Fujifilm FinePix F31fd

Fujifilm FinePix F31fd is a 6.3 mega pixel, 3x zoom, point and shoot camera from the Fuji stable. Its metal body is smooth and firm and fits well into the hand. It is even capable of taking few knocks without any serious damage. However, don’t try that.

The highlights of Fujifilm FinePix F31fd are its face detection technology – one of the first cameras to offer this feature – and low-light capability. The face detection identifies the human faces and optimizes the exposure and focusing based on that. In tests, with the face detection turned off and flash suppressed, photos of people standing in front of a bright background showed poor exposure, and hence their faces appeared dark. But, things improved when the face detection was turned on. The face detection effect is especially prominent in the photos taken in the portrait mode. Turning on the face detection also enhanced flash shots, even though the difference this time was a lot subtle. It is easy to access the face detection button as it is located next to the four-way control.

Talking about the low-light capability of Fujifilm FinePix F31fd, it is possible for the user to crank the Fuji’s proprietary sensor to as much as ISO 3200. However, at higher ISO settings, there is this risk of high digital noise seeping into the pictures. Also, in tests, the camera turned out to be a bit slow in focusing at low light environs.

The picture quality is simply excellent, with low distortion and high color accuracy, and its battery life is also admirable. Its lithium ion battery could hold enough charge to shoot through 500 photos in one go, provided the charge is expended optimally. This should be read in the backdrop of the fact that in most same class point and shoot cameras of other makes, their batteries only lasted enough for 270 shots on an average. In that perspective, the FinePix F31fd’s battery gives twice as much life to the camera in a single charge than most of its competitors. Not many cameras have a comparable battery life per charge.

The 2.5 inch LCD screen, even though not the biggest, is bright and clearly visible even while standing under the sun. The user could increase the screen brightness using the ‘up’ position on the four-way control. This is a real handy feature given the fact that F31fd does not have a viewfinder. The four-way control is user-friendly and hence easy to use.

The dial atop the camera body has the six mode positions – auto, manual, shutter-priority, aperture-priority, antishake, scene mode, and movie. The portrait mode, it is listed under the scenes, and hence is not there amongst the mode positions.

Overall, the Fujifilm FinePix F31fd is an excellent buy, particularly if you like shooting in low light taking pictures of a lot of people. The camera is priced at $270.