5 comments about Fujifilm Finepix J10 8.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Brushed Silver).

1. The camera is being very useful for recording memories. The pictures are very sharp and the colors are bright.



2. Nice point and shoot camera. Price is good. A great starter camera or use as a spare. I have had problems with cameras in this price range with premature death under 2 years - Pentax, Samsung. I don't expect this one to last long either. My $600 + digital cameras have preformed without premature death, but they are bigger to carry - this one is so convenient. The battery price is not $50 - check around. I purchased one for under $12 with free shipping.



3. I bought this to replace my Canon Powershot A70, which I've had replaced or repaired at least 4 times over 5 years (now the lens is broken, again). I got this one on a whim, because I wanted a more expensive one that wasn't in stock. This camera is slow to take photos so many precious moments have been missed. The way to change to another mode (movie, manual) is multi-step so again, moments are missed. And it seems like photos aren't very bright. I just bought another Canon.



4. Granted its not the most expensive feature packed camera, picture quality not always that great. about 1 in 4 pictures is waste due to image problems, low light, blur etc.
   You MUST buy extra memory. the internal memory will hold 2-3 pictures at the 8 MP setting.
   Oh, did I mention the LCD screen is cracked? with minimal use, non abusive carried in my pocket the screen is unusable with no other view finder, its unusable. looking into warranty repair, but I'm guessing it will cost more than the camera.
   if they repair under warranty, I will give it 3 stars.



5. this is good and it takes nice pics. good for people on a low budget. video capture is nice too

5 comments about Olympus FE-340 8MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black).

1. We purchased the camera to take on trips and just have availble. I also have an SLR for other photo's. But this camera has been suprisingly good at taking many different types of pictures with its scene settings and they are easy to use. It is just the right size (not to small or large) and the screen is easy to use. The quality of the photos has been great and they have printed up well.



2. I bought one of these a couple of months ago and I must say I'm very pleased. The photos I've taken with it (and I'm not a 'photographer') have come out wonderfully clear, especially outdoors. The optical zoom at 5x is a nice touch, since digital zooms are never as clear, and 5x is pretty much close enough for anything but serious outdoor or wildlife shots. Oh, and the battery life is great... I haven't had to charge it yet!
   "Bang for the buck" on this product is VERY good!



3. This is an excellent compact digital camera. I have not yet explored it's full capabilities, but one feature that is truly significant is 5x optical zoom. The digital zoom is integrated with the optical zoom so that it easy to tell how much of each you are using.
   The images in low light conditions are good. It is an 8MP camera, so the images with decent lighting conditions are just sub-professional quality.
   Considering all the features that work well on the camera, the price is amazingly reasonable.
   I haven't yet explored the video features of the camera.



4. The camera is better than i expected. Lot of options, good colors and good picture quality, especially in day light.It also take good pictures in the dark, but you have to be close to the subject. For a compact camera , it takes excellent pictures .



5. I purchased this product in July 2008 and have been trying to make it work ever since. I've got hundreds of vacation photos saved on the flash drive that I may never get to see. The camera refuses to communicate with any computer. Olympus tech support is only open during business hours when most of the world is at work which makes it useless to me. I've owned several Cannons in the past with no troubles. For some unknown reason I decided to give Olympus a try. Never again. I'll probably just throw it away having learned an expensive lesson:
   NEVER BUY ANYTHING WITH OLYMPUS WRITTEN ON IT.
   ps- I gave this product one star which it does not deserve however Amazon says you have to give it at least one star to submit a rating.

5 comments about Canon PowerShot A650IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.

1. The Canon A650 has some features that take a bit of getting used to. Particularly the ISO, the Image Stabilizer, 'noise' at high settings. There was also a glitch in the software, the photos didn't properly download from the camera. This aside, the A650 allows me to shoot in other than perfect conditions and get very good shots.
   
   The most interesting feature is a good zoom lens that allows crisp pictures at a good distance. Also, I have not had any of my pictures wash out even in really bright sunlight.
   
   As I learn more about the features of the camera and the individual settings in different conditions,I am sure the end product is going to look better and better.



2. This is my first experience with a Canon product and I'm really impressed. That's hard to say for a Nikon guy who has used everything from an F2 to a D1x professionally for over 30 years.
   
   I've only had the camera for a couple of weeks, but the A 650 has done most things very well and its relatively easy to figure out. I bought it for the rotating display but its overall performance has been great. I have been using an ancient Nikon 990 all this time because I love the low angles you can get from its "twist body" design. The display on the A650 allows me to do the same thing. The software is fast and easy to use.
   
   My only complaint so far, and this could be due to inexperience with the camera, is that the image stabilization is not great and the video tends to over expose. These are tiny problems for a generally terrific product.



3. I have had this camera for 9 months now and yes-it takes great pictures and the swivel LCD screen is wonderful to see what you are photographing in tough to shoot areas. HOWEVER, after 6 months of owning this camera, the lens started getting stuck outside the body, the shutter would not close, and the inside of the lens attracted condensation. I live in a very hot and humid environment (Southern Japan) and the camera would do this every time it got humid, which is almost every day. I persisted on because it took such great pictures. After 9 months, the LCD screen went black and the whole camera stopped working. I sent it in to Canon for repair since it is under warranty and they refuse to repair the camera. First they told me it was "beyond economically repair" to fix the camera. With further calling and questioning, they instead told me that due to "water damage" they would not repair the camera because I "misused" the device - new excuse. I have never had water near my camera, let alone ever dropped or misused it in any way. I am a doctor and use this camera for patient documentation and occasional personal use. Apparently, my mistake was living in an environment with "extreme conditions" which is what humidity is to Canon Cameras and what they replied after further argument. SO MORALE OF THE STORY is DO NOT buy this camera if you live in a humid environment or even want a camera you can depend on with great customer service in case something does happen. I am very displeased with the company and their lack of support for their products and in maintaining customer loyalty. I am switching to SONY cameras now, which are rated higher by Consumer Reports anyways. Take my advice, don't waste you time because Canon will do that for you if you do buy this camera.



4. I have had no problems so far with this camera. I particularly like the increased resolution on the LCD. It makes it easier to see if the pic was out of focus. I also have found that pictures in low lighting have been coming out well using the ISO feature. The 6x optical zoom is also great for this type of camera. 12.1 Mega pixels allows you to take a picture and zoom way in on details without losing resolution. Make sure you have at least a 2mb card if you plan to shoot regularly at 12.1.



5. This is a good little camera. I bought it to upgrade my ancient A70, which I liked except for its postage stamp lcd. My main complaint about the camera is the price, and that's why I don't give it a higher rating. It was selling for under $300 in the early summer. I watched the price rise to over $400, looked around, and bought it elsewhere for $350 by a supplier who hadn't apparently caught on to the price increase. The $475 that it's selling for today is way too much; you can get an excellent digital slr, the Canon Rebel XSi for $650! Anyone know why the price increased?
   
   Pro:
   Great Canon interface and controls.
   Lots of great manual controls.
   Good videos with sound.
   I like and use the neat hinge on the lcd.
   Lcd size is sufficient.
   Histograms on the photo playback.
   Good optical and digital zoom with a little color-coded bar on the lcd that tells you when you're zoom is getting into an area where your photos could suffer from camera shake.
   Image stabilization.
   
   Cons:
   Overpriced.
   The 12 megapixels is overkill. If you need great resolution, why not get a slr with a good lens? I shoot at 5 or 8 mp.
   Narrow range of aperture compared to a slr. At the small end, it only goes to f8. You can stop it down to f2.8--not bad, I suppose.
   Photos are noisy at higher ISO numbers.
   
   When I was shopping I recall seeing other point-and-shoot Canons for quite a bit less. You might have to drop down a few megapixels, give up image stabilization, and/or the lcd hinge. Sorry, I don't recall the model numbers, but it might be worth looking around. If I were to do it over, I'd buy a less expensive super compact and a Rebel xsi.

5 comments about 10.1 Mp Digital Camera Black.

1. This camera is a bit of a missed opportunity. I've owned two previous Casio Exilim Card-series cameras in this same line. With each iteration, the camera gets better, and this one is no exception with respect to size, which is a big deal. The whole point of this camera is how small and therefore useable it is--you can take it to parties etc. It's smaller and more detailed than ever, and that's two steps forward.
   
   However, Casio has inexplicably changed two things for the worst with this latest one. For one thing, it took away the cradle charger/downloader. No idea why they'd do that. It was a very convenient and stylish way to store the camera, and you could keep the battery in. Now you have to take it out and put it in the travel charger which is hanging on a wall plug--inconvenient and unsightly. Worse, you have to reset the time etc. on the camera every time now. For those of us who care about time and dates, this is a real pain.
   
   The other step back, a worse one, is that once you choose a Best Shot mode and shut off the camera, you lose that default and it goes back to full auto. WHY?? The whole point of a tiny camera like this for many of us who keep coming back to this line is that we can fit it in our pocket and take it to parties at night. There, you need the Party or Nighttime scene mode. But every time you now shut off the camera and turn it back on, you have to go back to the scenes and find the mode again! WHY? Totally kills the moments, and it's a big step back. At least add an easy software option for those of us that want the camera to stay in a certain mode until we change it, like Sony has. This is a disappointing change in this line.



2. a lot of people would probably want to compare this camera to the coolpix, but this is so much better. i love this camera. it starts up in less than 2 seconds and you can take about a pic a second so its great for events... its super responsive to button presses. there is no delay and switching between modes is instantaneous. the flash charges almost instantaneously too. best shot is the bomb. i wish i could throw out modes though. some of them are utterly useless and fill up the screen. flower mode is great for close-ups. i wish there was a "macro" mode so i didn't have to go to "flower" mode. it also looks awesome. they even paid attention to the way the battery cover locks in place. this camera is perfect in almost every way except for.... battery life. yes you will have to charge it every night if you do a lot of movie-taking, which is primarily what i bought this camera for. the movies are pretty decent quality. very sharp, and suitable for youtube. just not very big... go with the black one or the red one and you won't be disappointed. best $214 i ever spent on a camera.



3. i'm a videographer/tv producer and shoot stuff with a sony v1u and also carry around a smaller format camera for picking up shots and random video. i formerly used a svp camera, which still works great, but only offers 4:3 images.
   
   i did a lot of research and settled on the black exilim. it shoots great video in any kind of light and sound. i don't leave home without it.



4. i`m satisfied about everything....about the site amazon.com...about the services...the shiping...and about the quality af the products..



5. this camera is small, light, and quick to shoot... have gotten some great pics from it so far!! =)

3 comments about Olympus FL-50R Electronic Flash for Olympus Digital SLR Cameras.

1. If you ever think you might upgrade your back and are deciding between the FL-50 AND FL-50R then the smart money goes on the R. A few items from the existing 4/3 system (such as the FL-50 and the 50-200 mm zoom lens) have "R" versions that work with the new E3 and also the older models. The FL-50R incorporates a radio trigger so that multiple flashes can be setup and triggered from the camera's flash. That is the added feature you are buying with this flash. All in all, it's worth it when later on in life you have an E3 and 2 flashes (one subject / one background) and want to tie them together. The amount of work doing it with cords is a nightmare, and the radio would sure be nice at times like that.
   
   If you never plan to go to an E3, the FL-50 will do everything you need in a flash and save you some cash.
   
   That's all there is to it - no more power, no more features, works with the existing flash system and is future proof to the E3 camera back.



2. I now own three of these and recently used them along with Gary Fong Lightspheres to create an instant Pet Portrait Studio. The results were fantastic. I shoot with the Olympus E3, but I understand the new E520 also can control the wireless FL-50R. You might want to invest in light stands. The tabletop base has extremely limited uses, especially if you need to tilt the flash along with a Lightsphere!



3. Dear Amazon: Thank you and the seller for my flash FL-50R purchase, which
   was a needed accessory. Thank you also for the ease of shopping on Amazon and the really fast service.
   Marian Umhoefer

No comments about Nikon D80 18-55mm VR Lens Kit.

5 comments about Samsung NV24HD 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Ultra Wide Image Stabilization Zoom (Black).

1. Bought a Samsung NV24HD digital camera from Amazon on May 24, 2008. When I tried to register it online, I'd get a message that it wasn't a valid serial number. I didn't give that much thought, thinking perhaps they hadn't caught up with their production. Today is July 17, 2008 and they still haven't caught up.
   I have found the camera difficult to set, difficult to use, and I've been unable to download pictures from the SD card unless I put the card in my Canon camera which works fine. I loaded the Samsung Master software into two PCs running Windows Vista. Neither computer recognized the camera. After an hour on the Samsung tech line it was agreed the camera is defective. When I asked for an address where to send it, I was asked for the serial number. I read it off and they told me it is not a valid serial number. Upon speaking to a higher up it was finally admitted the camera was manufactured in April of this year, "but we probably haven't caught up.
   Amazon refused to give me a full refund. They did tell me I could return the camera and I'd receive a partial refund. How much? I asked. That's up to the return department after they inspect the camera. Under those terms they could return me $25 bucks on a $300+ camera.
   If I send it to Samsung for repair I will not actually be sending it to Samsung. While SONY maintains its own repair facilities, Samsung hires it out to someone on 6th Avenue in NYC. Would I buy another Samsung product? I don't think so.



2. This is an amazing camera! I absolutely love it! So compact and sleek plus HD! I went to Disney world and used this camera through out the whole trip! What better way to capture the magic then with this camera!



3. Does this have a hole in the bottom to attach the camera to a tripod? I've seen no pictures of the bottom or specifications saying it does, and I want to use the camera to take pictures of rooms in houses I have for sale, rotating the camera on my tripod and stiching the pictures together afterwards.



4. When I saw this camera while a visiting friend from Germany was using it here, I was mightily impressed. He had taken pictures from the plane, showing the glaciers on Iceland, and these were stunning in sharpness and detail. So I ordered the camera for myself that same day. I found that getting used to the cross-reference button system on the back is very awkward, because the documentation coming with the camera is more than poor. The dials on the top left and right will display their functions on the rear view screen, but it is so fast and short, one has no time to actually read what it is. So that makes it a guessing game of frustration. The camera is best used with a tripod for pictures, since 10.2 meg pixels are nice, but!! if you shake it even the slightest bit, say goodbye to sharpness.
   It gets worse when taking video clips: One of the reasons why I bought this camera is that it claims you can zoom while taping, well, you can, but!!! no sound during zooming! And the zoom is so fast, it makes for a race car type take-off, no subtle zooming back and forth. Before you know it, you're all the way in or out. Not good at all. When I played back the first set of clips, I noticed that the sound track was finished playing back way before the images were, about 20 % faster. I called Samsung and they said my camera was defective. So, they suggested I have it repaired. When I told them I had not envisioned to buy a "new and already repaired" camera, they said that is the way it is, we do not replace flawed cameras, basically that I was unlucky to have gotten a bad apple. I could probably have waited and bought a refurbished one for less. Also, they expected me to pay for shipping in order to get it repaired. Not much of a customer friendly attitude, by my book.
   Now, I am returning the little cam to Beach Camera, and they haggled with me over the situation: at first, they did not want to take it back, because I only called them after 5 weeks of the purchase. They let you return it up to 4 weeks only. When I told them that the product was flawed and malfunctioning according to Samsung, they finally agreed to take it back, but I had to haggle over the reduced reimbursement amount. They wanted to deduct 15%, I finally, after 3 conversations, got them to deduct 5 % of my purchasing price. I guess I'll return it for that and cut my losses. My conclusion is to stick with camera brands like Nikon, Canon, even Kodak, but no more Samsungs!



5. I like the NV24HD my only compliant is the it features and abilities are difficult to learn and to remember. There's a lot to learn and a lot to read, I wish that it were more simple and easier to use in taking full advantage of its abilities.

No comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS5S 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver).

1 comments about Panasonic DMC FX-150K 14.7MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black).

1. I purchased this camera for three main reasons its RAW capablities the 14.7 megapixels it offers and the Leica lens. It has a few nice options, one which I particularly like is the SCN mode for low light portraits. It has a delayed double flash which allows you to balance ambient light with the flash for a more pleasing look. The one dissapointment I've been able to discern is its low light capabilities. Anything past iso 400 is virtually useless on this camera. The noise is so pronounced I would steer clear of anything higher than iso 200 if you want to print larger than 8x10. Other than that it should suit my needs. I would not consider this any kind of replacement for a good digital SLR but if you happen to need something small and discreet which allows you to enlarge you pictures beyond 8 x 10 this should fit the bill.

5 comments about Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD 10MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom.

1. After reading the details on the Fuji website, I decided to wait for the release date and order this new product rather than get the S1000. I was mainly attracted by the High Definition video and the zoom capability with video. I've only had it for a few days, so this is a preliminary review which I will probably update after I've had a little more time to put it through its paces.
   
   I generally agree with everything the first reviewer said about the camera, although it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy to me. Certainly not at this ($275.00) price point.
   
   If you don't already have two or three sets of rechargeable batteries, prepare to make the investment. At least while you are learning to use all of the features, you are going to be draining AA's four at a time with breathtaking speed. Nevertheless, the fact that a camera with this many bells & whistles uses a common battery size you can purchase anywhere was one of the dealmakers for me. Once I am more familiar with the operation and options settings I expect I will not be using up the batteries quite so fast. Fuji says 400 shots with rechargables, 300 with Alkalines, and 600+ with Lithiums.
   
   The little rubber cover for the USB/HD connectors makes me wonder about its durability. It's a little hard to pull open all the way (maybe that will loosen up a bit with more use), and I worry that one overly energetic yank will either break the tiny cord that attaches it to the camera or pull it out completely. Be careful with this.
   
   The optical 15x zoom with video does work well (except for the motor noise which does get faithfully recorded on the soundtrack). It is selectable for optical or digital zoom, so if you can't live with the noise, you can work around it. The digital zoom with video is quite limited, though: only 2x at VGA or lower and only 3x in HD.
   
   For still pictures the 15x zoom is extremely impressive, and when combined with the digital zoom you can get over 85x total magnification. With the dual image stabilization switched on, I have taken handheld pictures in bright sunlight at the maximum zoom and gotten useable -if not razor sharp- images. I think Fuji have done a really good job with this. You'll see things in your photos that you can't make out with the naked eye. You have optical zoom capability in macro mode, and digital zoom only in "super" macro.
   
   The HD video looks really good, but one caveat. If you're planning on watching the videos on your computer, you're going to need a relatively powerful system. I think Fuji says at least a Core2Duo @ 2GHz or higher & 1 Gig of RAM minimum. I have a first generation MacBook with a 2GHz CoreDuo and 2GB of RAM, and the HD will play soothly in Quicktime, but only if the "high quality video" option is disabled in the program preferences. Otherwise it's choppy. Whether it's activated or not I am unable to see any difference in the "quality" of the images, the only difference is the smoothness of the playback.
   
   If I have anything I consider a negative, it's this: Fuji seems to be eliminating the included AC power adapters and sockets on their cameras. I have a FinePix 6800Zoom and it has a socket that you can directly plug into, but for this far more power hungry camera you have to buy a separate AC adapter and a separate adapter to connect THAT to the camera. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Combined cost for these gizmos is over $60.00 currently, and seems a bit steep to me. Especially since they imply that you should use an AC adapter when connecting the camera to a computer. If you need it for proper operation, it ought to be included, seems to me. How much would it have cost them to just put a socket connector right on the camera? With volume manufacturing I can't imagine that it would have been more than a few pennies. Then you would only be out the $25 or so for the AC unit.
   
   That point aside, I like it very much, so far. Recommended.



2. Colors are not natural.
   Resolution should be better.
   I hoped for better video quality.
   Maybe the price tells more about the quality of this camera.



3. Finepix S2000HD review:
   
   After two weeks of hands-on work with this camera, I've concluded it's very cute and does many things well but it can be frustrating to use.
   
   What it does well:
   
   * In good light, it takes photos and high definition video which are sharp and have good color saturation.
   
   * The tiny flash is surprisingly powerful, even when lighting a fairly large room.
   
   * It offers a wide range of image sizes and formats (ie., 16:9, 3:2, etc.)
   
   * It takes excellent close-up photos of flowers, insects, etc.
   
   * It has some interesting and useful features including high speed (33 fps) photography at 3MP, red-eye reduction, etc.
   
   * It's extremly cute (like a baby dSLR) and easy to carry around.
   
   Why it's maddening:
   
   * The electronic viewfinder (EVF) functions like a traditional optical viewfinder. When using the EVF, however, you must continue looking through it to see the image you just shot as the latter doesn't appear on the camera's main viewscreen after you take it. The logic is you only use the EVF when it's too bright to see the main viewscreen, however, I'd like to be able to use the EVF to save on batteries and use the main viewscreen to confirm my photos after each shot.
   
   * The camera menus are frustratingly inconsistent between different camera modes. For example, some modes allow you to change the ISO while other modes allow only "auto" ISO. The auto-only option should ONLY be on the auto mode.
   
   * Setting the shutter speed and aperature isn't entirely intuitive. To increase the shutter speed, for example, you have to push the down arrow button. I know, push down to admit less light, but I don't think that way when shooting. If I want a faster shutter speed, I should be pushing the up arrow button.
   
   * When setting aperature, you're only given a choice of two aperature settings (f3.5 and f7 when on wide angle, for example). If I'm adjusting the aperature, I'd like to set it to any setting I desire, not just two.
   
   * The macro and super-macro modes require separate button clicks to activate and deactivate. In the field, this quickly gets annoying, especially when similar video closeups don't require the same adjustments. If closeups work when shooting video, they should also work with still photos.
   
   * No threads for lens filters. I have a skylight 1A filter on all of my SLRs and dSLRs. With a little camera like this one, I'd like it to have the same protection for its lens.
   
   * No battery level indicator until the batteries are almost entirely drained.
   
   * The full camera manual is a PDF on CD. For a camera that definitely requires you to read the manual to get reasonably comfortable (or at least minimally frustrated) with it, a printed full manual is a must-have.
   
   What's unacceptable:
   
   * When shooting toward the sun (not necessarily directly at it, but with the sun at your face), the viewfinder image takes on a strong bluish tinge which is distracting. The photos themselves are fine, but forget trying to judge color accuracy when looking through what looks like a clear, blue shower curtain.
   
   * The "blue shower curtain" effect IS a problem on your final result when shooting lower resolution video (620x480 or 320x240). Face toward a major light source such as the open sky and your low-rez videos will have a noticeable blue curtain "falling" down the screen at those bright spots.
   
   * Ridiculously short battery life. I like using AA batteries and have two Pentax dSLRs in which battery life isn't an issue. Why this little camera goes through AAs like popcorn is an engineering problem IMHO.
   
   * Zooming while shooting video sounds like a zipper zipping and unzipping on the audio. When shooting, plan on editing out any zoom-transitions you have in your video later.
   
   Bottom line: I *want* to like this camera, but it's annoying enough that I haven't fallen in love with it. Hopefully many of the issues above can be addressed with a software update. The hardware issues, however, make the camera feel like it's still not ready for prime-time.



4. I really don't know what some people here think they are reviewing but this is not a DSLR it is a bridge camera. Its supposed to between DSLR and consumer point and shoot. You should be buying this camera for complete DSLR in a smaller / more convient package (that would be worth much more money, look @ fuji's S100fs $600) Myself I don't want a DSLR simply because it is too much camera for the shots I take but Point and Shoots don't cut it, if this is you then bridge camera's are for you.
   
   There are two main things I look for in camera's these days, Zoom (Optical of course, digital is quite useless) and Movie Mode. You see I find myself taking as many videos as pictures, or at least a good portion. And to all those how say get a camcorder well I have this to say: I am not an amuteur film maker, I am making short movies to document things I need simple but nice video and I still like excellent picture quality and I am not taking two devices everywhere I go.
   That said the zoom on this is amazing and the Image stabilization works incredibly well in both picture and movie mode. I was filming a look-out tower the next mountain over from the castle at full zoom and it was quite stable very nice. There is some barrel distortion at either extreme but it is not that noticable to myself.
   Of course the other thing was movie mode which is 720P, I was doubling MP from my old camera figured I should also do the same for video, that and all my displays are at least 1080P so HD(720p) was required. The big thing about the fuji was it used generic MP4 codec instead of apple's useless quicktime that is so horrible at backward compatabilty. This is why I did not go Panasonic or Olympus (plus those cost more.) Yes there is noise in movie mode from the zoom if you zoom fast but you can slow and it won't be noticable at least you have the option, most camera's do not give you the option and forceable limit the zoom speed to quite it down.
   Picture quality is quite nice in general however I mostly have taken pictures on sunny days so I may not be able to judge accurately. The option for aspect ration is nice since all my displays are widescreen but you sometimes want a nice full frame as well. There are quite a few scene modes which is quite helful and manual options are almost to much I have had to read up to learn how to use half of them, my previous camera had aperature and shutter control, this has much much more.
   High speed modes are quick and shutter lag is nearly non existent. As far as battery power I sot 2GB of photos over the course of a day plus a few videos and never had the low batt light come on, of course I am using NiMH 2800 mah so there is some juice behind them. As far as flimsy usb cover I could care less since I just pull my SD card and plug direclty into my card reader, much easier and the SD door is quite robust. In fact the whole camera is, yes its plastice but very sturdy and nicely textured, if you want a metal body find a camera for $500 or more. The lens cap I was also initially wary about but it stays on nicely and since it is not the clip kind is very easy to take on and off in a hurry. I've had mine since the first days they came out in the begining of Sep and have had no issues with it.
   So in summary know what camera you are shopping for this does exactly wht its supposed, with a great combination of features all for and extremely low price ($100 less than the competitors.)
   
   There are a few things I would like to mention that are in other reviews that I belive stem from lack of using the right-setting.
   Battery Life - Some seem to have problems here, as stated above I get very good battery life out of the camera, however I have set it properly. Tha camera asked you to set the type of battey (just a pop-up reminder not the actual menu) whenever you change the batteries with the current setting displayd. It has Akaline, Li-Ion (non-rechargable), and Ni-MH. So make sure you change it to get optimum battery life, also Fuji recommends not to use Ni-Cad.
   Red-Eye - again some say there are serious issues, yet I cannot get red-eye when using the red-eye mode WITH face detection, which what you are supposed to do, whether these publicatious even have red-eye flash on is not mention, nor face detection. There is the option to use face detection with red-eye removal as well (don't now what for, maybe later removal?) face detection is new to me, but I can still turn it on and get great pictures. Without it all the camera is doing is the standard double flash for prevention of red-eye not removal, and of-course prevention doesn't always work (actually red-eye flash in my experience only prevents red-eye 1/3 of the time in any camera.)
   Auto ISO - this is in Scene, Natural (basically a scene) and auto modes, which make sense to me, if you are selecting automatic options, why wouldn't ISO be automatic, these auto modes depend on limiting what the user can set to intrepet what would be the best setting and doing it itself. If you want ISO control it is available in the manual modes where it should be.
   Zoom Noise - again control your speed when zooming when you can (the zoom speed is dependant on how much you pull the zoom switch) If you need to zoom in fast you can, at the expense of some noise from the zoom mechanics being picked-up, but at least you have the option.



5. The FujiFilm S2000HD arrived a week ago and I noticed that the LCD display, when taking a picture, and when reviewing certain pictures, had a line running down the right 1/3 of the LCD screen - and the screen was just a tad darker to the right of the line vs the left side. The line wasn't apparent 80% of the time, but was a distraction on a new camera. I got an RMA from Amazon and returned it yesterday. The defect didn't appear on any of the pictures when viewed on the computer.
   
   I currently have a Casio EX-Z600 - a 6 megapixel vs the Fuji's 10. The pictures from my 2 1/2 year old Casio are definitely equal to, and in some instances better than the Fuji. I especially wanted the macro in the Fuji to be superior, but after taking several pictures in a restaurant with both the Fuji and the Casio, at the same time - alternating, even my wife said the macro pictures taken with the old Casio were more colorful, showed more detail, and showed significantly less noise that did the Fuji (when viewed on a 22" HP widescreen monitor). Question now is whether the Fuji was defective other than for the LCD display. I suspect not.
   
   I liked this camera - I found the controls to be very intuitive and easy to use. I really liked the 16x zoom. The lens cap pops off easily, but this is necessary because when you turn the camera on, the lens does extend just an inch or so. The lens cap does need to fit loosely so that it will pop off if you forget it when powering the camera on. The cap has a small string to attach it so it doesn't get lost. I purchased 8 rechargeable hybrid AA batteries, and a 16 GB SD card for this camera, but I'm not going to buy another and may wind up not using either the batteries or SD card. Maybe pictures taken in daylight on the Fuji are equal to the Casio, but I can't keep it without seeing any significant improvement over the old Casio.