Fujifilm FinePix Z1

Reviewed August 2005

Characteristics

Equipped with a 1/2.5 inch Super CCD HR (High Resolution) with 5.22 million pixels the FinePix Z1 captures 5.1 megapixel images measuring 2592 × 1944 pixels. CCD sensibility can be left on Auto, allowing the camera to adjust sensitivity over a range of 64 to 800 ISO, or set to a specific sensitivity — 64, 100, 200, 400 or 800 ISO — in all modes with the exception of the Natural Light mode whose only setting is Auto.

The Z1 has a vertically internally mounted Fujinon 3X optical zoom with a 6.1 to 18.3 mm focal length, equivalent to a 36 to 108 mm in the 35 mm format.

A 5.7X digital zoom is also available. The digital zoom crops the central portion of the frame and interpolates it to the selected image size, engendering a loss of image quality.

The zoom lens apertures start at f3.3 at the wide angle end, closing down to f8, while at the telephoto end apertures start at f4.2 and close down to f9.

Working with this aperture range is a shutter speed range that covers from a high of 1/2000 second, and a low of 1/4 second when the camera is set to Auto, Manual, Natural Light, Portrait, Landscape and Sport, while with the Night mode it can extend up to 4 seconds.

The FinePix Z1 to record images at any one of five image sizes:

• 5M: 2592× 1944 pixels,
• 3:2: 2736× 1824 pixels, a format that matches the proportions of printing papers,
• 3M: 2048 × 1536 pixels,
• 2M: 1600 × 1200 pixels,
• 0.3M: 640 × 480 pixels.

Whatever the size, images are saved in JPEG format, and only at the highest image resolution is there a choice of compression level: Fine which provides the highest image quality available with the camera, and Normal which applies a stronger compression making it possible to save more image into a given memory space, but at a lower quality. Image size is selected through the FinePix menu, displayed when the button on the back of the camera is pressed, a menu that contains three options:

• Quality: selects the image size as explained above.
• ISO serves to select the CCD sensitivity: Auto (between 64 and 800 ISO), 64, 100, 200, 400 or 800 ISO.
• FinePix Color serves to modify the way the camera captures colours:
  • Standard: is the default, and uses a normal saturation.
  • Chrome: increases colour saturation and contrast producing a result reminiscent of Fujichrome slide films.
  • B&W: captures black and white images.

Set to the Movie mode, the only option presented when the is pressed allows selecting the frame size: 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels.

As mentioned in the Ergonomics section of this review, the Z1 has few external controls, and the capture mode is selected in the menu, displayed when the MENU/OK button is pressed. The menu is composed of 6 options, but all these are only accessible when the camera is set to the Manual mode:

• Shooting Mode: serves to select the capture mode (see the Ergonomics section of the review for a more information about the modes available).
• Exposure Compensation: allows adjusting the brightness of the image over a range of ±2 EV in 1/3 EV increments.

• White Balance: Auto, Sun, Shadow/Cloud, Daylight Fluorescent, Warm White Fluorescent, Cool White Fluorescent or Incandescent.
• High-Speed Shooting: this option reduces the time required for focusing when pressing the shutter release halfway by limiting the focus range to 1 m (3 ft) to infinity, allowing the auto focus to function faster. When set to On, the High Speed shooting Option drains the battery faster as it also increases sensitivity to aid the auto focus.

• AF Mode provides two choices:
  • Centre the camera focuses on the centre of the frame.
  • Multi selects the closest focus point from anywhere near the horizontal centre of the frame.
• Setup: provides access to the Setup menu (see the Interface and Software section of the review for more information on the contents of the Setup menu).

With the camera set to the Movie mode, only an access to the Setup menu is offered.

Set to the Playback mode the MENU/OK button displays a menu composed of 2 section, each identified by a tab on the left of the screen. The first section contains:

• Erase: serves to delete one or all images on the memory card.
• Image Rotate: serves to rotate an image to the right or left in 90° increments.
• Print Order (DPOF): allows selecting images for printing, the number of prints to make of each photo, decide whether or not the shooting date and time will be superimposed on the image, or cancel a previously set print order.

• Protect: allows marking images for protection — which prevents their accidental erasure — either one at a time, or all at a time, or unmarking them all.
• Playback: starts an automatic slide show of all the images on the memory card. The on-screen time of images can be selected, as well as the transition effect between the images. In addition it is possible to display 4 images per screen, and have the time display at the top right of the screen.

• Setup: provides access to the Setup menu (see the Interface and Software section of the review for more information on the contents of the Setup menu).

The second tab of the Playback menu contains two other options:

• Voice Memo: allows adding a voice memo or sound recording to an already captured image. Up to 30 seconds can be recorded, in WAVE format.
• Trimming: makes it possible to create a new image by zooming into a part of an existing image, and capturing the section as a new image which is then interpolated up to the closest image size of which the camera is capable.

The camera's xD memory card slot is protected by a solid door that also covers the battery. In North America the FinePix Z1 is retailed with a 16MB xD Picture card. The card is ejected by pressing it on its end, but the space to grab the edge of the card is severely limited by the size of the camera and the fact that the door remains in the way when it is open.

The capacity of the 16MB card is quite limited, and the purchase of a greater capacity card should be considered as a necessary expense when the camera is purchased. As a guide, the chart below lists capacities for both a 16MB and a 256 MB card:

As noted above the rechargeable Lithium ion (NP-40) battery is covered by the same door as the memory card, underneath the camera. The battery is held in place by a small yellow plastic spring-loaded latch that prevents the battery from sliding out when the door is opened to access the memory card.

The AV (Audio Video) Out jack is at the centre of the connections at the back of the cradle, and the signal it produces can be set in the Z1's Setup menu to be either NTSC or PAL.

The other port on the back of the cradle is for USB (Hi-Speed Compatible 2.0), and its protocol can also be selected in the Setup menu, either Mass Storage to connect to a computer, or PictBridge to connect to a similarly compatible printer and print photos without the need for a computer.

A power switch is located on the front of the cradle so as to turn on the Z1 without having to slide back the protective lens cover. It is then possible to run a slide show while the camera is powered by the power adapter of the cradle, either directly on the camera's monitor or on a television. In addition, print orders can be specified and if the cradle is connected via the USB port to a PictBridge printer, images can be printed.

All the necessary cables are included with the camera.