Digital Trends

Fujifilm Finepix s8100fd

March 14th, 2008 | by David Elrich

Performance and Use

I initially put in the camera in Auto mode with 10MP Fine setting (3642 x 2736 pixels) with the digital zoom off, engaging Dual IS and Face Detect with red-eye removal. The camera starts quickly (less than two seconds), focuses promptly and there’s very little shutter lag in single shot mode with the flash off.

Moving through the 27-486mm focal length was a lot of fun as the digicam moved smoothly from wide angle to telephoto. I found myself zooming a great deal, just to see how close I could get to faraway subjects such as the top of an evergreen. Once I did my Auto shooting it was time to spin the mode dial through the many manual options. Fortunately, the S8100fd makes it very simple to access the controls and make your adjustments. Scene modes are also nicely identified so newbies will know why they should use Portrait—gee, like when you’re taking shots of people. Duh! Anyway it’s good these IDs are there for first-timers; everyone else will find the camera very easy to operate.

Where the S8100fd came up short was saving images to the card. In the single shot mode it took around a second, hardly instantaneous like a D-SLR. Realize this was in Auto without the flash so it’s slower. The camera is rated 1.1 frames per second up to a maximum of three shots which is what I observed in my tests. Move to Top3 at full resolution and the camera stops for close to 10 seconds after it captures the images. The same held true in Natural Light + Flash mode where it took close to 10 seconds to save two images. Yeow! This is pokey. There are definitely trade offs in life and although you get an excellent focal range, the camera simply doesn’t have the processing power of a D-SLR. Yes you can take a 33-shot burst but resolution drops to 3- or 5-megapixels—shades of 1999.

That said, I do like the Natural Light + Flash setting as you get to chose between an image taken in available light and then with the flash. This is another reason for a 2-gig card since you’ll fill it up pretty fast.

Fujifilm cameras always tout their low-noise at high ISO shooting. This camera does up to 1600 at full resolution and hits 3200 and 6400 at lower-res (5MP). I couldn’t resist trying it out on a flower arrangement indoors with available light. At 64 there was hardly any noise and the Dual IS did a nice job preventing blur at 1/5th of a second. ISO 100 was spot on as was 200. Things started to fade at ISO 400 as noise appeared in the background and colors started to shift. At 800 the quality faded a bit more and at 1600 you couldn’t go beyond a 5x7—I was making 8.5x11 full bleed prints. Surprisingly the 5MP images at 3200 and 6400 weren’t too terrible, but nothing you’d be really happy with unless it was a small print. Bottom line: point-and-shoot cameras have difficulty with digital noise and I’d recommend not going beyond 400 with this model (lower is better, of course).

One day when I took the camera outside, it was a moody, foggy morning and here the S8100fd did an excellent job capturing this feeling. This 10-megapixel photo was a beauty with nice detail and accurate colors. I used the B&W and F-Chrome settings for a monochrome and a more vivid take on the day. These were really good as well as were a variety of shots taken in Program AE while adjusting the white balance for the setting (daylight, tungsten and so on).

Fujifilm’s Face Detection with Red-eye Removal is in the top tier of systems designed for taking people pictures. You’ll definitely be happy with the results and the wide angle lets you take fine family group portraits.

Conclusion

There are those words again—trade-off. The FinePix S8100fd has a lot of things going for it including a price below $400 USD. However, it’s not a D-SLR in terms of response and image quality. Yes, you do get the convenience of the mega zoom and this is nothing to dismiss—especially if you’re planning a vacation and don’t want to lug around a camera bag filled with lenses during your travels (not many people do). The S8100fd takes excellent shots—especially when there’s enough light but it is slow at full resolution. If static shots are your game, the S8100fd will do a fine job. If sports are high on your list, definitely aim higher but be prepared to spend some of that big bankroll.


Pros:

• Excellent photos in good light
• Extremely versatile
• Sophisticated features but easy to use


Cons:

• Too noisy above ISO 400
• Slow saving multiple files
• LCD should be better