Lost in the shootout against my MX-1200
Written: Dec 22 '02
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Pros: Easy to use, bright sharp LCD screen, very sharp pictures.
Cons: Distorted near edges, slow flash charge, needs more buttons.
The Bottom Line: The serious distortion at the edges of the pictures makes an otherwise great camera one to avoid.
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| georget99's Full Review: FUJIFILM FinePix 2650 Digital Camera |
I decided to buy another digital camera. My 2 year old MX-1200 works great, but suddenly one digital camera in the house is not enough. (see my review of the MX-1200)
Being happy with my Fuji I decided to look there first: I figured I'd already be at home with the controls and my current Fuji takes great pictures.
I studied the reviews and found the 2600 to my liking, then discovered the 2600 was discontinued and replaced by the 2650 which seems identical except for the xD Picture Card memory.
Apparently the xD card was developed jointly by Fuji and Olympus. Why another format? If I read everything correctly, the older formats are running out of steam. SmartMedia especially can't get any bigger than 256 (or is it 512) Megabytes, and is much too slow for the new generation of cameras. Speed is meaningful when you've got to store 6 Megapixels and the photographer is waiting to take another picture. So the xD is faster and can be much bigger. It's reasonably priced, too.
Back to the camera. It's got a sharp, colorful, bright, informative display which doesn't wash out too badly outdoors and it's got a brightness control in the menus.
The camera is very easy hold and use, just feels somewhat blocky because it's surprisingly thick (front to back). The autofocus works very well indeed.
I took a picture of a rack of CD's from 15 feet away. I zoomed in all the way (3X), then blew up the picture to full size on my monitor. I could actually read the titles of the CD's!
Now for the bad news.
- It needs more buttons. For instance to take a self-timer picture, you've got to delve into the menus to turn it on. On the '1200 it's a function on the main dial.
- You can't turn off the display while downloading pictures to the computer. It's says absolutely nothing except you're downloading. All it does is use up batteries.
- The time for it to store a picture then recharge the flash can be 8 seconds! That's partly fixed by turning off the display of the just taken picture and turning off battery saver mode. A couple minor explorations of the menus.
- And the reason mine went back to the store. At the wide setting of the zoom, not uncommon at all, straight lines near the edge of the picture curve inwards at the ends. I really couldn't believe they'd sell a camera with clearly visible distortion like that, but other reviews on the web mention it too. It's not noticable on most pictures, but if you happen to have a doorway or lamppost near the edge, you wonder who built that house and what bent the post.
I had a shootout with my MX-1200. The doors and light poles were as straight in the '1200 photos as they really are.
I got mine at Ritz for $200 which included a free leather case and extra 32 MB XD card.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 200
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
georget99
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Reviews written: 20
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