Fuji FinePix S3 ProFuji updates their digital SLR with a 12.34-megapixel Super CCD SR II, for amazing tonal range.<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Included Software>> Page 11:Video & PowerReview First Posted: 9/7/2005 |
Video Out
The US version of the S3 includes a video out jack and connection cable, offering NTSC-formatted video output. I assume that European models support PAL timing and are accompanied by the appropriate cable. Connecting the video output provides a signal to an external device, without disabling the internal LCD display screen. All images that would normally appear on the LCD are also routed to the external video display so that the television screen becomes an enlarged version of the LCD monitor and can be used for image playback and preview.
Power
For power, the S3 uses four AA rechargeable NiMH batteries and comes with a set of batteries and a charger. I'd recommend picking up a spare set of batteries and keeping them freshly-charged and on-hand at all times.
An external AC adapter is available as an accessory and plugs into the DC port on the left side of the camera, which is covered by a small, flexible plastic flap. I should mention that the ability to almost completely rely on the smaller LCD panels for changing camera settings is a useful power saver. There's also an Auto Off feature that lets you set the camera to turn itself off after a brief period of inactivity. Here's my usual table with power consumption in various operating modes and projected runtimes for each based on high-capacity NiMH AAs.
| |
(@5 volts on the external power terminal) |
(four 1600 mA cells) |
| Capture Mode | |
|
| Half-pressed shutter | |
|
| Memory Write (transient) | |
|
| Flash Recharge (transient) | |
|
| Image Playback | |
|
Rather limited battery life for a d-SLR. The previous Fujifilm S2 Pro d-SLR used a combination of four AA cells and two CR123A Lithium batteries. The AA cells powered the digital parts of the camera, while the CR123s ran camera functions such as autofocus, shutter and flash. The good part of this arrangement was that the camera would run for quite a long time on a set of AA cells. The downside though, was that it would also chew through a set of expensive CR123s in just a couple of days of moderately heavy shooting. In the S3 Pro, Fuji has addressed complains about the previous multi-battery system by powering the entire camera from the AA cells. This is great news in terms of operating cost, as you can now run everything from relatively inexpensive NiMH rechargeable batteries. The downside of course, is that the AAs no longer last nearly as long, now that they have the entire camera to power. With "standard" 1600 mAh NiMH cells, the S3 Pro should run continuously for a bit over two hours in capture mode. With modern high-capacity NiMH cells having true capacities of 2100 mAh, worst-case run time would stretch to about 2.75 hours. This is still much shorter than most other d-SLRs, but this is of course assuming continuous operation (without letting the auto-shutdown timer put the camera to sleep). Also, the fact that it uses conventional AA cells means it'd be easy and quite inexpensive to keep several sets topped off and on hand at all times. One side note though: While I didn't have any way to test the S3 Pro's cutoff voltage directly (the battery voltage below which it refused to work anymore), my sense was that it was a bit finicky about the NiMH batteries I fed it. - With some brands and models seemed to shut down much earlier than with others, even though the cells involved had roughly similar actual capacities. Bottom line, be sure to buy name-brand, high-capacity NiMH cells for use with the S3 Pro, and be sure to get a good charger as well.
Follow Imaging Resource: