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Fuji FinePix 6900 Zoom Fuji updates their uniquely-styled "electronic SLR" with a 3.3 megapixel SuperCCD chip and improved color! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet F6900 Sample 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 F6900 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Operation & User Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Image Storage & Interface>> Page 9:Camera Modes & Menus Review First Posted: 7/19/2001

Camera Modes and Menus

Photography Mode: Controlled by the camera's Mode Switch on the top panel, Photography mode sets up the camera for recording images in one of the following seven exposure modes:

• Manual Mode: Allows you to set the aperture (from f/2.8 to f/11.0) and shutter speed (from 1/1,000 to 3 seconds) independently, as well as control the Flash, White Balance, Metering mode, ISO, and Sharpness.
• Aperture Priority Mode: Lets you control the lens aperture setting, while the camera selects the best corresponding shutter speed. You have control over Flash, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, ISO, Metering mode, and Sharpness.
• Shutter Priority Mode: Lets you control the shutter speed setting while the camera controls the lens aperture. You have control over the same exposure features as in Aperture Priority mode.
• Program Mode: The camera maintains control over aperture and shutter speed, but allows you to select from a range of equivalent exposure settings, depending on the type of exposure and effect you're looking for. As with Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, you have control over Exposure Compensation, Flash, White Balance, ISO, Metering, and Sharpness.
• Automatic Mode: In this mode, the camera controls all aspects of the exposure, with the exception of Flash mode.
• Scene Program Mode: For specific shooting situations, Scene Program mode offers four preset shooting modes:
  • Portrait: Uses a large aperture setting to blur the background and place the primary focus on the subject.
    
  • Landscape: Employs a small aperture setting to ensure that the background and foreground are both in focus.
  • Sports: Uses fast shutter speeds (as high as 1/2,000 second) to freeze action.
  • Night Scene: Works with a slower shutter speed to allow more ambient light into the image. Combining this mode with the Red-Eye Reduction and Slow Sync flash mode sets up the camera for night portraits.
  • Black-and-White: Records images in black-and-white, regardless of the scene.
• Movie Mode: Sets the camera to record up to 160 seconds of moving images, without sound, at approximately 10 frames per second.

Photography Menu: Pressing the Menu button while in Photography mode (in Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes) displays the following on-screen menu options:

• External Flash: Turns the external flash option on or off.
• Multi-Exposure: Sets up the camera to preview and compare different exposures of the same image before saving the best selection (or to exit the session without recording any images).
• Sharpness: Increases or decreases the camera's image sharpness setting, options are Hard, Soft, or Normal.
• Auto Bracketing: Activates the camera's auto bracketing feature, which automatically records three frames of the subject at three different exposure settings. Bracketing options include: + / - 1, 2/3, and 1/3 EV.
• Flash: Adjusts the flash intensity level from +0.6 to -0.6 EV in one-third-step increments.
• White Balance: Sets the camera's color and white balance to match a variety of light sources. Options are Auto, Custom 1, Custom 2, Outdoors - Sunny, Outdoors - Cloudy, Daylight Fluorescent (1), Warm White Fluorescent (2), Cool White Fluorescent (3), and Incandescent.
• Photometry: Selects exposure metering options. Choices are: Average -- averages the exposure value for the entire image; Spot -- takes the exposure reading from the very center of the image; and Multi -- the camera assesses the scene and selects the exposure.
• ISO: Adjusts the camera's sensitivity setting to 100, 200, or 400 ISO equivalents.
  

Playback Mode: Also controlled by the camera's Mode Switch, Playback mode allows you to scroll through captured images, as well as delete, protect, resize, and set up images for printing on a DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatible device. Movies can also be played back in an index display mode, which allows you to edit out individual frames.


Playback Menu: Pressing the menu button in this mode calls up the Playback menu, with these offerings:

• Erase: Erases a single frame, all frames, or formats the SmartMedia memory card, for both movie and still images.
• Playback: When executed, automatically plays back still images in a slide show format, or initiates the movie playback, with a variety of transition styles available.
• Protection: Allows you to write-protect individual images (Frame Set / Reset), Protect All, or Unprotect All images. Write protection prevents accidental deletion, but doesn't protect against card formatting.
• DPOF: Sets up images for printing to a DPOF device. You can set how many prints to make of each image, whether or not to include a date and time stamp, Review selected images, Reset single or All Frames, and even crop images (Frame < >). (This last option is quite unusual among cameras we've seen thus far, June 2001)
  

Setup Mode: The camera's Setup mode is accessed through the Exposure Mode dial, when the camera is in Photography mode only. Activating the mode instantly displays the following settings menu:

• File Size / Quality: Sets the current image size and quality setting. Size options are:
  • 6M: 2,832 x 2,128 pixels, with Hi, Fine, Normal, or Basic compression ratios.
  • 3M: 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, with Fine and Normal compression ratios.
  • 1M: 1,200 x 960 pixels, with Fine and Normal compression ratios.
  • VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, with Normal compression.
• Image Display: Enables or disables the Preview or Postview options, which briefly display the captured images before saving them to the memory card. Postview displays the image for two seconds and then automatically records it to the card. Preview gives you the option of deleting an image immediately if you don't like it (by pressing the Back button) or saving the image to the card (by pressing the Menu / OK button).
• Auto Power Save: Turns the automatic shutdown feature off, or allows you to set a time limit of two or five minutes of inactivity before the camera shuts itself off.
• Date / Time: Sets the camera's internal date and time.
• Frame Number: Renews the frame numbering with each new SmartMedia card, or continues the numbering from card to card.
• Beep: Adjusts the camera's beep sound to High, Low, or Off.
• Language: Switches the camera's menu language to English or French. (Models built for other markets will likely have different language selections.)
• Reset All: Resets all of the camera's settings to their factory defaults.