Film-Camera Reviews

I've ordered not one, not two, but three different cradles from Amazon for my Fuji A210 and I still don't have one that works and includes all the correct parts. The first one didn't work--it charged the batteries for only 15 to 30 minutes which meant that I could only take a few photos before the batteries went dead. I returned it and Amazon sent me a second one but the video cord was missing from the box. Amazon then sent me a third one and it was missing the same cord that was missing from the second box. Since this is the only style cradle I've been able to find that is compatible with this camera, I plan to return the camera, the spare batteries, and the photo card to Amazon for a complete refund and then start all over again with my camera selection. Don't waste your time on Fuji products like I did.

I just bought the A210 and am terribly disappointed in the short term life of the batteries Fuji enclosed in the package. I appreicate your comments on the charger, as I just about ready to order that, thinking it would be best and would avoid the costs of the batteries. I am also finding that my picture frames don't follow suit...they skip backwards 2-4 digits when you take a pic, so you don't have a clue as to where you are. I was a firm believer in Fuji and Fuji films...I am saddened to read y our issues, and a few of my own that I have. The camera overall, seems to take great pics, but what do we do about the short life of batteries, and trying to find a decent charger and power supply cord? I guess we need to go to the Fuji site directly.
Some one in Mass.

After just purchasing the FujiFilm Finepix A210 camera, I decided that the cradle would be a great complement to it.

I had researched which batteries were the most dexterous for power-intensive digital devices. After some browsing on the web, I decided that the MAHA Powerex 2300 mAH NiMH's were the best choice.

The cradle arrived from Amazon today and I was shocked, after reading the manual - to find that Fuji says that other consumer-brand NiMH batteries either a) will not work with the cradle, or b) are not recommended to be used with the cradle.

There was no in-depth explanation given, other than that the manual recommended only the Fujifilm NH-10 NiMH's be used with the charger and camera. What gives? Is Fujifilm forcing you to buy only their brand of batteries in order to make use of the cradle, when there are other batteries which have proven to have more longevity?

My second problem is with the cradle's design. The camera itself comes packaged with a cheap, and somewhat flimsy plastic adapter/housing for the camera to sit in. Don't be deceived by the picture above - the holder seen on top of the cradle does not come with the cradle. It is only sold with the a210 camera or other appropriate model.

Rather than just make the adapter/holder a part of the cradle, it's a separate accessory - and makes the unit seem chinsy and not "solid". I would rather slide the camera into something that feels like a glove around the camera while it recharges. You are not afforded this with the cradle, because the plastic holder does not fit around the camera with a snug fit. Instead, when I find myself trying to put the camera into the cradle, I have to wiggle it around a bit in order for the bottom of the camera to mate up properly with the male plug which connects from the adapter to the camera body.

Overall, it's just a very poor implementation in concept and design.

Thirdly, the USB cable which comes with the cradle is only about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long!

Remember - the a210 supposedly features a webcam mode. Unless your computer tower is in the direct vicinity of the cradle, you're probably going to have to move your computer in order to get the camera/webcam where you want it to be. a 3-foot usb cord is simply not long enough for most webcam to pc configurations. 6 feet, even 10 feet would be much more ideal.

I had wanted to put the camera/cradle on the other side of my monitor near the light source on my desk. Unfortunately, I can't do that - the usb cable simply can't reach. 6 feet would have been perfect. Alas, I'm out of luck. Now I have to move my tower just to put the camera and cradle where it should've naturally been able to be placed. You might say - "Sure, well just go buy another USB cable."

It's not that easy. The cradle requires a specialized usb cable, because the connector on one end of this cable is a proprietary design, something I've never seen used with other digital devices.

Those are the three biggest problems I've found with this cradle. I really do hope that it is possible to use other NiMH batteries with the cradle, if not - Fujifilm has just forced you to continue buying only their batteries for your Finepix camera, and their offerings are certainly inferior to the MAHA Powerex's in terms of longevity. Many sites around the internet offer comparison graphs revealing which batteries are the best performers, and the Powerex's are #1.

So I have to say, shame on you Fuji, for misleading your customers. Your cradle's charger should be compatible with any brand of rechargeable NiMH batteries which are ideal for use with the Finepix a210 - not only compatible with your brand of rechargeable batteries.

Proprietary usb cable connector on the short included usb cable, proprietary rechargeable batteries - shame, shame.

Ever tried using an Olympus digital camera and wished it were a little easier to navigate the menu's? Fuji digital cameras are the answer!

I've tried Olympus' digital cameras before and must say the people who designed the menus and buttons were not thinking of the average camera user when designing it.

This little A310 camera is nice. It has an automatic sliding cover that covers the lens when the camera is turned off.

The pictures it takes are great, as long as you are in Fine (3MP) mode. 1 and 2 MP modes are good too, but noticeably less than the 3MP. Macro mode works excellent. Colors are good.

To compare it to an older Fuji Finepix 2400 camera- the 2400 would show mysterious white circles in the photos when taking pictures under low-battery conditions. With the A310, I can take pictures until the batteries are on their last legs.

The only real beef I have with this camera is that its movie mode does not allow sound via any type of built-in microphone. You're stuck with silent movies. This isn't a big deal me however, since I'm not into videotaping..

Pictures are worth a 1000 words. Please see the pictures in my photo gallery (www.people.umass.edu/nishanth/ ) which I took with FinePix A310 at 1MP setting.

+ Points:
It doesn't drain the batteries quickly as others.
Crystal clear pictures.
Extreme close-up and long range shots with equal ease.
Light, compact and elegant.
High quality 6 MP prints.
Equipped with almost all functions which you can ever need.
Easy picture management software.

The only defect I can find is the lack of an UV filter.
I strongly recommend its purchase.

I own an awesome Canon Rebel S2 camera (35mm) and needed a fit-me-in-a-pocket sleek digital camera with decent megapixels. I saw this camera and bought - LOVE IT! It shoots in 6 MEGAPIXELS! What Fuji did was they found a way to "overlap" the 3.1 megapixels onto eachother to creat 6 megapxls.
I OWN IT FOR OVER 2 WEEKS NOW AND TESTED THE PHOTO QUALITY:
Let me tell you the COLOR is 100% ACCURATE - TRUE TO LIFE COLOR which was my number 1 quality I was looking for (next to megapxl and clarity).

I blew up one of the photos to 13" x 18" and THE PICTURE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR, the picture was of me and my dog and you can see the finest hairs on my dog. NO PIXELATION WHATSOEVER!!!! People were very impressed!!!!

It's very compact. The next best one is Canon S400. See the complete reviews with test images at www.imaging-resource.com . For the money you can't beat it!
Wait a year or two and then upgrade to a fancy 5 megapixel or by then 8 megapixel
(which just came out for $1000). Technology rapidly advances- in the meantime stick with this camera- you'll love it!!!

Krissy

I will try to point out some of the problems with this camera,

1. It looks cheap and feels cheap plastic. Cover of lens although good looking in pictures, is very flimsy. Try playing with one in a store and you will realize what I mean. Its basically a very thin sheet held by a spring, sure to break soon.
2. Too thick/big to compete with Canon Elph's.
3. Very less weight means more camera shake and blurry pictures. Yes for a digital camera being too light is also problematic.
4. Picture quality only average for a 3MP. Nothing spectacular. Don't be guided by just a "3MP" tag... doesn't necesaarily mean better quality. (Just like having fastest processor on your PC doesn't mean best performance, other things like motherboard, chispet, memory etc also count)
5. Has max shutter of only 1/2 sec, meaning you won't get any decent night or low light pictures.
6. No Video out port for watching pics on TV.
7. No sound recorded with movies. Movies have too low frame rate and useless quality. Use as a webcam also isn't practical.
8. Lens worse than even other Fuji, 2650.
9. To make things worse, it uses a propreitary xD card which is *more than twice* as expensive as CF card here on Amazon. Plus there's no 128MB in stock anywhere as of today. Death to xD card !

Why wouldn't someone buy a Canon A40/S200/S330 or Fuji 2650 or Nikon 2500 or Minolta Dimage X or one of dozens of Kodak/Sony/HP models floating around ? Why A303 with new propreitary card and no features for the price except a 3MP tag ? Maybe you might like it though.

I don't see any reason why Fuji couldn't use SD or MMC or CF or one of the existing formats or add video out and better movie mode. Hopefully FujiFilm will come with something better next time around !

I got this camera as a graduation gift (it was my first digital camera) last June. This is a good camera for beginners, if all you really do is pretty harmless point and click, but for anyone truly interested in photography, I wouldn't really suggest it.

The pros:
-good quality photos, especially for a 3.2.
-small, compact size and shape
-surprisingly durable (at least in the beginning). I took it out in the snow during the huge East Coast snowstorm and it performed very well. Lens froze a couple of times, but if you just breathe hot air onto it, it should start working again.
-runs on AA, so if the battery level runs low and you have extra AAs handy, you can still use the camera (versus Canon cameras where you have to use camera specific batteries)

The cons:
-HUGE, and I mean LONG delay between photos. 5 seconds may not seem like a long time, but when you're waiting for that perfect shot...and the camera misses it and you have to wait another 5 seconds for the flash to prepare itself again, the moment will already have been lost.
-The shutter cover is very flimsy.
-Movie mode includes no sound.
-Weak zoom.
-Drains alkaline AA power very quickly, so you'll have to buy rechargable Lithium Ion batteries (not that big of a deal though).
-uses xD (although these days the camera market is much more accepting of xDs and it's easier to find products that are created for them.). Cards can be quite expensive.
-Lastly, it's been slightly more than a year since I got this camera and it has completed died out on me. I haven't used this camera in about two months because I haven't been able to turn it on. I hold the power switch and nothing happens (it's definitely not the batteries).

Basically, if you're looking for a camera that will last and give you good quality photos, I wouldn't really buy this one. Look into the Canon PowerShot line, they're much more sturdy, record up to 3 minutes of video with sound, and are much better in general.

Pros: This camera is compact, easy to use, has very good photo quality, inexpensive, Easy menu navigation, 3X zoom lens in relatively compact body, separate self-timer mode.

Cons: The movie (video) mode has no sound, Some add ons are a must and cost more, No rechargeable battery included, fairly long shot-to-shot delay, noisy images.

Summary: Just bought the A303, and I don't think I could be any happier. I have been snapping and printing shots for the past few days and it has been very easy, even for a technological nivice such as myself. The camera is small, good looking, and lightweight (7oz!). I Paid $300 before accessories, resonable for 3 megapixels. The camera basically comes with everything one would need, but for those who take a lot of shots, a larger memory card (16mb included with camera) would be necessary. I looked at many other brands. Canons were a little bit overpriced, Sonys looked good, but the accessories end up costing more than the camera. If your first time digital enthusiast like me, go for the A303, you won't be sorry!

I wanted an inexpensive and fairly small 2-megapixel digital camera for vacations and outdoor use, and at less than $100, this camera is beyond what I was hoping for. This is my third digital camera, and it's by far the easiest one to use, plus the image quality is excellent. Excellent, of course, is a relative term in the field of digital cameras... like many low-end cameras, it shoots at the equivalent of 100-speed film, which makes for grainy images if you are not shooting outdoors or with a good amount of light, but the flash does a great job and it's really not hard to get good quality images. If you want to take fine art photos, you need a much more expensive camera anyway. A big plus for this one is the 3x optical zoom. Most low end digital cameras only offer digital zoom, but don't let them fool you-- digital zoom is exactly the same thing as cropping your pictures and does not actually make them better. Also, many low-end cameras have a fixed focus, which will make all of your photos come out looking rather flat. The Fuji 205, while it has no maunal f-stop (aperture control) or focus, self adjusts these things to take nice pictures with the subject in focus and the background slightly out of focus. Full manual control is nice for some things, but for point and shoot, you can't beat the simplicity of this camera. Plus, I don't have to worry too much about taking it along when I go somewhere I wouldn't want my $450 camera to go, like the beach or on a boat.

As far as battery life, please do yourself a favor if you are buying ANY digital camera and get NiMH rechargable batteries. Alkaline batteries are simply wasted in a digital camera... they are not strong enough and you are throwing your money away if you try to use them. Get a quick charger and 2 sets of batteries, and you'll be happy and save money.

Pros: a quality camera that takes good pictures at a great price.
Cons: needs lots of light, no manual controls

I bought this camera about 2 weeks ago. It's a pretty good one. Picture quality for outdoors are excellent, even it only has 2MP. But indoor pictures are not very clear. Anyway, what do you expect for a $100 DC?. I am very satisfied with it.

I bought this camera based solely on the Fuji name, since I have had good experiences with them in the past. This camera was extremely easy to set up, and since it was my first digital camera, it was really important for me to not have to read a big thick manual just to take a picture. For the price I paid, I think I got way more than I could have, had I bought a similar camera by a different company. The pictures are crisp, clear, and contrary to what another reviewer mentioned, I have had no problems with the flash. Since I am a beginner, I was quite suprised at how good the pictures came out! My alkaline batteries started to die within the first day, but I think that was because I had the camera on pretty much all day, since I was taking pictures os everything. I purchased some rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, and so far, my battery light hasn't come on, and I've had them in for 5 days. Anyways, if you're not looking for a top-of-the-line 5 MP camera, and just want a camera that takes really good pictures for not very much money, I would definitely go for this camera.

I bought this camera and regret it since returning it will cost a huge restocking cost (i didn't buy it at amazon). For the same price as this A203...you can find the 3mpix version the A303. So why does Fuji even make this A203? I'm not sure. A good price for this camera would be (One hundred ninety nine dollars).

As for the camera itself, its picture quality is impressive...but the most annoying characteristic is its around 4-second delay after taking each picture. That means you cannot take pictures in rapid succession. Aside from that, it's controls are very easy to use, battery-life is excellent, and its compact size make it nice camera...but do yourself a favor and buy the A303. Might as well get 3mpix for the same price as 2mpix.

Another thing about this camera is that it is one of the few that is Made in Japan. So there is no cheap Chinese or Mexican labor involved in manufacturing this camera.

Its a nice camera, compact, and the quality of pictures is sharp & very good. I shopped a lot of cameras and brought earlier sony & returned it & brought this one. This is pretty good in indoors as well as outdoors. The memory is pretty good very fast. For the price, it has lot of features & very handy.
I recomend this to people to also wants the quality of indoor shots good & outdoor ofcourse is good in most cameras

This is a great camera, but the only problem is that its out dated. There are better, faster, and more stylish camera's out there now. But from when i bought it, till now, it has given me no problems.

I was looking for a digital camera and wanted to use one that allowed me to get to the taking of pictures. Later I will move on to a more complicated one. Anyway I disagree with all of you who did not like the software. I use software all the time and this is the first photo software that did what I want. I agree with all the good things said before in other reviews. If anything is wrong it is the drain on regular batteries so I bought the rechargeable ones. The fact I could use the camera as a pc cam was an unexpected plus. I think the main use of the camera is for doing e-mail, short videos and taking photos of people or things you want to display on the net. I would never expect to shoot a long shot to a stage as one person did. When you consider the size and all the features Fuji has packed into it, what a buy! Most of all I like that it slips into my pocket.

WOW, I bought this camera on holiday in New York, in Febuary, I was slightly worried about it not working in the Uk but when I found out it was USB connection I knew it would work at home, I was very excited to buy it!
I got 75photo's on the 16mb card and that is high resolution!
The only slight dissapointment is the video mode, how it cannot last longer that 20secs, HOWEVER u can video more than 1 clip, so you could have 5 video's all of 10secs long, depending on the memory you have. The AA batteries ..., get the rechearchable ones. the software is ok, very easy to install.
BEST CAMERA I HAVE EVER USED ZOON IS EXCELENT, PANNING IS AMAZING
BUY IT YOU WON'T MISS OUT !

The A201 is very Good camera and I bought it with my own money( I am eight years old). It has satisfied me very well with its price. I am impressed with the quality and I would recomend it to anyone shopping for an entry-level good-quality bash-around camera. I have sent many e-mails using the easy-to-use FinePix Software that comes in the box with the USB (universal serial bus) connector. The software comes with automatic procedures such as saving in the "My Pictures" Folder that comes with every computer. The software comes with the Update and delteable folder called "100_fugi". The only dis is that the camera for some reason makes the target father than the Human eyebut other than that the camera is very good and toped my expectations. At first I thought of buying the Canon Powershot but the store manager at [a local store] gave me a better deal, the A201.

Hey this is for everyone buying cameras over the world out of the united states, I have a problem with my camera and I don't have anyone to help, I've been trying some help in amazon's help area but they just have thousands of links but any simple email where I can ask for some help, I don't really understand why is this site so well known on "customer service", but I just cannot communicate with no one in the company to ask anything, I'm just mad about this, if anyone can help me to contact amazon or fujifilm please post an email or whatever cause there's no such a thing like help in the "help area". I need to repair my LCD monitor of my camera, it's really fragile, so if you're still thinking on buying in this site or even buying something from fujifilm, don't do it, they don't care about the customer satisfaction at all.

Reading through the reviews I've noticed that a lot of the problems I've been having have been mentioned (reddish tint, background dark, inside pictures come out not well at all if there's not a LOT of light, and if you don't have the flash on, they come out pretty blurry). The way I get good indoor pics with this is to go into my well lit bathroom, stand it on a shelf, and take a picture with the like 10 second wait mode (I can't remember what it's called, but you push the button and 10 seconds later it takes the pic)BUT this eats up the battery like crazy. I wouldn't say it's a bad digital camera, but I bet there's better out there in the same price range, especially if you know what you're looking for, which I don't (first digi cam, bought Fuji on advice from a photographer). It has a great LCD screen and the controls are very easy to figure out, but for me it's just not convenient. The appeal of a digital cam is that you can take a picture whenever without worrying about film, but these pictures just don't turn out well for me. I tried the movie mode once and it was DARK. This camera's biggest problem is the lighting (at least in my opinion) but there are some cool features I will admit (but then again, first digi cam). I paid 200 for it, so maybe if I had bought it at the lower price they have offered here it would have gotten a better review.

Wow is all there is to say no problems with it perfect for a casual picture taker

This camera seems to have it all for a sub-200 model! Although I am not a novice digital photographer, I am not a professional -- nor do I want to be. I wanted a camera that would take nice pictures of friends, family and the occasional scenery shot that could be printed out or uploaded. The Fujifilm 1.3 does this well, and prints very nice photos at photo size (I do 4x6, 5x7).

The selling points (besides the price) are as follows: 1) its very small -- making it easy to take with you in a pocket, 2) it works on both my Mac OS X and Win 98/ME PC via USB -- essentially plug-n-play, 3) it takes great daylight pictures, 4) it doesn't eat batteries if you don't use the display mode -- ie: operating it like a normal camera using a viewfinder. I have not filled up the 8 MB card that came with the camera yet, although I haven't tried very hard (maybe a max of 20 photos on fine resolution in a sitting). Because I download to a laptop, I don't really need to spend additional money for a bigger card. I've also dropped it a few times, without affecting performance, so its a pretty sturdy little camera.

The only issue I have with the camera is that there is a learning curve for most of the features that may cause you to lose good photo opportunities at first. You have to read the manual to know how the display works, and how to set the camera for different sorts of lighting schemes. I blurred a few photos because I didn't realize the macro switch had turned on while it was in my bag, and didn't discover this until later when I downloaded them. I haven't quite mastered the various flash settings and took a low-light, indoor shot from about 8 feet away that isn't great. If I were to put some time in learning the display functions, rather that setting it on "auto" and using the viewfinder all the time, I might become quicker at changing the settings for different lighting situations. As it is now, the camera is fine for my uses, and I can usually brighten the "mistakes" in Photoshop.

I've had this camera for close to 2 and a half years. It has put up with all my abuse, rain, rocks and snow.

I have no idea what the settings do. I keep everything on auto and come out with great pictures, just point and shoot. It's a great entry-level camera. I have rechargable batteries and they last a lot longer than disposables.

I'm in the process of picking out a new digital camera. I'm looking for more megapixels and an optical zoom. I absolutely love that there is almost no delay from when you press the button to when the picture is snapped. I'm worried that I won't be able to find a fancier camera that takes the picture right away.

This camera is so easy to use and practical. I would recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in optical zoom or more megapixels.

I've taken about 140 pictures, but only saved about 70 of 'em. Its fun and easy to use. The pictures it takes looks very clean and the color is magnificent. (...) The auto mode works great for most conditions and the 4 other settings are very easy to use and navigate. This camera will only hold about 12 pictures in 'Fine' mode on the 8mb card that it comes with--so get a 64mb card.. it'll hold 101 images which is more than enough for most people. Also purchase some good rechargeable batteries. I got a rapid charger + 4 batteries for around 40 bucks and it works great with the digital camera. The alkalines that the camera came with only lasted about 25 shots before the camera shut down. I used a battery tester to see how strong the batteries were and they were near full strength. I tried using Costco brand Kirkland Signature AA Alkalines, but the green led in the back would merely light up then and quickly fade away. Too weak to power the camera. Great Camera with pretty good resolution. I only wish there was an Optical zoom, but what do you expect from a sub $(...) camera?

We are constantly amazed at the image quality. It is especially good at macro imaging...it does a little less well in low light...would suggest using tripod for low-light situations.

The size is perfect. When the power is off, it is just a small steel box that fits perfectly in my pocket. There are no worries about scratching the lens or a knob breaking off. GREAT DESIGN!

The pics that we have printed onto paper are truly picture perfect. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a camera that trvels well and has unlimited possibilities!

Our favorite features:
BLACK AND WHITE!
Multiple exposure!
Macro...extreme close ups show amazing detail!
Smart Media (we have three 64 MB cards and can take about 300 photos without downloading to the computer.)
PRICE!

PROS:
This camera has worked as anticipated. With all the buttons and the sliding lens cover, the manual does note that it is extremely sensitive to sand--not a beach camera.

The original battery is still working. I ordered a second one from [store] and it is already weaker than the original. Get original batteries, even if they cost more.

The compact size is definitely a plus. Less conspicuous and it will even fit in a shirt pocket. (a little tightly)

I think it's been dropped a few times with no noticable decrease in performance.

I have a 64Mb and 128Mb in addition to the 16Mb card that was included with the camera and haven't run out of disk space on an outing yet--even on highest resolution.

CONS:
Due to the small lens size, pictures taken at closer ranges (4 feet or less) can be very slightly bowed, or bulge in the middle, as noted when a photo has lots of horizontal lines. This can distort portraits.

Wish I could get closer to images

I bought a FinePix 4800Zoom as a customer return at a local computer store. I feel I got a fabulous bargain!

The feel of the camera is solid and the metal skin really makes it look elegant. I've seen a lot of silver-painted cameras that just look cheap compared to the 4800. The vertical form factor is a bit strange, but it works out very nicely - not a bit awkward and equally easy to operate for small and larger hands.

The image quality really does live up to the 4.3 megapixel claim. It stays crystal clear when blown up several times on the computer screen. 4x6 prints on my HP 952c with premium glossy paper are beautiful. The color rendition is as good as Kodak film, no, actually, I think it is better. Most of my Kodak film printed at Sam's club comes back with very exaggerated reds. The 4800 gives a more balanced, believable color pallette.

The FinePix 4800Zoom has a full array of well thought out features. The cradle arrangement is really convenient. I just open a tiny sliding cover on the bottom, drop the camera into the cradle and punch the power button. Presto! My iMac fires up its own camera software and asks me if I want to download all or some of the pictures. Then it does it all for me. Sweet! The cradle is also the battery charger.

I don't know what is happening to the customer from San Jose, but I certainly get razor sharp, gorgeous pictures with this camera. He/She may be having difficulty with the way the shutter release works. You have to push it and hold it for second, holding the camera still all the while. The picture is actually taken after the initial push. This caused me a little confusion at first. My first shots were sort of out of whack. Once I got the hang of the push-and-hold technique, everything came together nicely.

All in all, I am totally satisfied with the Fujifilm FinePix 4800Zoom. Highly recommended!

When I first bought this camera (2 years ago) I used the 'Auto' and
'Portrait' settings. I found myself taking average quality pictures
then proceeded with the manual setting and the whole perspective on
this camera changed, all I can say is WOW.

The camera consumes a lot of battery so make sure you are carrying
a fast charger and at least 3 sets (2 each) of fresh batteries.

I often have problems with the selector changing the picture mode
from auto to manual or portrait without me turning it. I often
lose shots while previewing them.

Would've I buy Fuji again ? Maybe, the competition is a lot
better than 2 years ago and unbelieveable prices ...

It's hard to imagine that such a tiny little camera can take brilliant 2400 by 1800 full color digital images, yet it does so extremely well!

I bought my Fujifilm FinePix 4700 mostly for my impending baby. As a simple, point-and-shoot digital camera, it fits the bill perfectly. A fully automatic mode with a preview screen lets you compose great-looking shots quickly. Despite the camera's size, its zoom lens pops out to a 108mm (3x) view. (And you can digital zoom at lower resolutions.) There's even a popup flash on top.

If you want a more controlled shot than the fully automatic mode or the preprogrammed portrait, night scene, or scenery modes, you can go to a fully manual mode, enabling you to adjust ISO "film" sensitivity, metering, exposure value, white balance, macro mode, and even manual focus.

Depending on how much memory you've put in (it uses Compact Flash cards), you can even take a minute long or so JPEG movie, complete with sound. A tiny built-in speaker lets you watch and hear the movie you just took on the camera itself.

By plugging a computer's USB cable into the camera, you can transfer pictures and movies out of it at high speed. The camera includes Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home edition for editing. Or you can view your masterworks on a TV screen using the A/V output port and cable that comes in the box.

What really impresses me is how Fujifilm fit all these features into such a small package. The camera's light and fits into the palm of my hand just right. Holding the camera takes a little getting used to, and you do have to be careful not to cover the autofocus transducer-thingamajig. But it's not uncomfortable at all.

When turning the camera off, the lens retreats into the body of the unit and a metal cover slides into place, protecting it quite effectively.

The only major drawback is the battery usage. It's quite easy to burn through its two AA-sized rechargeable NiMH batteries before you've even filled up a 32MB flash card. Leaving the LCD display screen off and using the viewfinder instead definitely helps prolong battery life. The box luckily includes four such batteries (plus a charger), so you can carry a spare set with you, or recharge two batteries while using the other two.

Overall, I'm blown away at how far miniaturization technology has progressed. The features and performance of the camera are great---but to have all that in such a tiny box is absolutely amazing.

I understood from the get-go that this wasn't a 4 megapixel camera. I don't plan on printing poster sized photographs and my needs are strictly under the category of "ambitious amateur," therefore this wasn't an issue. The price is very competitive with other mid-range cameras when you consider all of the features and the rich quality of its images. I appreciated having the option of capturing short videos with sound. Moreoever, for someone who hates to read instruction manuals, I found that the manual was easy to reference and that the onboard menu was very, very intuitive.

I would order a 64 MB SmartMedia card and an high speed NIMH battery charger if you intend to maximize your use of the camera, especially if you like making short video clips and/or using the LCD screen.

The pictures printed beautifully on my Epson 880 and I am very happy with my purchase. I have yet to try to connect it to my television for viewing or perhaps transfering to video format a short clip, but its a nice option to have if you're into that sort of thing.