Fujifilm FinePix F601 Zoom
Digital Travel Camera
<< Continued from page 2

How it works

Turn on the camera. Use your thumb to press the power button on the back of the camera. The lens cover opens, and the lens moves into position. (If you left the camera on "Play," give the Record/Play switch an upward nudge with your thumb.)

Set the Exposure Mode Dial in the camera's top right corner. Leave it in the Default "Auto" position, or select "Manual" or "Scene" and use the LCD's menus to choose advanced modes and settings. (If you want to use flash, press the "Open" button in the triangular area on the camera back.The flash will pop up and stay open until you press it closed.)

Frame your subject. Use the optical viewfinder, or view the scene on the LCD. Push the multifunction "Menu/OK" button up or down to zoom between wide-angle and telephoto (equivalent to 36-108mm on a 35mm camera).

Focus. The shutter button is in the center of the Exposure Mode Dial. Depress it halfway; the camera will quickly focus, meter the scene, and set exposure.

Shoot. Gently press the shutter button the rest of the way.

Glance at the LCD. Did you get the picture? If so, press the "Menu/OK" button on the back of the camera with your thumb to save the image. If you don't like the photo, press the small "Back" button to discard the image before it's saved.

The LCD shows how many images are saved and how many more you can expect to fit on the SmartMedia card. If you want to flip through your saved photos, slide the Record/Play switch to "Play" and view thumbnails or full-screen images. You can zoom in on image details, and you can discard individual images (called "frames") or erase the card entirely.

Turn off the camera. When you've finished taking pictures, press the power button again.The lens will retract, and the protective cover will slide into place over the lens.

Note: The procedure I've just outlined is for fully automated point-and-shoot photography. As you become more familiar with the camera, you can use advanced SLR-style features such as:

• Preset "Scene" modes (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene, and Continuous Shooting).

• Programmed Auto, Aperture-preferred, Shutter-preferred, and Manual exposure modes.

• Multisegment, average, or spot metering.

• Exposure compensation (handy for very bright or backlit scenes).

• Exposure bracketing (the camera takes three consecutive pictures at different exposure settings, then lets you choose one to save).

• Movie mode (640 x 480 or 320 x 240 video at 15 frames per second).

• Audio recording in WAV format, which can also be used for storing "voice captions" with pictures. (Hear a sample of waves and birds on an Italian seashore.)

Advanced features are set with menus on the LCD screen, using the multifunction "Menu/OK" controller button. (The button functions much like a joystick and is easy to use after you've tried it a few times.)

Several digital-photography sites have published illustrated reviews that describe the F601's advanced features in great detail. I've linked to the reviews from page 6 of this article.

Page 4 - Likes and dislikes

 

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