 "Fujifilm FinePix J40 - Big Screen on A Little Body")
Close on the heels of the Fujifilm FinePix J30/35, comes another addition to the Fujifilm FinePix range of cameras. Fujifilm FinePix J40 is a point and shoot camera posing as a worthy adversary to the present products available in the market such as the Canon PowerShot A1200. The Fujifilm claims that the J40 is affordable, easy-to-use and delivers great images. Read on below to find out if these claims hold any truth.
Features
The Fujifilm J40 is a 12.2 megapixel point-and-shoot compact camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. It sports a large 3-inch screen which is not a very common feature in compact cameras. The J40 has a feature named SR AUTO (read: Scene Recognition Auto) where the camera detects a scene without the need to pre-select a camera mode. Other features of this camera include Face Detection, picture stabilization, among others. Sensor sensitivity options range from ISO 100 to ISO 3200.
Large 3-inch LCD display
Design and build quality
The Fujifilm FinePix J40 is a simple looking camera with a slim-line frame and a glossy double coated veneer finish. This camera is compact which fits easily in a pocket and weighs 113g excluding the battery and memory card. The 3-inch LCD screen flushes in to the body of the camera. The quality of the screen itself isn’t great but is good for regular use. The buttons of the J40 are simple yet attractive in design but there is nothing too special about them.
There is an OK / Menu button in the middle of a circular four way directional button. These directional buttons also double up as settings for flash, camera timer, erase and macro shots. Along with these buttons there are also a DISP / Back button, play, wide angle and telephoto. On the top of the camera lies the On / Off button and one for clicking pictures. It’s a somewhat crowded layout and makes using the camera with one hand a little difficult.
12.2 mega pixel with 3x zoom
To the right of these controls is the USB slot. Below the wide angle and telephoto buttons, lie the activity indicators that light up while clicking a picture and while charging.
The Fujifilm J40 feels very sturdy in respect to its build quality. The memory and battery bay door however feels a little bit flimsy with a sort of clicking noise coming from it when slight pressure is applied. Taking pictures with either hand is very comfortable due to its compact and lightweight design. However, people with larger hands may face problems accessing the zoom and menu keys. Overall the design and build quality of the Fujifilm FinePix J40 is good, however there could have been a toggle button for the different camera modes for quick access to the various functions.
Performance
The performance of the camera isn’t impressive by any standards. Test photos were shot under various environments and locations. In outdoor photos, where there’s ample light and the camera should be able to switch to lower ISO levels to reduce noise, it does but there’s still loss in image detail. There’s a slight blur to all the images under all circumstances.
Simple yet stylish
Sensor grain at ISO 100 especially in the outdoors is minimal and hardly visible. Colour fringing on the hand is visible along the edges of leaves against the bright sunlight. Colours don’t seem saturated either – the light from daylight looks like pale yellow more than its natural, slighter stronger yellow tone. Focusing speed is pretty good in well lit areas.
Shoots well at ISO 100 during the day
Focusing in low-light scenarios is slower. This is due to the lack of the focus assistance light that is found on higher-end models as well as DSLRs. Even then, it takes a second or two longer than usual. There are occasional misses and you have to try again.
Images are crisp using auto night mode
The sensor does bring along a whole lot of sensor noise at higher ISO levels. For example, photos shot with ISO 1600 are unusable and the amount of grain is as much as the images shot on mobile phone cameras, where sensor sizes are even smaller. The flash covers roughly 10m of area and isn’t the strongest of flash units we’ve seen.
Conveniently placed battery and memory card slot
Verdict
While we aren’t thoroughly convinced of the J40’s performance when it comes to image quality, it must be said that the quality of image is sufficient for casual photographers. The price tag of Rs. 6,499 makes it one of the more affordable cameras in the market. We like the sturdy design but we sure hoped for a better user interface and a tad better performance considering there are quite a few similarly priced options for offer.
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