Fujifilm S8000fd Performance

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Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd Performance

Performance and Timing

Slow to above average speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	4.2 seconds	Time it takes for camera to power up and capture first shot
Shutdown	2.5 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens
Buffer clearing time	6 seconds (2 seconds buffer clearing after LF JPEG; 6 seconds after 15 4MP frames)	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.8 second	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	0.8 second	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	1.5 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus Wide	0.87 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.94 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Full Autofocus with Flash enabled	1.16 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Prefocused	0.018 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Continuous AF	0.87 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects
Manual focus	0.29 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused"
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	xD: 3.01 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	SD: 2.93 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	xD: 2.10 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous "Long Period" mode Large Fine JPEG	xD: 2.01 seconds (0.50 frames per second); >20 frames total; 2 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous "Long Period" mode Large Fine JPEG	SD: 2.01 seconds (0.50 frames per second); >20 frames total; 2 seconds to clear
Continuous "Long Period" mode 640x480 JPEG	xD: 1.51 second (0.66 frames per second); >20 frames total; 1.5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous "Top 3" mode Large Fine JPEG	SD: 0.90 second (1.11 frames per second); 3 frames total; 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous "Top 3" mode Large Fine JPEG
Continuous "Top 15 High Speed" mode 4 MP JPEG	SD: 0.15 second (6.51 frames per second); 15 frames total; 6 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous "Top 15 Ultra High Speed" mode 2 MP JPEG	SD: 0.07 second (13.59 frames per second); 15 frames total; 4 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Flash recycling	7.4 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	674 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; More than 770=USB 2.0 High
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with an Olympus Type H x-D Picture Card and a SanDisk Extreme III SD card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity also affects cycle times and burst mode performance, with higher ISOs generally increasing cycle times and reducing burst performance.

The Fujifilm S8000fd's performance ranges from slow to above average, depending on what you're trying to do. It starts up fairly slowly, requiring over four seconds, which is about average for a long zoom. Full AF shutter response when the lens is set to wide-angle is on the slow side of average, at 0.87 seconds. At telephoto, full AF shutter lag is 0.94 seconds, which is about average for a long zoom. If you "pre-focus" the S8000fd by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure, it's blazingly fast, with a shutter lag of only 0.018 second.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are also on the slow side of average at about 3 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, though it doesn't seem to slow to clear the buffer. The card type used didn't make much difference. Continuous-mode speed is quite slow for this class of camera, at about 1/2 frame per second in "Long Period" (often called Infinite) mode, but at least it can maintain this rate continuously. Again, the card type used didn't make much difference. "Top-3" mode was better at 1.11 frames per second for three frames, but still below average. The "Top-15" modes were very quick, but at reduced resolution, and the sensitivity is limited to the ISO 800 ~ 3,200 range.

The flash takes 7.4 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, about average for this class of camera. Connected to a computer, download speeds are below average these days.

Bottom line, the S8000fd is one of the slower long-zooms at full resolution on the market today, and not recommended for sports or wiggly kids. The only bright spot is prefocus shutter lag, so if you've got the camera setup and prefocused, you can still capture some fleeting moments.

Battery, and Storage Capacity

Battery
Excellent battery life with either the LCD, or EVF viewfinders.

Operating Mode	Number of shots
Alkaline AA batteries LCD on	350
Alkaline AA batteries EVF on	350
Rechargeable NiMH AA batteries LCD on	500
Rechargeable NiMH AA batteries EVF on	500

The Fujifilm S8000fd uses four AA-type batteries for power. The table above shows maximum number of shots based on the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) standard procedure for measuring digicam power consumption, and using Alkaline and rechargeable NiMH batteries. These are excellent battery-life numbers, but our standard recommendation of buying a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH cells, and a good-quality charger still stand.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd stores its photos and movies on SD/SDHC or xD Picture Cards (card not included), or in approximately 58MB of internal memory.

Image Capacity with 58MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal
3,264 x 2,448	Images	14	29
3,264 x 2,448	File Size	3.9 MB	2.0 MB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	58	-
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	993 KB	-
1,600 x 1,200	Images	92	-
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	624 KB	-
640 x 480	Images	452	-
640 x 480	File Size	128 KB	-

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity xD-Picture card or a SD/SDHC of at least a 1 - 2GB, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and videos. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)