Fujifilm FinePix F100fd

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By Leonard Goh
Apr 07, 2008

The Fujifilm FinePix F100fd is the successor to the popular F50fd which garnered a cult-like following. Shutterbugs like the F-series for its high ISO sensitivity and low-noise reproduction, which give very pleasing night shots. Improving on the previous model, the Japanese firm is now offering a whole slew of features which makes this shooter a powerful compact not to be trifled with.

Design

The F100fd is a camera you either love or hate, and it's pretty much dependent on your gender. While male friends will likely swoon over its robust body, the fairer sex will not gravitate toward its the bulk and weight. At 170g (excluding battery and memory media), it is 15g heavier than the F50fd. The mass is also attributable to a slightly bigger chassis and longer zoom lens.

The built-in flash unit is awkwardly positioned, and easily covered by fingers.
(click for larger image)

One of the things we noticed about the F100fd is the awkward placement of the built-in flash unit. Located near the left edge of the camera where the grip is, there were times when our fingers blocked the flash partially.

On its predecessor, a four-directional pad and dial are used to switch between different shooting modes. For the F100fd, a wheel dial replaces that. While it serves no function in shooting mode, the dimpled dial can be used to scroll through menus and images, which is fun to use. Alternatively, you can also deploy the dial as a four-way directional keypad for navigation.

The menu interface took us some time to adapt to. An F button calls up the most frequently used settings, while the main menu button, which is located in the center of the wheel dial, brings you to the shooting mode menu. It did get a little confusing at times when we needed to change a setting because we weren't sure which button to press. More often than not, we ended up in the wrong menu.

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