Print
Discuss
Send to friend
Fujifilm's F601 digital camera is compact, sleek and lightweight. Its aluminium-magnesium alloy body looks stunning, and the camera is petite enough to slip in your pocket.
However, its size prevents full use of the features it offers, and the vertical aspect makes it hard to manage.
The F601 looks more modern than the previous model, the 6900, which had a more professional look. It boasts a high resolution of 2,832 x 2,128 with a 3x optical zoom and a 4.4x digital zoom. The lens is rated as being equivalent to 38-108mm on a standard 35mm camera.
Fujifilm uses its own Super CCD technology. This processes the data from the 3.1megapixel Super CCD chip in the F601 Zoom to deliver a 6megapixel file.
However, as a 6megapixel file is more than twice the size of the original, Fujifilm is forced to apply a higher level of compression in order to fit the same number of images onto the memory card. Image quality is therefore no better than that of a typical 3.1megapixel camera.
Full manual control is available, as you would expect given the cost. However, the Menu button is a real nuisance, as it is also used to operate the zoom. Fumbling between the two is tricky and, despite crowding the dashboard, these would have worked better as separate functions.
The photography mode has a separate dial, but it's a bit fiddly. The different modes on the rotary dial include auto photography, scene position, manual shots, movie and audio recording. When selected, these light up with a matching icon above the TFT which is useful for night-time shooting.
There are seven white balance settings, and the macro focus range is from 20cm. The focus options also allow switching between manual, auto and area focus.
Exposure options come in four flavours: programmed auto exposure (AE); aperture priority AE; shutter priority AE; and manual exposure with aperture ranging from f2.8 to a decent f8 at full zoom.
For increased sensitivity, the camera features ISO settings up to 1,600, surpassing the specs of its predecessors.
The higher settings of 800/1,600 can only be taken at 1,280 x 960 pixels, but are good for sports enthusiasts after an action shot. Alternatively, the pop-up flash has five modes and is effective up to 15ft.
The 1.5in LCD screen provides clear, crisp vision. Scene position has five options: portrait, landscape, sports, night scene and 40-frame continuous shooting. The latter can be set for 5fps (frames per second) for up to four frames, with a maximum of 1.8fps for up to 40 frames, although the latter can only be achieved at 1,280 x 960 pixels.
Movie mode allows video footage in jpeg format with sound. With two different quality settings, the VGA offers recording at 640 x 480 pixels at 15fps, which is twice the resolution of other cameras at this frame rate. You can also record at 320 x 240 pixels, allowing you to fit more onto the 16Mb Smart Media card.
Audio recording via the microphone allows you to store 34 minutes onto the card, which is not really impressive. Also watch out for fingers accidentally blocking the poorly placed microphone while recording. A voice memo option allows up to 30 seconds for each image.
The F601 works with a lithium-ion battery charged via the AC adaptor or through the picture cradle. Connecting to the PC via USB, the camera rests in the matching cradle and can send pictures to a PC. Bundled software includes Finepix Viewer, Video Impression and Adobe Photo Deluxe HE 4.0 for Windows.
The F601 has impressive specs for a slimline pocket number but, in aiming for such a design, ease of use has unfortunately been sacrificed.
Price: £599.99 (£510.63 ex VAT)
Specifications:
Megapixel rating: 3.1 Super CCD
Max resolution: 2,832 x 2,128
Optical zoom: 3x max
Digital zoom: 4.4x max
Focal length: 36-108mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture: f2.8/4/5.6/8
Focus range: 60cm/2ft to infinity
Macro focus range: 20-80cm/0.7ft-2.6ft
Five flash modes
1.5in LCD colour screen
ISO ratings up to 1,600
16Mb Smart Media card
Dimensions: 72 x 93 x 34mm
Weight: 220g.
Contact: Fujifilm 020 7586 1477
www.fujifilm.co.uk
See also:
Fuji's sleek and stylish snapper looks good, but is it a triumph of style over substance? 08 Aug 2002
Much improved and powerful digital camera that produces very good results. 01 May 2002
A competent product with some useful features for the knowledgeable photographer. 26 Apr 2002All Digital Cameras
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
