Fujifilm FinePix F601 Zoom
Digital Travel Camera
<< Continued
from page 3
What's to like...
Great pictures. Some digital cameras produce washed-out
images; others create artificial "posterized" colors. Fujifilm's SuperCCD sensor
yields nicely saturated images that are reminiscent of color film. Just as
important, the camera's autofocus works well, and its default multisegment
evaluative metering produces correct exposures under most (though not all)
lighting conditions.
Vertical shape. The camera is easy to hold, and your nose
won't smudge the LCD when you look through the optical viewfinder.
Intuitive controls. Unlike some digital cameras, the
Fujifilm FinePix F601 Zoom won't confuse or annoy you with randomly scattered
buttons and switches. Porsche Design obviously spent a lot of time planning the
simple, easy-to-use controls.
Versatility. When you need something more than a
point-and-shoot camera, the F601 comes to the rescue with its scene modes,
manual settings, and other advanced options.
Minimal lag. Many digital cameras have an annoying
"shutter lag" that results in missed shots. If the F601 has any shutter lag (or
any lag, period), I didn't notice it.
Good battery life. I carried an extra battery with me on
my trip to Italy, but I used it only once. Normally, I just plugged in the
camera at night and went all day on a charge. (And unlike other battery types,
the lithium-ion battery in the F601 doesn't need to be run down before
recharging.)
...and not to like.
Menus. Once you leave auto mode, you're forced to work
your way through a series of menus to accomplish anything, whether it's setting
exposure compensation for a backlit scene or picking one of the "Scene" modes.
That's an acceptable trade-off for a small camera and streamlined controls if
you use the F601 mostly in automatic point-and-shoot mode. But if you expect to
use advanced features regularly, look for another camera (such as the F601's big
brother, the
FinePix S602, which uses the same imaging components as the F601 but looks
and works like an SLR).
Viewfinder. What you see in the optical viewfinder is
less than 80 percent of what you'll get when you snap the photo. The LCD is
about 90 percent accurate. This conservative viewfinder design reduces the
likelihood of cut-off heads and other framing gaffes, but it's annoying if
you're a stickler for accuracy.
LCD glare. The F601's display lacks an antireflective
coating, making images hard to see in bright sunlight.
16Mb SmartMedia card. You need one or more 128-Mb cards to get full
value from this camera (especially on long trips), so Fujifilm should include the larger card even if that
means charging a little more.
Wrist strap. Like most small cameras, the F601 has a
single eyelet and a wrist strap. I'd rather have two eyelets and a lanyard or
lightweight neckstrap, but maybe that's just a personal quirk.
Page 5 - Should you
buy it?
| 
Durant
& Cheryl
Imboden's
