As with so many other aspects of
the Fujifilm FinePix S9100/S9600, the interface is identical
to that of the previous model, as are all its menus and their
options. The interface design is very legible, whether seen
on the monitor or the EVF. Still, the fact that some of the
most commonly needed settings are spread over three distinct
areas of the menu system may not be as practical as it could
be. For instance, image size/quality and sensitivity are selected
in the Photo Mode menu, white balance in the Capture menu,
and the RAW mode in the Setup menu.
The Setup menu access is accessed through the SET
option in all menus, appearing as the last option of the first
screen in the menus that have more than one:
Image Disp. specifies whether or not a just-captured
image is displayed while the camera is saving it:
Cont.: the image is displayed after the shot
and stays on until the next picture is taken allowing
the review of its parameters with the INFO button.
3 sec/1.5 sec: the image is displayed for the
selected duration.
Off: the image is recorded without being displayed.
Shutter Volume: sets the volume of the sound the
camera makes when the shutter release is pressed (Off, 1,
2 or 3).
Beep Volume: sets the volume of the operation sounds
made by the S9100/S9600 (None, 1, 2 or 3).
Playback Volume: serves to adjust the playback
volume for movies and voice annotation (7 levels).
Frame No.: Cont. or Renew. Specifies if images
are numbered consecutively or restart from 1 after the card
is formatted or a different card is used.
LCD Brightness: sets the brightness of the LCD
monitor over ± 5 increments.
Media: allows selecting the preferred Memory Card
type (xD or CompactFlash) for storing the images when both
are in the camera.
CCD-RAW: sets the camera to record RAW images which
can opened later on a computer using the software provided
(see further below).
EVF/LCD Mode: sets the refresh rate of the EVF
and the LCD screen (30 or 60 i/s), the higher refresh rate
produces a smoother image but drains the batteries faster.
AE-Lock Mode: selects the AE lock setting. It can
work either
by being held down, or by being pressed once to lock
the exposure, and once more to release it.
AF Illuminator: On or Off. Controls whether the
AF illuminator is automatically used when there is not sufficient
ambient light for the auto focus to operate reliably.
Auto Power Off: sets the delay before the camera
shuts down automatically after a period of inactivity (5
or 2 minutes, or Off).
Format: serves to format either one of the memory
cards, deleting images if any, including those that are
protected.
Date/Time: sets the date and time on the S9100/S9600.
Time Difference: to set the time difference between
a "local time" and a "destination time",
useful when traveling.
Language selects 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:
DSC (Mass Storage): makes the camera appear
as a hard disk on the computer.
PictBridge serves to connect the camera directly
to a PictBridge compatible printer.
Video System: sets the video out signal (NTSC
or PAL).
Discharge: is intended for use with Ni-MH batteries
and drains the batteries so they can be recharged fully,
increasing their life.
Reset: returns the settings to their factory defaults
with the exception of the date and time, the interface language,
the video out signal, and the selected background colour.
As always, Fujifilm includes
a printed manual, and the FinePix S9100/S9600's manual is
clear, easy to read, and understand. The manual explains all
camera functions well, but is noticeably thin when it comes
to explaining the RAW format, or its advantages.
Software
One area where the FinePix S9100/S9600
differs from its predecessor, is the software bundled with
the camera. Where the S9000/S9500 only provided FinePix
Viewer and RAW File Converter LE, which could only
convert RAW images to TIFF without any sort of user input,
the S9100/S9600 adds Fujifilm's Hyper Utility 2,
a program that was until recently sold separately, as an option.
Hyper Utility 2 is supplied on its own CD,
as is the software that was previously included with the S9000/S9500:
Software for FinePix, which contains FinePix
Viewer, an image browser and Pixela's ImageMixer
VCD2, a tool to create CDs or DVDs that can only
burn CD-R until the full version is purchased.
Hyper Utility 2 allows editing
images captured in RAW format. Images can be worked on as
a batch, or individually. Controls are offered over the colour
space; the number of recorded pixels (images can be saved
at their native size as opposed to the interpolated size of
18 megapixels); the destination file format can be selected
(8 or 167 bit TIFF or JPEG Fine, Normal, or Basic); and tone
curves can be manipulated, as can the FinePix Colour mode.
In addition, white balance, colour saturation, and sharpness
can be adjusted.
FinePix Viewer, on the
other hand, serves only to browse images, presenting photos
as thumbnails with or without some of the shooting data, or
as a film strip with the selected image being displayed at
a larger size above the film strip.
This version of FinePix Viewer can also be used to convert
and save RAW images to TIFF format, but does so using the
interpolated image size of 4864 x 3648 pixels. Alternatively,
when a RAW image is saved using the "Save as..."
option, it is inexplicably resized to 1600 x 1200 pixels,
a 2-megapixel image size.
FinePix Viewer offers
the possibility of making automatic adjustments of images
and some manual ones for brightness, saturation, tint, sharpness
and contrast. Images can also be converted to black and white
or sepia.
Moreover, by right-clicking on an image in the thumbnail
view, FinePix Viewer allows transferring the image to a more
elaborate image editor already installed on the computer.
Beyond this, the FinePix Viewer can also be used to create
slide shows and albums.
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Interface & Software
