Fujifilm Finepix F420 Zoom

Fujifilm has stuck with the familiar square design for the new Finepix F420 Zoom, the successor to the popular F410. Although it might not be the easiest camera to hold when composing shots, it'll impress those with an eye for style.

Fujifilm is sticking by its fourth-generation Super CCD, which is capable of producing 6megapixel images from the 3megapixel sensor. It does a reasonable job upping the resolution and you're unlikely to notice the difference in quality unless you look at close-ups of your photos.

Colours are well reproduced, but the F420 seems to follow in the footsteps of many other Finepix cameras by applying a little too much sharpening to photos. The lack of an auto-focus lamp also hampers focusing in low light conditions.

3megapixel images only come in at around 780KB, while the 6megapixel versions are just 1.5MB. While this means you can fit more photos on the 16MB XD memory card, the small file sizes are the result of severe compression.

What's more, you can't alter this level of compression and there's no tif or raw mode either. You do, however, get a range of white balances and ISO settings to play with.

For those who want to shoot the odd movie, the F420 is capable of capturing 30 frames per second, which allows for smooth flowing video, albeit at a resolution of just 320 x 240.

With the over-application of sharpening and compression, and the lack of manual controls, the Finepix F420 won't appeal to serious photographers. However, for the point-and-click market, it's priced fairly and performs well.

Contact: Fujifilm 020 7586 1477
www.fujifilm.co.uk

Specifications:

• 3.1megapixels
• 2,816 x 2,120 (6mp)
• 2,048 x 1,536 (3mp)
• 16MB XD memory card
• 3x optical zoom
• 36-108mm (35mm equivalent)
• 2-1/2,000 sec shutter speed
• F2.8-4.8/F8
• ISO 125-800
• 30fps 320 x 240 video
• 2 x AAA batteries (rechargeable)
• 77 x 69 x 26.4mm (w x h x d)
• 145g

See also:

Nikon Coolpix 5400

This camera won a highly commended award in the January 2004 issue of Personal Computer World.  22 Jul 2004

Kodak Easyshare DX6490

A previous Personal Computer World's Editor's Choice.  22 Jul 2004

Canon Powershot A80

An impressive performing camera.  22 Jul 2004

Kodak EasyShare LS743

This camera from Kodak is small in size but not in number of features.  09 Jun 2004

Canon Digital Ixus 500

A small, robust entry to the Ixus range.  04 Jun 2004

Fuji FinePix F610

Fuji leads the megapixel march forward with its latest upright digital camera.  27 May 2004

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