Fujifilm has launched her first HD compatible camera FinePix S2000HD. I should never underestimate its affordable body because it is packed with advanced technology: 10-megapixel CCD sensor, 15x optical zoom lens and plenty of shooting modes. Let’s look at it closely one by one.

The package of the FinePix S2000HD includes the camera body, a USB cable, an AV cable, 4 AA batteries, a lens cap with string, a strap, a CD ROM and a user’s guide.



The body does not look cheap at all. The large handle gives a firm grip. The sheen of lens shimmers with elegance. The lens cap needs a bit of hassles to remove and fit. Otherwise, the design is gratifying.


Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD allows photo-taking and video-recording in 16:9 format, unlike the traditional 4:3 aspect, the image will not be distorted when it is played back on HD TV, even at full screen.
This is how the camera looks like when it is on with flashlight popped up. Intelligent Flash of the camera captures both the subject and the background with natural brightness. Even in low-light environment, the flash works well to keep the atmosphere unspoiled.

On the mode dial lie the Movie mode, settings for Auto, Program AE (P), Shutter-priority AE (S) and manual exposure (M) as well as Custom and Scene Position settings and settings for Zoom Bracketing, Natural Light & Flash, Natural Light (no flash) and Anti-Blur.


In the Scene Position sub-menu, users can choose from 13 settings including standard Portrait, Landscape, Sport, Night, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Museum, Party and Flower modes, along with a Text mode and an Auction Mode which we’ll explore later.

The 15x optical zoom lens covers a broad range of focal lengths from wide 27.6 mm to super-telephoto 414mm on 35mm format; it only takes one second for the lens to go from the widest to super-tele. It’s very fast for the camera to fix the focus as well. Isn’t it amazing? The super-macro photography is pretty awesome. Clarity is still guaranteed as close as 1CM!


The new One-Touch Instant Zoom helps convert from landscape to portrait orientation with just a click, making sure a focused capture on a moving object in wide view.
FinePix S2000HD prevents blurry photos with its Dual IS system. Combining mechanical sensor shift stabilization and Fujifilm's Picture Stabilization, it freezes movements to preserve delicate detail.
Intelligent Face Detection allows up to 10 faces detected on one frame. It works on giving a harmonious sharpness and color tone to the human subjects and red eye removal will remove red eye automatically when the picture is processing. The button is to the right of the dial.

The rear looks like the conventional Fujifilm camera design with the LCD dominating. The 2.7-inch, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD qualifies satisfactorily.


Navigating to control FinePix S2000HD is easy. You can gain quick access to macro, delete, flash and instant zoom settings through the D-Pad arrows. The f (photo) button brings you to ISO (from 100 to 6400), Quality and FinePix Colour settings. The button on the bottom right is the exposure compensation button. Further settings can be found in the menu.

For playback, it has some quite interesting options. Users can select from three playback types: still, continuous and moving. The Thumbnails allows you to locate favorite image at a glance displayed in 10 x 10 arrays, at utmost convenience.
I like the fact that it works on AA batteries. You don’t have to worry about battery recharge issue when you are traveling, but you may find it too old-fashion and bulky.


Zoom Bracketing enables the camera to take three pictures when the shutter is pushed: one at 10M quality, the second zoomed in by 1.4x at 5M and the third zoomed in by 2x and cropped to 3M. It is more convenient to take three photos of different zooming at the same time, making sure the most photogenic moment is captured.


Auction mode is used to record objects from different angles for image posting on auction website. Four shots at most can be combined into a 640 x 480 pixel single image.


The fast-speed continuous shooting supports two shooting qualities: 6.8fps (at 5MP) or 13.5fps (at 3MP) for at most 33 continuous frames!!


For such a tiny body, FinePix S2000 is sure one hell of a beast. Its performance is more than satisfactory, the zoom, anti-shake and flash are powerful. Design is user-friendly. The grip is strong and firm. With the new HD compatibility, it is definitely a bargain.