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With the release of the FinePix S8000fd, Fujifilm brings to market a smart-looking digicam with an 8-megapixel imager, one of the longest zoom lenses in the market plus a compact, and relatively light, camera body. The cheapest of three similarly featured long zoom cameras in the current market (see table below for a feature comparison), the S8000fd has the distinction of being able to use both xD-Picture Card and SD cards (including SHDC), which are fitted in a single dual-format slot.

	Fujifilm S8000fd	Olympus SP-560 UZ	Panasonic FZ18
Resolution	8.0MP	8.0MP	8.0MP
Still file formats	JPEG	JPEG, RAW	JPEG, RAW
Lens FL equivalent	27-486mm	27-486mm	28-504mm
AF range	70 cm to infinity; macro 10-80 cm; super macro 1-100 cm	70 cm to infinity; macro 20 cm – infinity; super macro to 10 cm	30 cm to infinity; macro to 1 cm
Image stabilisation	CCD-shift type + ISO boost	CCD-shift type + ISO boost	Lens-shift + ISO boost
Face Detection	Up to 10 faces	Not specified	Up to 15 faces
Red-eye detection	yes	yes
Shutter speed range	4 to 1/2000 sec.	15-1/2000 sec	60-1/2000 sec
P, A, S, M  shooting modes	yes	yes	yes
Scene modes	Auto, PS (Picture Stabilization), Natural Light, Natural Light & with Flash modes and 13 scene pre-sets in two banks	25 settings	18 settings
ISO range	ISO 64-6400	ISO 50-6400	ISO 100-6400
White Balance	Auto, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent (x3), Incandescent, Custom	Auto, Overcast, sunlight, Tungsten, Fluorescent (x3)	Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen, Flash, White Set 1/2
Movies	VGA/QVGA at 30 fps (monaural sound)	VGA at 30 fps; QVGA/QQVGA at 15 fps	XGA,VGA,QVGA  at 30 fps
Continuous shooting speed/ capacity	1.3 fps for 3 shots at 8MP	1.2 fps at 8MP	3 fps for 7 shots
Flash modes	Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro (red-eye removal provided)	Auto, Red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in+Red eye reduction, Slow synchro, Off	Auto, On. Off, Slow synch. (red-eye reduction provided)
Flash range	0.3-8.8 m	to 2.3 metres	0.3-6.0 m
Exposure compensation	AE bracketing of +/- 1/3 EV, +/- 2/3 EV, +/- 1 EV	+/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps	+/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps
LCD monitor	2.5-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT (230K pixels)	2.5-inch LCD (230K pixels)	2.5-inch LCD (207K pixels)
Internal memory	Approx. 56MB	47MB	27MB
Memory card(s)	xD and SD/SDHC	xD	SD/SDHC
Batteries	4 x AA rechargeables	4 x AA	Li-ion rechargeable
Dimensions	111.3 x 78.2 x 79.3 mm	116 x 78.5 x 78 mm	118 x 75 x 88 mm
Weight	Approx. 410 grams (without batteries and card)	365 grams (without batteries and card)	360 grams (without batteries and card)
RRP	$699	$799	$879

Targeted at more advanced photographers, the S8000fd provides an interesting mix of manual and highly automated functions. Although supporting Program AE, aperture and shutter priority and manual exposure modes it also offers 13 illustrated scene pre-sets for less experienced users.  Other automated functions include Fujifilm's face detection system, which can identify up to 10 faces in a scene and adjust focus and exposure accordingly, plus a new automatic red-eye removal control that works with it.

Fujifilm's i-Flash flash metering system, which automatically adjusts flash intensity to minimise the incidence of blown-out highlights in flash shots, is also included. The 18x optical zoom lens has a maximum aperture range of f/2.8-4.5 and covers angles of view equivalent to 27-486mm on a 35mm camera. It is partnered with Fujifilm's Dual Image Stabilization system, which combines CCD shift with ISO boosting to a top value of ISO 1600 at full resolution and ISO 6400 at 4 megapixels.

The camera body is solidly constructed with a huge moulded grip and zoom lever surrounding the shutter button. Behind the shutter button sits a large on/off slider. Four AA batteries slot into the base of the grip and local buyers will receive NiMH rechargeables (plus a charger) instead of alkaline batteries as part of the purchase price of the camera. The memory card fits into a separate compartment toward the back of the grip.

Roughly half of the rear panel is covered by the 2.5-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT monitor, which has a resolution of 230,000 pixels. Above it is an electronic viewfinder with the same resolution and a 60 fps refresh rate to maintain a smooth-looking picture regardless of camera or subject motion. Right of the LCD monitor is the arrow pad, which has a central Menu/OK button and quick access buttons for macro, flash and self-timer settings.

The top panel of the camera carries the mode dial plus buttons for switching on the anti-shake and face detection functions. The pop-up flash is raised via a button on the left side panel. DC-in and A/V out ports are located behind a lift-up panel on the left side of the camera body. The cover on this panel appears to be quite loosely attached, although it fits flush with the camera body when it is closed.

Camera controls are divided between two menus and the range of adjustments provided varies with the shooting mode you select. In full auto mode, pressing the Menu button accesses the continuous shooting settings and the set-up menu. However, with any of the manual settings (P, A, S and M), this menu is also used to adjust the metering and AF patterns, white balance, sharpness, flash, continuous shooting and bracketing settings.

Regardless of which mode you select, the ISO, image size/quality and FinePix Colour settings are accessed via the Fn button. FinePix Colour, which has been around for several model generations, sets the camera's saturation modes and covers Standard, B&W and 'Chrome' (which increases saturation to simulate slide films). To adjust aperture and shutter speed settings you must press the +/- button then use the arrow pad to ratchet through the aperture range (which tops out at f/8) and/or shutter speeds (which range from 4-1/2000 second). Exposure compensation is also set via this button. A brightness histogram is displayed when you make these adjustments – but it's too small to be of much use for precise exposure determination.


Illustrated scene mode settings are provided, with a brief text exmplanation of their purpose.

Still pictures can only be recorded as JPEGs, with a top resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels. A 3:2 aspect ratio option is provided at 3264 x 2176 pixels for printing on snapshot paper. Continuous shooting frame rates vary with image size; at 8MP resolution you can only record three frames at 1.3 fps, while the top speed of 15 fps for 15 frames requires 2MP or lower resolution. Long-period continuous shooting has a maximum frame rate of one shot every two seconds.

Movie clips can be recorded at VGA or QVGA resolution, with a frame rate of 30 fps and monaural sound. Recording lengths are limited to 2GB, which is enough for just over 35 minutes at VGA resolution or almost an hour at QVGA. The internal memory holds only 62 seconds of VGA video or 99 seconds of QVGA clips.

The S8000fd supports the standard playback modes, offering single image display with or without shooting data, a nine-frame index or 'micro-thumbnail display of up to 100 pictures. Users can also playback slideshows in standard or 'scrapbook' format, trim shots, sort images into albums by date, record voice memos and activate highlight warnings in displayed shots.

Full frame playback with shooting data.

Performance

Although the test camera's LCD monitor was as dull and flat-looking as the monitor on the FinePix Z10fd, pictures taken with the test camera were very punchy on the Standard colour setting and somewhat over-saturated with the Chrome setting. Contrast was also higher than average for an advanced digicam. Exposures were pitched to record highlight detail, producing blocked-up shadows in brightly-lit subjects. Digital zoom shots were soft.

JPEG compression levels were relatively modest at higher resolution settings but quite savage for VGA-sized pictures. The table below shows the average size of image files at each resolution setting.

Low light performance was, however, excellent at ISO settings up to 800 but resolution and sharpness deteriorated rapidly above this level. Shots taken at ISO 1600 and above were only usable as snapshot-sized prints. Flash performance was also very good. The built-in flash was able to illuminate an average-sized room at ISO settings of 200 and above and flash exposures were evenly balanced at all ISO settings.

Imatest showed resolution to be slightly below expectations and revealed a fall-off in sharpening towards the edges of frames.The lens/sensor combination performed better from the middle ot the zoom range to about three quarters of full tele extension than it did with the wide (27mm equivalent) setting, where barrel distorion was apparent. Lateral chromatic aberration levels were low and we detected only slight evidence of coloured fringing in shots taken in bright sunlight. Colour accuracy was reasonably good but Imatest revealed boosted saturation throughout the warmer hues and some shifts in skin colours and olive green.

The auto white balance had the usual problems with incandescent lighting but handled fluorescent lighting well. However, neither the manual pre-set nor the custom measurement could produce truly a truly neutral colour balance under tungsten lighting.
On average, the test camera took just over 1.5 seconds to power-up and extend its lens and shot-to-shot times without flash averaged 1.5 seconds. With flash, average shot-to-shot times were around three seconds with a fully-charged set of NiMH batteries. We measured an average capture lag of 0.65 seconds, which reduced to less than 0.1 seconds with pre-focusing. In the long-period continuous shooting mode, the camera recorded high-resolution JPEGs at 1.7 second intervals, slowing slightly after 3 shots. When the high-speed continuous shooting mode was selected, shot-to-shot intervals contracted to just under 0.1 second.

IMATEST GRAPHS

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting

Tungsten pre-set with incandescent lighting


Short exposure at ISO 100.


Short exposure at ISO 1600.

After-dark exposure at ISO 800

After dark exposure at ISO 6400

Close-up

Digital zoom

Image sensor: 1/2.35-type CCD with  (8.0 megapixels effective)
Lens: Fujinon 4.7-84.2mm, f/2.8-4.5 zoom lens (27-486mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 18x optical, 5.1x digital
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies – AVI (Motion JPEG)/WAV
Image Sizes: Stills - 3264 x 2448, 3264 x 2176 (3:2 format), 2304 x 1728, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480; Movies – VGA/QVGA at 30 fps (monaural sound)
Shutter speed range: 4 to 1/2000 sec. (varies with shooting mode)
Image Stabilisation: CCD-shift type
Exposure Compensation: AE bracketing of +/- 1/3 EV, +/- 2/3 EV, +/- 1 EV
Focus system/range: Area/Multi/Centre AF with Continuous and manual focus; range -70 cm to infinity; macro 10-80 cm; super macro 1-100 cm
Exposure metering/control: TTL 256-zone metering; P, A, S, and M shooting modes plus Auto, PS (Picture Stabilisation), Natural Light, Natural Light & with Flash modes and 13 scene pre-sets in two banks
ISO range: Auto, ISO 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400
White balance: Auto, Fine, Shade, Fluorescent (x3), Incandescent, Custom
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro (red-eye removal provided); range 0.3-8.8 m
Sequence shooting:  0.5 fps long-period; max 15 fps for 15 shots at 2M pixels or lower); 7 fps at 4M pixels or 1.3 fps for 3 shots at 8M pixels
Storage Media: Approx. 56MB internal memory plus dual xD-Picture Card/SD/SDHC expansion slot
Viewfinder: 0.24-inch EVF with 230,000 pixels; 97% coverage, 60 fps refresh rate
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT color LCD monitor (WV type) with 230,000 pixels
Power supply:  4 x AA type NiMH batteries (charger included)
Dimensions (wxhxd): 111.3 x 78.2 x 79.3 mm
Weight: Approx. 410 grams (without batteries and card)