Fuji FinePix S20 Pro

Viewfinder
The S20 Pro offers an "electronic" optical viewfinder (EVF), essentially a smaller version of the 1.8-inch LCD monitor that's viewed through the camera's eyepiece. The 0.44-inch optical viewfinder display has the same detailed information display as the larger LCD monitor, complete with exposure information such as aperture and shutter speed. The micro-LCD used in the S20 Pro's EVF offers very high resolution at a whopping 235,000 pixels, making it much more useful for focusing, particularly in conjunction with the 2x focus-assist magnification feature. The high resolution is also welcome when it comes to reading menu items. A firm but resilient eyecup surrounds the viewfinder eyepiece, and shouldn't cause any problems for eyeglass wearers, given the S20 Pro's fairly high eyepoint. A diopter adjustment dial on the left side of the eyepiece adjusts the focus of the display across a fairly wide range, so most eyeglass wearers should be well accommodated. (By way of reference, my own vision is a myopic 20/180 or so, and the dioptric adjustment just manages to accommodate my unaided eyes at the "nearsighted" end of its range.) An EVF/LCD button on the back panel switches the display between the viewfinder eyepiece and the larger LCD monitor. Its excellent attributes aside though, the S20 Pro's EVF shares a weakness with most viewfinders of its type, in that it's more or less useless under dim lighting conditions, not good much below about 1/4 foot-candle or so. (While the camera can capture images under much darker conditions, you literally won't be able to see what you're shooting at.)

Activated through the Setup menu, an Image Review function automatically displays the last-captured image on the LCD monitor as it's being recorded to the memory card. The Preview option lets you delete the image before it's saved. An interesting feature here is that Preview mode lets you enlarge the captured image and double-check framing or exposure details (using the zoom control to enlarge and the arrow keys to move the view). If you're not happy with the shot, simply erase it and start again. Preview mode also lets you select specific images from a series to record, such as those from one of the Continuous Shooting modes. You can thus save memory card space by keeping only the frames you want.

Another useful feature on the S20 Pro is the Focus Check button (just to the right of the LCD monitor), which enlarges the central portion of the image on the LCD display 2x. This makes manual focusing quite a bit easier, as you can clearly see the finer details as they sharpen.

The S20 Pro's electronic viewfinder system is very accurate, showing 99+ percent of the final frame area at both wide angle and telephoto zoom settings. (The lower measurement line was just barely cut off at the telephoto setting, but accuracy was still pretty good.) The LCD monitor is also very accurate, since it shows the same view, just on a larger screen. Given that I like LCD monitors to be as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible, the S20 Pro's LCD monitor is essentially perfect in this regard.