Digital cameras are those new hip ‘n rave types of items. “Oooh...Ahhh....Wooo...,” those are the sounds that come out of the mouth’s of everyone who’s watching you take pictures with the digital camera. Well, I finally got sick of drooling all over the digital cameras and decided to buy one of my own.

Purchase

I knew what I wanted, and didn’t want to make a mistake. So, I went to Office Max and told them that I was looking for a digital camera. However, not just any digital camera. I wanted one that was under $200 but would still allow me to take clear pictures. So I ended up in the digital camera section looking at all the latest styles. I ran across a Kodak camera which looked like it had a lot of nice features, looked stylish, and was just under $200. Then, I ran across the FujiFilm FinePix 2650 and said “wow!”

So what made me want to buy the FujiFilm FinePix 2650? Quite a few things. First of all, it was $199 which was right in the price range I was searching for. It is small and the employee who came to help me said that it was easy to use. I also liked the way it looked with it’s lustering silver and square, yet smooth-sided shape. Yes, this was my first digital camera!

Taking Pictures

Taking pictures with the FujiFilm FinePix 2650 is very easy. First, turn the camera on but be careful...always pull the lens-slide away from the lense and then turn the camera on. If you don’t do this, the lense may brake. Then, push the power switch to the side once and the camera will turn on.

Now, you have a choice on what to do. You can either take the picture like a regular camera by putting your eye behind the little glass window and looking into it to see where the picture is focused. Or, you can do it with the more popular way - use the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). This allows you to take pictures without having to look into that glass that film cameras offer.

So now you are ready for your picture taking (which is the point of having the camera in the first place). Gently touch the gold button on the top right and then the LCD will say “recording.” Allow the camera to record the picture, then it will let you take another picture. If you want to see what the photo you just took looked like, turn the switch from the little picture of a camera to the little picture of the arrow pointing right.

Picture Quality

Picture quality is always something to look for when buying any type of camera. Whether it’s a film camera, digital camera, or one-time use camera, you always want to make sure the picture quality comes out in a crystal clear way.

First off, digital cameras do not use film so don’t worry on the type of film you’re using (which depends on how the pictures come out). However, digital cameras do use electronic cards that allow you to take up to so many pictures. Then, you need to empty out the card which is easy, but you’ll find how to do that in the instruction manual that comes with the camera. The LCD will tell you when the electronic card is full.

I like taking pictures with this camera, but not since I’m not a photographer, I don’t have all the knowledge in the world about this. I like holding the camera to my face and taking pictures of myself, taking pictures of my wife, places we go to...those types of things.

When taking a close-up picture of myself, it usually comes out well lighted but blurry, or perhaps imperfect. When I take pictures further away from the object I’m focusing on, I usually try to get that object in a well-lighted area. This way, the picture comes up well. However, when I try to take pictures of objects further away in an area that isn’t well lighted, this camera is horrible! I also used the “flash” but the picture came out very dark with no sharp detail, whatsoever. I think this may have something to do with the angle of the object and camera.

The FujiFilm FinePix 2650 comes out with good pictures some of the times due to different angles and distances away from the object that is in the picture. When you go get a really good, sharp, and clear picture, you know that the 2.0 megapixel is really working!

Features & Modes For Photos

Since pictures don’t always come out how you want them to, the FujiFilm FinePix 2650 has a few great features and modes to spice them up!

Of course, there is the “flash” feature, but I am concerned about this feature as it doesn’t always improve the photo quality. I mentioned this in the section before...

There is the Auto Flash Mode which is usually used for ordinary photography. Red-Eye Reduction is another great feature. This deletes red-eye from photos. Forced Flash is used to take pictures of backlit scenes. Suppressed Flash is used for photos using indoor lighting, pictures taken through glass, and for pictures taken in places such as theaters or at sporting events. Slow Synchro is the most awesome feature. It allows you to take pictures of things at night. It is basically a slow-motion flash mode that gives clarity and a sharp picture to things in the dark.

There is also the self-timer. This allows you to set the camera to take a picture in a certain amount of time. This way, you don’t always have to get someone to take a picture for you. You can choose the amount of time you want until the picture is taken by using a special button on the LCD. The self-timer is automatically canceled after each picture taken with this feature.

One really cool mode about the FujiFilm FinePix 2650 is the Movie Mode. This feature allows you to take a video of an event, but there isn’t any sound. With this mode, you can rewind, fast-forward, and pause the movies. The movies can last up to 80 seconds...they are more like short video clips than movies.

Software

- USB Mass Storage Driver: Allows a digital camera to be used as USB Mass Storage.

- Exit Launcher: Launches the FinePix Viewer software when a camera is connected (to a computer).

- Acrobat Reader: Used to read PDF-format documents.

FinePix Viewer

To use the FinePix Viewer, you first need to follow a few steps. After you have taken your picture, connect the USB cable (which comes with the camera) to a small outlet in the camera. From there, connect the other side of the cable into the computer. This process will take about 20 seconds as the photos will be transferred from the camera to the computer.

From here, a thing called “FinePix” will pop up. This is a file (document) that opens up on your computer that stores all your pictures. The pictures will all appear as a thumbnail. When you click the thumbnail, it will blow up the size of the picture. From there, you can zoom into different parts of the picture, or zoom out if you would like.

FinePix also allows you to create different folders within it. For example, I have folders that are marked “Anthony” (me), “Toula” (my wife), “Kostantina” (my daughter), “Family”, and “Other.” When I click on each folder, thumbnails will appear with each picture. I recommend creating a folder to organize your photos.

So what can you do with these pictures? I like to send them to friends and family through email. Also, I can make it as a background on my computer. Also, you can put pictures of yourself on websites (like on your epinions profile if you want), or you can print them out. Just don’t worry about how much you take, because you’ll never run out of film when using a digital camera!

Specifications

Dimensions: 100 x 65 x 52mm or 3.9 x 2.6 x 2”
Weight (with batteries): 235g or 8.3oz
Battery Type: 2 AA
LCD Pixels: 55,000
LCD: 1.5”
Image Ratio: 4 (width): 3 (height)

My Thoughts

The FujiFilm FinePix 2650 is a nice camera, indeed! It wouldn’t be good for everyone to use, and I’ll tell you why. First off, professional photographers may not like this because the images do not always come out in such a crystal, clear, and sharp way. It is good to use though if you just want to take casual pictures like of a sporting event, party, or perhaps a play. It wouldn’t be good for pictures on top of a mountain overlooking a city - there wouldn’t be precise detail that professionals want.

Kids will like this digital camera a lot. Everyone likes a camera that’s easy to use, and this camera is not too hard to figure out at all. Everything is straight forward and there is always the instruction manual to help you along. Also, kids will like this because they can take movie clips - I sure wish I had one of these when I was a kid (I still am young in heart)!

I really like the body of the FujiFilm FinePix 2650. Body is something major when I search for a products. Of course, silver is a hip and attractive color, and what do you know? This camera is silver! Also, it is light weight. Therefore, you never have to worry about lugging it around. Lastly, it is small and can easily fit in a purse or perhaps back pocket.

Overall, I definitely would recommend this digital camera. Sure, the pictures don’t come out perfectly, but what camera does? For the $200 price, I surely don’t mind a few blurry spots - I still can make out what the object in the picture is. Also, it has cool looks and is from one of the most well-known electronic companies, FujiFilm (though my first pick would be Kodak). If you are looking for a digital camera just to have to take everyday pictures, make sure to consider the FujiFilm FinePix 2650.

Click, Click. Flash, Flash...Where Did The Light Go? FujiFilm FinePix 2650

Looking for a film camera by any chance? http://www.epinions.com/content_90426019460

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 199
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use