Fuji FinePix 2800 ZoomTwo megapixels, a 6x zoom lens, great pictures, and a bargain price: Another great "value leader" from Fuji!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 02/06/2002 |
Exposure
Exposure control on the 2800 Zoom is very straightforward, thanks to the camera's automatic-only operation. Though the Record menu offers "Automatic" and "Manual" exposure modes, "Manual" mode in this case simply allows the user to adjust the white balance and exposure compensation settings, as well as select the flash mode and macro option: There's no provision for the user to directly affect the aperture and shutter time. The 2800 Zoom employs a 64-zone TTL (Through The Lens) metering system to determine the exposure, dividing the image area into 64 zones that are independently metered and averaged for the best exposure. One note here is that the greatest weight of the exposure is placed on the center of the frame. You can thus use the exposure lock feature to tailor the exposure to a specific subject. To lock exposure (and focus as well), position the part of the subject you want to expose for in the center of the frame and half press the Shutter button. Then, keeping the Shutter button halfway pressed, reframe the subject to the original composition and fire the shutter.
Though you cannot adjust either the shutter speed or aperture settings, you can "tweak" the exposure when shooting in Manual mode. Exposure compensation is adjustable from -1.5 to +1.5 exposure equivalents (EV) in one-third-step increments. Shutter speeds on the 2800 Zoom range from 1/1,500 to 1/2-second. The 1/1,500 second top speed is very good, but the 1/2 second maximum shutter time severely limits the camera's low-light shooting capabilities. Sensitivity is equivalent to ISO 100, and is not adjustable. Manual mode also allows you to adjust the White Balance setting, with choices of Auto, Daylight, Shade, Daylight Fluorescent, Warm White Fluorescent, Cool White Fluorescent, and Incandescent.
The 10-second Self-Timer option is only available in Automatic exposure mode (the option disappears from the menu in Manual mode). We found this rather puzzling, as the self-timer would be equally useful in either Auto or Manual mode. When in Self-Timer mode, a full press of the Shutter button activates the timer, which counts down from 10 seconds before the shutter is opened. A digital timer appears in the LCD monitor and the self-timer LED lamp lights on the front of the camera. The LED actually lights solid for the first five seconds, then flashes for the remaining five. The mode is automatically disabled after each shot, so you'll have to reset it explicitly if you want to shoot more than one self-timer photo in a row.
Flash
The 2800 Zoom features a built-in flash that operates in five different modes: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced, Suppressed, and Slow Synchro. In Auto mode, the camera chooses when to fire the flash, based on the current lighting conditions and whether or not the subject is backlit. In Red-Eye Reduction mode, the camera fires a small pre-flash before firing the flash at full power, to reduce the occurrence of the Red-Eye Effect (caused by light reflecting off of an enlarged eye pupil). Forced mode simply activates the flash to fire with each shot, regardless of the exposure conditions, while Suppressed mode completely disables the flash. Finally, Slow Synchro mode times the flash with a slower shutter speed, which allows more ambient light into the image. Slow Synchro mode is good for night shots in front of skylines or sunsets, or indoor shots where you want more of the background to be visible, as the slower exposure allows more of the background color into the image. Fuji estimates the 2800 Zoom's flash power as effective to about 11.5 feet (3.5 meters), which agrees well my own test results.
Movie Mode
Activated by turning the Mode dial to the movie camera icon, Movie mode allows you to capture up to 60 seconds of video at a time, with sound. Movie files are captured at 320 x 240-pixel resolution, at approximately 10 frames per second. Actual shooting time will vary depending on the amount of SmartMedia space available. (That is, it will never be longer than 60 seconds, but could be less, if your card is nearly full.) Once in Movie mode, a full press of the Shutter button both starts and stops the recording. The number of seconds of available recording time appears in the LCD display. The lens is locked in the wide angle position in Movie mode, but digital zoom is available, up to 2.5x. (Given the low resolution of the movie files, digital zoom is actually quite effective for Movie mode recordings.) No other exposure options are available in this mode.
Audio Recording
A Voice Caption option under the record menu (in Auto mode only) allows you to record up to 30 seconds of sound to accompany a still image. Recording starts and stops when the Menu/OK button is pressed, and the amount of available recording time is reported on the LCD screen.
Continuous Shooting
Available through the Setup sub-menu, Continuous Shooting mode captures as many as four consecutive frames at approximately 0.5-second intervals. (The average interval was 0.39 seconds in my own testing.) Actual cycle times will vary depending on the image resolution and quality settings, and the maximum number of shots in the series depends on the amount of available memory. After the series, the camera displays a thumbnail index of all four frames shot, allowing you to review them as the camera records them to the memory card. This review cannot be canceled, nor does it allow you to delete any of the images in the series.
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