The FinePix S6500fd is one of Fujifilm's latest offerings with a 6.3-megapixel sensor, packing a 10.7x optical zoom and a high sensitivity performance of up to ISO 3,200. It is also the company's first camera with an "fd" in its name -- short for the intelligent Face Detection technology. However, if you're looking for a compact alternative, then the FinePix F31fd might work for you.
Design
From afar and to the untrained eye, it is hard to differentiate the FinePix S6500fd from a conventional dSLR with its protruding lens, complete with manual zoom and focus rings. The camera sits well in our hands with molded rubber grips at the contact points. Raised bumps between the index and third fingers lend a more secure grip and the textured palm rest instills more user confidence for one-hand shooting.
We found it difficult to feel which of the three modes the focus was set to even after we'd memorised the positions of the switch.
Even though the camera's exterior is mainly plastic, the unit feels solid yet lightweight enough to be tucked into a rucksack for the occasional trip out of town. The camera runs on AA-sized batteries, which is a big plus for the traveller who does not have access to mains.
The 10.7x (28mm-to-300mm, 35mm equivalent) optical zoom lens has a thread ring for the attachment of filters and the shooter also comes bundled with a petal-shaped lens hood that's designed to help reduce glare. In reality, this serves little more than cosmetic purposes as, while it might work for the wide end of the zoom, at the telephoto end it becomes too short to be of any practical use.
What we didn't quite fancy was the focus mode toggle. During our review, it was hard to feel which of the three modes the focus was set to even after we'd memorised the positions of the switch. We figured it could only get harder if the user was wearing gloves, for example, in colder climates.
The button layout on this FinePix is simple and well-spaced, with settings such as aperture and shutter settings easily changed using the left and right directional keypad. Things get a little tricky in manual mode. In order to change the aperture, one has to hold down the exposure compensation button near the shutter release and then press the up/down direction keys. This not only means taking the thumb and index finger away from gripping the camera, it also involves a painful contortion of fingers to make adjustments.
The button layout on this FinePix is simple and well-spaced, with settings such as aperture and shutter settings easily changed using the left and right directional keypad.
Changing ISOs has been relegated to the photo mode button at the bottom right corner of the camera, which is a disappointment since one of the S6500fd's strengths lies in its low-noise performance at high ISOs. If we had our way, we would have swapped either the EVF/LCD or the digital zoom button for a dedicated ISO key.
There's no hotshoe on this FinePix so you won't be able to attach an external flash to the shooter, but Fujifilm contends that the built-in intelligent flash is enough to handle the job. While the in-built flash seemed up to the task during our review -- approximately 5.6m at wide end and 3m at telephoto -- it never hurts to have the option of installing a bigger, more powerful flash should the need arise.
Likewise, the plastic tripod mount on this camera is placed off the lens axis. While it may not be a big issue with the average photographer, enthusiasts looking to take landscape pictures or panoramic stitches with a tripod will find difficulty panning with the camera mounted off axis.
We also feel the camera strap in the package is a little too thin for comfort. Those accustomed to hanging the camera around your neck might want to invest in a sturdier, more comfortable strap.
Features
The S6500fd is Fujifilm's first camera featuring the Face Detection technology and the company has spared no effort in making it known by placing a dedicated button near the electronic viewfinder. When switched on, the camera automatically recognises human faces in the scene and adjusts exposure and focus accordingly; ensuring human subjects in the pictures are properly exposed. This is especially useful for group shots or when taking posed pictures of people under tricky lighting conditions. The intelligent flash system, which was first introduced on the compact FinePix F30, is also available on the S6500fd.
Given that the Face Detection technology is still relatively new, there's definitely room for improvement. It is still not able to recognise faces accurately, in many cases picking up the faces only when subjects keep still and look at the camera straight on, thus rendering the technology useless when trying to capture candid pictures or fleeting emotions.
This camera is also able to handle high-sensitivity settings with ease (up to ISO 3,200), making it useful for indoor and night shots sans flash. Instead of incorporating an optical image stabiliser which helps to correct camera shake but not subject movement, Fujifilm touts its high ISO feature as Picture Stabilization which has the double effect of reducing blur by camera shake and subject movement at the same time.
In Program, Aperture- and Shutter-priority shooting modes, you can set the shutter speed between 1/4,000 and 4 seconds. Switch the camera into full manual and you can increase the speed to a maximum of 30 seconds. So depending on what you are shooting, you may have to go full manual if you wish to expose the sensor beyond 4 seconds.
Hands up if you usually end up taking two shots of the same scene, one with flash and one without, just so you know which will give you a better picture. Now you can shave off a few seconds with the dual shot mode on the S6500fd. This option takes two consecutive frames, one with flash and one without, and places them side-by-side so you can choose which to save immediately.
Under the photo mode function is a menu that lets you adjust picture mode settings, with three options to pick from: Standard, chrome, and black-and-white. In chrome colour setting, picture saturation and contrast are increased, but we feel it's a little overboard and perhaps best left for landscape or architectural shots.
What the camera lacks in photo modes, it makes up for in its movie function which records at VGA resolution at 30 frames per second. What's even better is the manual zoom ring offers smooth, noiseless optical zoom when recording videos.
One useful frill of this camera is the option to attach a voice memo to pictures, making it easy to caption photos without the need for pen and paper. This will allow users to concentrate on taking pictures rather than worry about remembering the names of people in the picture or where the snap was taken when travelling.
Performance
Performance of the FinePix S6500fd was generally acceptable. It took 1.5 seconds to power up from sleep and 1.7 seconds (from off) to capture its first image. We could shoot thereafter every 1.5 seconds without flash, while this slowed to every 3.1 seconds with forced flash. Shooting in RAW slowed the camera even further for 7 seconds in between shots sans flash.
We measured shutter lag to be approximately 0.1 seconds which was respectable. However, continuous shooting was a disappointment. This FinePix captured a total of 27 frames at 6 megapixels in Fine quality which worked out to be 0.45 frames per second. It performed a little better after we reduced the resolution to 3 megapixels at 0.68fps. Alternatively, you can choose to save only the first three or last three frames in burst mode which will cut the wait to about 1 second.
During our review, we noticed that when the camera was rapidly switched off and back on again, the unit would refuse to power up. It's a nitpick as it could mean losing that precious moment if you thought you were done shooting and turned off the camera, but something happened and you had to power the camera back on quickly to capture it. Another thing which you might also want to know is that opening the xD-Picture Card compartment will turn off the camera.
Image Quality
Colour reproduction on the S6500fd was accurate with a slight warm cast to favor skin tones in the standard picture mode. In chrome mode, pictures were a little over-saturated and looked a mite over-processed. Our shots taken at the wide end of the lens exhibited slight barrel distortion and purple fringing, but that shouldn't get in the way of everyday shots.
Noise, or the lack of, is one thing we were pleased about from the S6500fd. Up to ISO 800, our images turned out cleaned. Noise began to show like specks of dust only from ISO 1,600.
The camera comes with six preset white balance settings, with three dedicated to different fluorescent lighting conditions. It also includes a custom white balance option for more difficult lighting situations. Users looking for a more basic no-frills setup will be pleased to know that the auto white balance on this camera is rather accurate, except under tungsten lights.
You can convert your RAW images from the S6500fd using the software provided in the package and that's about all it does. There's no option to make adjustments to the NEF (RAW) file which is really a bummer. Basic image-editing functions are available, though, for JPEG images.
The S6500fd is a well-engineered camera with some design flaws that is forgivable given its performance. It makes a great buy for the basic user who wants a good-looking camera that performs, at a budget price. More advanced users may be put off by the lack of dedicated buttons such as ISO and white balance.
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Sherpa
30/09/2007, 08:48 AM
rating
9/10
I purchased my S6500fd/S6000fd just yesterday, i am extremely pleased with the amount of functions aswell as all of the scene presets. Really, optical stabilizers are an expensive luxury, how many of you take longer exposure shots without a tripod?
Pros: Great zoom, tonnes of features, active face detection, awesome focus at flowers real close to the lense, very high ISO that only displays a slight amount of noise at ISO 800, convenient selection betwen auto focus, single auto focus, and manual focus, active lcd display.
Cons: Software- not very many features in the software.
While having AA batteries is a pro for easy replacement, i find that the camera doesnt last that long on a set of batteries, only about 2 hours.
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Username
23/05/2007, 07:44 AM
rating
8/10
Great feel in hands and take great outdoor photos. Take AA batteries very handy when you are traveling.
Pros: Take great outdoor photos, 10x optical zoom and 28mm wide angle.
Cons: xD card
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