Fujifilm FinePix F810 Review
Simon Joinson, October 2004


Review based on a production Fujifilm FinePix F810 Zoom

The FinePix F810 Zoom was announced worldwide at the end of July 2004, though it was only made available to customers in North America very recently. The F810 is essentially the same camera as the F700/710 with a different sensor. Whereas the F700/710 cameras used the new Super CCD SR technology found in the upcoming FinePix S3 PRO DSLR, the F810's sensor is the fourth generation of the now well-established Super CCD technology, offering 12.3MP output from 6.3 million effective pixels. Like the F700/710 the new camera offers a 4x optical zoom (32.5-130mm equiv.), widescreen (16:9) LCD and shooting mode, fast operation and a fairly comprehensive array of manual controls in a compact, traditionally-styled all-metal body. Interestingly the lens, sensor, processing and user interface are identical in every way to a less expensive, non-widescreen, plastic-bodied camera, the FinePix E550, which we will be adding to this review shortly. So what does your five hundred dollars get you?

  • Newly-developed 1/1.7- inch Super CCD HR sensor with 6.3 million effective pixels (delivering 12.3 million recorded pixels)
  • Wide angle 4x optical zoom lens (32.5mm - 130mm equiv.)
  • High resolution 2.1-inch widescreen LCD
  • Full range of exposure controls (P/S/A/M)
  • Wide range of ISO settings (80/100/200/400/800)
  • VGA movie recording at 30 fps with sound
  • AF Illuminator
  • USB 2.0 connectivity
  • RAW file format
  • Fast start-up and operation
  • Includes PictureCradle for battery charging and image transfer
  • PictBridge™ compatibility for direct printing without a PC

FujiFilm FinePix F810 Zoom Key specifications

Street price • US: $499
• UK: £340
Body Material Metal
Sensor • 1/1.7" Super CCD HR
• 6.3 million effective pixels
Image sizes

• 4048 x 3040
• 2848 x 2136
• 2048 x 1536
• 1600 x 1200
• 640 x 480

Widescreen mode:
• 3968 x 2232
• 3200 x 1800
• 2304 x 1296
• 2048 x 1512
• 768 x 432

Movie clips

Standard mode:
• 640 x 480 pixels @ 30 fps
• 320 x 240 pixels @ 30 fps

Widescreen mode:
• 640 x 360 pixels @ 30 fps
• 320 x 184 pixels @ 30 fps

• Motion JPEG (.avi)
• With monoaural sound (WAVE)
Lens

• Fujinon 32.5 - 130mm equiv. (4x optical zoom)
• F2.8 - F5.6
Focus • TTL contrast-type Autofocus
• 49 area multi AF (auto or manual select)
• Center AF
• Manual focus
Focus range • Normal: 60 cm - infinity
• Macro: 7.5 cm to 80 cm
Shutter speed 3 - 1/2000 sec
Aperture • F 2.8 - F 8 - ten steps at wideangle
• F 5.6 - F8.4 - 4 steps at telephoto in 1/3 EV increments Manual/Auto selectable
Shooting mode

• Auto
• Shutter priority
• Aperture priority
• Program
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Sports
• Night scene
• AE compensation -2.0EV to +2.0 EV in 1/3EV steps
Color Modes • B&W
• Chrome
• Standard
Sensitivity • Auto
• ISO 80
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800 (resolution set at 3MP)
White balance

• Auto
• Manual
• Fluorescent Light (warm white)
• Fluorescent Light (cool white)
• Incandescent Light
• Custom
Image parameters

• 'F Color': B&W, Chrome (high saturation), Standard
• Sharpness (3 levels)

Continuous • 3fps up to 4 frames (top 4 or final 4)
• 1.6 fps up to 40 frames (2MP resolution only)
Flash • Built-in pop-up flash
• Modes: Auto, Red-eye reduction, On/Off, Slow Synchro, Red-eye reduction + slow synchro
• Range: (wide) 3.0 m, (tele) 2.5 m
• Flash brightness adjustment (-0.6 to +0.6 EV in 0.3EV steps)
Storage • xD-Picture Card
• 16MB included *
Viewfinder • Real Image Optical
LCD monitor • 2.1 " CG Silicon TFT
• 173,000 pixels
Connectivity • USB 2.0
• A/V out
• DC-IN
Power • NP-40 Rechargeable InfoLithium® Battery
• AC adapter included*

In the box*

• NP-40 rechargeable battery
• AV cable
• Strap
• AC power adapter
• 16MB xD-Picture Card
• PictureCradle
• USB cable
• CD-ROM

Other features

• RAW mode
• 16:9 widescreen shooting mode
• PC Dock included (PictureCradle)
• Playback histogram
• Voice memos
• DPOF, Exif Print and PictBridge compatible
• Multi, Spot and Average Metering
• Autofocus Illuminator

Weight (inc batt)

200 g (7.1 oz)
Dimensions 110 x 54 x 29 mm (4.3 x 2.1 x 1.1 in)

* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area


If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

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This article is Copyright 2004 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.

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