Fuji FinePix S20 ProFuji's latest electronic SLR offers a high dynamic range Super CCD (6.7 million photosensors in a 3.4 megapixel array) that interpolates to 6.0 megapixels, plus an external flash sync connection!<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Fuji's "SR" Sensor Technology>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 04/27/2004 |
Optics Learn how to use lens aperture to control depth of field - Visit our free Photo Lessons area!
Free Photo Lessons
The S20 Pro is equipped with a high quality, Super EBC Fujinon 6x zoom lens,
with a 35mm equivalent range of 35-210mm. (A moderate wide angle to a pretty
decent telephoto.) Aperture ranges from f/2.8 (f/3.1 with the lens at its telephoto
position) to f/8, and is manually and automatically adjustable. Focus ranges
from 1.6 feet (50 centimeters) to infinity in normal AF mode, and from 3.9 inches
to 2.6 feet (10 to 80 centimeters) in Macro mode. A "Super Macro"
mode focuses from 0.4 to 7.9 inches (1 to 20 centimeters), one of the closest
macro ranges I've seen on a digicam. In Super Macro mode, the S20 Pro captures
an area of only 1.10 x 0.83 inches (28 x 21 millimeters). Both macro modes are
accessed via the Macro button on the left side of the camera.
The S20 Pro's autofocus system operates in either Single or Continuous modes,
set by turning the Focus switch on the side of the camera. Single AF mode
adjusts the focus only when the Shutter button is halfway pressed. Alternatively,
Continuous AF mode continuously adjusts focus, without the Shutter button
being pressed. This is useful for moving subjects (albeit not a quickly moving
one), where it could potentially track the subject , improving shutter lag
in that situation. (Note though, that contrary to what you might expect, and
in common with almost every other digicam I've tested, the S20 Pro's continuous
AF option doesn't reduce shutter lag for stationary subjects at all.) The
S20 Pro's Record menu offers an AF mode setting, which controls the AF area.
Options are Area, Center, and Multi. In Area mode, you can change the autofocus
area simply by holding down the One Touch AF button (in the center of the
focus switch on the side of the camera) and using the arrow keys to move the
focus target on the LCD screen. The Multi setting puts the camera back in
charge of the AF area, selecting the area corresponding to the closest portion
of the subject. Center mode simply focuses from the center of the screen.
The camera's manual focus options lets you adjust focus by turning the ribbed focus ring at the end of the lens barrel. A pair of arrows appears on the LCD display, indicating the direction of adjustment needed, with a solid circle in the middle indicating sharp focus. Though the camera doesn't feature a distance readout for the manual focus, you can use the Focus Check button to enlarge the center of the frame 2x and determine when focus is sharp. A nice touch on S20 Pro is that you can use the camera's AF system to set an approximate focus even when you're focusing manually, simply by pressing the One Touch AF button in the center of the manual/auto focus selector switch. This lets you get a quick approximation of your final focus, then make fine adjustments manually.
Despite its size, the lens on the S20 Pro telescopes into position pretty quickly whenever the camera is turned on. (The time from startup to the first picture captured is about 4.1 seconds.) A removable plastic lens cap protects the lens surface when not in use, and comes with a small strap to attach it to the camera body and prevent it from being lost. Fuji also provides a lens cap holder, which attaches to the neck strap. Two zoom buttons in the upper right corner of the rear panel control both optical and digital zoom. The 2.2x digital zoom feature increases the S20 Pro's capabilities up to 13.2x, and is accessed by zooming past the optical zoom range with the telephoto zoom button. The amount of digital enlargement is reported in the LCD display. As with any "digital zoom" function, remember that image quality suffers from the enlargement, with sharpness decreasing in direct proportion to the degree of digital zoom. Also keep in mind that in an (intelligent) effort to preserve image quality, the amount of digital zoom available on the S20 Pro varies with the resolution setting. For example, no digital zoom is available at the 6.0-megapixel resolution. At 3.1 megapixels, maximum digital enlargement is 1.4x, while the amount of digital zoom increases to 1.8x at the 1.9-megapixel setting, and the full 2.2x zoom is reserved for the 1.2-megapixel setting.
The S20 Pro's lens barrel has a set of 55mm filter threads, which accommodate Fuji's accessory lens kits, which include an adapter barrel that holds the accessory lenses out in front of the furthest extension of the S20 Pro's telescoping lens assembly. In order for it to focus correctly, you need to tell the camera when you're using accessory optics, by selecting the Adapter option on the Setup menu. Fuji also offers an adapter ring that accommodates a series of lens filters.
Optical distortion on the S20 Pro is better than average at the wide-angle end, where I measured approximately 0.5 percent barrel distortion with the lens set to its widest-angle setting. The telephoto end did a fair bit worse though, as I measured 0.7 percent pincushion distortion there. Chromatic aberration was also quite high, showing nine or more pixels of fairly strong coloration on either side of the target lines. (This distortion is visible as a very slight colored fringe around the target details at the edges of the field of view on the resolution target.) I also noticed some softness in the corners of a few shots, but it was for the most part pretty minimal (with the exception of the macro shot, which had much stronger distortion, not unexpected for an ultra-macro image).
Reader Comments! --> Visit our discussion forum for the Fuji FinePix S20 Pro!
Follow Imaging Resource: