Rating: Summary: LCD Viewer Screen Poor Quality Review: I'm returning this camera. The LCD screen is just horrible. I had to adjust it to the highest brightness to be able to see indoor and sunset photos, and readjust the brightness to view the pictures taken. When I found the great shots I was looking for on the previewer, I'd go home and download shots that would come out much darker than expected. I'd use the software to lighten the shot, but the quality of the shot would go downhill. In my opinion, I should be able to see what the shot's going to REALLY look like, so I know I've got the right one, before going back to the computer. Also, not so sure 2MP is enough for me. Just a small amount of cropping also degraded the quality of the shots taken.
Rating: Summary: Good beginner camera Review: We (my wife an I) got a Fuji 2600 digicam last year for X-mas. The 2650 is the same camera but with the new XD storage card. We're pretty impressed with the quality of the camera and the features. The 3x optical zoom is one of the better features. To get that kind of zoom on a camera in this price range is rare. If you're looking for a camera, don't fall victim to the "digital zoom". Some manufacturers advertise a 3x zoom, but its of the digital variety, not optical. All the digital zoom does is make the pixels bigger. Optical zooms are like those on traditional film cameras. There are two complaints we do have. The first is the battery life. It doesn't last very long when you're using the LCD as the viewer. To compensate you can use the manual viewfinder. Fortunately our camera came with the rechargeable batteries. The other problem we have seen is in the lens itself. It is not very high quality. On some pictures you can notice a little spherical curvature near the edges. Its not noticeable unless you have a straight line like a wall to use as a reference. But for a camera of this price, these quibbles are easily overlooked. The Fujifilm 2600 and 2650 are great values in the digicam arena. They make great cameras for those just getting into the hobby. They have easy to use controls, come with a lot of extras and are relatively inexpensive.
Rating: Summary: Not Quite Convinced Review: This is our first digital camera, so we took our time to choose. Finally we decided that 2.0 megapixels should be enough for our needs: non-professional "entry-level" users. We looked at many options, and when talking Price-Value the FinePix 2650 is really a bargain. A nice little camera packed with all the functions one could expect, very friendly and easy to operate. Even do it's a fully automated camera, all BUT focusing can be set to manual. And there is the flaw: under poor lighting conditions auto-focus usually fails. Other than that we are very pleased: great colors, batteries are standard AA, fun to use.
Rating: Summary: fun, cheap, and easy Review: This is way easier and more fun than I expected. I was able to get started taking pictures as soon as the camera arrived, and despite being a techno-weinie I've been able to download pictures effortlessly to both my old home computer with windows 98 and my new office computer with windows xp. I use an slr film camera with an array of lenses, and I won't stop using that for serious photography. But this camera is fun, instantly gratifying, takes amazingly good pictures, and all at a great price.
Rating: Summary: Red-Eye Review: This camera is so easy to use and takes great pics. The only problem is the red-eye. We've always had this problem with our blue-eyed son. I can't count the number of snapshots that leave him looking like some sort of cute demon! His red-eye problem is worse than ever with this camera. We took some shots at his brothers party the other day and he looks positively frightening! It (the red-eye monster) even affected my brown-eyed husband and daughter(we've never encountered problems there before). Any suggestions are appreciated!
Rating: Summary: Best in this Price Range Review: As the webmaster of one of Alaska's most popular websites (Alaska Outdoor Journal) I finally decided to bite the bullet and move from scanning film photo prints to going digital for my website photo support. It was a move long overdue but with the rapidly advancing technology it was hard to pick a point in time to BUY (like computers). That has occurred with my purchase of the 2650 after a considerable amount of comparison shopping. The sole reason for getting the 2650 was for my website support and so I was definitely looking for the best Price vs Features for under my $200 limit. I had decided that 2 megapixels was minimal resolution (1600x1200) to work with and that a very good Macro feature was a must have necessity. I also wanted a true optical zoom in addition to a digital zoom. Lastly, I wanted at least some minimal Manual overrides on some of the settings for giving me some creative flexibility and artistic latitude. That?s a pretty tall order of features in this price range. Most digital cameras under $200 rarely have an optical zoom so that feature eliminated many brands and models. The FinePix is 3x optical and 2x digital. The macro feature exceeded my expectations...focusing sharp as a tack at 3.9 inches from the subject. With the manual override of the White Balance set for incandescent bulb, I took perfect color-balanced pics of close subjects. Although the minimal f stop is 3.5, I took several photos in a darkened Safeway parking lot with no flash and was impressed with its low light ability down to 1/2 second exposure if you brace the camera or use a tripod. There is also an exposure compensation (EV) override which will allow you to adjust your exposure when the subject is in a bright backlit situation or the backdrop you want to shoot is darker than the foreground. The on-camera menu is VERY easy to use and remember what does what. I commend Fuji for this simple approach. The LCD was very sharp and clear with excellent color quality. The camera uses the latest technology memory chip, the xD Picture Card which is a variant of the SmartMedia technology and apparently this chip uses much less energy and will help conserve battery life. I believe a lot of cameras will be going to this energy saver chip in the near future. The 16mb card that comes with the camera stores 25 highest quality pics down to 122 photos at 640x480 for webpage quality which remains totally impressive. I bought an additional 64mb card which will store 4 times more than the 16mb. I?ll never run out of space for pics. So far the camera appears to be very energy friendly on the Ni MH rechargeable batteries I installed. Ni MH rechargeables are highly recommended...check out the Rayovac ONE hour charger PS4-B which now comes with two power cables...one for wall socket and the other a cigarette lighter plug cable to charge your batteries on the road in your vehicle in one hour. No better value. Go with the Kodak 1850 maH high capacity rechargeable AA Ni MH for longest run time. The software and camera is MAC and WinPC compatible using the USB port for connecting. The software automatically boots up when the computer senses the camera connection and power on. The program provides minimal editing control of the picture however. You can crop and resize but there is no brightness, color, saturation, etc. to adjust. Most users will have another graphics program they use to do these things anyway, like Photo Shop. You can run a slide show to review the entire camera contents or view pics individually. All the shot details are listed for each pic...f stop, shutter speed, date, time, file quality, etc. There is also a second program that is used to assemble a Photo Gallery collection to burn to CD or DVD and distribute to friends and family. You can also use this program to assemble a video clip gallery to burn to CD or DVD that you have taken with the FinePix 2650. These are pretty low res quality videos at 10 frames per second but you might have fun playing with this feature. In the under $200 range I would rate this 5 stars. In the 2 megapixel range I would rate this 4 stars. There is a camera that impressed me even more in the 2mp range, the Canon A40 which I compared side by side last night, but its running in the mid-$200 range on Amazon. My friend has it and the software has many additional features and capabilities and the camera is loaded with additional cool onboard things like 15 second time exposure, sepia and b&w settings, etc. and is Mac/PC compatible too. BUT, for the best 2 megapixel entry level camera under $200 I would suggest the Fujifilm FinePix 2650; its a solidly built and very sturdy little camera. My only regret is Amazon dropped the price the day after I bought mine. Its a steal now at the new price. Good shooting, -KK-
Rating: Summary: Great Bargain! Review: I have three digital cameras at this point. HP, Fuji, & Sony. Price/performance the 2650 wins hands down. For a point and shoot camera you can't beat it. I use my Sony DSC-S85 mostly but my wife uses the 2650 exclusively. The HP is in mothballs. Given the proper ambient light the image and coloration are dead on. Low light situations will throw it off but you can still get great shots if you work with the camera. Even the Sony with its illuminator can have some trouble in the dark. I use a cheap Canon i320 to print my pictures and I'm very satisfied with the results. I do use Adobe Photoshop 7 to edit my pictures on occasion. Great software will save a number of lesser quality pictures.
Rating: Summary: Save your money Review: Don't bother. This camera is not worth the price. I bought this as my first digital camera, and was very dissapointed. While the picture quality was fairly good, the viewing angle/width is hardly satisfactory. I bought mine at a store, and promptly returned if for a refund.
Rating: Summary: An ok deal Review: I bought this camera with the idea in mind of just taking average pics of friends and what not and it did it's job. It's fairly simple to use both with taking pics and uploading on to your computer. But if you're looking for spectacular quality you might want to spend a little more dough.
Rating: Summary: I love Fujifilm :) Review: In my opinion it's simply the best Quality/Price rapport!!!
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