Fuji FinePix S1 ProA 3.5 megapixel "SuperCCD" gives superb color and amazing low-light capability in an under-$4,000 SLR digicam!<<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 10:Image Storage & InterfaceReview First Posted: 8/1/2000 |
Image Storage and Interface
The
S1 can accommodate CompactFlash Type I and II as well as SmartMedia memory cards
for image storage, and includes a 16 megabyte SmartMedia card in its packaging.
We suspect that most users will almost immediately want to purchase a larger
card though, such as the 32 and 64 megabyte cards, and we found IBM's MicroDrive
particularly handy in our testing. (If you're buying one of these cameras, do
yourself a favor and get at least the 340 megabyte MicroDrive to go along with
it: The increased convenience is hard to overstate!) The media card slot location
on the rear panel is extremely convenient for changing memory cards while mounted
to a tripod, and the slot is protected by a hinged, plastic door that flips
easily in and out of place.
SmartMedia cards can be write protected by placing a small write protection sticker in the designated area on the card. Stickers must be clean to work and can only be used once. CompactFlash cards cannot be write protected, but images on the card can be individually protected through the Playback menu. Through this same menu, images can also be set up for printing on a DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) device. Three image sizes are available to choose from, 3040 x 2016, 2304 x 1536 or 1440 x 960, with Hi (uncompressed TIFF), Fine, Normal or Basic JPEG compression levels. Under the Record setup menu, you can choose between TIF-RGB or TIFF-YC formats.
The table below shows the approximate number of images, and their compression ratios, for a 16 megabyte card.
|
Resolution/Quality |
|
|
|
|
| Uncompressed TIFF-RGB | Images | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Approx. Compression |
1:1 | 1:1 | 1:1 | |
| Uncompressed TIFF-YC | Images | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Approx. Compression |
1:1 | 1:1 | 1:1 | |
| Fine Quality | Images | 6 | 11 | 32 |
| Approx. Compression |
7:1 | 12:1 | 16:1 | |
| Normal Quality | Images | 13 | 23 | 42 |
| Approx. Compression |
9:1 | 15:1 | 28:1 | |
| Economy Quality | Images | 32 | 54 | 82 |
| Approx. Compression |
8:1 | 14:1 | 21:1 | |
Although we suspect that most S1 users will be using external card readers to transfer the S1's images to a host computer, the direct USB connection could potentially be very handy in a studio or event-photography setting. The S1's USB is fairly speedy, albeit not as good as the best external card readers. We clocked it at 48 seconds for 17.5 megabytes of data, a transfer rate of 375 KBytes/second. This is fairly fast as cameras go, but dedicated card readers can be more than twice as fast.
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