Fujifilm's advanced Z900 EXR model boasts a large touchscreen display and a back-illuminated sensor. The What Digital Camera Fuji Z900 EXR takes a closer look at whether image quality is up to scratch...
Fujifilm FinePix Z900 EXR Review
Fujifilm FinePix Z900 EXR review – Features
Picking up from where last year’s Z800 EXR model left off, Fujifilm’s new Z900 EXR maintains the same ideas as its predecessor while improving key areas of its specification.
This includes the sensor, which is now a 1/2in-sized 16MP back-illuminated CMOS chip with an image-stabilising shift function, based on the same EXR technology as before. This allows it to switch between High Resolution, Wide Dynamic Range and High Sensitivity/Low Noise options, depending on which best suits the scene being captured (as judged by the camera).
The model also carries on the same 5x optical zoom as its predecessor, although in place of the former 35-175mm range it now travels between 28-140mm. A new EXR Auto mode also features, which automatically selects one of 27 scene modes to fit the subject, while Full HD video capture is also on hand, recording at 30fps and with stereo sound.
Other notable features include a Motion Panorama option, a 12fps burst mode, and a range of Face Detection-oriented technologies, such as timers which are programmed to fire the shutter once a number of faces have entered the frame. The model also runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards in addition to its 63MB of internal memory.
Fujifilm FinePix Z900 EXR review – Design
Fujifilm’s Z-range has long been marketed as the stylish part of the company’s compact stable, and the Z900 maintains a design similar to the two models it follows. At 151g with a battery and card it’s not the lightest of its kind, but at just over 18mm thick it’s still slim enough to be slipped into the average pocket.
The camera’s front is dominated by a sliding lens cover which turns the camera off and on, although the position of the lens in the camera’s top-right hand corner is a little inconvenient, as the natural way you would hold such a camera makes it easy for a finger to be caught in the top of the frame.
A zoom collar sits around the shutter release on the top plate, and is joined by a one-touch movie record button, while USB and HDMI ports are found on the camera’s side, each covered by a small plastic door. The rear, meanwhile, is almost entirely occupied by the 3.5in touchscreen, its only other feature being the ‘Home’ button to its side.