My travelling companion (Fujifilm Finepix 40i)

Member Name: alanmh

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix 40i
Date:	14/03/01 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Really small, high resolution

Disadvantages: weak flash

Finepix 40i

On my way back from Edinburgh, I found myself , as usual in Dixons, looking at the digital cameras. I had been considering buying one for some while, but was concerned at the expense of any with enough resolution to be any good, and small enough to carry around most of the time.Then I found the Fujifilm Finepix 40i.

Technical Specifications:

Don't be fooled by the box advertising this camera has a 2.5 megapixel ccd, and the stated resloution of 4.3 Mpixels is done in software.

It has the equivelant light sensitivity to 200 ASA film so is ideally suited to outdoor photography.

Taking Photos:

Using the finepix 40i, couldn't be simpler, I didn't refer to the manual to take simple snaps, except to see which way round to insert the smartcard.

However, as default, the camera is set at a very high resolution, and this uses a lot of disk space. I reset the resolution to 640 × 480 and normal compression wth the help of the instruction manual. This resolution gives a very useable 49 pictures on the 16Mb card provided with the special edition version (the standard version comes with an 8Mb card).

Reading the manual in more depth reveals just what this little marvel can do. For more complicated lighting conditions, different compositional problems, and to use the video (with sound) function, the manual is essential.

PC Software
Although the installation instructions are quite confusing as they are on several different loose pieces of paper, the software provided with the camera is very impresive. Once the usb driver is loaded onto the machine, downloading from or to the camera is very fast. With the software installed, new pictures are detected and thumbnails are displayed.

Also provided is software to convert CD's to MP3's and download them the camera..


What I like about it:

What I really like about is the size, its very small
and light. This along with the belt pouch provided, makes the camera very portable.

Drawbacks:

The only real drawback is the rather underpoewered flash. If you want to take pictures after dark at anything greater than a few feet, forget it.

Conclusion:

All in all I would recommend this camera to anyone with a website to maintain or who likes to carry around a camera and snap away at anything that moves. It has re-awakend my interest in photography and with film processing proces what they are, it will pay for itself in about a year.

Summary: