Fujifilm FinePix F40fd

Front
The F40fd is one of the most simply styled FinePix models on the market and that is a good thing. Its front conveys more elegance than most FinePix digital cameras. The left side of the front has a finger grip that moves inward toward the top of the camera where a Fujifilm logo is placed. The black line that runs up the left side is somewhat transparent and shows up red when the IrSimple technology is activated. A FinePix logo graces the center of the left side. The 3x zoom lens is placed near the right side, with specs rounding the end of the barrel: "Fujinon Zoom Lens, 3x, f=8-24mm, 1:2.8-5.1." To the top right of the lens is the rectangular built-in flash, with the circular auto focus assist lamp below it. In the bottom right corner is the microphone and a few labels to flaunt the Super CCD and its 8.3 megapixels.

Back
This side looks very similar to other Fujifilm digital cameras with the 2.5-inch LCD screen on the left side of the back and the buttons crunched to the right. The LCD screen is framed in black with a white Fujifilm logo at the bottom of the frame. On the right side of the back, in a vertical strip of space less than an inch wide, are a bunch of controls. At the top is a mode dial that faces the back, and its ribbed edge protrudes out the top. An LED appears on the dial’s left to indicate which mode is activated. Two buttons sit directly below the mode dial: playback on the left and "F" on the right ("F" calls up the menu of frequently used settings). There is a large, round navigational control below these buttons with a central Menu/OK button. All of the directions on the control have a dual functionality.  The top of the multi-selector brightens the LCD screen when shooting and deletes photos in playback. The right side chooses a flash mode, the bottom activates the self-timer, and the left side turns on the macro mode. Below the control are two more buttons that are identical in size to the upper buttons. The left button changes the display information on the LCD screen and the button on the right easily activates the face detection system.

Left Side
The left side of the F40fd carries the top’s chrome band down its center and is uninterrupted. Near the back of the camera is a rubber cover to the USB and AV cable jacks and a small black transparent window that lights up when the IrSimple technology is enabled.

Right Side
The right side of the camera isn’t very interesting. It has only a chrome wrist strap eyelet at the top.

Top
The top is where the seams of the camera’s housing gather. A shiny chrome band runs down the middle with the FinePix F40fd logo on the left side and some buttons on the right side. On the far right side is the shutter release button surrounded by the tiny zoom lever. This zoom lever has a tiny knob on the front that is similar to those on the Canon SD-series cameras. Just left of the shutter release button is the smaller, oval-shaped power button.

Bottom
The left side of the bottom has a friction grip battery compartment that users can push inward to open. Just right of center are a few holes that make up the in-camera speaker, and the tripod socket is located to the right.