Rating: Summary: Great Camera! -just dont get caught without your Ni-MH bat.! Review: I reviewed the spec's on this and other cameras for about a month before making my decision. My biggest concern was support under NT 2000. None of the product info or reviews mentioned support for the NT OS, but it works like a champ. NT2000 usb drivers were even included in on the cdrom! I had the camera up and running in <5min and was transferring outstanding pictures to my NT2000 laptop in <10min. A brief reading of the manual unlocked all of the camera's secrets. The camera provides for control over both pixel count (640x480 to 2400x1800) and image quality (basic-normal-fine). With the included 16MB chip you get ~49 images at 1200x960 using normal quality -which look great! However, image count drops to 8 at highest settings. Definitely thinking about a 32 or 64 MB chip. Red-eye reduction flash is a little sketchy, still some residual effect. Only real disappointment is poor battery life when using alkaline batteries -REALLY BAD.. I barely was able to run the set up and have enough power for 4 or 5 flash pictures. Good thing they included 2 sets of Ni-MH batteries (80-230 shots depending on flash and LCD usage). My 'old' camera is a Nikon 35mm FM2 and although you could argue that it's comparing apples and oranges, I have no regrets over transitioning to this Fuji digital!
Rating: Summary: Nice Camera... where's the website? Review: I tried this camera out over the weekend. It's quite handy... the size is really nice, and the lens retracts into the case with a real metal shutter to protect it. The user interface is decent, and the LCD is readable in most conditions. The second "control" LCD was a cool design, allowing the user to reuse buttons in both camera and playback modes.I have to agree with others that the image quality is good, but perhaps not to the levels that I've seen with the real 3MP cameras. This is certainly not a true 4MP camera... look at it as a 3MP camera that makes bigger files. I needed to find the manual, since I was borrowing the camera from a friend. I went to fujifilm.com, and was really disappointed with the offering -- I couldn't even find a _mention_ of this camera, let alone drivers/software/manuals! I had much better results on www.fujifilm.ca, their canadian site. The manual and information on the camera was easy to find there.
Rating: Summary: Great Camera Review: This camera is great for all. First and foremost it takes great pictures, the color is second to none. Second, it is as easy to use for the novice as it is to use for the pro. The auto mode works great and the maual mode allows for a lot of adjustments for the pro. The quality is great in any mode. It has three different DPI modes, as well as three different modes within each DPI mode. The small size takes a bit of getting used to though as you tend to think it might be fragile but don't be alarmed as this camera is as tough as they come. I give it 5 stars....
Rating: Summary: Just another review Review: I did an extensive research on this camera, and had a chance to experiment with it for quite a while. The final impression is fairly positive, the good sides clearly outweight the weaker ones. Here is the summary. POSITIVE =================================================== * Very small and compact size, small weight (~300 gramm with batteries) * Excellent color representation. Colors are warm and natural. Probably, best color representation of any compact digital camera on the market. * Fast and 100% painless transition of images to computer; there is absolutely no need to by any additional accessories to that end. Camera mounts itself as a removable drive in Windows Explorer as soon as you plug it in, and you just copy the jpeg files. * Flash does not pop up by itself; no need to play "outsmart the flash" game. If you need to disable it, just close it up. * Uses smartmedia cards, which is the most compact media to date (less than 1mm thick) * All small features are extremely well thought-out, as always the case with Japanese companies; and yes, it does have a self-timer and tripod mounting screw. NEGATIVE ==================================================== * The main problem of this camera (and I have not seen this in any prior reviews here) is not the lower-than-advertized resolution (which is huge even as it is, at least equivalent to 2.5+ megapixels), but a so-called "barrel distortion". This effect is only present when the camera is set at the widest angle (that is, no zoom). Put simply, this means that if you're looking at a vertical wall at the widest angle, and this wall happens to be at the very side of a viewfinder, it will appear as somewhat swallen outside of the picture. All digital cameras are said to have this effect, but when I looked to check it on this camera, I was able to notice it clearly. If you zoom in, it disappears. Again, I was fully aware of this when I bought the camera, yet that did not affect my choice. * Picture quality is somewhat lower than it could be for this pixel count; it is certainly lower than advertised 4.3 megapixels. * no "black & white" mode; * monitor drains power quickly. however, keep in mind that it uses only 2 AA batteries instead of 4, as most of other digital cameras do, and maybe that's why this drain is more pronounced.
CONCLUSION ================================================== Seems to be one of the best compact cameras on the market to-date. However, if I were a professional photographer, I'd get Fuji professional camera, Fuji Finepix S1 Pro for ... For everything other than professional photography, this camera is excellent.
Rating: Summary: Not Win95 compatible Review: My parents bought this camera and had me install the software and show them how to use it. The box for this camera states that it needs Windows 98, (not supported for Windows 95). The USB drivers that come with the software won't work on Windows 95 (tried it with on an HP pavillion computer). Ended up buying a smartmedia card adapter that allows the card to be read from the floppy drive which works great.... Also the camera is a little akward to hold, its not in the shape of a normal camera. and the lens zoom button is not the easiest to use either (it is on the back of the camera). The microphone for the AVI recording is on the left side of the camera, and its pretty easy to accidentally put your hand over it if holding the camera with both hands. The batteries also take a long time to recharge - 13 hours. Fortunately it came with two sets. The initial AVI clips we made didn't look that good when viewed in quicktime 4.0, but when they played in the windows media player, it looked a lot better. I didn't have time to figure out why. This camera was chosen for the better low light sensitivity (ISO 800) and the 3x optical zoom. Otherwise I would have told my parents to get the Nikon S100 which I own (ISO 100 and only 2x optical zoom though).
Rating: Summary: It's small, great pictures, and did I mention it's small Review: This camera is small and light. It takes great pictures. Both the clarity is great and the color is vibrant and on the mark. As a bonus it takes Quicktime movies that you can send over the net if the receiver has a fast connection. Talking about fast, the download from the USB connection is speedy. Plus there is little delay after taking the picture until the picture is downloaded and the camera is ready to shoot again. The camera comes with two sets of rechargeable batteries and the recharger. Very nice. But for me, other than the quality of the pictures, I love the size. I bought the camera for the family, and I don't want to lug a bulky Nikon, so this fits the bill. The only problems that I have experienced are due to the size. The optical viewfinder is small. The flash needs to be popped up manually even in auto mode. That really annoys me since my wife continues to forget to pop up the flash and we get dark pictures. Hey Fuji, auto should mean auto on the flash too. Also, you got to watch how your right hand grabs the camera so that you don't cover the auto focus or light reader eye. Obviously, with five stars I am very happy with the camera. If your not getting good pictures don't blame the camera.
Rating: Summary: Not really 4.7 Million Pixels Review: I purchased the camera on the recommendation of the sales person and the fact that it was 4.7 million Pixels. When you get it home and read the fine print you find that it is only 2.4 million and that they interpolate (read fake) 4.7. Even here it is listed with the over 3.0 million pixel cameras, when it is clearly not. I took it straight back to the store after reading the fine print. I will not do business with a company that mis-represents their product. What else are they covering up?
Rating: Summary: Exceptional Digital Camera Review: Bought this camera while on vacation in New Orleans. Added the 64MB SmartMedia Card, and am very happy with it. Colors are extremely rich and vibrant. Uploading is a snap using the USB cable. I don't recommend using AA Alkaline Batteries, as you'll go through them pretty fast. Get an extra set of the 1600mAh Nickel Metal Hydrides and you'll be set.
Rating: Summary: More of a Personal Digital Camera Review: If you are a professional photograper or into graphic arts business this digital camera is definitely not for you. This is more of a family use or personal use camera, like when you're going on vacation and you want to take pictures of places and acquaintances (some memories that you want to take home with you kind of thing). You get the resolution that you desire if you read the manual and follow exactly what it tells you to do (experiement and you'd love the results as you go along). I almost gave it a 5 stars but wait, those optional accessories you would need eventually are very hard to find and some are not even available in the market yet. Don't expect too much for that kind of price. If you want the best you should at least spend over 1.5 grand or even higher for a digital camera that suits your taste.
Rating: Summary: Easy to use, Fast, Compact, Excellent Picture Maker Review: Yes it is, but why doesn't it come with a leather cover case. I use to be an owner of a FinePix700 for almost 2 years. It's a great cam, except the alloy case is easy to seperate cause' the fastener screw is so easy to loose and missing. That's it. Anyway! This FinePix 4700 is really developed.
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