056 and 1920 x 1080.
Still images are stored as JPG files. Their compression ratios span 2.4:1
(640 x 480) to 4.9:1 (3648 x 2432). (See Compression Table below)
FujiFilm FinePix
S2000HD File Compression
Image Size
(pixels)
Quality
MP
File Size
(MP)
Ratio/1
3648
x
2736
Fine
9.98
2.98
3.3
3648
x
2736
Normal
9.98
2.09
4.8
3648
x
2432
3:2
8.87
1.81
4.9
3648
x
2056
16:9
7.50
1.65
4.5
2592
x
1944
5.04
1.1
4.6
2048
x
1536
3.15
0.726
4.3
1920
x
1080
16:9
2.07
0.584
3.6
1600
x
1200
1.92
0.545
3.5
640
x
480
0.31
0.13
2.4
Video Size
Frame Rate
Minutes
File Size (MB)
1280
x
720
30fps
1
55
640
x
480
30fps
1
20.6
320
x
240
30fps
1
5
Three video sizes--all
with 30 frames per second rates--are supported by the S2000HD. There's
a high definition size--1280 x 720--as well as the more conventional sizes
of 640 x 480 and 320 x 240. A minute of HD video eats up 55 megabytes
of disk space; 640 x 480 video, 20.6MB; and 320 x 240 video, 5MB.
Video files are stored in MPEG4 format. We found we could easily transfer
the files into media applications like Nero, Apple QuickTime (both Mac
and Windows versions) and iMovie 2008 on the Macintosh.
Light sensitivity settings
for the S2000HD range from ISO 100-6400. The full range of light sensitivity
options are available only in Program and Manual mode.
Higher ISO settings--ISO 3200 and 6400--are available in
Shutter Priority mode, but only as an Auto option. That means those settings
may be deployed by the camera, but it decides when to use them depending
on the demands of the shot. Other Auto ISO choices are 400, 800 and 1600.
At ISO 3200 and 6400, image sizes are limited to 5MP (2592 x 1944) or
less.
Shooting at
a high ISO number will degrade photo quality.
ISO settings are not reset when the camera is shut off or
a shooting mode is changed so it's important to check the ISO--its value
appears on the LCD or in the electronic viewfinder when framing a picture--before
firing the shutter.
The FinePix's LCD and electronic viewfinder can be used
to frame and shoot images. The 2.7-inch, 230,000 display is difficult
to use in bright sunlight. Framing a shot outdoors was frequently more
an exercise in estimation than imagination.
You can
page between five display screens.
There's a blank screen with no information on it.
There's a screen that shows shooting information--shutter speed, aperture,
ISO setting, image stabilization status and such.
There's a grid view that contains shooting information as well as a
grid to assist in framing shots using the "rule of thirds."
There's a post-shot assist screen which shows the last four shots taken
with the camera.
And there's an HD screen which displays guidelines framing a shot for
high definition viewing.
In addition to the LCD, shots can be framed through the S2000HD's 200,000
dot electronic viewfinder (EVF). The display quality of the EVF isn't
as sharp or true as the LCD so shooting with it is another exercise
in approximation. What's worse, though, is that on bright days, sunlight
can leak into viewfinder's eyepiece because it doesn’t have an
eyecup and wash out the frame leaving you in the same boat you'd be
in if you framed the image with the LCD.
The display screens that appear in the LCD are duplicated in the EVF
and you can page through them as you would on the larger monitor.
The camera has a 15x fixed mount Fujinon lens with an aperture range
of F/3.5-5.4 and focal length of 5-75mm (27.6-414mm equivalent). The
motorized zoom performed well and the lens had good edge to edge sharpness.
Being a motorized zoom, the lens can be fussy when trying to fine tune
the framing of a photo. Although the zoom lever moves the zoom smoothly
through the zoom range, when you try to stop at a point, the zoom jumps
forward or backward through it.
However, the motorized zoom enables a feature called zoom bracketing.
That allows you to shoot three sequential zoom shots with a single click--one
at 10MP, one at 1.4x at 5MP and another at 2x at 3MP.
With as large a telephoto
as this DSC has, image stabilization is very important. Both optical and
digital IS are supported by the unit, although optical stabilization is
only available for still photos. In addition, there's an anti-blurring
option that can be accessed from the Mode dial. It manipulates the shutter
speed for a shot to fight camera shake.
Even with the snapper's
IS features enabled, shaking is visible on the LCD and in the viewfinder
when the zoom is at its maximum telephoto setting. The resulting photos
are sharp, but the jittery display can make it difficult to frame a shot
exactly as a shooter wants it framed.
Three focusing
modes are available with the S2000HD.
Single AF is for a shot where the subject isn't animated.
With Continuous AF, the camera continuously obtains focus
readings of the subject as long as the shutter button is partially depressed.
Manual focus allows you to focus the lens by holding down
the exposure compensation button and using the zoom control lever. When
a subject is in focus, a pair of brackets at the center of the LCD or
viewfinder will turn yellow.
Three methods for obtaining the proper focus for a shot
are supported by the DSC.
With Center focusing, the AF system focuses on a subject
at the center of the frame. The method permits you to lock the focus on
a subject and recompose the shot on the fly--as long as the shutter button
is partially depressed.
Multi focusing detects
high contrast subjects near the center of the frame and sets the focus
accordingly.
And with Area focusing, the focusing frame can be moved
around the screen manually so the focus area can be anywhere on the display.
Unfortunately, the exposure for the shot is still taken at the center
of the frame so you have to take separate measures to lock the exposure
at the point you're focusing on.
Intelligent Face Detection can be speedily activated by
pressing a dedicated button for the mode atop the camera. The technology
will detect faces in a frame and automatically obtain the proper focus
and exposure for them.
In the S2000HD's creative
modes, three metering methods are available.
Multi mode uses scene recognition to analyze a scene and
arrive at an exposure for various conditions in it.
Spot mode measures the lighting conditions at the center
of a frame and uses them to expose the shot. This is very handy when shooting
a subject against a high contrast background--someone standing in front
of a window, for instance.
Then there's an Average
mode that arrives at an exposure for a shot based on the average light
in the scene. It's a way to provide consistent exposure across several
shots under the same lighting conditions.
Exposure settings for
a shot can be altered through exposure compensation. With the feature,
shots can be under- or overexposed by up to one stop in 1/3 increments.
Since EC values do not default to zero when the camera is turned off or
a shooting mode is changed, it's a good idea to always check the feature
before a shot to avoid exposure surprises.
Exposure bracketing is
also supported by this FinePix model. When that feature is activated,
the camera will shoot three shots sequentially with a single click--one
at a base exposure, one overexposed and one underexposed. The degree of
under- or overexposure can be customized from the menu system.
Some 13 scene
modes are availble with the S2000HD. These automatically choose the best
settings for certain stock photographic situations. Here are the scene
modes offered by the DSC.
· Portrait
· Landscape
· Sport
· Night
· Fireworks
· Sunset
· Snow
· Beach
· Museum
· Party
· Flower
· Text
· Auction Mode
Shutter speeds for the S2000HD span 1/4-1/1000 second in
auto mode and four to 1/1000 second in the creative modes.
The shutter can be fired
automatically through the self-timer. The timer has two delay times--two
seconds and 10 seconds. After a picture is taken with the self-timer,
it turns off and has to be reset if it’s to be used again.
Rapid shutter firing can be performed through the camera’s
sequential shooting modes.
At its fastest, the camera can shoot up to 33 3MP photos
at 13.5 frames per second and ISO 800.
At a slower speed--7fps--the DSC can capture a maximum of
33 5MP images at ISO 800.
At maximum resolution, the S2000HD will shoot up to three
shots at about 1.1fps. This speed is pretty slow and can almost be accomplished
by repeatedly pressing the shutter button manually.
There’s also a slow continuous mode that will shoot
a photo every half second for as long as the shutter button is depressed.
White Balance for images
can be determined automatically or manually, as well as through a number
of dedicated modes. They include settings for shooting in daylight, shade,
incandescent lighting and three fluorescent lighting offerings.
Flash photos can be taken
with the unit’s pop-up flash. In addition to using the flash for
indoor pictures, it can be used as a fill light in high contrast situations,
such as softening the shadows in faces captured in bright sunlight. The
camera also has a slow sync mode for the flash which can be used for bringing
out backgrounds in night portraits. However, because shutter speeds in
that mode may be slow, a tripod is recommended when using it.
Effective ranges for the flash are 1.6-21 feet with the
lens in wide mode; 1.6-13.5 feet in telephoto mode and 2.3-9.8 feet in
macro mode.
When changing
the camera’s batteries, you need to choose a battery option from
a menu. Options include lithium, alkaline or NiMH.
The S2000HD is Fuji's first camera to offer High Definition
video. HD video shot with the camera can be displayed on an HD TV with
the purchase of an optional HD connection kit, which includes a cable
with five RCA connectors and a remote control for the camera. Video shot
with the camera can also be shown on conventional TVs with the cabling
included with the unit.
Battery life for the S2000HD was a bit checkered. The four
Panasonic Alkaline for Digital AAs that were included with the unit lasted
just 24 hours after moderately heavy usage. A set of plain old Duracell
coppertops lasted six days with daily shooting. And a set of Energizer
Lithiums were still running strong after six days when it was time to
return the shooter to Fuji.
Standards supported by this FinePix model include DPOF,
EXIF and NTSC/PAL.
Characteristics
