Fujifilm FinePix V10

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By Damian Koh, CNET Asia
May 19, 2006

Fujifilm's FinePix V10 is no replacement for the Sony Playstation Portable, nor was it made as one. The V10 is still a digital camera but it comes with four arcade-style games to keep your fingers away from the shutter release occasionally. The retail unit comes with a measly 16MB xD-Picture Card and you'll probably have to invest in a higher-capacity memory card in no time.

Design
The FinePix V10 weighs a hefty 176g but that isn't necessarily a bad thing since most of it translates to a very solid feel which we like. Size-wise, the shooter isn't ludicrously huge so it should fit comfortably in a lady's bag or a pocket.

However, too much of a good thing requires sacrificing other details. The V10 comes with a large 230k-pixel 3-inch LCD screen (which we already know), but the monitor relegates the camera's controls to a single row at the bottom of the screen and to the right of the chassis. We find it hard getting used to the new arrangement since the typical keys are usually to the right of the screen and can be operated with the thumb. In addition, the monitor is a sticker for fingerprints especially around the area where the thumb rests.

On the V10, it's another story altogether. Though you can barely operate the camera with just one hand, it's a lot more comfortable using both. The same applies when you are playing games on the unit.

There is an increasing number of shooters in the market with 3-inch screens. Examples include Sony's latest Cyber-shot T30, the touch-screen Cyber-shot N1, Canon's Digital IXUS 65, Nikon's Coolpix S6 and upcoming models such as Fujifilm's FinePix F650 and Kodak's EasyShare-One (6MP).

The main mode switch for taking stills and videos is on the right of the V10 where the strap mount is. Interestingly enough, Fujifilm has bundled a very long (about 45cm) strap with its camera. We think it's for the user to hang the V10 around the neck.

Microphones are located to the bottom left corner of the lens and the speakers at the bottom edge of the V10, alongside the tripod receptacle and battery/memory card compartment.

What's missing on the shooter is a focus-assist lamp which we figured the folks at Fujifilm decided to replace with a low-light view button to increase the brightness of the LCD.

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