Fuji FinePix S2 ProFuji updates their digital SLR with a 6 megapixel CCD, with the same excellent color...<<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:ViewfinderReview First Posted: 7/24/2002 |
Viewfinder
Like other SLRs, the S2 Pro's optical viewfinder looks out through the lens. (The LCD monitor is used only for image playback and menu system access.) A sliding diopter adjustment control to the right of the eyepiece adjusts the focusing of the viewfinder optics to accommodate eyeglass wearers, and the viewfinder's "eyepoint" is also high enough that you can see the full viewfinder frame even while wearing fairly thick eyeglass lenses. An illuminated display in the viewfinder gives detailed exposure and camera status information, including focus area indicators, shutter speed, aperture, exposure mode, metering, AE lock, exposure and flash compensation, frame counter, ready light, and five sets of focus brackets. When activated, the view also includes an alignment grid, useful for lining up difficult shots. A large circular outline in the center of the view indicates the Center-Weighted metering area. The optional grid (enabled via Custom Menu setting number 2) and focus area indicators can be set to illuminate briefly when the shutter button is half-pressed, through Custom Menu setting number 3. The shot below shows the viewfinder display, with all segments of the readout illuminated. (Alert readers will notice that the S2's viewfinder display is almost identical to that of Nikon's D100 SLR.)
Like virtually all other digital SLRs, the LCD panel on the S2 doesn't function as a viewfinder. It does provide both normal and zoomed playback of previously captured images, as well as a histogram overlay, as shown below. (The S2s histogram overlay is unique in my experience in that it shows not only overall brightness values, but separate histograms for the red, green, and blue channels of the image separately.)
The
LCD monitor on most digital SLRs also serves to display information about the
captured images as well. - There's generally an optional information overlay
that lists various exposure parameters (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, image
size, etc) for the displayed image. On the S2, this function is handled by the
rear-panel LCD data readout just above the main LCD monitor screen. Two screens
of information there show image file number, date and time of capture, image
compression level and resolution, white balance setting, shutter speed and aperture,
ISO, and the settings for color, tone, and sharpening. I really liked what this
data readout panel did for the S2's user interface overall, and particularly
enjoyed being able to see the exposure information without it interfering with
my viewing of the displayed image.
A
display feature that I missed on the S2's image playback was a "blinking
highlights" mode. Histogram displays as shown above are useful for determining
overall exposure, and the S2's addition of RGB histograms is a nice touch. Histogram
displays are virtually useless though, if you have relatively small areas of
strong highlights that you don't want to blow out. If only a relatively small
area is affected, you won't be able to see the tiny peak that corresponds to
it on the histogram plot. To address this issue, several digicam manufacturers
offer a display mode in which highlights that are either blowing out or in danger
of doing so "blink" in the display, flipping between white and black.
This sort of display makes it immediately obvious anytime you're in danger of
losing highlight detail, and I sorely missed it on the S2 Pro.
The
zoomed playback option on the S2 Pro deserves particular mention, given the
range of magnification it offers. At maximum magnification, you can easily see
down to the pixel level in captured images, allowing pretty precise evaluation
of focus and depth of field. (I'd like to see this level of magnification as
a standard feature on all digicams, but particularly on D-SLRs, whose users
are more likely to be interested in precise depth of field evaluation.)
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