Fujifilm FinePix F40fd First Impressions Review

Likes

- 2.5-inch, 230k LCD screen - Trendy housing - Face detection - 8.3 MP: finally something other than 6.3 MP! - IrSimple - SD card compatible

Dislikes

- Slow burst mode that only lasts 2 shots - Poor handling - No optical zoom in movies - No optical image stabilization - Limited effects and editing

Conclusion
The Fujifilm FinePix F40fd has a 1/1.6-inch Super CCD with 8.3 megapixels – more than any other F-series digital camera so far. This model isn’t the flagship of the line though. It doesn’t have manual control, its burst mode is terribly slow and short, and it doesn’t have the high ISO sensitivity of some of the other models. Fujifilm made a few physical changes like enlarging the mode dial, using a different type of zoom lever, and eliminating the finger grip. These changes bring both good and bad results. It's overall better looking, but it is less comfortable to hold and handle.

Fujifilm also made some less obvious changes to the FinePix F40fd. The 2.5-inch LCD screen has a slightly wider viewing angle than the F31fd’s screen, a graphic user interface was added to enhance understanding of the mode dial, and the card slot by the battery accepts both xD-Picture and SD memory cards. This is a huge change, as all other preceding compact Fujifilm digital cameras only accepted xD. SD is the most popular and cheapest format used on the market. The IrSimple and face detection technology make the Fujifilm FinePix F40fd a very desirable digital camera, especially at its fair price of $299.

Check back to DigitalCameraInfo.com soon for the full review, when we can get the camera off the show floor and into our testing studios for some more rigorous analysis.

 

Spec Sheet