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Review: Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd Digital Camera

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fuji_s6500fd.jpgThis camera is something that we have been
trying out for a few weeks. The FinePix S6500fd is a compact camera masquerading as an SLR and by and large is does what you want it
to. It is not really an SLR, it just looks like one. I know – you are asking why?

To be honest so are we. Mrs. Gadget asked me why would you buy a camera
that size but not have the SLR features – i.e. the single lens reflex,
etc. We are still scratching our heads – so while we do that, we'll
tell you a bit more about the camera itself so you can decide.

There are a lot of advanced features in the camera. The biggest of all is the face detection technology. the "fd" in 6500fd,
which does exactly what it says on tin. If the camera senses a human
face in the picture it will adjust itself to make sure that the subject's face
has the optimum focus and exposure by anchoring on the eyes and mouth.

We
did take a picture of Mrs. Gadget (she really didn't want us to print
it and in order to maintain marital harmony I didn't). Anyway, funnily
enough her face didn't seem to come out too focused so not sure what we
did or rather didn't do to enable the face detection technology. Maybe
we should have read the manual more (which is quite big considering
it's not really an SLR).

Taking a test picture of the fireplace
in the office was a pleasant surprise. Everything in focus and the
colours are rich and vibrant without being overbearing. The camera has a
28-300mm Fujinon zoom lens a 6.3 million pixel 6th Generation Super CCD
(charge-coupled device). The lens is fixed to the camera body. The
downside of this is that you can't change it for a telephoto lens to
spy on the next-door neighbour. The plus side the interior of the
camera is protected from dust. However there is a manual twist barrel
zoom and focus control, so there is a good degree to control over what
pictures you take.

The LCD monitor on the back is quite big (2.5
inches) and has a 235,000 pixel resolution, so it's good for lining up
subjects. At the touch of a button you can change this so you can look
through the viewfinder onto a smaller LCD screen and once again pretend
that it is an SLR (which it isn't).

The camera takes 4 AA
batteries, so best get yourself a load of rechargeable ones to make
sure you have enough juice to keep taking snaps. The camera has an
internal memory of 10MB, our test camera also came with a 16MB xD
memory card.

The camera is also capable of video recording (about 30fps) and audio recording (as well as voice memo recording).

If you want what a compact camera does but in something that looks more like an SLR then the Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd
is for you and it does take really good pictures. Although for around a
hundred quid more you could just go out and buy a proper digital SLR
camera like the Canon 350D.

Techstore has a camera going for £176.14 plus VAT at the time of writing.

Rating: 7/10