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Fuji FinePix S9000 By: Dave Etchells Fuji's latest bridge camera offers a larger, 9.0-megapixel SuperCCD HR imager with a high resolution electronic optical viewfinder. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet S9000 Sample Images S9000 Imatest Results --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests :(Previous) | (Next): Camera Modes & Menus>> Page 8:Operation & User Interface Review First Posted: 12/14/2005

Operation & User Interface

With a lot of knobs, switches, and buttons spread out around its case, the S9000's user interface at first seems more complicated than it really is. Most of the exposure features can be controlled externally, though they do require the LCD display to be active so that you can see the settings you've selected. (A small status display panel would be handy here for making quick changes while keeping the LCD display in the smaller EVF view.) When you do have to deal with the LCD menu system though, it's straightforward. There are three main menus - Record, Playback, and Setup - each spanning several scenes, which are indicated as tabs to the left of the menu items. For quick access to a specific setting, you can select which tab you want directly, rather than having to page through multiple screens of settings to access the correct tab. The FinePix button on the rear panel is useful for accessing often-used settings, such as resolution, sensitivity, and color modes. Though you'll probably spend an hour or more learning to use the camera, operation becomes progressively easier and faster as you get to know it.

 

Control Enumeration

Shutter Button
Located on the top panel in the center of the Power / Mode dial, this silver button sets autofocus and exposure when halfway pressed and fires the shutter when fully pressed. If the self-timer is activated, a full press of the Shutter button triggers the two- or 10-second countdown. A screw mount in the center of the button accommodates a mechanical cable release, useful with Bulb exposures or any time you don't want to risk camera shake from pressing the Shutter button.

Power / Mode Dial
(See image above.) Surrounding the Shutter button on the top panel, this dial controls the camera's power, and selects either Record or Playback operating modes.

Exposure Compensation Button
Just behind and to the left of the Power / Mode dial on the top panel, this button lets you adjust the exposure compensation from -2 to +2 EV units in one-third-step increments, by pressing it while simultaneously turning the Command wheel (except in Manual, Scene Program, and Auto modes). In Manual exposure mode, this same set of actions adjusts the lens aperture setting from f/2.8 to f/11.

Flash Button
Just to the right of the Exposure Compensation button, this button sets the onboard flash mode. If the pop-up flash is released to its operating position, pressing this button displays the on-screen flash menu. Holding the button down while turning the Command wheel selects Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow-Synchro, or Red-Eye Reduction Slow-Synchro modes. (The flash is disabled altogether by pushing the popup mechanism back down, so there's no "Forced Off" setting). Not all flash settings are available in all exposure modes.

Drive Mode Button
Directly behind the Exposure Compensation button, pressing this button displays the on-screen Drive menu. Turning the Command wheel with the Drive Mode button held down selects Single Exposure, Top-4 Frame, Auto Bracketing, Final-4 Frame, and Long-Period Continuous Shooting modes (Auto Bracketing only being available in P, A, S, and M modes, and the Long-Period Continuous mode in the Auto and Scene modes only).

Command Wheel
Located in the far lower right corner of the top panel, behind the Drive Mode button, this ribbed black wheel adjusts various camera settings when turned while pressing a control button. In Manual mode, turning this wheel with no control button pressed sets the shutter speed. In Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, turning the wheel adjusts the corresponding exposure setting (aperture or shutter speed, respectively), while in Program AE mode, turning the wheel selects between a range of equivalent exposure settings. (This last lets you bias the camera's exposure system to prefer larger or smaller apertures, giving you some degree of control over depth of field and shutter speed, while still maintaining automatic exposure control.)

Exposure Mode Dial
Directly to the left of the Command wheel, this large, ribbed dial controls the camera's exposure mode, offering the following selections:

• Auto Exposure Mode
  Gives the camera control of all exposure parameters, although the user still can adjust ISO sensitivity, metering mode, focusing mode, flash mode, Drive mode / self timer, file size and quality settings, as well as the optical and digital zoom.
• Program AE Exposure Mode
  Returns most of the exposure control to the user, although the camera remains in charge of aperture and shutter speed values. Turning the Command wheel selects a range of equivalent aperture/shutter speed combinations.
• Shutter Priority Exposure Mode
  Gives the user control over shutter speed (from 1/4,000 to four seconds at wide angle, or 1/2000 to four seconds at telephoto), while the camera selects the best aperture value. All other exposure options are available.
• Aperture Priority Exposure Mode
  Similar to Shutter Priority mode, only now the user controls the aperture setting (from f/2.8 at wide angle or f4.9 at telephoto to f/8) while the camera selects the shutter speed. All exposure options are available.
• Manual Exposure Mode
  Gives the user complete control over exposure parameters, including aperture and shutter speed. The shutter speed range expands to include times from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds, and the aperture range expands to include apertures from f/2.8 at wide angle or f4.9 at telephoto to f/11. All exposure options are adjustable, but exposure compensation is disabled since there's no automatic exposure selection to adjust.
• Movie Mode
  Records short movie clips with sound. The actual amount of recording time varies with the resolution setting and amount of memory card space, but recording will continue until either the Shutter button is pressed again or the memory card runs out of space. Limited exposure controls are available, though there are no menu options.
• Night Scene Mode
  Priority is given to slow shutter speeds up to four seconds, allowing night time scenes to be captured with slow sync or no flash. Limited exposure controls are available, though the camera controls most settings.
• Landscape Scene Mode
  For capturing pictures of landscapes. Flash is disabled, and limited exposure controls are available, though the camera controls most settings.
• Portrait Scene Mode
  The camera is biased for pleasing skin tones, suitable for portraits. Limited exposure controls are available, though the camera controls most settings.
• Natural Light Scene Mode
  Priority is given to high ISO sensitivities, allowing low light scenes to be captured without flash. Limited exposure controls are available, though the camera controls most settings.
• Anti-Blur Scene Mode
  Priority is given to fast shutter speeds up to four seconds, reducing blurring from camera shake or moving subjects. Limited exposure controls are available, though the camera controls most settings.
  

AE-L Button
Positioned to the right of the electronic viewfinder on the camera's rear panel in the center of the metering mode dial, this button locks the exposure setting, either while held in, or until it is pressed again / the Shutter button is fully pressed and released (depending upon camera setup).

Metering Mode Dial
(See image above.) Surrounding the AE-L button on the rear panel, this dial selects from the available metering modes - Multi Pattern, Spot, or Average.

EVF / LCD Button
Directly below and to the right of the AE-L button, this button switches the viewfinder and playback displays between the electronic viewfinder eyepiece and LCD monitor.

Focus Check Button
Directly below the EVF / LCD button, this button enlarges the center portion of the frame on the LCD monitor by about 2x, making it easier to see the results of manual focus adjustments.

FinePix Button
Beneath and to the left of the Focus Check button, this button calls up the FinePix menu, with the following options:

Record Mode:

• Resolution/Quality: Sets the still image resolution and JPEG quality to 9M Fine (3,488 x 2,616 pixels); 9M Normal (3,488 x 2,616 pixels); 3:2 (3,696 x 2,464 pixels); 5M (2,592 x 1,944 pixels); 3M (2,048 x 1,536 pixels); 2M (1,600 x 1,200 pixels); or 0.3M (640 x 480 pixels).
• ISO: Adjusts the camera's sensitivity setting to Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, or 1600.
• Color: Sets the color mode to Standard, Black-and-White, or Chrome (increased contrast and saturation).
  
  

Movie Mode:

• Resolution: Sets the movie resolution, options are 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 pixels.
  
  
  

Playback Mode:

• DPOF: Accesses the camera's DPOF menu, where you can browse images and set the number of copies of each image to be printed.
  
  

Four-Way Arrow Pad
Located to the right of and below the FinePix button on the back panel, this multi-directional button toggles up and down or left and right, with an arrow in each direction. In any settings menu, the arrow keys navigate through menu options and selections.

In Record mode, the Up and Down arrows respectively enable or disable the camera's fixed 2x digital zoom. In Playback mode, the right and left arrows scroll through captured images on the memory card. When an image has been enlarged in Playback or in Preview mode, all four arrows move around within the enlarged view.

Menu / OK Button
(See image above.) Tucked in the center of the Four-Way Arrow pad, this button calls up the settings menu in any mode. This button also acts as the "OK" to confirm menu changes or acknowledge menu prompts, and selects an image to enlarge when in the multi-frame or "by date" playback modes.

Display / Back Button
Beneath the FinePix button on the back panel, this button cycles through the information display options in both Playback and Record modes. In Record mode, the Display / Back button pages through the live image preview with text overlay, without text overlay, with framing guidelines, or with post-shot assist window. The framing guideline display mode includes an alignment grid that divides up the image area into thirds, horizontally and vertically. (This is very handy for lining up the camera with objects in the scene, to insure that your photos are square and level.) The post-shot assist display mode shows the last three photographs captured alongside the current preview, helping you to take shots with similar compositions. In Playback mode, the Display / Back button pages through the single image display with text overlay, single image display without text overlay, multi-frame playback, and "sorting by date" display modes. Multi-frame playback shows nine thumbnail images on screen at once, and "sorting by date" mode up to 12 images at once, all captured on the same date, alongside an indication of the dates of images stored on the camera's flash cards. This is great for quickly jumping to a particular date so you can browse photos from a specific trip, for example.

The Display / Back button also backs out of menu selections without making any changes. It can also be used to quickly exit from some camera functions. (Such as enlarged playback of images.)

Diopter Adjustment Dial
Just on the left side of the optical viewfinder eyepiece, this dial adjusts the focus of the viewfinder to accommodate near- or farsighted users.

Pop-Up Flash Release Button
Nestled on the left side of the camera, just beneath the pop-up flash compartment, this button mechanically releases the spring-loaded flash to its operating position.

Info Button
Just beneath the neck strap eyelet on the left side of the camera, this button displays exposure and camera information in both Record and Playback modes. In Record mode, it lists the current exposure settings, as well as a small histogram (in Single AF mode only). In Playback mode, it shows a histogram of the captured image, as well as the exposure settings used to capture it.

Focus Switch
Below the Info button, this switch sets focus to Manual, Single AF, or Continuous AF modes.

One-Push AF Button
(See image above.) Centered inside the Focus switch, this button momentarily triggers the autofocus system to quickly adjust the focus when you're in manual focus mode. (This is very handy for getting the focus "in the ballpark" before fine-tuning it manually.)

Macro Button
Directly below the Focus Switch (and marked with the standard Macro flower icon), this button cycles through Normal AF, Macro, and Super Macro modes when pressed repeatedly.

MF Adjustment Ring
One of two rings encircling the end of the lens barrel, this notched ring is the closer of the two to the camera's body, and adjusts the focus using an electronic "fly-by-wire" style system when the camera is in manual focus mode.

Zoom Ring
The second of two rings encircling the end of the lens barrel, this notched ring is the further of the two from the camera's body, and mechanically adjusts the camera's when the camera is in manual focus mode. Markings on the ring and barrel give an indication of the 35mm-equivalent focal length the zoom is currently set to.