Small and easy to use digital camera (Fujifilm Finepix 2600 Zoom)

Member Name: ianwinkworth

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix 2600 Zoom
Date:	23/01/02 (590 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compact, Easy to use, Great photos

Disadvantages: NO PAL output

A very good 2 mega pixel camera. Its main features are a pop out zoom ( x3 optical ), good flash and a LCD screen ( for viewing ).

Normal selling price is about £329, however, by shopping around on the web, found it for £249. For that price, you get the basic camera ( which includes 16mb of memory ). The shop I got it from did a special deal to give an extra 64 mb of memory bringing the price to £289.

The software was easy to install, works very well and easy to use. Note, it will only work on Windows 98 and beyond. You just connect up the USB cable ( included ) and it downloads quickly. You can set the software to write the pictures to a new directory every time ( which includes date/time ). Each picture has a date/time stamp of when it was taken, so there is no way you can overwrite a picture.

The picture quality is very good. It is important to allow the camera to focus before pressing the fire button. This gives the camera a chance to focus. I have been very pleased with the results so far.

The camera comes with x3 optical zoom and a x2.5 digital. However, a point to note, if you are using the best settings ( ie 2mega pixels ), you cannot use the digital zoom.

At the top of the camera is the flash. Flash pictures come out very well, with red eye reduction working in most cases. The system flashes twice to reduce the bloodshot look! The flash seems to extend for quite a distance, further than the Kodak camera I looked at.

The size of the camera is great. It fits into pockets, which is great. The lens is protected by a sliding cover ( you have to slide it yourself ). With the power on, the optical lens automatically extends about 3cm.

You can take photos two ways. Either through the view finder ( which is small and I wouldnt recommend ) or via the LCD screen. The screen is easier to use, although does consume more battery power.

To view your pictures, you can only see them on the LCD. Th
e camera allows you to see an index of pictures ( which allows easy scrolling ). You can also delete photos easily this way.

Battery power is reasonable. Fuji provide 2 rechargeable batteries and a charger ( the initial charge takes 4 hrs ). I managed to take about 30 photos ( including quite a lot of flash ) on one set of batteries.

The only drawback I can find with the camera is that there is no PAL output. This means that you cannot view it on a TV, you can only view it on a PC. This can be a drawback when you are at friends houses and are keen to show off your new camera! I believe there is equipment that allows smartmedia cards to be read and displayed on a TV but this will obviously cost money.

In summary, based upon picture quality, size and ease of use, I would most definetely recommend it. However, you must consider how you are going to present your pictures. No TV playback needs to be considered.

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