Quality product for less of that hard earned cash (Fujifilm Finepix F410)

Member Name: TheSparkster

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix F410
Date:	30/05/04 (124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic image quality, Small, Reliable

Disadvantages: No major disadvantages, only the low sound recording levels in movie mode, and the camera could have a few more features to increase photo manipulation options

As anyone would, I wanted a reliable camera with as many pixels and good image quality as I could get for the smallest amount of money, and as had a relitively small budget to spend this wasn't easy.

After searching for cameras for a while I decided that I wanted to spend money on image quality rather than other smart features. After first considering the Sony DSCP92 with 5 million pixels and the Kodak DX4530 also with 5 million, I then spotted the FujiFilm F410 in a local store. After playing with it for an exessive amount of time I realised that this was the camera for me.

With 3.1 million effective pixels and a 6 million pixel total recorded output I realised it may definately be worth a try.

The look of the camera:

At 85.0mm x 69.4mm and weighing about 170g, the F410 is rather small compared to many of its other competitors. I found this attractive as I did not fancy carrying a camera the size and weight of an elephant around all day.
The camera itself looks very modern and decorated well with the use of a shiny silver finish on some of the parts. However, with a light knock I can't help feeling that it may be quite easy to scratch and chip the camera casing, which from what I can gather is made predominantly from plastic with some metal areas. Eventhough this is said, it is without a doubt one of the more durable looking, and feeling cameras I have held when searching for the right camera.

Image quality:

Through what pictures I have taken so far I can definately see the effect that the 6 million pixels has on the quality compared to other lower resolution cameras. The images produced give a sharp picture whether inside or outside. However, the colour in the images that the camera produces is not as vibrant or 'full' as the higher end cameras on the market. I compared images from the F410 with ones from an Olympus C-5060 a camera a fair bit more expensive than Fuji


. I could cerainly tell which one of the cameras was that bit more expensive and professional, and no it wasn't the F410. Eventhough the Olympus outperformed the colour in the images, there not a significant difference in the sharpness and clarity of the pictures, and in some pictures you could just tell that the Fuji had that 1 million pixel advantage over the C-5060 at 5 million pixels, however the difference was hardly noticeable.

Features:

The F410 offers limited features which may not attract many of the more professional photographers, however for just taking quick shots on holiday or at party it is perfect. It offers various flash modes, a macro mode to allow you to take pictures of things not very far away, automatic mode where the camera calculates the best configurements, a movie mode to allow you to take videos with sound and a manual shooting mode offering a few more things that can be adjusted. I have found the manual mode rather useful when taking certain shots as the automatic mode sometimes can make shots look worse. The manual mode is especially useful for shots in limited and varied lighting conditions. One disappointing thing I have found is that when using th video record feature the sound level is slightly low on playback, I am unsure whether this is due to the mic recording level to be low or that the camera speaker is not loud enough either way this is only a minor issue for me as I do not tend to use the video record for anything serious.

Overall, I would certainly reccommend buying this camera, firstly as the images produced are very impressive, and the build quality is very good. The small size allows easy transportation of the camera which is definately a positive point. If a more expensive, professional camera than the F410 was purchased then other aspects of the images may be improved, like the colour in the photos, and extra features may also become present. However, for the casual
photographer this is an excellent choice for a relitively small price tag for the spec of camera. Lastly, would definately recommend buying an extra, larger memory card as the 16mb card supplied is just not big enough. I can get 86 highest quality pictures on a 128mb card which personally, I think is plenty for a day trip out.

I managed to find the F410 camera including a memory card (128mb), and docking cradle for about £184 in a Curry's sale, saving myself £165 for if I bought everything normal price.
I think usually a reasonable xd 128mb memory card would cost about £39. The docking cradle, though not essencial definately makes the camera look much better when it is sitting on your desk and makes the camera less likely to be knocked off the table when downloading the pictures to the computer.

Summary: