Yet another 18x zoom, wide-angle lens SLR look-a-like, the S8000fd has the right look and the right stats. But did it stand up to the competition?
Review summary of the FujiFilm Finepix S8000fd:
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 We had high hopes for the S8000fd; it simply looked nicer than the other superzooms we've tested. The lens was great, the zoom impressive and the design well thought-out (we love Fujifilm's xD/SD card reader), but features-wise, it just didn't stand up. No RAW support, a terrible video mode a shortage of beginner-level shooting options meant it fell just short of its competition. The s8000fd is still a solid camera, however, and does a good job of bridging the gap between fully automatic and fully manual shooting. Release: October 2007. Price: $400.
Pros: Excellent 18x zoom lens, good button placement, color-rich images
Cons: No RAW support, option-less video mode
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Full FujiFilm Finepix S8000fd Review:
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Editor's note: Click here to check out our in-depth review of the Fujifilm Finepix S8100fd.
Design and interface – Very good
With the Finepix s8000fd, Fujifilm has officially tossed their hat into the superzoom ring, squaring off against the Olympus SP-560UZ and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. Adopting the same “baby SLR” body style, the s8000fd is big, heavy and serious-looking. The 2.5-inch display is par for the course, but its 230,000 pixel count was impressive. We still prefer the electronic viewfinder found directly above it, a 0.24-inch display that also has 230,000 pixels. Fujifilm decided to go with four AA batteries to power the camera; whether this is a positive or a negative depends on the consumer. An infrequent photographer who uses the camera for long trips will appreciate the flexibility of disposable batteries, but a frequent photographer who takes many short trips with the camera will definitely want to spring for rechargeables.
The included neckstrap is appreciated, as the camera weighs in at just over a pound. Fujifilm did their best making it easy to hold, with ribber grips along the right side and the back panel. They manage the available space on the back panel well, with symmetrical button placement and a responsive four-way d-pad. The d-pad was small, but we had no problems hitting the button we wanted.
We liked the top-mounted mode selector wheel, the spring-loaded circular zoom button surrounding the shutter and the dedicated face detection and anti-shake buttons, but we question the placement of the microphone. Located right next to the flash release button and right by the loop for the lens cap string, we imagine a lot of movement and friction occurring in the area, which makes for crummy audio on videos. The spring-loaded power switch was one of our favorites, and we loved how we could review pictures without turning the camera on, without extending the zoom lens or removing the lens cap.
Like most superzoom cameras, the s8000fd’s body is dominated by the giant, wide-angle (27mm) 18x zoom lens. And although the elongated hand grip does look a little goofy, it’s very comfortable. The black matte finish also provides more grip than the smooth plastic we’re used to seeing. We also loved that the camera took both xD and SD/SDHC cards. While the camera won’t win any beauty contests, it’s ergonomically sound and thoughtfully designed.
Fujifilm's interface is designed for simplicity, and when the camera actually is simple, like on their Finepix z10fd, it works. But with the plethora of shooting features and options that come along with a superzoom camera, it becomes troublesome. Fujifilm tries to ameliorate this with dedicated buttons and pre-menus. For example, when the user clicks the menu button, an pre-menu with options for continuous focus and high-speed shooting pops up, and to get to the main setup menu, the user must scroll down and select "setup." There's also a dedicated 'f' button, which brings up options for ISO settings, image quality and Finepix color mode. It takes a bit to get used to using these dedicated buttons for their specific functions, but once it becomes second nature it does help streamline the picture-taking process.
Shooting features – Good
Fujifilm offers six different resolutions for shooting stills, but only one of them is widescreen, a 3:2 mode that doesn’t specify pixel count. We do love how Fujifilm lists how many pictures can be taken at each resolution, a practical feature we’d like to see on every camera. We were disappointed that the camera didn't shoot RAW images, something that even non-superzoom point-and-shoots are doing these days.
Similar to what we saw on the Panasonic DMC-TZ3, the s8000fd has an SP1 an SP2 toggle switch. All the scene modes in each setting are the same, but since the camera remembers the last scene selected, it’s possible to set up the camera for easy switching. For example, on the fourth of July, you can set SP1 for “fireworks” and SCN2 for “night,” toggling back and forth depending on whether taking pictures of the fireworks show or your friends and family. The number of scene modes (13) was low, but had all the usual suspects: portrait, night, landscape, auction and others.
The P, A and S modes (Program, Aperture and Shutter) served to bridge the gap between the fully automatic AUTO mode and the completely manual M (Manual) mode. Aperture and Shutter modes are automatic modes that allow manual control of Aperture and Shutter speed, respectively. Program mode allows the user to control something called “Program Shift,” which allows the user to cycle through sets of shutter speed and aperture combinations.
These four modes are the only ones in which ISO settings were adjustable, but continuous auto-focus and hi-speed shooting are options on every mode on the dial. ISO settings ranged from 64 to 1600 at full resolution, and up to 6400 at half resolution (4MP).
We would have liked to see some way to save our customized settings for aperture and shutter speed, as well as white balance, metering, sharpness and bracketing, among others, but found no option to do so.
Video on the s8000fd seemed to be added as an afterthought; the only available shooting option we had was a choice between shooting in 640x480 or 320x240 resolutions. We understand that the camera is designed to take great stills, not videos, but this is still pretty lame, especially considering the video capabilities of its competitors.
Image Quality - Good
We saw both good and bad from the Fujinon zoom lens, struggling under poor lighting conditions but performing well in ideal light.
Outdoor shot taken in 'Portrait' modeEven at around 10x zoom, this shot is where the face detection technology shines. In a busy environment like Times Square, the s8000 did a good job of finding the face, focusing on it and forgetting about everything else. but we would have liked the colors to have been brighter, as the yellow on the hat is a bit dull, and the subject's outline is a bit fuzzier that we would have liked.
Indoor shot taken in 'Macro' modeMacro shooting is all about detail, and while the level of detail on the apple in this shot is not as good as it could be, the macro mode did make the close-up shooting easier.
Outdoor shot taken in 'Auto' modeWe were most impressed by the richness of the color in this shot. The different colors of the candy wrappers stand out like a box of crayons, and we even the fill-flash on the camera was mostly unobtrusive. The camera handled the range of color pretty well, although we did see some vignetting around the edges and corners, though this was probably more a lighting issue than a flaw in the lens.
Outdoor shot taken in 'Natural light' modeThe lights and motion made shooting without blurring quite difficult, but using the "Natural light" mode, we were able to get this shot, which we liked, especially since the neon lighting didn't blur the entire. The top left corner is a bit too fuzzy for our liking, but we forgive it because we were using only natural light, and that portion of the ceiling was poorly lit.
Indoor shot taken in 'Auction' modeDesigned for quick and easy uploading to auction Web sites that have file size limits on photos and charge for each picture added, the idea behind 'Auction' mode is to keep file sizes down and fit as much as possible into one frame. At 0.3-megapixels, the images were small, lacked detail and were generally unattractive. The camera lets you focus each frame individually, and then stitches four shots together. We shot ours in a toy store, and we imagine a better environment might provide prettier shots, but it does what it's supposed to do.
The video recording experience on the S8000fd was simply average. As we said before, the entire video mode lacked options or customization, but it was helped by the above-average lens. We were disappointed that Fujifilm only offered VGA resolution with no widescreen options, but the video mode seems more like an afterthought.
Image transfer - Good
Fujifilm kept it simple with their software installation, packaging everything into a single install. The FinePix viewer is fairly basic, and seems to be focused around getting the user to send their pictures over the internet to be printed and mailed back to them. The viewer’s minimal editing options include cropping, text addition and rotation, but that’s about it. A click of the “Improve Image” button opens the FinePix Studio software, but it’s only for RAW files, which the s8000fd regrettably does not support. We can’t see ourselves using the software frequently, unless we’re ordering prints. It’s OK as an ablum viewer, but beyond that, the software is pretty “blah.” Transfer speeds were decent though, and we saw no noticeable lag when uploading photos with the included USB 2.0 cable.
Accessories – Good
Accessories bundled with the s8000fd were pretty standard, including a USB 2.0 cable, an A/V cable, a neck strap, a lens cap, 4AA batteries and a software CD-ROM. The optional accessories were limited, with only a leather case and an AC adaptor (for charging optional rechargeable NiMH batteries) offered. It would have been nice to see a glare shield, like we’ve seen on other superzooms, but we don’t consider it required by any means.
Price and availability
The FujiFilm Finepix S8000fd will start selling for $400 () in October 2007.
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