Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom Review
Phil Askey, January 2004

Review based on a production FinePix S7000 Zoom, Firmware Ver 1.00

The S7000 Zoom was announced by Fujifilm at the end of July this year and marks the fifth generation of Fujifilm's top-end prosumer digital camera. The camera looks almost identical to the S602 Pro Zoom which was announced in November 2002 (it was a subtle update of the S602 Zoom). The only physical differences between the two is the addition of the new FinePix 'Photo mode' button on the rear of the camera, the removal of the Pro's PC Sync terminal, a gold SuperCCD logo and a change of the silk screen on the side of the lens barrel, the S602 Pro Zoom said '6x Optical Zoom', the S7000 says '19x, 6x Optical, 3.2x Digital' (a slide back to marketing tactics of the late 90's).

Timeline

• Fujifilm MX-2900 Zoom: May 1999
• Fujifilm FinePix 4900 Zoom: August 2000
• Fujifilm FinePix 6900 Zoom: March 2001
• Fujifilm FinePix S602 Zoom: January 2002
• Fujifilm FinePix S602 Pro Zoom: November 2002 *
• Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom: July 2003

* The S602 Pro Zoom was a subtle 'packaging update' to the S602 Zoom, the S602 Pro Zoom had an all black body and added a PC Sync socket, threaded cable release socket, all-black finish, 4 NiMH AA batteries and fast charger and a bundled 340 MB IBM Microdrive.

Fujifilm FinePix S7000 vs. S602 (Pro) Zoom (spec. differences)

	FinePix S7000 Zoom	FinePix S602 (Pro) Zoom
Sensor	SuperCCD IV HR	SuperCCD III
Effective pixels	6.3 million	3.3 million
Image sizes	4048 x 3040 (12 MP) 2848 x 2136 (6 MP) 2016 x 1512 (3 MP) 1600 x 1200 (2 MP) 1280 x 960 (1 MP)	2832 x 2128 (6 MP) 2048 x 1536 (3 MP) 1280 x 960 (1 MP) 640 x 480 (VGA)
Image formats	JPEG (EXIF 2.2) CCD-RAW	JPEG TIFF
Sensitivity (auto)	ISO 160 - 800	Unknown
Sensitivity (manual)	ISO 200, 400 ISO 800 (1 MP / 2 MP / 3 MP only)	ISO 160, 200, 400 ISO 800, 1600 (1 MP only)
Zoom control	Buttons on rear Focus/Zoom ring on lens barrel	Buttons on rear
Digital zoom	3 MP: 2x 2 MP: 2.5x 1 MP: 3.2x	3 MP: 1.4x 2 MP: 2.2x 1 MP: 4.4x
Auto focus drive	Continuous AF Single AF	Single AF
Bulb shutter speed	Yes	No
Apertures	F2.8 - F8.0 (10 steps)	F2.8 - F11 (13 steps)
Electronic viewfinder	0.44" 235,000 pixel LCD	0.44" 180,000 pixel LCD
LCD Monitor	1.8" 118,000 pixel TFT LCD	1.8" 110,000 pixel TFT LCD
Histogram	Play mode Record mode (live histogram)	Play mode
Continuous	3.3 fps, first 5 frames 2 fps, last 5 frames 1 fps, 40 frames * * 1 MP / 2 MP / 3 MP only	5 fps, first 5 frames 5 fps, last 5 frames 1.8 fps, 40 frames * * 1 MP only
Color modes	Standard Chrome B & W	None
Flash range	Wide: 0.3 - 8.5 m (11.8 in - 27.9 ft) Tele: 0.9 - 7.9 m (3.0 ft - 32.2 ft)	Wide: 0.2 - 4.7 m (7.8 in - 15.4 ft) Tele: 0.2 - 3.0 m (7.8 in - 9.8 ft)
USB interface	USB 2.0	USB 1.1
External flash	Flash hot-shoe	Flash hot-shoe PC Sync flash terminal *P
Remote control	Screw-in wired shutter release	Screw-in wired shutter release *P
Video out	NTSC / PAL selectable	Varied by region
Storage	Slot 1: xD-Picture Card Slot 2: Compact Flash Type I/II	Slot 1: SmartMedia Slot 2: Compact Flash Type I/II
Supplied Fujifilm software	FinePix Viewer Image Mixer VCD2 for FinePix RAW File Converter LE	FinePix Viewer DP Editor

*P S602 Pro Zoom only

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

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (normally 960 x 720 or smaller if cropped) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

This review is Copyright 2004 Phil Askey and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey.