Fujifilm FinePix F600 EXR digital camera review
Super-zoom travel camera with GPS and motion detection
Review date: 03 November, 2011. Review by: Jamie Carter
The Fujifilm FinePix F600 EXR digital camera is a 'travel camera' - part of a burgeoning market that cynical types might see as an excuse for manufacturers to resurrect chunky old designs and call then 'rugged'. But beyond its impressively solid build quality, the Fujifilm has a lot more travel-friendly features to offer.
New features
The chief new feature of this update to the brand's F550 is a novel motion-detection system that tracks moving subjects around the LCD screen in real time. A neat feature it is, too, with EXR Auto mode on the dial adding an automatic preset, too; point the F600 at a person and it switches into portrait mode, but if a dog runs across the frame it will instantly go in to pet mode, and so on. There are 27 different modes, including specific face recognition settings for both cats and dogs!
All that's actually happening is that a motion sensor is calculating the best ISO to use depending on what's going on in front of you, but there are some more options within; Resolution Priority, High ISO + Low Noise, and D-Range Priority (dynamic range - where two images are spliced together, useful in low light conditions and to avoid washout).
Old favourites
Fans of the F550 will be glad to find that this compact camera's ability to shoot in the photographer's friend RAW format remains, as does 1080p video recording at 30fps (though its 320x112 pixel, 320fps might be just as useful for posting slow-mo on YouTube.
These facilities are now joined by the must-have - though battery hungry - feature of any true travel camera: GPS. It'll find nearby landmarks (though it's no replacement for a good guidebook), and even tag them on any picture you take.
We're really not sold on this feature yet, however common it might be becoming - though on the F600, it appeared to work reasonably well. Albeit at the cost of around two-thirds of battery life...
Super zoom
Of most use while travelling, or in general use, is the F600's lens. Capable of 15x optical zoom (a shade bigger than that of its closest rival, the Casio Exilim EX-H20G), this 24-360mm equivalent lens, coupled with the camera's massive 16-megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor, gives the F600 a seriously impressive dimension that's just as good at a wedding (where we primarily tested it) as it is taking snaps of cityscapes.
The last feature of note is Motion Panorama, though we had trouble here; during our tests the camera rejected our many attempts to sweep across a crowded room to capture a 360-degree shot. Finally we managed to capture one such shot, which was impressive indeed and as smooth and detailed as we'd hoped - though marred by our earlier frustrating experience.
Other details
Elsewhere, this camera's 3in LCD screen is clear enough, though it's not a touchscreen. The user interface, while simple and nicely designed, can be tricky to navigate because of the camera's overly-sensitive clickwheel design on the back - it behaves like a poor man's iPod Classic (remember them?), sweeping past our intended choice far too easily.
The dial atop the camera, meanwhile, contains Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Auto and Movie modes. One design characteristic we like very much is the dedicated button for switching into movie mode; an essential feature if anything at all spontaneous is going to be captured - though it's rather too easy to accidentally activate and slip into shooting a movie.
Company: FujiFilm
Website: http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/
Contact: Fujifilm on 0844 553 2322
