A prosumer digital camera offers similar advantages to an SLR camera by the fact that you can view the scene through its high resolution electronic LCD viewfinder. This is obviously an advantage when using the camera in bright sunlit conditions when it can become very difficult to see the rear LCD screen. The viewfinder on this camera performed very well although when half pressing down the shutter release to lock the focus the viewfinder momentarily freezes which can be a little bit off-putting. Compared to a conventional SLR camera, the display is very coarse as you are actually seeing the LCD grid in close up. However, if you are used to using a camcorder, then this shouldn’t be a major problem.
On this particular camera there is also a diopter adjustment. For those who wear spectacles, the entire viewfinder is visible whilst wearing glasses. The viewfinder displays all the usual camera settings such as shutter speed, aperture, flash indication, ISO etc. This can also be turned off or can be switched to a grid view for those who need to compose their picture to the rule of thirds! This camera also offers the choice of using a 2.5 inch rear LCD screen – you can switch between viewfinder or LCD screen at any time.
The fixed Fujinon lens offers an impressive 10.7 times optical zoom lens. The actual zoom range is 6.2 to 66.7mm which is the equivalent of a 28 – 300mm lens on a 35mm camera which should cover most situations. In use, this focal length range is very easy to hand hold although at the longer end, for sharper pictures you should consider using a tripod. Generally, digital cameras tend to have a rocker switch. The zooming on this camera is by way of a twist barrel control.
