Fujifilm Finepix E500 4MP Digital Camera with 3.2x Optical Zoom

Rating:
Summary: Great Camera Great Price
Review: I own a Fuji 3600 and it is an amazing camera and when I bought it, it cost about $350. The E500 by Fuji is a camera that is almost an equivalent to the 3600, but cost about half the price. The E500 offers 4megapixel quality, which is more than enough for any normal user. There are 9 different shooting modes, and then there is also a black and white option, and a chrome option. The quality of the LCD screen is the best I have seen on a digital camera, it is much better than the grainy crap that is offered on the HP digitals. The camera has a movie mode that includes sound and it takes an alright video (If you want a movie, buy a camcorder). An interesting thing about the E500 is how it stores pictures on the XD card it uses. I have some pictures already taking some space up on the card and when it tells how many shots are left with the different qualities, it says that there are 194 1mp pics available and 144 2mp pics available. The difference should be larger, but the quality of all the shots are great, no matter the quality setting. The camera also has a very good night mode that will get a ton of use. The pop up flash is a common feature on many of the digital cameras and it isn't a problem (unless you are too lazy to have your finger punch a button). The worst thing about the camera is the time between shots. It takes about 8-10 seconds after the flash of the first shot went off before you can take your second picture. The zoom on the camera is very good. The camera overall is great and I would recommend it for anyone. I bought mine at Niceelectronics.com for about $188 dollars (total including shipping and handling), much cheaper than the advertised Amazon price. And don't waste your time looking at Canon, because their cameras have a fault that is much too consistent for my taste. In many of their cameras the lens will no longer return to the camera and it will say error F18. Three of my colleagues have had the same issue at some point or another with the Canon cameras. Fuji and Nikon are the best way to go when looking for a reliable digital camera. This is a great camera.

Rating:
Summary: Decent Point and Shoot
Review: This is a decent point and shoot and seems to be getting discounted quite a bit lately. Don't look for significant manual settings on this camera. There are few image settings available. The flash must be popped up and down when desired, so while other cameras have modes where the flash is automatically activated when needed, this one will simply flash an icon showing that it's recommended (based on the light level and the center of the frame).

Geography buffs will find it strange that the night mode indicator on the FinePix phones looks an awful lot like the Turkish flag... Not a lot of cultural sensitivity in that design...

The main thing is that it takes decent point and shoot pictures. While shopping though, be sure to check out similar offerings from Sony and Canon.