Rating: Summary: Great deal!! Review: ... I use it for all sorts of photos and have had great success with it. Only complaint is that the viewfinder and the lense don't line up on close shots and the fixed lense cover is easily scratched because it has no protection. Mine is scratched now and I need to send it for repairs. Thats how I ended up here....anyway....happy shooting!
Rating: Summary: Great deal!! Review: ... I use it for all sorts of photos and have had great success with it. Only complaint is that the viewfinder and the lense don't line up on close shots and the fixed lense cover is easily scratched because it has no protection. Mine is scratched now and I need to send it for repairs. Thats how I ended up here....anyway....happy shooting!
Rating: Summary: Good Quality Camera Review: Another review on this page (electronics fan from Maine, U.S.A.) was the straw that got me to purchase this camera and I'm very happy with it. I just wanted a simple camera that was cheap enough but put out quality images. There are no complaints from me. The 1280x960 images are crisp and when I purchased a 32meg smartmedia card (that's the max that it takes) you can take 40 to 90 or so 1.3 megapixel pix. The 4meg card that it comes with doesn't allow much room for creativity. For the sake of sanity, I had to buy a smartmedia usb reader in order to keep the battery consumption to a minimum. The built-in serial connection takes forever and eats battery power. I think this is true for all cams though. Battery life is good for this camera. Using standard alkaline batteries and keeping the use of the LCD viewer to a minimum, I was able to use the camera for a full 7 days and shoot some 200 pix. I think the camera is slightly too expensive (...) but it's rugged and takes good snapshots.
Rating: Summary: I've had problems Review: Besides the lag problem mentioned in another review, I've had an issue with the camera not staying on when switched. I miss about 80% of the shots I'm trying to take because I have to keep turning it back on, taking out the memory card and/or batteries and replacing them etc. Bad frame errors are haunting. Once it starts working, I can usually take many pictures in a row, but in the beginning it's horrible. This is all probably my fault for trying to snap a picture when the dial was turned to the viewing mode. But that shouldn't have harmed the electronics! One can't always remember to get the dial in the right position.
Rating: Summary: I've had problems Review: Besides the lag problem mentioned in another review, I've had an issue with the camera not staying on when switched. I miss about 80% of the shots I'm trying to take because I have to keep turning it back on, taking out the memory card and/or batteries and replacing them etc. Bad frame errors are haunting. Once it starts working, I can usually take many pictures in a row, but in the beginning it's horrible. This is all probably my fault for trying to snap a picture when the dial was turned to the viewing mode. But that shouldn't have harmed the electronics! One can't always remember to get the dial in the right position.
Rating: Summary: Owned it for 6 month now - good for the money, minor issues Review: Don't even bother unless you plan to get an upgrade SM card (4mb is worthless) and rechargable batteries. Highly recommend a USB card reader - even using TWAIN/Photoshop 5.5 it takes FOREVER to download 1280 x 820 res pictures (the camera's middle setting). All my complaints are minor - this is a great camera overall. The mode select knob can stop in between modes, but look like it's pointing to a mode. This makes you think something is wrong until you move the switch the 1mm it's off so you are not between modes. Not a show stopper, just takes getting used to. I guess all camers mow batteries, but I bought 8 NiMh rechargables and that seems to work. Get a cord to plug in when you're downloading pix - will save batteries, especially if you are using the serial cable. The optical viewfinder is way off for anything closer than about 10 feet, so I almost always use the LCD - another battery killer. Camera won't auto shut off when in PC mode, I've drained lots of batteries when forgetting to switch the camera off after retrieving photos. These are really nit-pick items, most cameras would have same or similar. Overall I'm happy with this camera, it's well made and user friendly. For the money and 1.3 Megpixel is plenty for general use. Safe bet you will feel your money was well spent.
Rating: Summary: highly recommended Review: Had this camera for 3 months now and absolutely love it. Been taking it out to clubs and raves (night shots, lots of laser lights, etc) and the quality has been amazing. I have had 3 people, whom after using mine, have bought the same model. There are two drawbacks: the battery life is a little short if you use the display. But why use it? With smartmedia cards, you can afford to take as many bad pictures as you want. Also, another drawback is that if you're taking pictures where there is a lot of dust or fog and the flash is used, you'll see the particles being illuminated in the picture. This'll look like someone is blowing "soap bubbles". But it's no biggie since I usually avoid taking pictures in this kind of environment anyway. I do recommend you pick up the 32mb smartmedia card (I've taken about 60 pictures in one night on highest setting with room to spare) AND a usb smartmedia card reader for your camera, though.
Rating: Summary: transferring images Review: I have a digital camera, not this particular model. I was reviewing comments on this model (searching for a reasonably price model for a friend) when I notice criticism regarding download times. Please note: All the digital cameras will take a noticeable amount of time to download images to your PC if you are using the serial cable that came with the camera. However there are faster means. If you have one that uses either a smart media card or a compact flash card, you can buy a reader for either your parallel port or your USB port. Remove the card from your camera and insert it in the reader. Then the card will appear as if it is another disk drive on your PC. Use Explorer to copy all the files to your real hard disk drive. Thats the fastest way to get them to your PC. Forget the serial connector unless you only plan to transfer one or two images. It takes too long. (the previous reviewer and other may not be aware of this when they are buying the camera but this irritating issue applies to all digital cameras not just this one. Its the serial port thats slow.) Second, there is criticism regarding the cost of a 32MB card which cost over $100. I found 64MB compact flash card for around $120 on the internet so search around. Also you have to remember you won't have to buy more memory cards. simply delete the pictures on the card and you are all set to capture more. Most cameras come with only an 8 Mb card so a 4 Mb for this Fuji is below what many other cameras provide BUT its also cost less. It looks to be one of the least expensive 1 Meg pixel camera around. You're going to have to buy another card if you want to be able to take more pictures before returning to your PC (when you are traveling.. unless you bring your laptop) even if you have a 8Mb card. Look at the Olympus 360 & 460 models at $300 & $400. They only come with 8 Mb also. The primary difference between them and this model will be a) more zoom options and b) image quality. The resolution may be slightly higher and color accuracy may be better.. you'll need to review some comparison reviews on accuracy. Another note: you can take more pictures that just 13 (26-27 on an 8 Mb card) if you settle for less resolution. If you plan to PRINT the image, then stay with the best resolution but if you only want to use it to create a screen saver so email the photos then you can reduce the image resolution to be able to take more pictures on the same 4 Mb or 8Mb card.
Rating: Summary: High bang/buck ratio in a small package Review: I have had my Fuji MX-1200 for 2 years now. I have taken it to Scotland, Hungary, Austria and Germany and have been totally amazed at how good a picture it provides in a small package for a small amount of money. I am not a newcomer to photography. I have owned several 35 mm. SLR's of various brands. I still have a Canon that I can use if I want to, but I havent't taken it out of the case since I got the Fuji. My recommendations are similar to those of other reviewers, with one exception. Forget about the USB reader. Get a "Flash Card" floppy disk adapter. It costs more, but it will download to any PC. Naturally, you should purchase as many addtional smart cards as you can afford. They are getting cheaper now, so a couple of 32 meg cards would be in order. I carry a half dozen of them when I travel and download my pictures to my notebook computer every evening at the end of my day. Nowadays, most of my pictures end up on the internet, so the Fuji was a step up for me rather than a step down. If you think you might want to blow a picture up, shoot Hi-res and do the work on the computer. It's easy. It's cheap! It's fun!
Rating: Summary: A Great Product For the Price Review: I have had this camera for several months and really enjoy using it. The picture quality is excellent and the controls are easy to use. You will definitely want to heed the other reviewers' advice and get a card reader to speed up the transfer of the pictures to your hard drive. I use this camera indoors and out to take pictures of my orchids and have no complaints in either situation. If you are looking for a low-cost digital camera, give this one a try.
|