Fuji FinePix S1 ProA 3.5 megapixel "SuperCCD" gives superb color and amazing low-light capability in an under-$4,000 SLR digicam!<<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:ViewfinderReview First Posted: 8/1/2000 |
Viewfinder
The S1 utilizes a TTL (Through The Lens) optical viewfinder for composing images. A dioptric adjustment dial to the right of the eyepiece accommodates eyeglass wearers. A removable plastic cap slides on and off the eyepiece for protection when not in use, and also to prevent ambient light from entering the rear element of the viewfinder and affecting exposure when used on a tripod. A central autofocus bracket and a circular representation of the metering area make up part of the optical viewfinder display. There's also a small information readout at the bottom of the display that reports the main exposure settings, such as aperture, shutter speed, whether or not exposure compensation is in use, exposure suitability in manual mode, and the status of the flash. Additionally, a focus indicator lets you know when the autofocus is set or guides the manual focus process.
A 2.0 inch color LCD monitor allows you to preview and confirm shots, showing a generous 200,000 pixels. (This is a very sharp LCD, compared to the units we're accustomed to seeing on the backs of digicams.) Because of the SLR design, the CCD only sees the image when the shutter is opened and thus the LCD monitor cannot be used for image composition. However, the manual option on the Preview feature provides extensive feedback on the image's actual exposure (which we'll discuss in more detail in the exposure section). LCD brightness can be adjusted through the menu system and can get bright enough to be useful even in very bright outdoor shooting situations. In Playback mode, the LCD can display either four or nine thumbnail images at a time, and also supports a playback zoom feature for enlarging captured images. The playback zoom on the S1 deserves particular mention: It not only zooms in reasonable increments (ranging from 5 to 50%, depending on its current zoom level), but provides you with smooth scrolling around the image at any zoom setting. What's more, the playback zoom goes all the way to 19x (!) depending on the original image size, providing enough resolution to really make sensible judgments about focus as well as framing and exposure. (Maximum playback zoom is 7x at the 1440 file size, 12x at the 2304 file size, and 19x at the 3040 size.)
Playback mode also provides full exposure information for each image via the monochrome LCD data readout directly above the color LCD monitor, and an optional (and very accurate/detailed) histogram display on the LCD monitor itself. Overall, the S1 Pro sports one of the best image-playback systems we've yet seen on a digicam.
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