Viewfinder (0.0)
The Fujifilm FinePix F470 doesn’t have a viewfinder, which isn’t a huge surprise considering its small size and limited real estate on the camera’s back face. While a viewfinder can be a great tool for conserving battery life, optical viewfinders on point-and-shoot cameras often tend to provide inaccurate frames and are challenging to use due to small size and poor position.
LCD Screen (7.0)
With a screen size of 2.5 inches and just 115,000 pixels of resolution, the F470’s LCD may fall a bit short when attempting to check sharpness or fine details. Major problems also result from the screen’s small size and the lack of places to handle the camera; constant smearing can easily occur, causing increased glare and solarization. The screen has a quick refresh rate, though, and reacted competently when shifted quickly between a variety of light sources and depth planes.
Users can overcome viewing problems, when shooting in minimal lighting, through the use of the low light/up button on the four-way controller. In addition to this quick fix, the F470 includes an LCD brightness option within the set-up menu. This control will display a horizontal scale along the upper edge of the LCD when opened, and will provide users with a live view when making adjustments using the +/-5 brightness scale. While this device will help with viewing, it may be deceiving to user’s using the LCD to gauge exposure. As with all digital cameras, particularly after adjusting LCD brightness levels, the image on the LCD and the final captured image may differ drastically. A higher resolution and a better, less reflective surface would make this LCD a far better viewing device.
Flash (7.0)
The in-camera horizontal flash is positioned along the top edge of the front face in a location that should prevent users from accidentally covering it when shooting. Unfortunately, it is also off the lens axis and will cast shadows to the left side of the subject.
Pressing the left arrow when outside menu structures accesses the F470’s flash settings. These settings are displayed in the upper right corner of the LCD and include auto, red-eye reduction, forced flash, suppressed flash, slow synchro, and red-eye reduction + slow synchro modes. When shooting in F470’s auto mode, the camera will not display the flash setting, and users will need to remember that it is engaged. Flash modes work in both auto and SP mode options and will work with macro and regular shooting modes. However, using the flash in macro mode is not generally recommended, since it will often blow-out the subject and yield inaccurate colors. Red-eye reduction modes worked successfully.
The in-camera flash is the only accessory lighting option available and has a range of 2.3 feet to 15.1 feet in wide-angle, 2.3 to 8.5 in telephoto and 1.0 to 2.6 feet in macro. As mentioned before, the flash in macro mode was overwhelming and tended to produce unusable images.
Lens (6.25)
The 3x optical zoom lens attached to the Fujifilm FinePix F470 has a 5.8mm to 17.4mm focal range, equivalent to a 35mm to 105mm zoom in 35mm format. This zoom lens extends out from the camera body when powered on, so users won’t need to worry about covering it when shooting, a concern with smaller cameras that have lenses set into the camera body. Its maximum apertures are f/2.8 at its widest setting and f/4.9 at full telephoto.
Zoom control while even-keeled, was anything but fast, and this sluggish rate was accompanied by a loud whirring noise. Engaging the auto focus also caused camera noise, though it was slightly softer. The zoom controls located on the back of the camera are functional even for larger hands, and the sloth-like speed should assure users of more than ample time to properly select zoom depth. When rendering adjustments to zoom levels, a horizontal bar appears in the upper left corner of the LCD indicating what portion of the zoom range is in use.
