Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom

Review Date: 12th April 2004

Features

The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom has a 6.3 megapixel CCD that delivers more than 12 million recorded pixels. There are 5 image sizes available (4048x3040 (12.3 million), 2848x2136, 2016x1512, 1600x1200, 1280x960), which can be recorded as JPEGs in a range of different quality settings, or in the RAW format. The camera features a Super EBC Fujifilmnon 6X optical zoom lens that is equivalent to a 35–210mm lens on a 35mm format camera. The xD-Picture Card and Microdrive memory card formats are supported via 2 different card slots.

This camera offers a full range of selectable exposure modes, with program, aperture-priority, shutter-speed priority and manual, as well as a number of scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene). The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom has 3 exposure metering modes (64-zone TTL metering - multi, spot, average) and there are 4 different types of focusing available (Autofocus / Area / Centre / Multi, Manual Focus). The aperture range is f2.8 – f8 and the shutter speed range is 15 sec. – 1/10000 sec in Manual mode.

ISO speeds range from 160 to 800. Unfortunately 160 is only available in Auto mode and 800 is only available when the camera is set to record 3M files, and not for the larger image sizes. There are 7 different White Balance settings to choose from (Automatic, Manual (Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light), plus a Custom setting.

The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom has a continuous shooting mode with various options. Top 5 allows you to take 3.3 frames/sec. up to 5 frames and keep the first 5 frames of the sequence. Final 5 allows you to take 2 frames/sec. up to 5 frames and keep the last 5 frames of the sequence. Long-period continuous takes up to 40 shots at up to 1 frame per second, but only using the 1M/2M/3M quality settings.

The built-in flash offers a range of different modes; Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro. The effective range at the wide angle lens setting is: 0.3m to 8.5m, and at the telephoto setting 0.9m to 7.9m.

There are a number of manual features on the camera. The manual zoom ring control allows you to zoom in and out via a ring on the lens barrel, much like lenses on an SLR camera. The traditional threaded cable release socket avoids the expense of having to use a proprietary cable release. The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom has a USB 2.0 socket, allowing rapid transfer of images from camera to PC.

To compose your images, you can use the LCD monitor or the electronic viewfinder. The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom has a 1.8 inch colour TFT LCD monitor which has 118,000 pixels. The electronic viewfinder is .44 inches in size, has 235,000 pixels and features built-in dioptre adjustment. The camera is powered by 4 x AA size alkaline batteries or 4 x Ni-MH rechargeable batteries.

The Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom can record movies at 2 different settings; 640x480 pixels at 30 frames per second and 320x240 pixels at 30 frames per second. Both settings are recorded in the Motion JPEG format, a type of AVI format that can handle images and sound as a single file, and can be played back by QuickTime 3 or later. As well as recording movies with sound, the Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom also doubles up as a voice recorder, allowing you to record 30-second long voice memos in the WAV format.

The camera's dimensions are 121mm (W) x 81.5mm (H) x 97mm (D), and it weighs 500g without batteries and storage cards fitted.

Finally, the standard box kit contains a 16Mb xD-Picture Card, USB cable, AV cable, 4 x AA type alkaline batteries, shoulder strap, lens cap and holder, manuals and a CD-ROM containing various software. You will need to invest in a few more xD-Picture Cards to store your images on, as the supplied 16Mb can only store approximately 10 images at the default 6M file quality setting. You will also have to budget for some rechargeable batteries and a recharger, as the supplied alkaline batteries don't last very long.