Fujifilm FinePix Z3

Features
The Z3 benefits from the lack of a protruding lens. Instead of popping out the front of the camera, the 3x optical zoom actually sits sideways across the body of the Z3, with a prism to redirect the light through 90 degrees onto the 5.1-megapixel CCD. The 38-108mm zoom falls between two stalls and is ideal for neither wide-angle scenic shots nor long enough to get really close to far-away subjects. We rarely wished for more in either direction, but on the odd occasion we wanted to shoot a panorama it was frustrating. For getting up really close the 80mm macro mode is great for shooting plantlife and the like.

If you are feeling adventurous, accessing the main menu allows you to take the camera out of automatic and into a number of pre-programmed shooting modes. There may not be as many here as on the average Pentax point-and-shoot, but natural light, natural + flash (which takes a natural light image and a flash one so you can compare), portrait, landscape, sport, night, fireworks, sunset, snow, beach, museum, party, flower and text should cover most bases.

If not, there's a manual option, which allows you to monkey around with numerous settings. These include exposure compensation (±2 EV in 1/3 EV steps), focus mode (centre or multi) and white balance (auto, fine, shade, fluorescent light 1, 2, 3 and incandescent). There's no way to set the white balance manually though, which is a shame. The whole menu system is simple and user friendly, and as the results of tweaks appear immediately on screen it's very easy to get the right settings for your shot.

Perhaps the most important feature on the camera in terms of shooting is the Z3's incredibly wide ISO range, with settings from ISO 64 right up to 1,600. This relates to the film speed in 35mm cameras and allows you to shoot in lower light without the need to resort to the lightweight flash. Fujifilm is keen to get the message across that this figure carries more weight than the number of pixels captured in an image.

If you can accept the company's claim that the majority of images are taken in low light situations--and most of ours when not on holiday are--then this makes perfect sense. The results with the higher ISO are very atmospheric, and while there is some trade off with an increase in digital noise printed out on standard 100 x 150mm (4 x 6-inch) prints, this failed to ruin any of our shots. What is certain is that the results were far more pleasing than the washed out images we took using the flash. Used in conjunction with the anti-blur system--accessed by a button on the back of the Z3--it really is possible to take good images in quite poor light.

Shooting modes include a 2-second and 10-second self timer, plus a continuous shooting mode which keeps going as long as you press the shutter release, and can be set to save all the images or just the last three. Finally, there's a 30fps (640 x 480-pixel) movie mode with sound.

• Most Popular

• Upcoming

What's Hot