The Fujifilm FinePix F60fd is a 12-megapixel shooter that sits near the top of Fujifilm's lineup. Available for around $250 it has fallen in price a bit since its first release. The F60fd offers a range of interesting features, including face detection, manual controls and a Natural Light with Flash mode. This last offers the opportunity to take two quick photos with the flash on and off, to make sure you don't miss a low-light shot. The F60fd complements its feature set with solid metal construction and understated good looks.

On the back of the camera you'll find a comfortably large 3-inch LCD display. To the right of the screen is a collection of controls, including a rather small mode dial and a 4-way navigation cluster. Given the tiny size of that mode dial, we were pleased that the designers were clever enough to display an animated version of the dial movement on the LCD display, making up for the nearly illegible icons on the dial itself. The 4-way controller and four surrounding buttons allow you to navigate the menu and playback system quickly. The menus themselves are relatively easy to use, but we did find some inconsistencies with options not available between modes for reasons we could not fathom. On the top of the camera you'll find the shutter button with a zoom toggle sitting around it. The F60fd is certainly a small camera, at 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches (92.5 x 59.2 x 22.9 mm) and 5.7 oz. (163 g), but it’s deep enough to feel fairly comfortable in your hand.

Those who like having manual controls at their disposal will appreciate the aperture- and shutter-priority modes available on the F60fd. Don't be fooled by the Manual setting on the mode dial, though: this is not full manual mode but rather an automatic mode that gives you a bit more control over settings like white balance and ISO. There is also a full Automatic mode that takes most of the controls out of the user's hands for true point-and-shoot capabilities. The F60fd also offers thirteen different scene modes tailored for various shooting situations, in addition to the aforementioned Natural Light with Flash mode, which captures two shots in quick succession, one with the flash firing and one without. This is a nice feature for situations when you want to try taking the shot without a flash but want to make sure you get a decent picture if the available light version doesn't turn out.

The F60fd sports a 3x optical zoom with a relatively wide maximum aperture of f/2.8, making low-light photography more practical. Just above and to the left of the lens is the flash. We found flash performance could have been better, with the time spent recharging between shots overly long. For more advanced users, there is an extensive selection of manual adjustments, including ISO, white balance, exposure compensation and metering mode.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
The F60fd received mixed performance scores in our testing. Color accuracy was reasonable, but didn't knock our socks off. We were very happy with the resolution results, ensuring that you'll get sharp shots. What wasn't so impressive was the level of image noise we saw in photos from the F60fd. Noise is that speckling of random spots you see  in digital photos, especially those shot in lower light and enlarged significantly. We noted that noise increased unacceptably as ISO sensitivity goes up, an important considering when taking action photos or shooting in low light situations. White balance performance was mixed, with the manual presets providing truer colors than relying on the automatic white balance system. We also found some issues with shutter lag, taking as much as half a second after pressing the shutter button before the camera actually captured the image.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
When it was originally released the F60fd was available for about $300 and we had concerns about its value at that level, given some of the lackluster lab test  results. With current pricing around $50 less the F60fd looks like a better deal, though you may still want to consider alternatives, including the Samsung NV40. The Samsung delivered better image quality for the price, but we found the finicky, non-standard control system a source of real difficulty, where the Fujifilm offers higher resolution (12 megapixels versus 10 for the Samsung) and is significantly easier to use.