Fuji A610, Another one of the new cams Options

[Hill Hopper]

I have been watching the new cams come out and wanted to try this one. I love the F series Fujis but in the past the A series have been slow clunkers. I haven't had time to set up a tester to get real accurate on the figures but this one is definitely a lot faster than the previous models and can accept both XD and SD cards. In addition it also uses AA batteries rather than the proprietary lithium ion. So far it looks like it will need seperate grounds so a 4 wire servo or sterio plug will be required. The switching block is not your typical one with exposed switches but is a unit and ghoot's mod becomes a necessity. Once the screws are out its simple to open HOWEVER, Fuji got cute and 4 of the screws have special heads like the old F700 that require a special screw driver to turn. I made a tool using a drimel that works fine but will be looking for a mfg'd one. So far I like the camera and will be postig more info later. Retail on the camera was $129.00.

[212]

Thanks HH, looking foreword to more info on that one...I like the price already.

[212]

Make that forward lol.

[Hill Hopper]

It also will fit in the small walmart case with the case vertical.

[Hill Hopper]

Here are a 10' and 20' flash pics. I took some others but had some reflection from closer objects that made them unrepresentative. I'll try to get more tonite. So far I have tested out to 1 hr-15 min without refresh and it has worked fine. Still trying to see how long it can go.

[willraygreen]

Butch,

The driver you want to look for is called tri wing. You can buy the bits separately at a place like McMaster Carr, or you can buy entire kits with these, and other tamper-resitant bits. Let me know if you need any leads on where to get them. I do not have any, I likewise made a driver with a small screwdriver and a dremel tool.

[Vic]

Nice work Butch Like the price too

[Hill Hopper]

Well I finally got my tester set back up to where I could accurately measure the time from electronics trigger to shot on this camera with the flash. This is a jig that is light operated that starts both the camera and a stop watch simultaneously and stops the stop watch with the flash of the camera.

This camera really reminds me alot of the S600. With no flash it is a fairly fast camera but with once it starts to get a little dark and the flash is required, The time starts increasing. Once its totally dark it starts losing its focus ability and the time basically goes to a default.Here are the times from electronics trigger to shot capture

No flash - 2.5-3 seconds - estimated
Flash but with some light - 3.5 seconds - measured electronically
Flash in true dark - 3.97 seconds - measured electronically (varies from the 3.5 to this dependent on light level)

As my tester uses light activation it is not possible to test with no flash electronically.

Here is a sumary about the camera:

Pros:

Price - $129
Uses AAs and appears to have good life
Can use SD or XD cards
Length between refreshes
Flash is adequate
Picture Quality
Size

Cons:

Night Speed
Special Screws in Body
Hack difficulty - ghoot type

Overall I like the camera and will probably use several units built from them. The price is good and I can sacrifice a little speed and make it up in the setup.

This post has been edited by Hill Hopper: Apr 9 2007, 09:08 PM