Fujifilm FinePix E900

Front (7.0)
Fuji went with a black paint and brushed aluminum for the E900's face, conjuring the much sleeker, smaller Z1 produced by Fuji earlier this year. The effect is spoiled, however, by a large, vertical chromed plate on the front of the black rubber hand grip. The plate features the FinePix nameplate and a SuperCCD logo. The lens assembly is mostly brushed metal, except for the two halves of the lens cover—thin black plastic petals that slide apart when the camera is turned on. The lens mount seems very large, compared to the glass. The outer part of the mount is a removable ring, which covers the bayonet mount for auxiliary lenses and accessories. The ring carries a label for the lens specifications reading: "Fujinon Zoom Lens 4x Optical 7.2 – 28.8 mm 1:2.8-5.6." A small button to the lower left of the lens base releases the lock on the bayonet to remove the ring or an added accessory.

The FinePix E900 has an optical viewfinder; its very small window is just northeast of the lens and framed in brushed metal along with the camera's microphone. Below the shiny area, is a small oblong slot for the self-timer light. In the lower right corner, the camera is labeled "9.0 Mega Pixels," and to the left, between the hand grip and the lens, Fuji printed, "Digital Camera E900." Along the top edge, between the chrome cap on the grip and the viewfinder, The Fuji logo and "Fujifilm" appear in brushed metal.

Back (7.0)
The very small viewfinder is at the upper left of the FinePix E900. The flash status light next to it is in dull gray plastic bezel. The flash pops up with a press of a button to the right of the viewfinder. The button is almost flush, and pretty small. The zoom rocker is wide, near the top right edge of the camera. A shallow divot fits the user's thumb.

There are two buttons to the left of LCD. The top one controls burst mode; the lower one activates exposure compensation and is part of the button combination for manual focus.

The black rubber from the hand grip on the front of the camera wraps all the way around to the right side of the E900’s back, making it easy to get a secure grasp on the camera.

The Playback button is on the right of the LCD and above the 4-way controller. The 4-way controller is a ring, rather than four separate buttons. The OK/menu button is separate and in center of the controller. Below and to the left of the 4-way controller is the Display/Back button, which cycles the LCD through various display options and cancels certain actions within Menu mode. The FinePix button to the right of that brings up shooting options and, in Playback mode, printing options.

There are six dimples in grid, at the far lower left of the back. Apparently, they're also supposed to improve the user's grip.

Left Side (7.0)
On the left side of the FinePix E900 is a discrete panel with 9 speaker holes. A single rubber flap stretches most of the height of the camera and covers the A/V Out plug, a jack for 3-volt power in and a USB 2.0 connector. Unfortunately, the flap has no real dust/moisture seal.

Right Side (7.0)
The right side of the FinePix E900 is contoured to form a comfortable grip, with black rubber on either side of a smooth panel running up the camera. There is a flush-mounted wrist strap lug, which seems sturdy enough. The flush mount keeps the surface comfortable.

Top (7.0)
The left side of the FinePix E900's top is flat when the flash is down with "Digital Camera FinePix E900" printed again on the camera, this time over the viewfinder. We find it odd that the phrase "Digital Camera" appears multiple times on the E900. Is Fuji addressing some common misunderstanding plaguing previous models? Did consumers of the E550 think it was a cell phone, or a tropical fruit?

The flash pops up from the center of the FinePix E900. Users should note, that the flash assembly wobbles a bit, and may not be as durable as other designs.

The right-hand section of the top, which caps the hand grip, has a chrome finish. It holds a large shutter release button toward the fron, a power button set very flush toward the center of the camera, and10-position mode dial to the back right.

Bottom (7.0)
The FinePix E900's tripod socket is centered laterally, and a bit toward the front of the camera just to the right of the lens. The battery compartment and memory card slot are behind a single door, under the hand grip. The door is latched well, so it's unlikely to open accidentally.