4. Technical Features, Menus And Functionality

The "double viewfinder" Fuji

The features table gives you an overview of the difference between the cameras. Below, we take a look at more technical and in-depth features.

First of all, we need to return to the subject of the principle of the CCD sensor. This is an electronic semiconductor that captures light through its photosites, but it varies from one manufacturer to the next, even if often the same one is used in cameras made by different makers. In this case, the Olympus C-60 and the Kodak DX7630 are fitted with sensors measuring 1/1.8'' on the diagonal into which a few more than six million photosites are packed. These photosites eventually generate an image consisting of around six million pixels, with a resolution of 2872 x 2160 pixels for the Kodak and 2816 x 2112 pixels for the Olympus.

The two Fuji cameras function on the same principle, but possess a Fuji proprietary brand that is of a unique design, designated as the SuperCCD. We would not have dwelt on this feature if it did not make much of a difference, but in fact, this sensor has the special feature of being able to offer dual resolution. This means that the FinePix F710 is a 3-megapixel that can deliver images in 2832 x 2128 pixels (i.e. six million pixels), and the F610 is a 6-megapixel version capable of outputting images in 4048 x 3040 pixels (i.e. 12 million pixels!). How is this little miracle possible? It's the simplest thing in the world.

In Fuji cameras, each photosite consists of two photodiodes, one supersensitive, the other less so. Each has the task of retrieving information as effectively as possible, and additional capabilities (as is well known) provides an image that is more information-rich, as well as one whose resolution is easier to "extrapolate."

To put it more succinctly, a SuperCCD sensor has three million photosites (each consisting of two photodiodes), and in addition to producing an image that is much richer than a mere CCD sensor with three million photosites, it can also double the image resolution. Question: is the image obtained as good as that produced by a normal 6-megapixel sensor? Answer: yes and no. Yes, because the technology is remarkably well mastered, no because the image quality, in the strict sense of the words, does not only depend on the sensor. This will become clear below in the section discussing image quality.

Apart from this, our four happy winners have comparable characteristics, but have special features that are of interest to different sectors of the public. Their zoom lenses, for example, are a good example of uniformity: 39-117 mm for the Kodak DX7630, 35-130 mm for the Fuji F710, 35-105 mm for the F610 and 38-114 mm for the Olympus C-60 (values equivalent to 24x36 format). The biggest zoom size is that of the FinePix F710, but the differences are too slight to be truly significant. All the lenses are standards, capable of adapting to the major current trends, no more. Despite this, Fuji is to be congratulated on its symbolic effort to offer the option of an official wide-angle 35mm shot, something the others didn't think of doing.

Experienced photographers will be happy to learn that the four models all offer lots of manual settings. Although the P mode is very much to the fore, it is always possible to choose one's own f-stops or speeds using the manual override modes (A and S). In practice, however, even in the case of the compact, this is more of a gimmick than a really functional menu.

The scene programs have not been forgotten either. These "pre-programmed" modes for given situations are currently very popular and Kodak has not hesitated to incorporate 16 of them into the DX7630, from portrait mode to firework mode, for pictures ranging from celebrations, children, snow, beach scenes or anything else. The Fuji is more modest in its ambitions, concentrating on four separate modes - portrait, landscape, sports and nighttime. Olympus offers more or less the same thing and also adds self-portrait. These little refinements have their importance, to the extent that they make it possible to try various things while guaranteeing maximum effectiveness and high-quality images as the outcome. Why deprive yourself? Some functions will be of interest to particular parts of the public such as, for example, the manual selection of white balancing, light measurement or choice of sensitivity.

As regards the overall technical characteristics, the Fuji F710 offers the most, with release buttons for every possible situation. Another advantage of the F710 is the RAW file (a CCD file) available in addition to a simple JPEG. This format is a guarantee of maximum quality and is less memory-hungry than a TIFF on the memory card, but the downside is that it then needs to be processed using the software supplied before being recorded in the format desired by the user. You save time and space with a shot, but lose both later on. It is a choice we consider to be smart, and Fuji deserves credit for offering it. In the same vein, Olympus has equipped the C-60 with the TIFF format, with the expected high quality. The problem is that the format is not that easy to handle, even if the C-60 records it with breathtaking speed (fewer than four seconds, see below). Here again, more is better than less, and no one is going to complain that this format is present, since it extends the capabilities of the camera.

If there must be a loser in this context, it has to be the Kodak DX7630, but this can also be explained by the EasyShare principle that underlies the thinking behind the device, namely unparalleled simplicity combined with effectiveness.