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3" LCD monitor 18x optical and 6x digital zoom with digital image stabilizerProgrammed AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE and Manual exposure control256-zone TTL metering for excellent lighting controlBuilt-in Auto flash with Red-eye reduction, Forced-flash and Synchro modesUp to 20fps continuous shooting optionNTSC and PAL selectable outputIncludes NP-45A Lithium-ion battery
12.2-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CCD for photo-quality poster-sized prints
Reviewed by: J. Harley, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania United States Review Date: 2010-04-01
The Fuji S1800 is a a nice tweener, filling the gap between pocket point-and-shoot cameras and a DSLR. It's larger than typical point and shoot cameras (thanks to the 18X zoom lens) yet smaller than a DSLR. Despite the extra bulk, the S1800 is light and compact enough to carry around for extended periods. The plastic body is sturdy and light. The camera is powered by four AA batteries (alkaline or rechargeable). All of the controls are very well placed and settings are easy to locate. The top dial allows for quick switching between automatic, manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, or programmed scene shooting modes. There is a button on the back for switching between the LCD or the electronic viewfinder. The flash performs well and has a slow sync feature. There is no input for an external flash (or any other accessories other than a tripod). Shooting with the S1800 is a joy. Although it's best to learn how to make the most of this camera's capabilities, even full-auto mode can produce excellent results. The 18X zoom lens has great range and good quality from wide angle to telephoto. In one particular shot, I photographed a medicine bottle approximately 15 feet away in dim lighting. I had no problem reading the smallest print on the bottle in the image. Auto mode isn't perfect (just like every other camera out there) and there were some occasional focusing and exposure issues, but overall, I took more good pictures than bad, even in challenging lighting. Some of the features, like blink and smile detection, seem to be more of a gimmick than actually useful. Blink detection seems to randomly pop up at will, even if there are no people in the picture. Blink and smile detection aside, the S1800 does have several features that are really useful, such as a burst mode (several rapid photos taken in succession), facial recognition, zoom bracketing (several pictures taken at varying focal lengths), and more. The S1800 is so user-friendly, these features are useful for beginners and experienced alike. The S1800 lacks a raw mode. In-camera compression is usually spot-on, but I had a few shots where it went all in, resulting in soft shots. Overall image quality was very good, with the S1800 holding its own against several of my more expensive cameras. Although my Canon XSi is still the champ of my household, the Fuji compared well to my Canon G10. I tried several different SD and SDHC cards in the Fuji. It recognized every card except one, an ancient 8MB generic SD card that came bundled with a camera I purchased nearly a decade ago. It did recognize a newer generic 32MB SD card that also came bundled with a camera.
Video mode is okay but nothing great. Videos are stored in AVI format. HD mode is pretty good compared to the standard resolution but doesn't come close to the performance of a Flip or dedicated HD video camera. You can zoom during filming, but the zoom motor creates a noticable buzzing noise in the video. It's not even the same sound heard when actively zooming the camera. About the best way I can describe it is similar to the sound made by a hand buzzer.
The large LCD display is decent when shooting in good light and during media playback but it's a little noisy when shooting in reduced lighting.
The Fuji offers DSLR image quality and features for the price of a higher-end point and shoot. It has a few minor flaws, but considering everything Fuji packed into this camera for the price, you can't go wrong. It's a perfect step-up if you're eager to explore the realm beyond basic point-and-shoot but not quite ready to take the plunge into DSLR territory.
Powerhouse in a small package
Reviewed by: Matthew Cartier, Pulaski NY Review Date: 2010-04-14
Fuji Film has done a wonderful job with this camera. From the time I opened the box, read the manual, took some test shots and was viewing them on my computer (I didn't install the supplied cd for picture viewing direct from the camera) approx 30 minutes went by.
Camera setup is a breeze. The manual is very easy to follow with clear instructions. For my test shots on my initial use I used the "AUTO" Setting. There are four other picture taking settings- Scene Recognition Auto, Scene Position, Panorama, Custom.
Additionally there is Movie mode where you can record HD movies in 720p quality.
The SD Card and 4 AA Battery's go in the same compartment on the bottom of the camera. I prefer having the AA's as there have been many a times that my original and spare batteries have run out and I wished my camera took AA's.
The camera's "menu" is easily navigable and is not overly complicated.
You have the option of viewing your subject prior to and after the shot thru the view finder or the 3.5 inch display. The ability to review your pictures and zoom,shift, etc is present as well.
Intelligent Face Detection,Red- Eye Removal and Blink Detection worked flawlessly for me in sunlight, indoors in normal lighting, and lower light conditions inside and out.
One of my favorite features of this camera is the Burst Mode (Continuous Shooting)-There are 5 different Burst Mode options which I know I will get a ton of use out of during the kids sports season coming up.
The 18X Zoom is outstanding. I have photographed subjects that I thought I would need the Hubble for and I have been very pleased with my results.
As far as performance in the "field" goes the camera is about half the size of other SLR Camera's like the Nikon D40 so that helps on weight. I didn't experience any software "hic-ups" when changing between settings and switching rapidly from mode to mode etc. I took approx 300 pictures with the settings on the highest resolution possible. The battery usage is good as I still have the original ones in and haven't received and low power notifications.
To sum up my experience this 12.2 Megapixel S1800 Camera from Fuji Film is a camera that a novice or a professional would be happy with. There are very detailed ISO setting's and shutters speeds that can be manipulated and a boatload of different "scene" selections such as fireworks,sunset,snow,beach,party,flower,night,etc,etc. The plethora of simple yet advanced features can turn anyone into a true "shutterbug".
Very good for the price
Reviewed by: DAN, Review Date: 2010-04-20
I bought this camera mostly for the zoom and the quality of the lens you get for only around 200 bucks. This camera does not have a RAW mode so it's really a point and shoot BUT it has many different features you might find in professional SLR cameras that cost hundreds more. If you know what you're doing, you can do a lot of manual shooting. I'm not going to give it a 2,3,4 out 5 because I don't' like the cheap plastic feel or that it's too light or that I don't like the color, like some of the other reviewers mentioned.. How cares??? I give it 5 stars because the quality of the pictures is great and for what this camera is designed for, it does beautifully.
Really Good Camera For the Money
Reviewed by: The Kodachrome Kid, Maine Review Date: 2010-07-11
I've been using my Finepix S1800 for almost two weeks now, and I have to say that I'm truly impressed. Although Amazon's not going to like this, I didn't buy it from them. I bought mine from a competitor at a lower price... Mine was reconditioned by Fuji, and came with no neckstrap, lens cap, or batteries. If you buy it new, you get those items. Anyway, I got this camera because I couldn't afford a Nikon D5000. I'd been using my film cameras, as well as a digital Olympus C-700, and felt it was time to get something better than the old Olympus. This Finepix fit the bill. It functions flawlessly, the lens seems pretty good, and the software menus within the camera are a breeze to master. The only gripe I have with the camera is that it doesn't do RAW format.. I can live without it. The images I've shot are sharp at all focal lengths, and the low light capabilities, especially the built-in Infrared AF, are pretty good, too. Oh, yeah, probably the most exciting feature of this camera is the Dual Image Stabilization. It has allowed me to get tack sharp shots at shutter speeds that would be impossible to get with a 35mm SLR. I've shot handheld shots at well over 200mm focal length at 1" and even slower! It's just amazing to rack the zoom all the way out to the equivalent of 504mm, and shoot at 1/60", even 1/30", and know you can get the shot. Just astounding. IT WORKS. It's wonderful in macro mode, too. Although undoubtedly there are better digital superzoom bridge cameras out there on the market, I seriously doubt if any come close to the S1800 in terms of value. The camera is inexpensive, well-made, handles well, and is fun to use. It's a nice machine. Oh, one caveat - it's REALLY fussy about the memory cards it can take - SanDisk and Fuji SDHC cards are recommended. The cards MUST BE CLASS 6 TO WORK WITH THIS CAMERA! Do not try to use a regular SD card, or anything less than a Class 6 card. I picked up an 8GB Fujifilms SDHC card for around $30 that gives me over 1,700 shots at the S1800's largest, best image quality - I can live with that.
To sum up -- get this camera.
Great camera, I'll leave the tech talk to the professionals though
Reviewed by: J. Gallagher, Morris County, NJ Review Date: 2010-08-04
I have always had Canon Point and Shoots. My most recent Canon, the 10mp SD something or other Coach edition - purchased for over $500 4 yrs ago, finally broke (lens error of some sort) and was over $200 to repair. So off I went to find another option.
I stumbled upon this camera by accident, wasnt looking for a Fuji, after all I'm a Canon person, lol. But this model was mentioned on so many different sites I had to check it out.
This little camera is super easy to use. I have 3 kids, an 8yr old and twin (almost) 5 yr olds who are all starting sports this fall. My favorite feature of the camera is the "burst" mode. You have the option of taking 20, 10, or 3 high speed shots with one press of the shutter. I tested it out by asking my daughter to jump and spin in a circle. She did, I used the 20 shot, and I captured liftoff to touch down. Super cool.
The panoramic mode is cool too, it allows you to take 3 pictures in a row (like a mountain range or whatever) and it takes the 3 shots and "stitches" them together right in the camera. Saves you the work of editing later if thats your cup of tea. I cant be bothered with anything more than cropping or whatever, might go crazy and turn one black and white...and oh, this camera does that too.
The zoom was a big draw for me. My old Canon had a zoom that was less than impressive, but this Fuji is pretty powerful. It does take a steady hand to be fully extended and snap a clear shot without a tripod, but after a few test shots I was able to take some pretty crisp images.
I have to be honest and say I am no professional to speak intelligently about aperature or F speed. I took a photo class in high school, but that was more than 15 years ago. You'd be better off asking me how to speak French, since I supposedly learned that too..
Anyway, the price is right, the camera is lightweight and comes with a neck/shoulder strap. Only complaint is that the lens cap falls off mine.
I would recommend this camera, especially to parents looking to get the capabilities (or some of them, at least) of a DSLR but know their kids will just ruin the $700 base model without a lens and decide to hold off for a less expensive model until the kids can distinguish between mommy's camera and the play cell phone they throw across the room. Its great for long distance or high speed shots and the AA batteries are a better option for anyone who has walked around Disney World and had a rechargeable battery die and realize the spare is back in the hotel room, lol.
- is waterproof to 10 ft. under water, perfect for swimming pools, beach, snorkeling (note: do not use in hot water!)
- is shockproof up to 3 ft., great for jogging, cycling, or even letting your baby learn to take pictures
- is freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)
- is dustproof
- has 12.2 effective megapixels
- has 5x optical zoom and features a Fujinon lens for great clarity; lens focal length is 36-180mm in 35mm film camera terms
- takes 720p widescreen, VGA or QVGA video
- can zoom optically in video mode (but see note on audio recording below)
- is really small and weighs just a little over 5 oz. with battery and SDHC card
- uses SDHC memory card, no more xD that was championed by Fuji and Olympus
I bought a green XP10 because I love spending time in the water. I find that, outdoors during the day, the XP10 takes pictures with excellent clarity and excellent color saturation and contrast. Using fill-in flash in daylight truly enhances the picture. Indoors, because the XP10 lacks Fuji's legendary SuperCCD technology, picture quality is average for a compact or super-compact camera. It does have two natural-scene modes where it boosts the ISO (light sensitivity of the image sensor) at the expense of increased noise. I bought my XP10 to be used outdoors, in the pool and at the beach, so I haven't taken many indoor pics.
Video shooting at 720p yields smooth, clear HD video clips. BTW, video size is limited only by the 2GB FAT32 file size limit -- this means even if you pop in a 16GB SDHC card, the longest video clip can only go up to 2GB in file size, due to the limit imposed by the FAT32 file system. Video is recorded as motion JPEG in an AVI container, so it can be played on many, many devices, at the expense of slightly larger file sizes than a more compact format like MPEG-2 or MPEG-4.
While you can zoom optically -- a feature that every digital camera should have -- audio recording's volume level is lowered during zooming. Instead, the camera picks up some noise from the lens mechanism and that noise overwhelms the ambient sounds you want to record, which can be annoying when played back on a large TV. My advise is to use zooming sparingly during video mode. If you want great video recording on a compact digital camera, you should get a Sony or Canon or Panasonic camera (be prepared to pay a lot more for the waterproof feature, though).
Anyway, my sample video clip shows how the camera works under water. The video resolution was set to QVGA (320x240) for easy upload to Amazon, but you should be able to see the amazing clarity both in and out of water.
In summary, the XP10 is a great waterproof, shockproof camera that every water enthusiast should bring along to record fun memories.
Good (at least for my life)
Reviewed by: JT, San Jose, CA United States Review Date: 2010-06-10
The reality of my life is that the other members of my family unit consist of two hyper little kids and a clumsy wife. I learned many cameras ago that my cameras MUST be water/drool-proof, shock-proof, nag-proof, and any other proofs they can come up with. Yes, I might sacrifice some picture quality or credit card slim size for my requirements but what good are those other cameras (like a few of my old ones) if they are "accidentally" broken within one month?
My other digital camera is an Olympus Stylus Weather/Shock that is a few years old. I must say that so far after a month's usage I prefer the Fuji XP10 over my other camera.
What I like about the Fuji:
-Good size and form factor. Thumbs up to the large display screen.
-I like that it takes a standard memory card (which was included). My Olympus takes strange size memory card (=expensive, hard to find).
-Easy to use (point and shoot). Picture quality seems decent enough though not as good as some of the high end cameras
-Did I mention it is weatherproof and shockproof? Hasn't broken yet. I do give my other Olympus camera a thumbs up for surviving several years.
-Value for the price.
What could be better:
-Battery life hasn't seemed that great to me as of yet, but does come with a charger. Battery life still better than my Olympus though.
-Battery hatch hard to open. I consider myself fairly good with gadgets but I actually had to read the instructions to figure out how to open the battery hatch = there will be questions/complaints/nags about this from my wife & kids.
In summary, this camera fulfills my mandatory requirement of weatherproof/shockproof. Second most important to me is size/wearability and this camera is good in that area. Decent pictures are expected as a given and delivered by this camera. Price for what you get is a good value. = 5 stars by me (so far). Will it survive the perils of life with my family?...only time will tell...if it breaks within one year I will add an update to this review.
Great camera
Reviewed by: Mikehn, Mount Airy, MD USA Review Date: 2010-05-28
I took this camera to Orlando for a week and had it in my swim trunk pocket on just about every water ride at Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and Aquatica. Dynamite little camera! To top it off, I charged the battery before I left home and it lasted the entire week without a recharge. I did not take any pictures underwater, so I cant comment on the quality of underwater photos. However, this camera was perfect for snapping pictures of my little one while chasing him around Orlando's finest water parks.
Love, love this camera!
Reviewed by: Melissa Kissell, Fort Worth, TX Review Date: 2010-06-21
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R138L884QYLZKS Seems like several people aren't happy with this camera. I was showing my husband the reviews on here and we were really surprised by how many are disappointed with their camera. Maybe I don't expect enough however, I did drop it and it didn't break; it took great pictures in and out of the water and the video works nicely as well.
I bought this for $139 at a local warehouse club and I think it's worth every penny for the underwater pictures and video alone. We've had a blast using it!
BTW, the video image isn't grainy. Their are water sprinklers that shoot over the pool, so what you are seeing is sprinkles and not a bad video. I uploaded this video to FB and for whatever reason the FB looks clear while the same video on Amazon looks pixelated. Go figure.
Great little camera!
Reviewed by: Jeff Pittman, Durham, NC USA Review Date: 2010-06-06
This replaces a Canon pocket camera that I liked a lot, and an early model Flip video camera that was also a lot of fun and ridiculously easy to use. The Canon would capture digital video, but not without my having to find and dig through the manual before trying. This Fuji is as easy to use for video as it is for stills. More on that later.
I was a little disconcerted that there was no automatic lens cap, but what appears to be the lens is a thick glass (maybe acrylic?) cover that you can smudge to your heart's content, then grab your t-shirt and clean it as you would your spectacles. Lens movement (zooming) happens inside the protective glass cocoon. The large and bright display on the back has a durable, sturdy feel like the lens cover. You get the feeling you would have to really try to scratch or damage them.
Shooting still photos: the camera starts up in "Scene Recognition" mode which works amazingly well at figuring out what you're shooting and setting the camera accordingly. There are lots of other modes (presets, really) that are easy to select, like Beach, Snow, Landscapes, Night, Sport, Underwater and others that you see on a lot of cameras. There are also some interesting oddballs like the setting that takes two pictures back to back, one with flash and one without, so you can choose the one you like best. A terrific feature for me is Image Stabilization, which reduces the effect of shaky hands on photo quality. I inherited something called "essential tremor" from my Mom's side of the family and my hands shake - sometimes not at all, sometimes a little, sometimes a little more. The last set of photos I took with my old Canon was at a classic car auction and I had to discard more than half of them because of this. In my experimenting with the Fuji (even at much higher resolution), photos are very, very sharp.
Shooting video: I think I mentioned it's very easy compared to a still camera where video seems to be implemented as an add-on, not a primary feature. You can choose from three quality levels, the higher quality consuming more SD card space than lower quality as you'd imagine. Videos are saved as .AVI files. One of the problems I discovered a while back was that videos easily become huge and may be difficult to upload to a website like YouTube, which has both size and duration (play length) limits. The Flip video camera excels at making small, ready-to-upload videos and the Fuji doesn't do that (I don't think any still camera does that). However, Google around for "HandBrake" for an open-source converter that will convert videos from one format to another and even allow you to specify how big the resulting video file will be. Finally, I'm not sure, but it looks to me like the Image Stablization feature also works in video mode. I just shot a "before" video of my kitchen prior to a major remodel, and what I saw in the camera display was shaky. What I saw in the finished video file looked just fine.
Cons that I probably wouldn't have noticed except for reviews on other sites:
- no viewfinder. Some like to hold the camera to their eyes to stabilize it. The digital image stabilization features keeps this from being a problem for me.
- can't zoom in/out while making a video. You have to adjust the zoom where you want it before you start shooting.
- took me a while to figure out how to open the battery + SD card cover. You have to move the latch and slide the cover away from the camera body in one motion.
Pros:
- very easy to use for stills AND video. This is a camera you can give Mom or Dad and they'll have success with it just using the defaults.
- image stabilization. This is my first camera with this capability and it is awesome.
- lots of options for camera buffs who like to tweak settings; for those of us who don't care they are not in the way
- 4GB SD card included (a surprise)
- smaller than I expected
I'm looking forward to a long relationship with this thing. Very nice piece of work!
Update 6/11/2010: watch your battery level (I'm not sure exactly how to do that; it's on my list to find out) before downloading to the included desktop software (MyFinePix Studio). I was copying a video from the camera to MyFinePix Studio and I'm thinking the battery reached critical level, and MyFinePixStudio stopped responding. I thought I had lost the video (it had disappeared from the camera) but after recharging the battery and doing another sync, there it was.
When the battery went, it went immediately. An amber light had been blinking on the front of the camera just beforehand, which I thought just meant "busy," but now I'm thinking I was wrong. Another reviewer criticized the battery life and I've had no problem with it lasting for a typical day, but now I think you do need to get a spare if you plan to be away from the charger for a few days.
Still liking this camera and wouldn't change the 5-star opinion. This is personality learning-curve stuff from my POV.
The FinePix Z33WP is Fujifilm's first waterproof digital camera. No longer do you need to worry about damaging your camera in less than optimum shooting conditions. The FinePix Z33WP ensures you'll never miss capturing any of life's precious moments, any where, any time, under any conditions, and be able to share them easily with your extended network of friends and family members. The 10-megapixel FinePix Z33WP is ready for any adventure including underwater activity up to 10 feet. The Z33WP uses a Fujinon 3x optical zoom lens, has Fujifilm's 'Automatic Scene Recognition' SR AUTO mode, and features a 2.7-inch, 230,000 pixel resolution LCD screen.
10.0-megapixel resolution for large, photo quality prints
Waterproof up to 10 feet
3x optical zoom; 2.7-inch LCD screen with Micro Thumbnail View
Reviewed by: Tod P. Zechiel, Winter Haven, Florida Review Date: 2009-03-29
I purchased this camera for outdoor use while kayaking. I have no intention of using it underwater, but having lost two cameras to water damage; I opted for something waterproof.
Pluses: 1. The function buttons are tops - easy to find and press.
2. With tapered edges, the camera goes in my pocket easily.
3. Movie audio surprizingly good.
4. Multiple digital pixel settings - as low as 100 KB for
photos at the lowest setting - I e-mail my dad photos, he has
dial-up so short attachments are critical.
5. Photo quality color and resolution is good, including macro.
6. LCD display is good, even in strong sunlight
7. Menu choices are fairly intuitive.
8. Battery life seems good so far.
9. SD card - not that many waterproof cameras allow the use of
the common SD card.
Minuses 1. Indoor shots are have noise.
2. No hardcopy, comprehensive manual, just an unbound, brief
multifolded paper. The comprehensive manual is on a CD.
Then again, if you are around water, FUJI may figure you
aren't going to take a paper manual with you.
3. Propriety USB cable for downloads - yet another cable to
keep seperate from a dozen other propriety cables me and my
family has.
Summary: The camera exceeds my expectation for outdoor use. Granted, the photos in lower light settings have some noise, but most of my photos are in bright daylight. If I am going to an indoor event with low light, I'll take my Canon that is not waterproof.
I have used this camera underwater and on top. Sunsets and sunrises. I really like the way it handles and shoots. Very easy to figure out the settings. The easiest camera I've used so far and I've been shooting for 40 years. Sometimes I just don't want to think about settings but know I can get a great photo. I can with this camera.
It's fun taking a video going down a water slide!
One thing about digital is pushing the card to it's limit. I got a 4Gig. card and place the settings at the least amount of photos so it has the best quality photo. I can still get over 600 photos to this card! The other important thing is to make sure you hold the shooting button down for a few secs. so the digital camera can auto focus. If you don't photos will be blured or grainy.
I would recomend this to anyone looking for a great waterproof camera.
Buy it for vacation, but use it for every day
Reviewed by: SUSAN LIENESCH, Anacortes, WA USA Review Date: 2009-05-29
I bought this camera to take with me snorkeling in Hawai'i, and to use as a backup camera to my Olympus 20x zoom camera. When i first took it out in Kahalu'u Bay on the Big Island, I was amazed at what this little camera could do. It's so easy to operate underwater and takes great movies and pics. Seals are watertight and body is very sturdy. Good battery life considering how much I used it every day of my trip. I took it to a manta ray night snorkel and got some once-in-a-lifetime videos (see my youtube vid at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VNaSHoBViE) and was glad the small size made it a great still shot backup when I ran out of batteries in my Olympus. The cool green color and nice quality vids and photos got noticed by quite a few tourists and locals on my trip. The camera's still photo quality is just fine for everyday shooting. Snap one of these beauties up now and never leave home without it.
Hawaii Amazing
Reviewed by: Nancy Walker, Dana Point, CA United States Review Date: 2010-03-10
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CDW5WB40BHFW I rarely write reviews BUT this is the best $129 I have ever spent. I was in Hawaii in January and used the underwater capabilities of this cute LITTLE, amazingly easy to use camera. I was surprised to hear the footage of the whales underwater BETTER than I heard them in real life, AWESOME. Please watch and listen to the turtle with the whales screaming in the background, I didn't think underwater was so noisy!!! I also caught some pretty amazing photos of rainbows, even far away ones. This camera is as sweet as the price!
An amazing and outstanding camera
Reviewed by: C. Ochsner, Lincoln, NE USA Review Date: 2009-10-22
If you're a novice at photography and want to take pictures either out of or under water, you couldn't ask for a bettter camera. Especially for the price. Either the people who gave this camera a bad review didn't know how to use it, they have too high a expectation, or are expert photographers who may need a more expensive camera. Or perhaps their camera just didn't work properly.
I wasn't expecting a lot from this camera based on the price and some reviews, but because of some of the shared photos, I decided to give it a try. If it didn't work, I at least didn't spend a whole lot. What I got was an amazing camera for a great price. I'm an extremely picky person and it takes a lot to impress me, but that is exactly what this camera did. Since I was snorkeling and floating on top of the water bobbing up and down, fighting against the current and using mostly the zoom feature my expectation was a lot of blurred pictures. So much so, that I wasn't even eager to get back to the ship to load the pictures onto my laptop to see what I got. When I finally was mentally set for a big disappointment I loaded my pictures onto my laptop. What I saw couldn't have surprised or excited me more. The pictures were beautiful and the movies I took were phenomenal. If you are a novice or a intermediate photographer, I highly, highly recommend this camera especially if you want to take underwater photos. I think it does great out of the water too. I have uploaded a few of the pictures I took so you can check those out. My two disappointments were that it was overcast (Fugifilm has no control over that)and I think some of the photos would have been better had the sun been out showing off all the colors of the fish and coral. And that the camera is only good for 3 meters under water. So I wasn't able to swim to the bottom of the ocean with it to take pictures. I had to stay on the surface. Regardless, it had the zoom that worked perfectly. One other nice thing was that I didn't have to worry about it if it rained or got wet while out on the ocean.
- is waterproof to 10 ft. under water, perfect for swimming pools, beach, snorkeling (note: do not use in hot water!)
- is shockproof up to 3 ft., great for jogging, cycling, or even letting your baby learn to take pictures
- is freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)
- is dustproof
- has 12.2 effective megapixels
- has 5x optical zoom and features a Fujinon lens for great clarity; lens focal length is 36-180mm in 35mm film camera terms
- takes 720p widescreen, VGA or QVGA video
- can zoom optically in video mode (but see note on audio recording below)
- is really small and weighs just a little over 5 oz. with battery and SDHC card
- uses SDHC memory card, no more xD that was championed by Fuji and Olympus
I bought a green XP10 because I love spending time in the water. I find that, outdoors during the day, the XP10 takes pictures with excellent clarity and excellent color saturation and contrast. Using fill-in flash in daylight truly enhances the picture. Indoors, because the XP10 lacks Fuji's legendary SuperCCD technology, picture quality is average for a compact or super-compact camera. It does have two natural-scene modes where it boosts the ISO (light sensitivity of the image sensor) at the expense of increased noise. I bought my XP10 to be used outdoors, in the pool and at the beach, so I haven't taken many indoor pics.
Video shooting at 720p yields smooth, clear HD video clips. BTW, video size is limited only by the 2GB FAT32 file size limit -- this means even if you pop in a 16GB SDHC card, the longest video clip can only go up to 2GB in file size, due to the limit imposed by the FAT32 file system. Video is recorded as motion JPEG in an AVI container, so it can be played on many, many devices, at the expense of slightly larger file sizes than a more compact format like MPEG-2 or MPEG-4.
While you can zoom optically -- a feature that every digital camera should have -- audio recording's volume level is lowered during zooming. Instead, the camera picks up some noise from the lens mechanism and that noise overwhelms the ambient sounds you want to record, which can be annoying when played back on a large TV. My advise is to use zooming sparingly during video mode. If you want great video recording on a compact digital camera, you should get a Sony or Canon or Panasonic camera (be prepared to pay a lot more for the waterproof feature, though).
Anyway, my sample video clip shows how the camera works under water. The video resolution was set to QVGA (320x240) for easy upload to Amazon, but you should be able to see the amazing clarity both in and out of water.
In summary, the XP10 is a great waterproof, shockproof camera that every water enthusiast should bring along to record fun memories.
Good (at least for my life)
Reviewed by: JT, San Jose, CA United States Review Date: 2010-06-10
The reality of my life is that the other members of my family unit consist of two hyper little kids and a clumsy wife. I learned many cameras ago that my cameras MUST be water/drool-proof, shock-proof, nag-proof, and any other proofs they can come up with. Yes, I might sacrifice some picture quality or credit card slim size for my requirements but what good are those other cameras (like a few of my old ones) if they are "accidentally" broken within one month?
My other digital camera is an Olympus Stylus Weather/Shock that is a few years old. I must say that so far after a month's usage I prefer the Fuji XP10 over my other camera.
What I like about the Fuji:
-Good size and form factor. Thumbs up to the large display screen.
-I like that it takes a standard memory card (which was included). My Olympus takes strange size memory card (=expensive, hard to find).
-Easy to use (point and shoot). Picture quality seems decent enough though not as good as some of the high end cameras
-Did I mention it is weatherproof and shockproof? Hasn't broken yet. I do give my other Olympus camera a thumbs up for surviving several years.
-Value for the price.
What could be better:
-Battery life hasn't seemed that great to me as of yet, but does come with a charger. Battery life still better than my Olympus though.
-Battery hatch hard to open. I consider myself fairly good with gadgets but I actually had to read the instructions to figure out how to open the battery hatch = there will be questions/complaints/nags about this from my wife & kids.
In summary, this camera fulfills my mandatory requirement of weatherproof/shockproof. Second most important to me is size/wearability and this camera is good in that area. Decent pictures are expected as a given and delivered by this camera. Price for what you get is a good value. = 5 stars by me (so far). Will it survive the perils of life with my family?...only time will tell...if it breaks within one year I will add an update to this review.
Great camera
Reviewed by: Mikehn, Mount Airy, MD USA Review Date: 2010-05-28
I took this camera to Orlando for a week and had it in my swim trunk pocket on just about every water ride at Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and Aquatica. Dynamite little camera! To top it off, I charged the battery before I left home and it lasted the entire week without a recharge. I did not take any pictures underwater, so I cant comment on the quality of underwater photos. However, this camera was perfect for snapping pictures of my little one while chasing him around Orlando's finest water parks.
Love, love this camera!
Reviewed by: Melissa Kissell, Fort Worth, TX Review Date: 2010-06-21
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R138L884QYLZKS Seems like several people aren't happy with this camera. I was showing my husband the reviews on here and we were really surprised by how many are disappointed with their camera. Maybe I don't expect enough however, I did drop it and it didn't break; it took great pictures in and out of the water and the video works nicely as well.
I bought this for $139 at a local warehouse club and I think it's worth every penny for the underwater pictures and video alone. We've had a blast using it!
BTW, the video image isn't grainy. Their are water sprinklers that shoot over the pool, so what you are seeing is sprinkles and not a bad video. I uploaded this video to FB and for whatever reason the FB looks clear while the same video on Amazon looks pixelated. Go figure.
Great little camera!
Reviewed by: Jeff Pittman, Durham, NC USA Review Date: 2010-06-06
This replaces a Canon pocket camera that I liked a lot, and an early model Flip video camera that was also a lot of fun and ridiculously easy to use. The Canon would capture digital video, but not without my having to find and dig through the manual before trying. This Fuji is as easy to use for video as it is for stills. More on that later.
I was a little disconcerted that there was no automatic lens cap, but what appears to be the lens is a thick glass (maybe acrylic?) cover that you can smudge to your heart's content, then grab your t-shirt and clean it as you would your spectacles. Lens movement (zooming) happens inside the protective glass cocoon. The large and bright display on the back has a durable, sturdy feel like the lens cover. You get the feeling you would have to really try to scratch or damage them.
Shooting still photos: the camera starts up in "Scene Recognition" mode which works amazingly well at figuring out what you're shooting and setting the camera accordingly. There are lots of other modes (presets, really) that are easy to select, like Beach, Snow, Landscapes, Night, Sport, Underwater and others that you see on a lot of cameras. There are also some interesting oddballs like the setting that takes two pictures back to back, one with flash and one without, so you can choose the one you like best. A terrific feature for me is Image Stabilization, which reduces the effect of shaky hands on photo quality. I inherited something called "essential tremor" from my Mom's side of the family and my hands shake - sometimes not at all, sometimes a little, sometimes a little more. The last set of photos I took with my old Canon was at a classic car auction and I had to discard more than half of them because of this. In my experimenting with the Fuji (even at much higher resolution), photos are very, very sharp.
Shooting video: I think I mentioned it's very easy compared to a still camera where video seems to be implemented as an add-on, not a primary feature. You can choose from three quality levels, the higher quality consuming more SD card space than lower quality as you'd imagine. Videos are saved as .AVI files. One of the problems I discovered a while back was that videos easily become huge and may be difficult to upload to a website like YouTube, which has both size and duration (play length) limits. The Flip video camera excels at making small, ready-to-upload videos and the Fuji doesn't do that (I don't think any still camera does that). However, Google around for "HandBrake" for an open-source converter that will convert videos from one format to another and even allow you to specify how big the resulting video file will be. Finally, I'm not sure, but it looks to me like the Image Stablization feature also works in video mode. I just shot a "before" video of my kitchen prior to a major remodel, and what I saw in the camera display was shaky. What I saw in the finished video file looked just fine.
Cons that I probably wouldn't have noticed except for reviews on other sites:
- no viewfinder. Some like to hold the camera to their eyes to stabilize it. The digital image stabilization features keeps this from being a problem for me.
- can't zoom in/out while making a video. You have to adjust the zoom where you want it before you start shooting.
- took me a while to figure out how to open the battery + SD card cover. You have to move the latch and slide the cover away from the camera body in one motion.
Pros:
- very easy to use for stills AND video. This is a camera you can give Mom or Dad and they'll have success with it just using the defaults.
- image stabilization. This is my first camera with this capability and it is awesome.
- lots of options for camera buffs who like to tweak settings; for those of us who don't care they are not in the way
- 4GB SD card included (a surprise)
- smaller than I expected
I'm looking forward to a long relationship with this thing. Very nice piece of work!
Update 6/11/2010: watch your battery level (I'm not sure exactly how to do that; it's on my list to find out) before downloading to the included desktop software (MyFinePix Studio). I was copying a video from the camera to MyFinePix Studio and I'm thinking the battery reached critical level, and MyFinePixStudio stopped responding. I thought I had lost the video (it had disappeared from the camera) but after recharging the battery and doing another sync, there it was.
When the battery went, it went immediately. An amber light had been blinking on the front of the camera just beforehand, which I thought just meant "busy," but now I'm thinking I was wrong. Another reviewer criticized the battery life and I've had no problem with it lasting for a typical day, but now I think you do need to get a spare if you plan to be away from the charger for a few days.
Still liking this camera and wouldn't change the 5-star opinion. This is personality learning-curve stuff from my POV.
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Sporting a 12-MegaPixel 1/2.3" CCD, a powerful Fujinon 18x Wide-Angle optical zoom (28mm-504mm equivalent) and an extra large 3.0" High-Contrast LCD and electronic viewfinder, the FinePix S2550HD is perfect for advanced amateur photographers who want an affordable, step-up digital camera that will still fit in the palm of their hand.
12.2-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CCD for photo-quality poster-sized prints
Reviewed by: Charles W. Long, Mission, TX United States Review Date: 2010-05-11
I read the negative review about the bad imaging experienced with this camera. Well, yesterday I got the camera and went about taking some test shots to check for the indicated problems. If verified, I intended to box it up and send it back. I had sort of made a mistake when ordering it, and actually thought I was ordering another Fuji model that had more favorable reviews.
Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures using many of the special features available with the camera. I was particularly attentive to shots taken at or near maximum zoom and closeups using the macros. I intentionally was a bit careless taking several shots of distinct objects using maximum zoom-- the results were most pleasing; only a couple of the 3 dozen shots were blurred. I also took aim at three of my neighborhood dog-friends who never stand still and the camera rendered them absolutely rigid. So, I rate the image stabilization as very good. The close-ups were also surprisingly good and I didn't bother with using a tripod or anything else to take the shots.
So, I have trashed the box and will keep the camera. It does a super job with the things I want it to do. Ansel Adams may have insisted upon something better, but I am very pleased with it.
The best quality for the least money
Reviewed by: Geezer, Review Date: 2010-05-19
This is the most versatile camera for the most reasonable amount of money I've ever had. Photography is a hobby for me, not a profession, so I want to be able to experiment with manual control, yet point and shoot with the family and pets so pictures will be spontaneous instead of posed. There is nothing wanting in the quality of the images. While the materials may be lighter than most high-end cameras, that's very much what I like about it. It's well-made, if almost TOO small, and you don't feel like you're dragging around a boat anchor all day. I have a more expensive "prestigious" camera, but may as well sell it for all the use it gets, because this is the one I use all the time.
A Bridge Camera at Near Compact Price
Reviewed by: Rajendra S. Gondhalekar, Review Date: 2010-05-18
I was looking to replace the crappy Vivitar compact we bought a couple years ago. That camera just would not lock autofocus onto anything in compact florescent lighting, and was very finicky to focus in natural light as well. I wanted to get something better than a compact, and after a little bit of looking, settled onto the FujiFilm S2550HD. I have used it for a few days now, and am very happy to report that the results are very good.
I loved:
-18x zoom lens
-quickly locking auto focus
-robust selection of pre-built modes (which is how my wife will use it)
-the ability to go into manual everything (which is where I will likely be living)
-accurate color capture in outdoor daylight settings and the ability to do manual white balance in other lighting just in case the presets are off
-usage of cheap AA cells and support for vanilla SDHC cards
-bright and big 3" LCD and an electronic viewfinder when the light was too bright to use the LCD (this is where the other manufacturers have cut features)
I did not particularly like:
-only two aperture settings to select from
-results at high ISO settings were too noisy to be very useful
-lens cap was not threaded preventing attaching any filters or accessories
-only the basic manual in the box, when the full manual would have cost pennies more to include instead
I haven't tried using it for video shooting yet, but it's a good ability to have in a pinch to take some clips. The price is what sold me as well, as this model provided features that were much more in line with other bridge cameras that sold for more money. I also seriously looked at some entry level DSLR models, but could not justify the fact that I would have had to spend at least twice as much, to just get started down that path. This one versatile camera should serve us quite well compared to the alternatives during our family vacations.
BETTER THAN A DSLR
Reviewed by: Philip J. Marshall, ms Review Date: 2010-07-29
After owning several dslr cameras I wanted something to take quick pictures and videos of the family. This camera exceeds my expectations. The picture quality is excellent. The camera focuses quickly and provides more zoom than you will ever reasonably need. The video quality is also excellent and you can switch modes from pictures to video with just a few clicks of the control dial. The camera is not a dslr but the picture quality is on par with 90% of what you get from a dslr. Most people don't need a dslr they have just been convinced that they do.
The camera is not a substitute for a video camera. But if you need to take one device that can shoot excellent pictures and decent video - this is a great choice. I used the camera last week to video a children's program at my church. We showed the video Sunday on our 20 foot projection screen. The video and sound were great.
If I were a professional photographer I of course would not use this camera for my professional work. This camera is excellent at what it is designed to be. It is a great all around camera and video camera. The battery life is also great. I have been using the same set for the last week, with no indications of a low battery. I highly recommend the camera. OK - the lens cap is not very good - it just falls off. But that is the only fault I can find.
Fujifilm FinePix S2550 12 MP Digital Camera
Reviewed by: George T. Sumner, Guntersville, Al Review Date: 2010-08-09
Extremely Good buy. Low Price, great pictures but a little slow focusing. If allowed to completely focus by allowing focus grid to come up. it makes great pictures. I use this camera at night under sodium vapor lights and it takes very good pictures. These Pictures may be seen at [...] on the fishing tournaments pages. "By George"
Reviewed by: Yarii, the USA Review Date: 2010-05-10
I love Fuji cameras - and no, I'm not a Fuji employee, but maybe I should be - I would love an employee discount! This Z37 was a deal I couldn't refuse and I believe this is my 10th Fuji digital camera I've purchased since 2004. I got the purple color and it's beautiful.
I owned the Z30 Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Whirl White) previously, but at the last minute I decided to gift it to a young relative of mine only because of one thing I disliked about it: On the Z30 the USB plug-in was located INSIDE the camera's battery compartment. I feared the latch would eventually break off since the USB plug, the battery and the memory card were all in the same area.
Instead, the Z37 Fuji has the USB plug on the SIDE of the camera. In addition, this is a multi-use plug. With the Z37 you get an AC adapter cable in addition to the USB cable. The AC adapter charges the battery inside the camera. So unless I'm removing the memory card on this camera, there is no reason to open the battery compartment.
The AC adapter replaces the separate battery charger that comes with the Z30. This also means if your battery runs low, you can use the Z37 with it plugged into an outlet, but of course, this does limit what you can take a picture of, unless it's something near the electric outlet.
The Z37 is slightly thinner than the Z30 but otherwise they appear to be the same. Same LCD size, and the buttons are located in the same configuration. The LCD is big and bright - I have no trouble seeing anything outside in the bright sun. It's tiny and lightweight and easy to carry in either a pocket or small bag - it weighs slightly over 4 ounces.
And since the lens has a cover - and this is the way the camera is powered on/off - by sliding the lens cover open (like the first Fuji digital cameras invented) you almost don't need to buy a separate case....although I do keep mine in a case because I don't like the exterior to get scratched.
Just one complaint with this camera, otherwise it's perfect. There is no good area to hold onto the camera. The entire back is composed of LCD screen and buttons. At least the back area is rubberized so it does help with the grip.
But the pro's way outnumber my single complaint:
>>> Quick response when opening the lens cover to take the first shot
>>> SR Auto - just point and shoot
>>> Takes beautiful pictures
>>> Fast response time after taking a flash picture
>>> Lithium-ion battery - one charge lasts over 200 pictures
>>> Takes good videos - better than my expensive Panasonic Lumix
Note about the videos: You can't use optical zoom once you start filming, but you can set it before. You can use digital zoom after you start filming, but you have to turn it on before-hand in the set-up menu. They aren't HD but they look pretty good.
Note about the SR Auto setting: This setting drains the battery a little quicker, because the lens and sensor is constantly evaluating and focusing whatever you have the camera pointed at - the lens noise is completely normal and nothing to worry about. If you don't want to hear the lens focusing, just set the camera on regular Auto instead (the picture of the camera icon).
In conclusion: This is a good entry-level camera and I recommend it for just about anyone who is looking for an easy to use camera. Even a young kid. And it's built tougher than it appears - since the lens zooms INSIDE the camera body. Case in point: Two days after I received my Z30, it slipped out of my hands and hit the kitchen floor (my condo is built on a slab). I thought the camera was broken, but I turned it back on and was none worse for the wear. Not even a scratch. This Z37 appears to be built just as tough as the Z30 which I dropped.
It comes with just 18 MB of internal memory, so pick up an SD card if you don't already have one.
Great
Reviewed by: Mercy Lopez, USA Review Date: 2010-02-08
This camera is small enough to carry everywhere and it gets better! It takes pictures quickly with high resolution. The lens is inside the camera so you won't have to worry whether you will break the lens if you drop it ( i dropped my Nikon camera on accident and immediately broke the lens). It is really a fun camera to have as well an simple. The buttons are sealed so that any dirt or water wont go through and ruin the camera or the button. I would recommend this camera to anyone that is looking for a cute portable camera that takes great shots.
This camera is great for most occasions. It is definitely not the best in terms of picture quality, but then again, if you want to get more, you have to spend a lot more. For the money, this is a great every-day-use camera.
Pros:
+ Light weight
+ Inexpensive
+ Good looking
+ 3x zoom without a protruding lense
Cons:
- Not the best image quality, but still good for most occasions
- Auto ISO only, but an every day user would not touch those adjustments anyways
Was a GREAT GIFT to give!!!
Reviewed by: Michael, Redding, Ca Review Date: 2010-02-12
I own 2 Fugi cameras, and they are great so I decided to buy one for a friend for Christmas. My friend is a long haul truck driver and she loves to take pictures of the good ol USA. She has told me how easy this camera is to use, and she's not the most technical savy person, but she loves it. She emails me pictures from all over the US and they are beautiful. So if you are considering an easy to use camera that takes beautiful pictures take a look at this camera, you won't be disappointed in the Fugifilm Finepix Z37.
Love it!
Reviewed by: S. Reddish, Florida Review Date: 2010-05-30
This camera is so easy to use. It comes on when you slide open to reveal the lens. As someone is is not up on electronics, I used to hate to use my old camera. By the time I figured out how to use it, a lot of the times, the moment I wanted to capture was over. Thanks for this great camera. It was also delivered super fast in perfect condtion.
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Prevent capturing blurred photos so often caused by camera shake and subject movement with the HS10's highly effective Image Stabilization technology. By combining CMOS-shift and Digital Image Stabilization, the FinePix HS10 ensures that all your shots are sharp and clear even at the full zoom range.
10-megapixel CMOS image sensor for superior low-light performance and photo-quality, poster-sized prints
Fujinon 30x (24-720mm equivalent) manual optical zoom lens; 24-720mm (equivalent on a 35mm camera) range from true wide-angle to ultra telephoto
Reviewed by: Roberto Vicente, Hayward, CA USA Review Date: 2010-04-17
Four and a half stars
Just got my HS10 yesterday and what surprised me literally first is that it looks and feels like a dslr. The camera isn't big at all and is light. All this with an excellent and very potent lens.
Having had many dslr and p/s cameras I was able go through the menu even without reading the manual (Fuji doesn't include the full hard copy of the manual except as a pdf file on the disk--my major complaint about the camera!).
The camera is light and easy to use, responsive and simple. Actually, a joy to use and manipulate. Upon further using the camera zoom, the overhead flash does stick out slightly to encumber the use of focusing on the zoom ring. A person with small hands probably won't have much of a problem, but those with larger hands may find it annoying. But you get past that once you see how nice and accurate the zoom is. The lens is sharp all the way through focus without any fringing (all glass in the lens according to Fuji).
I shot in raw and there was a short time lag of 2-3 seconds per shot. I haven't tried it in rapid/continuous shooting yet to see if it can fire off a few raw shots (yes, the camera will shot 6 consecutive shots!).
The lcd screen is nice and large and colorful. The view finder while nice that it has an automatic sensor that detects your eye, the image quality there is average. I understand that both lcd and view finder only show 97% of the picture which makes you scratch your head. But nothing too bad. The diopter to the viewfinder sharpened nicely according to your vision.
As I shot the images in raw, what struck me was how beautiful and rich the shots were. Some pictures even had me applauding. The zoom is fantastic and to be able to go from wide to full zoom in just a snap is wonderful. I've had dslrs and been lazy about changing lens. The convenience of an all-in-one lens is great. Camera image stabilization works nicely. I did notice that on aperture priority it only goes as far as f8, but in manual you can get f11. Another oddity.
I would say that the HS10 is a mini dslr or dslr-like. The nay-sayers and nit pickers you see on the reviews here are being unfair, because they want some great Nikon/Canon dslr which in the end costs big bucks but for $500 with this kind of zoom, CMOS sensor, and many more features (panorama stitch mode, etc.) that the normal dslr doesn't carry, you can't go wrong.
Later as I processed my raw photos I was truly impressed with the dslr quality of the images. The Fuji/silky software is slow but hopefully there will be something out better soon. Also, a firmware update by Fuji will easily enhance the camera's few foibles. (I forgot to mention that after first getting the camera and seeing the excellent results I then put on a tinted filter which affected the color saturation. I then purchased a clear lens filter and all the robust Fuji color is back. CLEAR FILTER IS THE WAY TO GO!)
I do recommend this camera in its class as a high end bridge camera or mini-dslr! More positives than negatives!
Read the positive photoblog review on the camera.
Also check out the many photos I've included here on Amazon.
Good luck to all. I'll try write later after I've gone through all the features.
Third day out shooting I figured out the trick for when the camera doesn't want to focus, you must also set the camera in macro mode and that helps solidify the shot. The camera sees a close up and thinks its a macro so you must also set the camera to macro!
As of April 27, Fuji has a released a firmware update for the HS10! Go to the Fuji website to update your camera performance. Good luck.
A second firmware update has been issued for the HS10 on May 24, 2010.
From my trying it seems that spotmetering allows for the best exposure and shot making. Without a doubt spotmetering is needed when at full zoom for distant shots to differentiate your subject lighting.
A great all around camera and value!
Reviewed by: C. Smith, CT, USA Review Date: 2010-05-23
I've owned a multi-lens SLR for years, and my Fuji Finepix HS10 for about 3 weeks. I have taken about 300 test shots with it to test many of the features and functions as well as learning how to use it. Overall, I am very pleased with it. Image quality (IQ) is quite good, and it's fairly easy to use. The flexibility and number of features enables it to compete with basic DSLR's.
Lens: The OPTICAL zoom range is incredible (24 - 720mm)in a single lens! The overall performance of the lens is outstanding. Having a 24 - 720mm zoom range, there is no need to change lenses. Yipee! Say good bye to lugging around several lenses, and having to change them all the time!
Fuji has taken a lot of time to carefully design and engineer this camera. To get the most out of it, I've thoroughly read (and follow) the manual and have had great results. Most of the issues written by users I feel may be (IMHO) operator error; not following the manual. The manual however, could be somewhat clearer regarding some of the settings. Examples: Some of the settings / adjustments (ISO, White Balance, etc.) work only in modes other than Automatic or SR (which makes sense, but should be more clearly stated). Ref. page 49 "Autofocus Mode" - "Area" and "Tracking" modes work only when face detection is turned off which is not noted in the manual.
Examples of what I feel may be user errors / comments:
Battery life. NiMH batteries must go through 3 - 5 full charge / discharge cycles for them to operate at full capacity -this is why the camera has a battery discharge function! Brand-new NiMH batteries will not operate at full capacity until they have been discharged and recharged multiple times. I have found when the camera displays the red low battery icon, there is still significant battery life left; giving the user plenty of notice. I am using Sanyo Eneloop's which have 2,000 mAh capacity and worked great.
Ergonomics / lens zoom & manual focus operation: I find the manual zoom ring near the camera body, and zoom function to be smooth and both are easily operated. The other controls are well placed and with practice can be used without looking.
Write speed: I have found the shot-to-shot time to be fine. Be sure to format the SD / SDHC card IN THE CAMERA before use(again, read and follow the manual!)! Use "Class 6" or higher SDHC cards - especially for video capture (the "Class" number indicates the write speed - the higher the number, the faster the write speed). Also be sure to update the firmware when new versions are available (again, follow the manual!).
The flexibility and control of shooting modes (fully automatic to fully manual), control of aperture and depth-of-field (DOF), shutter speed, sensitivity (ISO), white balance, color settings enables the HS10 to compete with DSLR's.
Focusing: Generally, the camera takes sharp photo's, however at time I have found while in Auto mode, the camera may not focus on subjects when zoomed-in all the way. Switching to SR Auto puts the camera in macro mode and the camera will then focus. I've called Fuji to let them know. The camera should focus regardless of the mode in which it's operating.
I like the chrome color setting for outdoor photo's - accentuates greens and blues.
I have been a 3-lens SLR user for many years, and have found this camera was a great choice for me - a single lens w/ a 24 - 720 mm focal length range, a great combination of features, good IQ, flexibility, functionality, and at the price a great value!
I've recommended this camera to a half dozen people since I got it. What I needed from a camera was on that I could get good pictures of birds with while out hiking with my family. With the 30x zoom of this camera, no problem. I can zoom in on birds without scaring or startling them. It's compact enough that it fits into a Lowepro Adventura 140 Camera Case for me to carry while I'm out.
It's well built and feels substantial, the auto-focus works fairly quickly or has for me so far.
I'm using high capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries with it, and the battery life has been fairly good. I keep an extra charged set on hand when out taking pictures.
I also needed a camera that would take good close up shots of beadwork and other crafts. This focuses in very well close up to everything I've tried it on so far.
What I wanted was a camera I could grow into. One that I could use straight out of the box for the things above, and still could use to learn more about photography with. I got that too. I'm slowly learning a lot more about photography by switching modes from auto-focus to being able to adjust just one thing at a time and practicing. It is hybrid enough that it can be used in auto-focus mode by people used to point and shoots with a lot more capability than a standard point and shoots and still has enough very real features to let you learn all those neat photography tricks people do with DSLRs.
I have small hands, and so far that hasn't been a problem. There is a full manual available, I'm not sure if it's on the cd that came with the camera since I downloaded it from the Fujifilm site before getting my camera. It uses standard sd card memory, so with a card reader you can just pull pictures off very easily.
Just a fantastic camera.
Low cost SLR with a functional 30 power optical zoom!
Reviewed by: Jon Norris, Oregon, USA Review Date: 2010-06-06
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1VHXU4WQS3LG2 It has taken me a long time to do this review, for various reasons including weather and my schedule, but also because it is such a complex little beastie. This is an amazing little camera for the price, which is less than I paid for my first 3 megapixel camera ten years ago.
I have uploaded several photos to demonstrate some of the capabilities of this camera, and all of the shots were taken before I read the CD-based pdf manual. While I found some aspects of shooting with this camera frustrating, most of the problems I faced were due to the complexity of the camera and not having read the manual.
The lesson here is - this is NOT a point and shoot camera. If you want to really push this beauty to its limits and squeeze all the good stuff out of it, you had better read the manual. There are many things which are not intuitive, although they are clearly explained in the manual, such as the different program shooting modes, and the fine points of using all the autofocus features. If you don't read the instructions first, I guarantee you will be frustrated. Shooting video is one of the things which will drive you crazy if you don't read the manual first.
That is not a negative. Any sufficiently complex device will require the same, and this camera has an amazing array of features.
It is essentially a low-end digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex - means you sight through the lens), and that is a mixed bag. One the one hand, you have many of the advantages of a pro SLR, such as the zoom lens (more on that later), and the ability to use regular photo filters on the lens (58mm). All the shots I show here were taken with a polarizer and a UV filter.
One the other hand, you lose the ability to change lenses, and the viewfinder is electronic, not optical,which makes it harder to use.
On balance, I think they have the feature set about right for the price point. The true "killer feature" is the 30 power zoom lens. This lens takes one from the 35mm equivalent of a 24mm wide angle to a super telephoto equivalent of 720mm! That is astonishing, and I doubt you will find a lens like that in the 35mm world. Despite the radical zoom range, the lens manages to keep a reasonable quality of image over most of the range. Those with 35mm experience will be in shock, and those not familiar enough to understand what that means will just have to look at my example photos.
Pros:
Fantastic optical zoom range
AA battery power with advanced battery selection and management
SD card slot in addition to 46 megs of internal memory
Video mode
Great range of advanced features, like moving object removal, etc.
10 megapixels with many quality and size settings
Rugged build quality
Partially articulated LCD panel
Captures Raw images for those who prefer that
Diopter adjustment on viewfinder for those with glasses
Cons:
Some poor ergonomic choices, like the right hand grip being too close to the lens for easy use. Should have made the camera just a bit larger, and used actual ergonomics, not just trying to look like a big SLR (many of which also have poor ergonomics)
Autofocus assist lamp located where it will be blocked by you right hand when shooting
Microphones hidden under flash hood on either side of lens
Several buttons on the left side of the LCD panel are easily bumped, putting you into different modes accidentally
Manual focus very hard to use
LCD and electronic viewfinder very difficult to use in bright sunlight
Video record button not labeled, only an orange dot on it
Video mode not the greatest - don't give up your HD camcorder just yet
On balance, for the price it is a useful and fun camera. I found myself wishing I had taken it with me on a recent short trip, where I tried to capture a striking vista with my Canon 720IS. The Fuji would have done a much better job. The fact that it is a solid, useful camera with an amazing 30 power zoom which can also use regular filters, makes this my new camera of choice beyond the basic pocket camera and short of a full-blown pro SLR.
If you want to get into more serious photography, but don't want to shell out 2 grand, this would be an excellent introductory SLR to begin with. For not much more than a good pocket camera, you gain many features of professional SLRs, including manual focus, extensive exposure control, various in-camera editing features, and other advanced features like moving object removal.
This is the camera I wanted ten years ago when I got my first digital. Thank you Fuji, for creating my dream camera. (Well, in this price range, anyway. Let's face it, the RED Epic is pretty dreamy - if you have 30 grand or more....)
There are only a few change I wish they would make, and I will discuss those in the video I am planning to make to add to this review.
Now, the pix:
These were all shot on the same day in about an hour, from the same location with the same tripod. While the Fuji had a polarizer and UV filter, the Canon does not offer those options. While this may not be a fair comparison in some respects, I prefer to have a UV filter protecting my lens, and a polarizer is very helpful in reducing reflections and increasing saturation outdoors. I would use them on the Canon if I had that option. I think the difference in the two cameras is clear, despite the advantage of the filters.
Five of the pictures are from my Canon Powershot A720 IS, for comparison. This has been my camera of choice for many years, and I consider it an outstanding value in a pocket camera. It is the reference camera for my camera reviews (well, until now maybe......).
I tried to replicate images to compare the zoom range of both cameras (the Canon is an 8 megapixel with a 4 power zoom). While not exact, I think they clearly show the extreme zoom range of the Fuji HS10 compared to the Canon 720 IS.
The first three Canon shots, 722, 723, and 724, go from the Canon's widest to most telephoto, in order. This is a 4 power zoom range, and is what I consider the lowest useful range in a still camera.
The next two are black and white versions of picture 724, with one pushed in contrast. The same settings in the same program (the Gimp - Linux version - brightness down -15 and contrast up +50) were used on Fuji pictures, 132 and 136 for comparison of sharpness between the two cameras, and to show the difference in brightness and contrast in the default settings.
Fuji pictures 106, 108, and 109 demonstrate the zoom range of 30 power. The zoom is continuously variable over that range, with indicator markings at various equivalent positions, such as 50mm, 200mm, etc. I picked three images just to illustrate the extremes. The mountains are well beyond 20 miles away.
Fuji pictures 130, 131, 132, and 136 demonstrate the Fuji's zoom range in comparison with the Canon 720 IS. The Canon only reaches to about the 200mm equivalent on the Fuji (Fuji 132). The mountain, which is barely visible in the Fuji's wide shot, is about 20 miles or so away from where I was shooting. Can you count the microwave dishes on the tower in the 720mm shot (Fuji136 - try the high contrast black and white version)? Amazing range.
Fuji 140 was an unplanned, off the cuff shot, taken rapidly without any chance to check settings or mode. I saw a hawk flying by, grabbed the camera, turned it on, framed quickly with no chance to check focus, and just snapped - hoping to catch something semi-usable. I was amazed that I got anything at all. On a closer look at home, I realized that the hawk was imaged reasonably well under the circumstances, and I could even see the ground squirrel she was carrying back to her nest. With more practice and reading the manual, this could be a fun camera for wildlife photography.
I did encounter some color artifacts at the widest telephoto range of the Fuji, but only in one shooting mode. There appears to be some pinkish color shifting on the right one-third of the image, mostly at the top. I did not encounter this when experimenting with another setting, and have not had time to extensively test for conditions where this will happen. Test pictures I did do were too big to load on Amazon. Be aware of this possibility.
Feel free to do side by side comparisons of these pictures to judge for yourself. I think both cameras are good, but the zoom range and higher pixel count on the Fuji definitely wins the day.
I think it is a great little camera with amazing abilities and huge potential. I hope to show some of these things more clearly in the video.
Fuji HS10 - Excellent Camera
Reviewed by: Steve @ Texas, Texas Review Date: 2010-04-17
Monkeyed with the HS10 for a week now and really an excellent camera. Was going to purchase from Amazon, but out of stock. Purchased from Crutchfield and they didn't haggle me to buy more accessories.
I've also used a Nikon 40D and a friend's Canon T1i. For the features and quality, I personally like the HS10 overall. Don't get me wrong, I like Nikons and Canons. I read several of the reviews and think the negative Reviewers are just pissed they overpaid for their camera(s) :)
Last week, I took several shots of the bluebonnets with the family. The pics were crisp and in some aspect the HS10 brought out details that a quick glance wouldn't have noticed. Zooming in or out the focus was quick and on target. The movable lcd is nice when shooting macro flowers at odd angles which I had the camera at near ground level. With the Auto and SR Auto (Scene Recognition) setting, the camera is able to really help beginners with their shots. Shooting at night when it was practically dark, the pic really came out well. The street light was several house down and the horizon still had a very small amount of sunlight. HS10 was able to capture a few stars and the horizon in the shot.
Played with the motion plus feature and the motion object has to be moving in the same direction. If the motion object repeats a former position like turning around, the camera's processor isn't able to stitch the motion object in the pic.
Final thought, I would recommend this camera as a primary camera for beginner to advance photographers. For Professional Photographers, this would be a good backup.
Reviewed by: hard worker, tampa, florida Review Date: 2010-04-12
just bought this camera and am currently using it on my mexico vacation. the pictures are incredible. the auto setting is working fine. have tried out the low light and landscape mode and they work as advertised. i find getting the latest cameras every 2 years makes a huge difference in the image quality and features. this is a vastly better camera to use than my old sony w 170. the waterproof features a working fine so far. took the camera into the carribean sea for the past 4 days and have no problems so far. the various preprogrammed settings are doing their jobs as advertised. i use it primarily for my memories and pix log for my own use. i do not have a "pro's" perspective on image quality. for my use it has exceeded my expections. the movie mode a working to my satisfaction. i got some great video of the fort lauderdale-miami beach front from the sky from my airplane seat. the zoom function works with video too. that will be a great memory. what . took the camera over feet deep on a sea trek adventure and it did not have any problems. took the camera for a one hour snorkel adventure in my board shorts by mistake and did not have any problems with the camera. hope this is a useful review for the vast majority of the point and shoot crowd, for the rest there is always a slr, will try to post images in different settings when i get home, the hotel wifi does not let me upload pictures
Stylish little digicam that screams "take me outdoors!"
- is waterproof to 10 ft. under water, perfect for swimming pools, beach, snorkeling (note: do not use in hot water!)
- is shockproof up to 3 ft., great for jogging, cycling, or even letting your baby learn to take pictures
- is freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)
- is dustproof
- is weatherproof except in very hot climates
- has 12.2 effective megapixels
- has 5x optical zoom and features a Fujinon lens for great clarity; lens focal length is 36-180mm in 35mm film camera terms
- takes 720p widescreen, VGA or QVGA video
- can zoom optically in video mode (but see note on audio recording below)
- is really small and weighs just a little over 5 oz. with battery and SDHC card
- uses SDHC memory card, no more xD that was championed by Fuji and Olympus
I bought a green XP10 because I love spending time in the water -- and the green body looks really nice (and works whether you are a guy or gal)! I find that, outdoors during the day, the XP10 takes pictures with excellent clarity and excellent color saturation and contrast. Using fill-in flash in daylight truly enhances the picture. Indoors, because the XP10 lacks Fuji's legendary SuperCCD technology, picture quality is average for a compact or super-compact camera. It does have two natural-scene modes where it boosts the ISO (light sensitivity of the image sensor) at the expense of increased noise. I bought my XP10 to be used outdoors, in the pool and at the beach, so I haven't taken many indoor pics.
Video shooting at 720p yields smooth, clear HD video clips. BTW, video size is limited only by the 2GB FAT32 file size limit -- this means even if you pop in a 16GB SDHC card, the longest video clip can only go up to 2GB in file size, due to the limit imposed by the FAT32 file system. Video is recorded as motion JPEG in an AVI container, so it can be played on many, many devices, at the expense of slightly larger file sizes than a more compact format like MPEG-2 or MPEG-4.
While you can zoom optically -- a feature that every digital camera should have -- audio recording's volume level is lowered during zooming. Instead, the camera picks up some noise from the lens mechanism and that noise overwhelms the ambient sounds you want to record, which can be annoying when played back on a large TV. My advise is to use zooming sparingly during video mode. If you want great video recording on a compact digital camera, you should get a Sony or Canon or Panasonic camera (be prepared to pay a lot more for the waterproof feature, though).
Battery life is on the short side, rated at 165 shots per charge with flash on 50% of the time. This is not surprising given the ultra-compact form factor. It's not an issue for me because I only use it at the pool (i.e., I have other cameras for other occasions); but if you plan to take it on a day trip to the beach, a spare battery is a probably a must, especially if you use the flash a lot or take a lot of HD video. BTW, regardless of the digital camera you buy, I think a spare battery is pretty much always a necessity. Fuji deserves kudos for including a very compact 100-240V wall charger.
Anyway, my sample video clip shows how the camera works under water. The video resolution was set to QVGA (320x240) for easy upload to Amazon, but you should be able to see the amazing clarity both in and out of water (allowing for artifacts introduced by Amazon's video compression).
In summary, the XP10 is a great waterproof, shockproof camera that every water enthusiast should bring along to record fun memories.
Best little camera ever
Reviewed by: Theresa A. Hoover, Review Date: 2010-06-17
I have owned a digital camera since they came onto the market. This is the easiest and best quality picture taker I have ever used. 5 of my friends have bought the same camera and they also love, love, love it. This is a must have camera.
This camera is Awesome! I couldn't be any happier with this camera. It takes great pictures, works great underwater, the style of the camera is cool, the screen lets you view the pictures and the video clean and clear. It has great features and options for picture taking. I used this camera when I went to Raging Waters, got on the slides and pool with it and caught the moments I wanted to catch great. The video did take a couple of seconds longer to load than I expected so if you want to record something quickly it might be best to put the camera on video mode about a minute or so a head of time, also I had to buy the memory card seperate )-: wished it came in the package, but other than that it really is an awesome camera. Great buy. Very pleased with this camera. Worth every penny.
Great camera
Reviewed by: Debra L. Liaci, Review Date: 2010-07-09
I love this camera, it was exactly what I was looking for and the reviews were correct. I would definitely recommend this camera to my friends and family.
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The FinePix AX200 digital camera offers ease of use and allows great images with minimal effort. Features such as HD Movie Capture, Automatic Scene Recognition, Face Detection and high ISO sensitivity levels provide the backdrop for the FinePix AX200 to c
12-megapixel resolution for large, photo-quality prints
Fujinon 5x wide-angle optical zoom lens
Capture 720p HD movies with sound and still shots in 16:9 that can be played back on any HD-ready television (or a home PC)
HD Movies and Terrific Pictures Without Breaking the Bank
Reviewed by: Yarii, the USA Review Date: 2010-03-24
Honestly, I purchased this camera solely for the HD recording feature. It's a bonus in that it takes pretty darn good pictures, too. I trust the Fuji name and I should have known this camera would deliver on both counts. My first digital camera was a Fuji A205, and even today it takes quality photos as good as it did almost 7 years ago.
Pictures are sharp and the colors are right on target. Response time after taking a picture without using the flash was just about 1 second or even slightly under a second, which is great considering this camera uses AA batteries; response time between pictures with the flash firing was around 2 seconds before ready to take another flash shot...a lot better than some other brands I've tried recently. (Specifically the Canon A495 and the Nikon L20, which I tried and eventually returned for a refund. This Fuji AX200 leaves these two cameras behind in the dust.)
A minor complaint I have with the AX200 is the shiny black plastic it is made of - it shows every fingerprint. It looks nice but I wish they would make these cameras with a matte black finish instead. The tripod mount is plastic also and is located in the center bottom, which is good for stability if using a mini-tripod.
The optical wide angle zoom on this camera is 5X (a majority of cameras at this price point have 3X). It uses readily-available AA batteries. The camera comes with 2 alkaline batteries; I was able to shoot around 125 pictures and some short movies with these batteries before they expired. I recommend buying rechargeable batteries; I got double the amount of shots with rechargeables. You also need an SD card, this camera has some internal memory, but not enough to do anything other than take a few pictures.
This camera is so easy to use, anyone from a young child to older people should have no trouble. I handed it off to my 5 year old nephew to use and even he could figure out how to take a picture. It's larger than an ultra-compact, and easier to hold onto. The measurements are 3.7" wide x 2.4" high x 1.1" thick. It's thicker on the end where the batteries and SD card are inserted.
You can take the camera out of the box and be taking pictures in no time flat. SR-Auto (the default) automatically senses the scene and adjusts itself accordingly: Portrait, Landscape, Night, Macro, Backlit Portrait, or Night Portrait.
There is no dial to change settings, everything is accessed thorough menu navigation. It's easy to select the right shooting mode as there is a full description on the screen as you scroll through the settings. For example: on the Portrait Scene, the description underneath says "Portrait with soft overall tone and beautiful skin tones".
In additional to having Face Detection, this camera has the following Scenes to choose from: Scene Recognition (SR Auto), Auto, P Program AE - where you can change ISO (100 to 3200), white balance and exposure. Natural - no flash - and flash - takes 2 pictures, 1 with flash, 1 without. Natural Light, Portrait, Baby Mode, Landscape, Panorama, Sport (I use this with pets that don't want to hold still). Night, Night with Tripod, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, and Text.
This camera has Picture Stabilization (somehow built into the camera's software), but it is NOT optical image stabilization.
Next, you have your movie modes - 3 to choose from - HD at 720p, and also 640 and 320 in the AVI format.
This is IMPORTANT: You can use the optical zoom while recording movies, however, sounds will not be recorded AT ALL during the ENTIRE time the lens is zoomed out......But if you leave the movie zoom setting on digital, not optical, you will record sound the entire time it is on digital zoom. **This is a major complaint of mine for this camera.** I did keep my rating at 5 stars, though, mainly because I won't be using zoom that often on my movies, and the digital zoom isn't as bad "quality-wise" as I thought it would be.
If you want to play the movies back on your TV, you will need to purchase an additional A/V cable (AV-C1) if you don't already own one. If you want to play an HD movie back on your HDTV, you will need to purchase an additional HDMI cable. There is also an optional Model HDP-L1 player available on Fujifilm's web site, which includes an HD card reader and a remote. Since I don't have an HDTV myself, I didn't purchase this so I can't comment on it.
The AX200 also comes with very basic Fuji MyFinepixViewer photo editing software. It's compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP and Mac. This is one area where Fuji lags behind the rest; I wish they could come up with software as good as the Canon ZoomBrowser. The Finepix software was finally upgraded from the 2003 version with this camera, but it still doesn't impress me. Using XP requires a minimum 512 RAM and Vista requires a minimum of 1 GB RAM. Just download Picasa, it's better - and a free download.
Great Quality And Overall Camera For Its Price
Reviewed by: Celina J. Kilburger, Astoria, Oregon, USA Review Date: 2010-05-05
I Have A Low Budget For This Kind Of Thing But I Really Wanted A Camera For Myself. So With My Set Budget I Looked Around At Cameras, Prices, & Features. I Was Getting Disheartened, But I Then I Saw The Fujifilm FinePix AX200. The Description Of The Camera Seemed Great For Its Price, So I Preordered The Camera.
The Overall Camera Is Great. The Biggest Letdown Is The Battery Life. This Camera Sucks The Life Out Of Batteries. I Like To Use Rechargeable Batteries, If Not At Least Recycle The Others When They Die. Camera Also Comes With Some Great Settings, Features, & Modes:
Image Size - From 2m - 12m
Image Quality - Fine Or Normal
3200 ISO
Exp. Compensation - Auto Or Manually Set
White Balance - Auto Or Manually Set
Continuous Mode - Up To 3 Pictures. Shot Up To 3 Consecutive Pictures
Intelligent Face Detection
Red Eye Removal
Scene Recognition Auto - Automatically Detects Scene Type & Scene Conditions And Sets Camera's Focus, Exposure, & White Balance Accordingly
Program AE Shooting Mode - Automatic Mode With Programmed Setting. Set Your Own Exposure, White Balance, Features, etc
Movie Shooting Mode - Movie Recoding With Sound. 720p HD Movies With Still Shots In 16:9
Natural & Flash Shooting Mode - 2 Images Shot Continuously Without Flash And With Flash
Natural Light Shooting Mode - Retains Natural Ambience Without Flash
Portrait Shooting Mode - Portrait With Soft Overall Tone And Beautiful Skin Tones
Baby Mode Shooting Mode - Suitable For Babies, For Natural Skin Tone Without Flash
Landscape Shooting Mode - Clear Scenic Shots
Panorama Shooting Mode - Panorama Pictures By Consecutive 3 Shots Or Less. Put 2 Or 3 Pictures Together To Create 1 Image. Example: Landscape With A Structure Focus Point Is Too Wide For A Single Shot. Select The Panorama Mode - You Can Choose 2 Or 3 Shots To Later Stitch Together. You Select 3. (Panorama Mode Works Best With A Tripod, In This Example You Have One.) You Set The Tripod At The Far Left Of The Scene. The 1/3 Of Your Shot Is Taken Here. Like It, Keep It. The Camera Will Show The Cutoff Of Your Shot So You Can Line It Up For The 2nd Shot To Make The Panoramic Shot In The End Match Up And Look Great. Just Repeat What You Did In The 1st Shot For The 2nd & 3rd Shots. The Images Will Then Be Lined Up And Put Together To Create A Single Image
Sport Shooting Mode - Suitable For Shooting A Moving Subject
Night Shooting Mode - Reduces Camera Shake With High ISO Setting For Night Scenery
Night (Tripod) Shooting Mode - Clear Shots Of Night Scenery With A Slow Shutter Speed
Fireworks Shooting Mode - Vivid Shots Of Fireworks With A Slow Shutter Speed
Sunset Shooting Mode - For Shooting Sunsets, Making Colors More Vivid
Snow Shooting Mode - Suitable For Shooting In Snowy Scenes
Beach Shooting Mode - Crisp, Clear Shots When Shooting On The Beach
Party Shooting Mode - Suitable For Shooting Indoor Events
Flower Shooting Mode - Effective For Taking More Vivid Shots Of Flowers
Text Shooting Mode - Effective For Taking Clearer Shots Of Lettering
Silent Mode - Turns Of Flash And Turns Down Volume Of Camera For Places That Require Non-Disturbance
Macro Mode - For Shots Of Up-Close Images
Picture Stabilization: Reduces Blur Caused By Such Things As Shaking Hands By Combining Higher Light Sensitivities And With Faster Shutter Speeds To Stabilize Pictures
Picture Time Delay - Delay Pictures By 2 Or 10 Seconds. Delaying By 2 Seconds You Can Have More Time To Reduce Blur Or Get Your Shot In Focus. If You Have A Tripod, You Can Delay Your Picture For 10 Seconds, Allowing You Time To Get In The Shot
Picture Search - Search For Your Pictures By Scene Mode, Look At 1 Picture At A Time On The Screen Or Choose To Look At 20 Pictures Or As Many As You Want Or Have. Looking At A Picture - When Looking At A Picture You Can Zoom In, A Small Box With The Whole Picture Will Show Up On The Side. That Small Box Will Have A Small Square In It Showing Where On That Whole Picture Your're Zooming In On.
Zoom - 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom
LCD Crystal Screen
There Are A Lot Of Great Things About This Camera. I Think It's Made Pretty Well. I Accidently Dropped A Heavy Battery Right On The LCD Screen. Thought I Broke It. I'm Clumsy...But The Camera Remained Unharmed And The Screen Was Still In Perfect Condition. It's Built Great And The Images Come Out Great As Well. I Definitely Recommend It.
A Couple Of Cons:
Battery Life - Like I Said Above, Sucks The Battery Life Right Out Of The Battery. I Suggest Rechargeable Batteries, You Won't Have To Buy New Ones For A Little While. The Camera Comes With A `Discharge' Feature That Drains The Rechargeable Batteries Life Out When You're Done Using The Camera . This Saves The Batteries Overall Life Span. Draining A Rechargeable Battery Completely And Then Recharging Them Makes Them Last Longer.
Sound - The Camera Makes A Lot Of Sound. It's Noisy When On The SR (Scene Recognition) Mode. The Sound Comes From It Constantly Scanning What's In Its View And Adjusting The White Balance, Selecting A Mode, Etc. But I've Gotten Used To It When I Want To Use The SR. If You Don't Want The Noise, Just Choose The Program Shooting Mode Or One That Fits The Environment Your In.
Besides That Other Things Are Minor. Depending On What Type Of Memory Card You Choose, Movies Can Last Up To Around 28min. I Have A Fujifilm SDHC 8GB Class 6 Memory Card. I Recommend It.
Best camera for $100
Reviewed by: Katmandu, Review Date: 2010-05-12
A real pearl. Does everything you need and more for a point-and-shoot camera. Good quality on build and pictures. Ease of operation, multi-language and short times to write and shoot. Bought two of them.
Versatile camera, great pix for the price
Reviewed by: Jesse S, Norwood, MA Review Date: 2010-07-19
I read all the other Amazon reviews for this camera, and read the specs on the Fuji website before buying the camera. After using it for a day, I'm pleased to say that it has exceeded my expectations.
The menus are well laid out, and the modes and settings are very easy to change. I've read the manual fairly carefully and have experimented a good deal with some of the "shooting modes" and have the following suggestions and observations for those (few) who have complained of poor picture quality. (I've gotten outstanding results so far).
First, be aware that this camera has a WIDE ANGLE lens, which means that it's designed to capture a wider field of view than a "normal" 35 mm equivalent lens. This makes it good for close quarters (e.g. indoor photography where you're trying to get as much of a room as possible, or as many people as possible, into the frame). I just spent this afternoon photographing the interior of a small 17th century post-and-beam house, and the wide angle lens captured more of the interior than a 35 mm equivalent lens would have. The downside of the wide angle lens is that you will see some "fisheye" bending at the edges of the frame, but the bending does disappear as you zoom out to a longer focal length. The wide angle also means that, even with full zoom, subjects will appear farther away than with a "normal" zoom lens. So if you want maximum zoom magnification of distant objects, a wide angle lens probably isn't your best choice. On the other hand, if you want maximum field of view for nearby scenes and people, wide angle is the way to go. (This lens can also do "macro" closeups, but I haven't tried that yet).
Second, it helps if you read up on ISO settings and understand that some unavoidable digital "noise" creeps into digital photos at higher ISO settings. The higher the ISO setting, the more unwanted "noise" you're going to get. Therefore, you get the best quality shots at the lowest ISO setting (100 for this camera). Read the manual and learn how to either set the ISO manually to 100 (in shooting mode "Program AE") and/or use the other modes in such a way as to induce it to choose the lowest ISO possible. This camera seems to have very low noise at ISO 100, some at ISO 400, and is marginal at ISO 800. Try to avoid ISOs above 400.
Third, change the "Image Quality" setting from Normal to Fine. The camera comes set to Normal, which means that your photos will be digitally compressed to save storage space. However, the compression process loses some image quality. To get the best image quality, change to Fine, which will save photos without compression and thus give the best image quality. If you want more storage space and don't care so much about image quality, you can change back to Normal.
Fourth, read the manual and experiment with the different shooting modes, which make this camera quite versatile. I just shot the interior of the historic house I mentioned above using a tripod and the "Night (Tripod)" shooting mode, and the photos came out great even though there was little interior light and I chose not to use a flash. The Night (Tripod) mode gives up to 4 seconds of shutter open time for very low light conditions, at low ISO settings (like 100) for great quality shots.
Fifth, experiment with the "White Balance" adjustment in shooting mode "Program AE". White balance can make a big difference in the color of your shots.
Sixth, learn how to read the info shown on the screen as you set up for a shot. The shooting mode, ISO, image quality (Normal or Fine), White Balance, and flash status are all shown on the screen and are important things to be aware of. Depress the shutter button half way and see the shutter speed and f-stop displayed in the lower left corner. If the ISO and shutter speed aren't going to be satisfactory, make the needed adjustments to the shooting program or flash before taking the shot. Also learn how the auto focus works, how it signals that the auto focus has locked in(beep and steady green light) and how the red AF! indicator means that the camera is unable to auto focus, due to low light or some other condition. No focus=blurry photo.
Seventh, avoid the "SR Auto" mode. All it does is choose one of the other shooting modes automatically, which you should be able to do for yourself based on what/where you're shooting. According to the manual, the "SR Auto" mode is apparently a battery hog, because the manual recommends that, if your batteries are draining too quickly, you not use the SR Auto mode. And some of the other reviews here have complained about buzzing noises in the SR Auto mode (though I haven't experienced it). Don't bother using SR Auto. Problem solved.
In short, this camera gives you a lot of ways to take great pictures, but it can't do its best work until you help it out by setting it up right and learning how to understand what it's telling you. If you take the time to follow the above steps you'll be shooting great photos in one day. (And, to be fair, other reviewers have reported good results right out of the box without bothering to read the manual. Just saying...if you're getting bad results, don't blame the camera...unless it's obviously broken.)
Very good for the price
Reviewed by: Gabriel X. Lopez, Central America Review Date: 2010-05-29
I have been using this camera for a week. So far so good. The only problem i found is the construction quality, it is too prone to finger prints. Otherwise i am very happy with this purchase. Pictures are nice, with good color and very sharp. HD video is excellent. Recomended.
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2.7" LCD monitor 3x optical and 6x digital zoom with digital image stabilizer256-zone TTL metering for excellent lighting controlBuilt-in Auto flash with Red-eye reduction, Forced-flash and Synchro modes NTSC and PAL selectable outputIncludes NP-45A Lithium-ion battery
12-megapixel resolution for large, photo-quality prints
Capture 720p HD movies with sound
Tracking Auto Focus
Smile and Blink Detection; Face Detection and Automatic Red-eye Removal
I received this camera as a present for my 15th birthday. I loved it at once because of the sleek appearance and handy mode dial. Another nifty part about it is that there are 10+ ''positions" and on the screen it has a discription of each one. They are: Snow, Fireworks, Baby, Portrait, Night Scenery (tripod and no tripod), Sport, Landscape, Panorama, Text, Flower (macro), Party, Beach, Sunset, and Smile& Shoot. Each one actually makes a big difference, and it's nice to have so many options. Most other Point&Shoots do not have so many.
Something I love about the JV100 is that it has SRAuto, which automatically selects the best mode according to the situation. It is actually really accurate and perfect if you're in a hurry.
The picture quality is also impressive. Both indoors and outdoors the images come out nicely and with a lot of detail and depth. The colors are beautiful and vivid. The movie mode is pretty good, and a plus is that you can zoom while taping.
The only problems I have with this FinePix are that the Smile&Shoot doesn't always work, but that's not a major deal. My last complaint is the battery life. I have to charge it at least once a day.
Pros:
-many position options
-great price for value
-good image quality
-you can zoom while recording a video
-easy to use and figure out
-compact and good looking
-huge LCD screen
Cons:
-only comes in blue and black
-ok battery life
P.S. The camera comes with a CD that is great for organizing and editing your uploaded pictures. Cool!
Overall, this is a great camera that I'd recommend for anyone that wants a Point and Shoot. FugiFilm has really done a great job.
Thanks for reading!
_________________________________________
Update, July 13
My little brother dropped this camera from about 5 ft in the air and it started to have issues with turning on. I was reluctant to return it, but the thing would rarely turn on so I had no choice. I pruchased the FinePix Z70 as a replacement, and heres my experiance: This one is better than the newer, more expensive model. I would like to get the JV100 again, but my mom won't let me because she doesn't want to deal with Best Buy's costumer service again :(
Like a user-friendly version of the J38 with new features!!!
This version of the Finepix has many similarities to the Fujifilm Finepix J38 12MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD, which I reviewed in November. There are a few differences. One new feature of this camera is the HD Movie Mode. The camera also has compatibility with HDTVs, which means the pictures will show in HD, if they are reviewed on an HDTV. The camera also has a new Smile and Blink Detection system. Once the shooter holds the camera up to a subject, who smiles, the camera will automatically take the photo. The Blink Detection feature is nice because the camera will alert the shooter that subject is blinking. Therefore, the shooter will have the option to take a better photo.
I also noticed after reviewing a taken photo, a message will say "face detected." The user now has the option to do a close-up review of the person's face, whom they have taken a picture of. Another difference is this camera is a little more user-friendly. The camera now has a shooting mode dial. This means the person can just turn the dial to the shooting mode, which they want to go to. In addition, the modes tell you what they do. Still, a user will have to go to the menus to do things, such as the image quality and repeated shooting options. The biggest flaw with this camera is the HD Movie Mode just sucks the life out of the camera. I would suggest staying using that mode wisely. That is the ONLY reason I give this camera a four rating.
A month later..........
Compared to the Fujifilm Finepix J38 12MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD, I must say that the JV100's photos are a little more vivid. I took pictures with both and saw the difference. I must admit, the movie modes on both cameras are not what you'd think. The movie mode of the J38 actually has a better picture. Therefore, the so-called HD movie mode of the JV100 is not as good as advertised. Still, this camera is worth owning because of the vivid pictures. However, if you are looking for a camera with a better movie mode, I would suggest buying something else.
Dick's Pix
Reviewed by: Richard W. Barrett, Naples, FL, US Review Date: 2010-08-28
It is a light camera, fits easily in your pocket and has operation options explained as you go along. Pictures good quality. Not much image stabilization.
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