 
Fuji MX-1200 digital camera (Review first posted 2 November, 1999) |
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1,280 x 960 pixel resolution |
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2x digital zoom | |
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Optical & LCD viewfinder | |
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64-segment metering | |
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+/- EV exposure control | |
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Surprising picture quality! | |
Preface
Fuji has a long tradition in digital cameras, and recently has been storming
the consumer market with a flurry of new models, combining strong feature sets,
high image quality, and aggressive pricing. The latest of these is the MX-1200,
offering full 1.3 megapixel resolution, great image quality, and pack-anywhere
portability for a list price of under $300. (October, 1999) We confess that
when we first opened the package, we weren't expecting much - after all, how
could a 1.3 megapixel digicam selling for under $300 amount to much? When we
started taking pictures though, we were surprised and impressed: The MX-1200
needs no excuses in the image-quality department! We see this as being either
a great introductory camera, for someone getting started in digital photography,
or a good "second camera" for an experienced user not wanting to lug
along their $900 semi-pro unit on family outings. Either way, it offers great
value at a low price!
High Points Overview
- 1.3 megapixel CCD capturing up to 1280 x 960 pixel resolution images
- Fujinon fixed focus lens, equivalent to 38mm on a 35mm camera, apertures
of f/4.5 and f/11
- Focal range from 17.8 inches to infinity in normal mode and from 3.9 to
17.8 inches in Macro
- Digital 2x zoom function and 1.2x to 4x zoom playback option
- Sensitivity equivalent to ISO 125
- Shutter speeds from 1/4 to 1/750 seconds
- White balance with seven modes available
- Built-in automatic flash with five modes
- 1.6 inch, 55,000 pixel D-TFT, color LCD monitor
- Real image optical viewfinder
- Supports Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) for simple print ordering
- Ten second self-timer
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Executive Overview
The 1.3 megapixel MX-1200 offers compact, portable design with the ease of a
traditional point and shoot camera. Its small, rectangular shape fits easily
into pockets and purses and is lightweight too. Finger grips on the front and
back of the camera help keep the camera in your hand and feel comfortable. All
of the buttons and major controls live on the back panel, except for the Macro
control, which is on the side of the camera. The shutter button, digital and
AC jacks, SmartMedia slot, battery compartment and tripod mount are all located
in their usual places. However, the tripod mount is shifted slightly off center
due to the large battery compartment. A static, clear plastic cover protects
the lens, eliminating the lens cap and any mechanical lens cover. (We'd still
prefer a separate lens cover, as the fixed plastic cover will itself be subject
to scratching.)
Both optical and LCD screen viewfinders assist you in composing subjects. The
optical viewfinder features a center autofocus target dot as well as a side
LED that lights green, orange or red, depending on the camera's status. The
1.6 inch LCD monitor can be turned off to conserve battery power by hitting
the Display button directly adjacent to it. The LCD also displays information
about the camera settings, also turned off via the Display button.
A Fujinon fixed focus lens is built into the camera with a focal length of 5.8mm,
equivalent to a 38mm lens on a 35mm camera. Aperture settings are f4.5 and f11,
controlled solely by the camera. Macro gets you as close as approximately 3.9
inches and wide angle focuses from about 17.8 inches to infinity. A Digital
Telephoto magnifies the image by 2x, but at the expense of resolution and image
quality.
Exposure control is good overall, if fairly basic. Automatic mode controls everything
except flash modes, while Manual mode allows you to alter the flash mode, white
balance and exposure compensation (EV) settings. A Self-Timer option counts
down from 10 seconds once the shutter button is fully pressed. Both the Macro
and Digital Telephoto functions are manually controlled in either mode. The
flash offers five settings: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced, Suppressed and
Slow Synchro. In turn, white balance offers seven settings to choose from: Automatic
adjustment, sunny, cloudy, daylight fluorescent, warm white fluorescent, cool
white fluorescent and incandescent. Manual exposure compensation is controlled
with nine settings in 0.3 increments from –0.9 to +1.5.
The MX-1200 utilizes four AA batteries (either alkaline, NiCd or NiMH). As always,
we heartily suggest using rechargeables and keeping a spare set of charged batteries
around, because battery life is over before you know it.
Like many digicams on the market, the MX-1200 stores images on SmartMedia cards.
A 2MB card comes standard with the camera but is upgradeable, of course. The
MX-1200 lacks the video-out capability of other Fuji cameras we've tested, but
images can just as easily be viewed on the computer.RS-232C serial cables for
both Macs and PCs come with the camera, as does a software CD containing Picture
Shuttle, EZtouch, a DS-Serial TWAIN Driver and Adobe PhotoDeluxe. Unfortunately,
PhotoDeluxe is only compatible with Windows and not Macintosh. Therefore, Mac
users must either purchase the correct version or be content with the offerings
of EZtouch.
The MX-1200 is perfect for consumers wanting relatively hassle-free digital
photography in the megapixel-plus range, at a modest price. The Automatic mode
lets the camera do all the work while you play, but if you want to make a few
decisions or try for some special effects, the Manual mode provides a little
control.
Design
The MX-1200's compact, rectangular design makes it an extremely portable digital
camera perfect for active vacations and quick trips to the park. Weighing in
at 10.6 ounces including batteries and SmartMedia (300 grams), the MX-1200 measures
about 4.3 x 3.0 x 1.3 inches (110 x 77 x 33 mm) without any accessories or attachments.
The sturdy case has a silver sheen with a well placed grip on the front an array
of bumps to act as a thumb grip on the back. A nylon wrist strap attaches to
the top right-hand corner of the camera for easier transportation.
From the front, the camera reveals (clockwise from center top) the onboard flash,
viewfinder window, lens, flash sensor, and self-timer alert LED.
The bulk of the controls are on the back of the camera, including a sideways
mode dial and a small rocker toggle button. The only exceptions are the shutter
button, which remains on top, and the Macro switch, located on the side of the
camera. The absence of a Cancel/Back button makes it a little more time consuming
to back out of menu selections and exit menus, but we found we could live without
it. The digital and AC jacks (no video output) and the SmartMedia slot are on
opposite sides of the camera. Batteries load into a compartment on the bottom
of the camera, next to the plastic tripod mount which rests just a little off
center.
The left-hand side of the camera (viewed from the rear) holds the normal/macro
switch and connector jacks for the RS-232 serial connection to a computer, and
for external power (5 volts).
The top of the camera is almost devoid of controls, the sole exception being
the shutter button.
The bottom of the camera contains the tripod socket (structural plastic) and
the hatch covering the battery compartment.
The notion of a lens cap or retractable cover has been completely done away
with on this model. The lens simply has a tough plastic outer cover that doesn't
move. On the one hand, this is great because you don't have to worry about keeping
up with the lens cap. On the other hand, there's always the possibility that
it could itself get dirty, scratched or smudged. If you're pretty careful with
your camera, as most people are, there's probably not much to worry about, although
we still prefer to see some sort of removable lens protection on cameras.
One thing missing on this camera is the small black and white LCD readout that
usually serves as a status display when the back LCD monitor is off. Such displays
are useful when conserving power and shooting without the LCD monitor. Given
the relatively few modes the MX-1200 has though, such a display is less necessary
than on more complicated cameras.
Viewfinder
The MX-1200
features both an optical viewfinder and color LCD display screen. The optical
viewfinder sits right on top of the lens and provides about 87 percent frame
coverage. A center dot in the viewfinder helps you with composition and reminds
you where the exposure settings are concentrated. An LED sits just beside the
optical viewfinder and lights either green, orange or red, depending on the
camera's status. The 1.6 inch, 55,000 pixel D-TFT LCD monitor doesn't come alive
until the Display button is pressed after the camera is turned on. Information
such as the current record mode, frame number, flash setting and the date are
displayed on the LCD monitor in addition to the image. A second hit of the Display
button turns off this information display, and a third hit turns off the display
altogether. The LCD viewfinder is quite accurate, showing 97% of the final image
area on its screen.
The MX-1200's optical viewfinder is one of the camera we liked least: It has
rather blurry, poorly defined edges, making it hard to tell exactly where the
edges of the frame are. For eyeglass wearers, this fuzziness at the edges is
compounded by a rather high "eye point", and no dioptric correction
adjustment. In fairness, you wouldn't expect to find dioptric correction on
such an inexpensive digicam, but a higher eye point would have been nice. In
our testing, we took a "best guess" that we thought would represent
the behavior of the average user, and ended up with a fairly accurate result.
Overall though, we like viewfinders that provide crisp, well-defined edges to
the field of view.
In the case of the LCD display, we found it tended to be a little misleading
on the exposure when operating in viewfinder mode: It doesn't respond very much
to changes in scene brightness. On the other hand, while in Manual mode, the
"preview" display it provides before storing the picture more accurately
represents what the camera actually captured.
In playback mode, the LCD screen provides reasonably sharp images, but has an
added bonus in the form of up to 4x "zoomed" playback. The up/down
arrows on the rocker toggle zoom the view in or out on the photo you're viewing.
Once you reach the desired zoom level, pressing the Display button changes the
operation of the toggle control to let you move your viewing window around the
photo. Pressing the Display button again cancels this mode and returns the toggle
control to its normal playback operation. This playback zoom function can be
very handy for checking your pictures for precise framing, or to make sure you've
captured the shot you were looking for.
Optics
The MX-1200 comes equipped with a Fujinon fixed focus lens with available apertures
of f/4.5 and f/11. Focal length is 5.8mm, equivalent to 38mm on a 35mm camera.
Focal range on the macro end is specified to be as close as 3.9 inches (10 cm)
and in normal mode from about 17.8 inches to infinity. There is no optical zoom
function with this lens, although a digital zoom goes up to 2x (and reduces
the image quality in the process, unlike a true, optical zoom). The camera automatically
selects the aperture setting, even when in Manual capture mode. Since the lens
is fixed-focus, there's no autofocus function. On the one hand, this could translate
into some softness at the extremes of working distances (17.8 inches and infinity),
but the positive side is that there's no focusing to worry about when shooting
flash pictures in near-darkness. In our tests, the lens displayed barrel distortion
of only 0.6%, less than most digicams, and almost no chromatic aberration. (We
estimated the latter at roughly a half-pixel, or 0.04%.)
Exposure
Exposure on the MX-1200 can be controlled either automatically or semi-manually,
both are straightforward in operation. ISO remains constant at 125, regardless
of the mode setting.
Automatic
In Automatic capture mode, the camera reads the existing light levels and decides
the appropriate exposure settings. To enter Automatic mode, just turn the mode
dial to the red camera symbol. While in Automatic mode, you do have the ability
to set the flash modes by hitting the menu button. All five flash modes are
available to you. You can also control the Digital Zoom in this mode by pressing
the up and down arrows on the rocker toggle button. As we said before, like
all digital zoom functions, that on the MX-1200 compromises image quality in
direct proportion to the magnification it provides. Basic operation of the camera
is pretty standard in Automatic mode. Compose the picture, halfway press the
shutter button to focus and set exposure (if using the LCD monitor, 'standby'
will appear) and then fully press the shutter button to expose. If the LCD monitor
is on, the captured image will appear briefly and disappear. You can review
the image at more leisure in Playback mode.
Like most digital cameras, the MX-1200 provides an "exposure lock"
function when you half-press the shutter button. This is handy for subjects
with odd lighting (people with their sun, etc). You just point the camera at
something about the same brightness as the subject you care about, half-press
the shutter, then turn and compose your picture, all while holding the shutter
button halfway down. When you finally fully-press the shutter release, the picture
will be taken with the exposure you "locked in" initially. With the
MX-1200, since there's no autofocus that happens along with the exposure determination,
you can actually use the exposure lock somewhat like a "spot" meter
in a more advanced camera. If the subject is close enough (as in outdoor people-pictures),
just walk up to it, take an "exposure reading" by locking the exposure
with the desired subject filling the field of view, then back off again to snap
the actual picture. (Just don't let up on the shutter button while you get back
into position!)
Manual
Manual mode is denoted on the mode dial with the same red camera symbol with
an M next to it. Manual capture mode gives you the same shooting simplicity,
but with the option to alter the exposure a little. Hitting the Menu button
(or the left or right arrows on the rocker toggle control) allows you to change
the flash mode, white balance, or exposure compensation. When you turn to Manual
mode, the settings menu is automatically displayed on the LCD monitor, even
if it was previously off. Hit the Display button to use the LCD as a viewfinder,
and a second time to dismiss the menus and have an unobstructed view of the
subject. As in Auto mode, you can independently select Macro and Digital Zoom
as well. You do have the option of rejecting a captured image when shooting
in Manual mode. Once the image is exposed, you are asked to record or cancel
the shot. This can be a help or a hindrance, depending on how fast you're trying
to shoot. If you don't tell the camera to save the image, it will be lost when
the camera times-out and goes to sleep.
White Balance
The MX-1200 has seven white balance settings available in Manual capture mode:
Automatic, Sunny, Cloudy, Daylight Fluorescent, Warm White Fluorescent, Cool
White Fluorescent and Incandescent. The white balance settings are controlled
through the settings menu, automatically displayed when entering Manual mode.
The white balance setting you choose will automatically be disabled when using
the flash. Fuji suggests setting the flash to Suppressed and choosing the desired
white balance setting to achieve a particular effect. When using special lighting
or shooting closeups, the Auto white balance setting may not be the most accurate.
It's best to select the appropriate light source setting, although some experimentation
may be required: As with most digicams we've tested, the colors shown on the
MX-1200's LCD are only useful for getting a relative idea of which white balance
setting produces the most neutral overall coloration.
Exposure Compensation (EV)
Exposure compensation (EV) is also available while in the settings menu of Manual
capture mode. Nine compensation levels from –0.9 to +1.5 are adjustable
in approximately 0.3 EV increments. This setting, like white balance, returns
to automatic control when using the flash. The manual details what conditions
each setting may be good for. (Basically, cameras' exposure systems assume that
the light and dark portions of your subject will all average out to a medium
gray. This is often the case, but if your subject is much brighter or darker
overall, the camera will overcompensate, making for dark-looking snow and beach
scenes, and overly bright pictures of dark objects. Likewise, if your subject
is backlit, the camera will tend to underexpose it, based on the light it sees
coming from the bright background. The exposure compensation function essentially
lets you tell the camera "no, I really *do* want it that bright/dark".)
Flash
In either Automatic or Manual capture modes, the flash setting menu can be accessed
by hitting the Menu button. Here, you can choose from Auto, Red-Eye Reduction,
Forced, Suppressed and Slow Synchro. Auto lets the camera decide for itself
whether or not to fire the flash, but is not available when using the Macro
function. Red-Eye Reduction emits a preflash before the real flash fires to
minimize the occurrence of the red-eye effect in pictures of people. (The preflash
makes the irises in people's eyes close down somewhat, reducing the likelihood
of the reflections off the back of their eyeballs that is the cause of red-eye.)
Forced means that the flash always fires, regardless of the light conditions.
Forced flash is very useful for providing "fill" illumination outdoors
when the subjects have their backs to the sun. Alternatively, Suppressed means
that the flash never fires. Slow Synchro is good for night and backlit subjects,
firing with a slow shutter speed (1/4 seconds). The slower shutter speed allows
more of the light from the scene into the camera, in addition to the light from
the flash. This can brighten backgrounds and avoid the white-subject-on-a-black-background
look that's typical of most nighttime flash shots. A tripod is recommended for
both Suppressed and Slow Synchro modes and a shaking camera symbol appears in
the LCD monitor as an indication of that. Flash range is specified as approximately
2.3 to 8 feet (0.7 to 2.5m), which agrees fairly well with our own test results.
Macro
The Macro function is controlled by a sliding switch on the side of the camera,
marked with a flower symbol on the macro end and a mountain symbol on the wide
angle end. When switched to Macro mode, the flower icon appears in the LCD monitor.
Macro allows you to capture subjects as close as 3.9 inches. If the flash is
set on Auto or Red-Eye Reduction when switching to Macro mode, the setting will
automatically change to Suppressed (it reverts back to the previous setting
when Macro mode is cancelled). Forced and Slow Synchro flash modes are available
for use. Fuji recommends using the LCD monitor to frame the subject as the optical
viewfinder's visible field will not match what the lens is capturing when you're
this close to the subject.
Digital Telephoto
The MX-1200 offers a Digital Telephoto function providing a nominal 2x "magnification"
of the image, accessible by pressing the up arrow on the rocker toggle button
(the down arrow digitally zooms back out). The image will automatically be recorded
at 640 x 480 when using Digital Telephoto, even if the file size had been previously
set to 1280 x 960. The LCD monitor must be on to utilize this function and the
amount of digital zoom will appear on the upper left corner of the LCD monitor.
Like the "digital telephoto" option on most digicams, that on the
MX-1200 works by simply cropping-out the central area of pixels from the CCD
array. Thus, while the image fills a larger portion of the frame, it's only
because the frame itself is smaller. Digital tele might be useful for web applications,
where you're likely to be shooting at a smaller image size anyway, but its operation
shouldn't be confused with a true optical zoom lens.
Self-Timer
The Self-Timer is accessed by turning the mode dial to the Self-Timer icon.
Once the shot is composed and focused, fully press the shutter button to start
the timer. The camera will count down from 10 seconds with the Self-Timer light
next to the lens lit solid for the first five seconds, then blinking for the
remaining five. A countdown is also displayed on the LCD monitor. The timer
can be cancelled after initiation by pressing the down arrow button. Because
the Macro function is selected with a separate switch on the side of the camera,
you can use the Macro and Self-Timer functions together. This is handy, as camera
movement in close-in macro shooting is often a problem. When used with an appropriate
tripod or copy stand, the self-timer function allows time for the camera vibrations
to die down before opening the shutter.
Shutter Lag/Cycle Times
"Shutter Lag" refers to the delay between when the shutter release
is pressed and when a picture is actually taken. In most cameras, this delay
allows time for the autofocus and autoexposure systems to do their work. In
the case of the MX-1200, the fixed focus lens means no additional time is needed
for the lens to focus, and the result is a somewhat shorter shutter lag than
in most cameras. We measured shutter lag from a full press of the shutter button
at 0.34 seconds. When you half-press the shutter to lock exposure prior to the
shot itself though, the delay is even shorter, since the exposure and white
balance have already been determined. Under these conditions, the shutter delay
is only 0.22 seconds.
Cycle time is a measure of how quickly the camera can take a second shot after
the shutter is snapped for the first one. We were surprised by how responsive
the MX-1200 was in this respect, given its low cost and fairly high resolution:
At maximum resolution and image quality, the shot-to-shot cycle time was only
4.3 seconds. This figure dropped to only 2.7 seconds in low resolution and at
the lowest image-quality setting.
Another important time factor with digicams is how quickly they can take a picture
after being powered on. The MX-1200 really shines in this area, as we clocked
it at 0.8 seconds from power-on to first picture! This is one of the fastest
times we've recorded for a digicam in this test.
User Interface
Overall, the MX-1200's user interface is pretty up front and self explanatory.
All the buttons are easily accessible and in very natural positions. The positioning
of the buttons allows for one handed operation, with the exception of accessing
the Macro function. The Mode Dial is well marked and the buttons are labeled
as common sense would dictate. In addition, the Mode Dial and other buttons
have bumps and ridges on them, which aids in the one handed operation. The large
grip on the front helps this as well.
The digital and AC jacks and the SmartMedia slot are located on opposite sides
of the camera from each other, in their traditional places. A minor mention
is that because of the large size of the battery compartment, the tripod mount
has moved slightly off center, which may or may not affect user operation. (We
found the resulting tripod mount to be quite stable though, as there's enough
of the camera bottom left on the left-hand side of the tripod socket to provide
a flat mounting surface.)
Shutter Button
Located on top of the camera, this button sets focus and exposure settings when
pressed halfway. It fires the shutter when fully pressed.
Power Slide Switch
Above the LCD monitor, this turns the camera on and off.
Mode Dial
The Mode Dial is located on the back panel, in the top right corner. It rotates
between eight camera modes:
Setup:
Allows you to change the camera setup options (Quality, File Size, Sharpness,
Frame Number, Beep, Date/Time and Reset).
Self-Timer:
Counts down from 10 seconds once the shutter button is pressed all the way.
Manual:
Allows you to check the captured image before recording as well as set flash
mode, white balance and exposure compensation (EV).
Automatic:
Lets the camera judge existing light conditions and exposure settings.
Playback:
Allows you to view images frame by frame or multi-frame with a playback zoom
function, can also specify Automatic Playback, Resizing and DPOF function
settings.
Erase:
Allows you to erase single frames, all frames or reformat the SmartMedia card.
Protect:
Allows you turn file protection on or off for one frame or all frames on the
SmartMedia.
PC: Allows
you to download recorded images to a computer.
Rocker Toggle Button
This four way button is located directly to the left of the Mode Dial, and features
up, down, left and right arrows that let you to navigate through menus and activate
the Digital Telephoto in Automatic or Manual capture modes.
- In Self-Timer mode, the down arrow cancels the 10 second countdown.
- In Playback mode, the left and right arrows allow you to scroll through
captured images while the up and down arrows control the playback digital
zoom.
Menu/EXE Button
Located right beside the rocker toggle button. In Self-Timer, Automatic, Manual
and Playback modes, accesses the settings menu for each mode. The EXE function
of the button serves as an 'OK' when selecting menu items and confirming decisions.
Display Button
Located just above the LCD monitor, this button turns the LCD display on and
off. One press turns it on, a second press turns off the information display
and a third press turns off the image display.
- If held down for two seconds in Automatic, Manual, Self-Timer and Playback
modes, controls the brightness of the LCD monitor.
- In Playback Mode, also accesses the Multi Frame Playback function.
Macro Switch
Directly on the side of the camera, this allows you to select between macro
and normal lens focusing.
Camera Modes and Menus
Setup
Mode
Marked on the Mode Dial by the word Setup, this mode lets you alter the camera's
settings. Choose from:
- Quality: Select between Fine, Normal and Basic image quality settings
(Normal is default).
- File Size: Specify either the default 1280 x 960 or 640 x 480 pixel
dimensions.
- Sharpness: Select image sharpness from Soft, Normal (default) and
Hard.
- Frame Number: Continue or Renew frame numbering, of which Renew is
the default. (Continue will keep incrementing file numbers, even after the
memory card is erased. Very handy to avoid overwriting previous images when
you copy them to your hard drive.)
- Beep: Select the buzzer tone from High, Low and Off (factory default
is High).
- Date/Time: Sets the date and time.
- Reset: Resets all the above settings to their factory defaults, excluding
the date and time.
Self-Timer Mode
The camera counts down from 10 seconds once the shutter button is fully pressed
with a visual countdown on the LCD monitor and with an LED next to the lens.
The LED lights solid for the first five seconds then flashes for the remaining
five. The down arrow button cancels the countdown.
Manual Mode
Gives you control over some exposure settings such as flash mode, white balance
and exposure compensation (EV). You can also access the Macro and Digital Telephoto
functions in this mode. Manual mode is denoted by a red camera icon with an
M next to it on the Mode Dial.
Pressing the Menu/EXE button in this mode brings up the settings menu with the
following options:
- Flash: Choose between Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced, Suppressed
and Slow Synchro modes.
- White Balance: Select between Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Daylight Fluorescent,
Warm White Fluorescent, Cool White Fluorescent and Incandescent. Automatic
adjustment mode may not always be accurate when shooting close up and under
special lighting. This setting is disabled when utilizing the flash.
- Exposure Compensation (EV): Allows you to adjust for the optimum
brightness with nine compensation levels in 0.3 EV increments from –0.9
to +1.5. This setting is also disabled when using the flash. (One EV unit
corresponds to one f-stop (a factor of two) increment or decrement in exposure.)
Automatic Mode
In this mode, the camera controls all the exposure settings. You have control
over flash, Macro and Digital Telephoto functions. Automatic mode is marked
by a single red camera symbol on the dial.
Hitting the Menu/EXE button in this mode brings up the Flash settings menu with
the same options as in Manual:
- Automatic Adjustment: Camera controls the flash.
- Red-Eye Reduction: Camera emits a preflash before firing the real
flash to reduce the red-eye effect.
- Forced: The flash always fires, regardless of light conditions.
- Suppressed: The flash never fires.
- Slow Synchro: Flash fires in conjunction with a slow shutter speed
(1/4 seconds), best for backlit and night subjects.
Playback Mode
Gives you the option of viewing recorded images frame by frame or multi frame
with a playback digital zoom option. The mode is designated by a green arrow
surrounded by a green rectangle.
Hitting the Menu/EXE button in this mode accesses the Playback settings menu
with the following options:
- Back: Exits you out of the menu.
- Playback (Automatic Playback): Images are automatically played back
one at a time. The down arrow button cancels the automatic playback.
- Resize: Allows you to change an image size from 1280 to 640 pixels,
to conserve space on the memory card.
- DPOF: Gives you the ability to select Digital Print Order Format
(DPOF) settings for each frame with the following options:
- Frame: Selects how many prints of a particular frame.
- Review/Cancel: Allows you to confirm settings or cancel them.
- Set All: Specifies printing of one print for each image.
- Cancel All: Cancels all DPOF settings for each frame.
Erase Mode
The Erase Menu automatically appears on the LCD when the Mode Dial is turned
to the Erase position (marked by a trash can symbol). Here, you have these options:
- Frame: Erases a single frame.
- All: Erases all images on the SmartMedia card (except for directories
and protected images).
- Format: Reformats the SmartMedia card and erases all data on the
card.
Protect Mode
Automatically displays the Protect Menu on the LCD and is marked on the mode
dial by a padlock symbol. Here, you have these options:
- Frame: Protects single frames from being deleted or altered.
- Protect All: Protects all images already recorded on the SmartMedia.
- Unprotect All: Removes file protection on all images.
Note that protection cannot be cancelled for files with DPOF settings. To cancel
their protection, the DPOF settings must first be removed.
PC Mode
Marked by a computer symbol with an arrow pointing inward, allows the camera
to transfer images from camera's memory to your computer. A software CD comes
packaged with the camera and offers Picture Shuttle, a DS-Serial TWAIN Driver,
EZtouch and Adobe PhotoDeluxe. PhotoDeluxe is only compatible with Windows 95,
98 and NT 4.0 operating systems.
Image
Storage and Interface
The MX-1200 utilizes SmartMedia for image capture and storage. A 4MB card comes
standard with the camera, but 8MB, 16MB and 32MB sizes are also separately available.
Remember to use only 3.3V SmartMedia (sometimes marked simply 3V) and steer
clear of the 5V version. The 2MB card can hold approximately two Fine quality
images, six Normal images and 11 Basic images (depending on compression ratios
and image sizes). The table below shows card capacities, based on the included
4 MB memory card, and approximate JPEG compression ratios for the various size/quality
combinations the camera provides.
| Resolution/Quality vs Image Capacity |
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| Images |
Compression |
Images |
Compression |
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| Fine Quality |
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| Normal Quality |
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| Basic Quality |
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SmartMedia should never be removed while the camera is on and neither should
the camera be turned off while performing operations to avoid damaging the media.
If the SmartMedia slot cover is opened while the camera is on, the camera will
automatically turn off. Always load the SmartMedia with the gold electrodes
going into the camera first (the card will not fully slide into the slot if
inserted incorrectly).
You can write protect SmartMedia by placing a write protection sticker in the
designated area. Write protection stickers can only be used once and must be
clean to be effective. You can protect individual or all images in Protect mode,
accessible via the Mode Dial. Protection prevents images from being accidentally
erased, resized or manipulated in any other way.
Frames are stored on SmartMedia and assigned file numbers from 0001 to 9999
with a preceding directory number. Once 9999 is reached, the directory number
goes up by one. Setup mode allows you to alter the frame numbering sequence
by selecting Renew or Continue. Use Renew to start images at 0001 each time
a new SmartMedia card is inserted. Continue stores images beginning from the
highest file number recorded on the last SmartMedia used. The Continue option
ensures that images are not duplicated when downloaded to a computer. Note that
if the SmartMedia already contains image files with higher file numbers than
the highest number on the last SmartMedia used, images are stored beginning
from the highest file number on the current SmartMedia card.
Also through the Setup Menu, the Image Resize option allows you to change images
from 1280 x 960 pixels to 640 x 480 pixels. Images are saved in DCF compliant
(Exif Ver.2.1 JPEG compliant) format with Digital Print Order Format (DPOF)
compatibility.
You can erase images while in Erase mode, accessed by turning the Mode Dial
to the trash can symbol. Here, you have the option of erasing a single frame,
all frames or to format the card. Formatting erases all images on the card,
including protected images, and re-initializes the SmartMedia. You can also
erase images while in Manual capture mode when you are asked to delete or record
each image as it is exposed.
Connected to a PC at 115Kbaud (the highest speed the PC supports), download
is typically serial-port pokey: A maximum-resolution file 721 Kbytes in size
took 148 seconds to download to the host. This translates into a rate of 4.9
Kbytes per second: Slow even by serial-port standards. Users who are the least
impatient will want to consider purchasing a parallel-port or USB-based card
reader, which typically sell for a bit over $50. Fuji themselves also offer
the very convenient FlashPath floppy-disk adapter for $99 list, which is much
faster than the serial connection, albeit slower than a parallel-port or USB
device. The advantage of the FlashPath is there are no cables to contend with,
since it fits into your PC's floppy drive.
Power
The MX-1200 utilizes
four AA alkaline primary batteries, or NiMH or NiCd rechargeable batteries.
Fuji recommends staying away from manganese or lithium batteries because of
potential damage from the amount of heat generated. Fuji approximates that alkaline
batteries will capture about 190 frames, NiCd about 130 frames and Ni-MH about
190 frames (all estimations were made assuming the LCD monitor is on). We're
reluctant to estimate "number of shots" in this fashion, but our tests
indicate the camera should run for upwards of an hour and a half of continuous
use with high-power NiMH rechargeable cells and the LCD on continuously. With
the LCD off, the camera should literally be usable for a couple of days of use
on a single charge. (Take our advice, and don't even consider using alkaline
batteries with digicams: Buy a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH batteries,
and a good recharger. You'll recover the cost of the batteries and charger in
just the first week's use, and the combination will probably last as long as
you own the camera!)
|
|
|
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Manual Capture, LCD readout only |
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| Capture Mode, w/o LCD |
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| Capture, half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Capture, half-pressed w/o LCD |
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| Memory Write (transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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| "Sleep" Mode |
|
An auto power off function will shut down the camera if unattended for two minutes,
except in PC mode. You can cancel this function by holding down the Menu/EXE
button while turning the camera on. The setting is re-enabled by turning the
camera off and back on again.
Included Software
The MX-1200 comes with a software CD featuring Picture Shuttle, a DS-Serial
TWAIN Driver, EZtouch and Adobe PhotoDeluxe. PhotoDeluxe is only compatible
with Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 operating systems.
Picture Shuttle is simply the vehicle that transfers images from the camera
to the computer. EZtouch allows some minor image manipulations while Adobe PhotoDeluxe
provides additional manipulation capabilities with a wide variety of filters
and formats for greeting cards, calendars and Internet uses. Unfortunately,
Mac users must either rely on the EZtouch software or purchase photo manipulation
software separately since the included PhotoDeluxe is only compatible with Windows.
Both EZtouch and PhotoDeluxe applications are straightforward and easy to understand,
as is the Picture Shuttle. A RS-232C serial cable and Mac compatible cable come
standard with the camera. MAC USERS NOTE: The unit we received, in retail packaging
did not include a Mac cable adapter, although the Picture Shuttle software supports
the Mac platform. We will contact Fuji and ask whether the production units
will include Mac cables, or if they're available as an option.
Once you connect the camera (in PC mode) to your machine and open up Picture
Shuttle, images can be transferred. A picture index window is displayed from
which you can view images or open them for editing. Opening an image triggers
EZtouch, where you can perform some minor image manipulations with filters such
as white vignette and emboss. You can also crop, color correct and take out
Red-Eye. You can save images in either BMP; high, medium or low quality Exif-JPEG
files; or in Exif-TIFF.
Test Results
Expecting relatively little from a 1.3 megapixel camera with such a low selling
price, the MX-1200 surprised us with its image quality. Although it placed lower
than many competing units in our laboratory-based resolution test (a maximum
of 600 lines per picture height in both horizontal and vertical directions,
with significant vertical aliasing), this result wasn't directly reflected in
the "real world" pictures we took.
Color accuracy was overall very good, particularly in sunlit outdoor shots,
and the Incandescent white balance setting did a very good job indoors under
typical household tungsten lighting. The flash did well in mixed-lighting situations
as well, and we felt was actually a bit more powerful than Fuji gives it credit
for. (We felt it worked well to a range of 10 feet or so, vs. the 8 foot range
that Fuji specifies.)
The wide-angle, fixed focal length, fixed-focus lens doesn't get terribly close
in macro mode, but still captures a respectable minimum area of 2.8 x 3.7 inches
(71 x 95 mm).
Overall, the MX-1200 held up quite well against the rest of the 1.3 megapixel
competition, surprisingly so for such an inexpensive model with the range of
features it provides.
Conclusion
The MX-1200 is a strong entry in the low-end market, providing more resolution
than most cameras at its price point. Image quality is quite good, operation
is point & shoot simple, yet reasonable exposure, white balance, and flash
controls are provided for those who want them. The controls are accessible,
readily navigable, and easy to understand. Image quality is surprisingly good.
This looks like either a great "entry level" camera for someone just
getting into digital photography, or perhaps a good "second camera"
for the more advanced buff who wants something to just drop in a pocket and
bring anywhere. Overall, an excellent buy for the money, particularly once the
discount retailers get their hands on it!
Reader Sample Images!
Do you have a MX-1200 camera? If you'll post an album of your samples
on one of the photo-sharing services and email us at [email protected],
we'll list the album here for others to see!
For More Info:
View the data sheet for the MX-1200
View the test images from the MX-1200
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