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Fuji FinePix F601 Zoom A new SuperCCD sensor gives Fuji's latest ultra compact true 3.1 megapixel resolution and great color. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet FinePix F601 Photo Gallery! FinePix F601 Test Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on FinePix F601 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 6/21/2002

Optics
A 3x, 8.3-24.9mm lens provides an optical zoom equivalent to a 36-108mm lens on a 35mm camera. Fujifilm used low dispersion glass and aspherical elements in the lens design to improve sharpness and reduce distortion. The telescoping lens extends from the camera about 1.5 inches when the camera is powered on, and retracts when the camera is shut off. Instead of a lens cap, a sliding metal cover automatically covers the lens when not in use. The lens telescopes into place fairly quickly when the camera is turned on, but does so in two steps. The total time to first shot is thus a bit longer than in some designs I've tested.

Apertures range from f/2.8 to f/10.8, depending on the lighting conditions and lens zoom setting. (Note that while the effective aperture actually ranges from f/2.8 to f/4.5 as the lens zooms, the camera always reports it as f/2.8.) The lens actually has just two aperture settings, which the camera switches between as needed. The wide aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/4.5 as the lens zooms from wide angle to telephoto. (One aperture setting, but the effective aperture changes with the focal length.) The smaller aperture ranges from f/7.0 to f/10.8.

Focus ranges from 2.0 feet (60 centimeters) to infinity in normal mode, and from 0.6 to 2.6 feet (20 to 80 centimeters) in Macro mode. The F601 Zoom's autofocus system uses a contrast-detection method to determine focus, based on the central portion of the image. You can change the focus area through the Record menu, using the Multi-Directional Arrow pad to move the focusing point around the image. A manual focus option is also available, but doesn't report the distance on the LCD monitor, limiting its usefulness somewhat. Despite the lack of a distance scale or readout though, the manual focus option does work well, and the sharp LCD monitor made it surprisingly clear when the view was in focus.

In addition to the 3x optical zoom, the F601 Zoom's digital telephoto option enlarges the image as much as 4.4x, depending on the image size setting. Zooming past the normal optical zoom range engages the digital zoom, with a zoom bar display in the LCD monitor indicating the amount of digital zoom in use. Digital telephoto is unavailable with the interpolated, 2,832 x 2,128-pixel resolution. At 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, digital zoom extends to 1.4x, while 1,280 x 960-pixel images can be enlarged to 2.2x. At the smallest 640 x 480 image size, digital enlargements as high as 4.4x are possible. As always, keep in mind that digital telephoto is no substitute for true optical zoom, as digital zoom merely crops out and enlarges the central portion of the CCD image. Digital telephoto images therefore suffer a loss of resolution and sometimes increased image noise as well.