The FinePix 6900 Zoom features a bright, large-diameter, precision, 6X Super EBC Fujinon aspherical zoom lens (f/2.8 - f/11) with a focal length equivalent to 35-210mm on a 35mm camera.

The lens may be manually focused by using the ring at the end of the lens barrel, this is an electronic focusing ring, it is not mechanical. Fujifilm sells an optional AR-FX9 lens adapter to allow the use of 55mm filters or add-on lenses. Fuji has two auxilliary lenses available, the WL-FX9 is a x0.79 adapter that makes the 6900's lens equivalent to 28mm at wideangle. The TL-FX9 is a x1.5 adapter that extends the 6900's lens out to 315mm in telephoto.

The zoom lens can be controlled by a rocker switch on the side or by using the Up and Down portion of the 4-way jog switch on the back of the camera. When desired you may switch to manual or auto focus with the MF/AF switch. The "+/-" button is for setting exposure compensation (+/- 2EV), the button next to that sets the custom white balance - two values may be memorized. The white balance button also serves as the autofocus start when in manual focus. The INFO button brings up the current exposure settings in Record mode or the exposure settings for an image being reviewed in Play mode.

The eyelevel viewfinder is a high resolution (110,000 pixel) 0.55-inch color LCD. It gives you "through the lens" viewing plus exposure info and camera data can be overlayed on the live view. Anything that can be displayed on the color LCD can be displayed on the EVF. Press the EVF/LCD button to switch the display between the LCD screens. The EVF shows only about 90% of the captured image and does not have dioptric adjustment.

On top of the EVF is a standard flash hot shoe that accepts most automatic flash units. The camera must be set to "external flash" when the hot shoe is used. The external flash must be the automatic type where you can dial in the ISO speed and aperture setting.

The 2-inch color LCD monitor on the back is covered by a clear plastic shield to prevent scratching and to make it easy to clean. It is surprisingly useable even in the bright outdoor sunlight.

You already know what the EVF/LCD button does, the Focus Check button to the right magnifies the center portion of the screen (as shown above) which makes manual focusing a snap. The AE-L button locks the current exposure and allows you to re-compose the shot without losing the calculated exposure. The DISP button controls the amount of data overlayed on the EVF or the LCD display. The MENU/OK button calls up the menus and accepts selections. The 4-way jog switch lets you navigate menus, select images during playback and operate the zoom lens. The BACK button cancels menu operations. The SHIFT button when used with the flash mode button lets you change image size and/or quality. It can also be used to change the brightness of the LCD by pressing it and the DISP button.

The large control on top is the Mode Dial with positions for Movie Record, SP (Scene Position - Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene or B&W), AUTO (point-n-shoot, only image size or quality can be changed), Program AE (like Auto but with access to menu options and Program Shift - rotate command wheel to select other combinations of shutter speed and aperture), Shutter speed priority, Aperture priority, full Manual and the SETup menu.

Underneath of the Mode Dial is the Command Wheel, it is actuated by your thumb and is used in Program Shift, Shutter and Aperture priority and Manual modes to change the settings. Next to the Mode Dial is the Record/Play switch with the Power button in the center. Above the Mode Dial is the Flash mode and Macro mode buttons and of course the shutter release. Above the Rec/Play switch are buttons to enable the sequential burst mode and selftimer.

The builtin flash can be manually "popped up" by pressing the release button on the side. The working range is 1 ft - 11.8 ft in Wideangle and from 3 ft - 10.5 ft in the Telephoto position. This is an intelligent flash with modes for Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced On, Off, Slow Sync and Slow Sync + Red-Eye Reduction.

The FinePix 6900's I/O ports are tucked away behind a door on the left side and include a high-speed USB port for image downloading, the Video Out port is for connecting to a television (video signal is NTSC or PAL depending on the region in which the camera is sold), and the supplied battery charger / AC power supply plugs into the DC INput jack on the bottom.

The SmartMedia card is accessed by a opening a door on the backside of the handgrip. Fujifilm supplies a 16MB card and any size up to 128MB can be used.

The finger grip area is pathetically small and the card slot is not a "push in and pop out" type so I had to use a pair of needle nose pliars to remove the tiny and thin SM card... Mr Fuji - please use ejector type card slots in the future!

Powered by the Fujifilm NP-80 (1100mAh at 3.7V) rechargeable lithium battery. The camera comes with the combination AC adapter and battery charger. If the battery is totally discharged it will take about five hours to recharge.