The new Fuji Finepix S602 Not just another pretty face
Written: Sep 08 '02 (Updated Sep 11 '02)
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Pros: 6X zoom, superb 3 megapixel image quality, excellent movie mode, dual media storage capability
Cons: The S602 is a real power hog
The Bottom Line: If you need enhanced 3 megapixel resolution, the ability to shoot action, and lots of pro/creative features the Fuji S602 is an outstanding choice for advanced users.
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: FUJIFILM FinePix S602 Zoom Digital Camera |
The Fujifilm Corporation has never gotten the respect in the digital camera arena that they deserve, and that is strange since they've introduced some of the most innovative digital cameras ever produced. The Finepix 2600 Zoom remains one of the best general use 2 megapixel digital cameras available and savvy digicam users loved the Finepix 6800.
The Fuji Finepix 6900 Zoom was a very popular mid level digital camera with lots of creative options and superb ergonomics. Consumers loved the camera and word of mouth advertising made it an overnight hit. The 6900Z’s core users were demanding amateur photographers who were looking for an acceptable balance between digital convenience and 35mm image quality. The company struggled for almost a year to keep up with the demand for the 6900 among advanced digital photography enthusiasts.
Fuji’s newest digital camera, the Finepix S602 continues Fuji’s innovative approach with a new model that more or less replaces the incredibly popular Finepix 6900Z. Using Fuji’s proprietary 3rd generation “Super CCD” (individual sensors are octagonal rather than square) imager the S602 offers users 3.1megapixel resolution (which can be increased to 6.1 megapixels through interpolation).
Because of the diagonal arrangement of the honeycomb-shaped individual sensors, slightly more image information is captured than with a standard square sensor array. The 602’s interpolation software uses this additional picture data to record noticeably sharper images with slightly increased tone (contrast and shadow detail) and color saturation. The result is an enhanced image with a subtle but clearly visible difference in depth and “look” when compared to other three megapixel digital cameras. Innterpolation has a bad name with digital camera users, which is interesting since all digital cameras use on board software interpolation to “boost” color and image sharpness.
Features
Fuji’s engineers and marketing folks listened carefully to consumers so the new S602 builds on the Finepix 6900’s exceptional capabilities by switching to AA batteries for greatly increased run times, providing slots for both SmartMedia and CompactFlash memory cards (and IBM Microdrives), improving color fidelity, reducing noise in low light images, and enhancing shooting speed. The S602 also has significantly improved white balance, an amazing 640X480 @ 30 FPS digital movie mode, a new low light 1600 ISO mode, and faster motor-drive modes to help capture action sequences. The S602 is a well-designed update of the Finepix 6900Z, clearly a winner for both Fuji and demanding digital camera buyers.
The S602’s new EVF (electronic view finder) is one of the best I've ever seen, with accuracy and fine detail that is amazing for such a tiny screen. The 602’s LCD screen is equally impressive, colors are bright and images are crisp. There is virtually no lag between “real time” in front of the camera and what you see on the LCD screen. In full Automatic mode the S602 makes all exposure decisions, but in every other exposure mode the camera allows some degree of user input. Factor in the ability to record 20MB uncompressed TIFF images and you’ll begin to see just how versatile the S602 really is.
Controls, Design, & Ergonomics
The S602 is a substantial package (the camera weighs about 1 pound) which means you ain’t gonna be droppin’ this bad boy in your pocket. All controls are well laid out and logical (although it will require some quality time with the users manual to take advantage of all the cameras features). When you first pick up the S602 it feels a little blocky and different, but it quickly becomes comfortable to hold and use.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 3.1 Megapixel (2048x1536) and Interpolated (2832x2121) enhanced images
Viewfinder: EVF (Electronic Viewfinder)
LCD: 1.8” TFT LCD
Lens: 6X optical Fujinon EBC f2.8-f11/35mm-210mm(35mm equivalent) Zoom
Filter Thread: 55mm (with optional converter)
Metering: 64 zone multi-segment
Exposure Modes: Program AE, Auto, Scene Program modes, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual exposure modes.
Image Storage Media: Compact Flash (CF) Types I and II, Smartmedia (SM), and IBM MicroDrive
Image File Formats: Jpeg and TIFF
Flash: built in multi mode and hot shoe for external flash units
Movie Mode: Yes 640X480 @ 30 FPS with sound
Burst/Continuous Mode: Yes up to 5 FPS for 5 shots @ full resolution
Auto Focus: Combined Passive IR (for rough focus) and contrast detection (for fine focus) system
Sensitivity: ISO (35mm equivalent) 160, 200, 400, 800, and 1,600
Shutter Speeds: 15 seconds to 1/10,000th of a second
White Balance: Nine user-selectable white balance settings, including a manual adjustment.
Connectivity: USB
Power: Four AA-type batteries rather than the NP-80 battery used in the 6900 and other models.
Included
16MB SM card, neck strap, lens cap, AV and USB cables, 4 AA alkaline batteries, software CD, and printed instruction manual
Optional
Fuji AC adaptor, 1700mAh NiMH AA batteries, NiMH charger, IBM MicroDrive, and filter adapter (users can attach 55mm filters and add on wide angle and telephoto converter lenses).
In the Field/Handling & Operation
My friend (who sells digital and analog cameras and photographic equipment) stopped by on Friday morning, right before the start of the Labor Day weekend and asked me if I wanted to go along while he tested the new Fuji Finepix S602. He knows I love to play with new photographic toys, digital or analog, so the answer was a foregone conclusion.
We spent quite a bit of time using the camera over the long holiday weekend.
Saturday afternoon was absolutely beautiful so we took the camera to Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville’s only arboretum. Blue skies with small wispy white clouds made an excellent backdrop for the rows and rows of white marble and limestone headstones on the hill that serves as a final resting place for the hundreds of Union soldiers killed in Kentucky during the Civil War.
The top of the hillside has a smaller number of Confederate soldiers at rest. This small area is the only place in the country where Northern and Southern troops killed in the War Between the States lie at rest together. The hill slopes down to a small pond, with a group of trees at the bottom.
The Civil War section of Cave Hill has long been a favorite shooting site for both my friend and I. Some wonderful patterns take shape as you walk along the road above the headstones. We spent an hour and were able to shoot several striking images.
After the cemetery we decided that the cool shade and old growth trees along Beargrass Creek in Cherokee Park would be a great second shooting location. The creek was very low because of the summer long drought and the small pools were absolutely still and the water looked like a mirror. The huge ancient trees threw the creek into heavy shade but the S602 was able to produce some super images that looked like they had been shot out in the middle or nowhere, rather than right in the middle of the city.
We found one small patch of cinnamon fern that was reflected beautifully in the surface of the creek. The light was pretty dim but the bright green ferns were slightly backlit with the reflection almost glowing on the dark gray surface of the creek. The S602 did a great job of rendering the scene accurately with no visible noise in the 5X7 enlargement we printed the following day.
After we had cooled down we decide to drive up Park Boundary Road to nearby Seneca Park. We followed Beargrass Creek and at the end of Peewee Reese Road stopped to shoot the small waterfall. The water in the creek was very low (due to the drought) and the waterfall was more of a water dribble and the area was swarming with absolutely merciless and completely bloodthirsty mosquitoes. My friend doesn’t like the woods much anyway and the mosquitoes ruined what little enthusiasm he had remaining for the great outdoors.
We returned to Bardstown Road and drove over to Baxter Avenue to shoot the huge coffee pot and cup outside Lynn’s Paradise Café. By this time it was mid evening and we got some wonderful backlighting on Lynn’s “kitschy” signature sculptures. The images of the huge concrete kitchen symbols were super with deeply saturated colors and incredible detail. We used a 340 MB IBM Microdrive and a 64MB Smart Media card to record everything we shot, and surprisingly the SM card had faster write to card times even when recording high resolution uncompressed TIFF images.
Shutter Lag/Timing
The S602 has very fast shot to shot times because of the large buffer and shutter lag is quite short, easily better than most three megapixel digital cameras. Because it accepts a wide range of image storage media (SmartMedia, CompactFlash, and IBM Microdrives), the S602’s write to card times vary significantly depending on the media used. Smart Media cards seemed to be the fastest (in my subjective and un-scientific tests) but your mileage may vary. The S602 is one of the fastest digital cameras on the market and its operation is optimized for sports and action photography
Image Quality
We always do a color test before we really start testing any camera. We shoot a selection of brightly colored plastic children’s toys against a white background in a home made macro stage with a single softbox lighting set up. Colors were consitently excellent.
The S602’s new White Balance system worked beautifully, handling several different types of light (fluorescent, incandescent, and daylight) equally well. We printed out two 5X7’s and two 8X10’s on an Epson Color Stylus 785 EPX and the images were comparable to 35mm ISO 100 color print film images we've printed out on the same printer. If image quality is important then you’ll like the S602. We didn’t shoot any “people” pictures or macro shots, so I can’t comment on skin tone reproduction or macro image quality.
A Few Concerns
I was a bit disappointed that the S602 only permits shooting TIFF images in the 6 megapixel mode. Fuji’s engineers should have included a 3 megapixel TIFF mode in a $600.00 digital camera. There is noticeable barrel distortion at the wide-angle end of the S602’s 6X zoom but chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is well controlled throughout the zooms range.
The S602 doesn’t have a battery level monitor so you’ll have little warning when your batteries are about to die. The blinking crossed-out battery symbol will only give you 3 or 4 seconds warning before the camera shuts down. Make sure you carry at least two sets of rechargeable NiNH batteries with you. Four NiMH AA’s are good for about 200 exposures with heavy LCD use.
If you like the S602, shop around a bit before making your purchase---the price varies from around $450.00 to over $800.00. With some aggressive comparison shopping the savvy consumer should be able to get the camera with a larger SM/CF card (64Mb) for $500--$600.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a digital camera that behaves like a film SLR and produces excellent 3 megapixel images, the Fuji Finepix S602 may be just what you've been searching for. The 6X zoom, fast operation, better than average shutter lag and shot to shot cycle times, excellent color and sharp resolution, and low image noise make this camera a real contender for serious amateur photographers.
If you liked the Finepix 2600Z and want to move up to a three megapixel camera, or if you were one of the many fans of the Finepix 6900Z and want to get into the updated version of that amazing camera, then the S602 is the digi-cam for you. If you aren’t familiar with Fuji’s digital cameras you may be pleasantly surprised at just how good they really are. My friend warns that Fuji is having trouble keeping up with the demand for the S602 (and the new Fuji Finepix S2 PRO 6 megapixel Digital SLR) so you may have to wait for delivery if you buy the S602. Highly recommended
Check out my review of a bargain priced and very capable photo quality ink-jet printer.
Epson Stylus Photo 785 EPX ink-jet printer
http://www.epinions.com/content_60776812164
For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my review:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1
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Just “cut’n’paste” the URL into your browser’s address window.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 333
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About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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