Fuji FinePix A800 - Superb quality photos on a budget (Fujifilm Finepix A800)

Member Name: Argon

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix A800
Date:	15/05/09 (12 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very good quality photos

Disadvantages: Viewfinder is good, but not as large as some cameras

Fuji FinePix A800:
Being an avid "snapper" of maritime subjects (ships, scenes, etc.) I wanted a good quality, easy to use digital camera which I could use to take plenty of photographs, store them on the PC, then manipulate/print out selected shots.
At the time, I had no experience of digital cameras, and trawled through the reviews to find a digital camera with as many megapixels as possible for less than £100. This camera sounded like it offered the best value for money - and I was right!

The viewfinder is clear, and easily seen in all but the brightest sunlight (then you have to use a fair amount of guesswork, but being digital, it's easy to shoot away in the hope that you get the "right" shot).
The manual is clear and fairly concise. One point to mention is that this camera DOES take SD memory cards! The reviews and websites stated that it takes xD cards. I forked out well over £20 for an xD memory card to go with this camera - only to find that I could have bought four SD cards for this money! (This camera will take up to 2GB cards. The SD cards will hold far more photos than the xD ones!)
The controls are easy to use, and the zoom works a treat. OK, the more you zoom, the more likely that the end photograph will be a little bit pixellated. So do bear this in mind if you want to take long distance shots. If you want to print these sort of shots, you might be disappointed with the results.
The camera can be fiddled with to adjust F stops and other settings, but I have found the automatic settings to be perfectly fine.
There are plenty of modes to choose from, which automatically adjust settings for you when using the camera, e.g. settings for bright sunlight, snow/sand glare, fireworks, sunsets, macro and museum. (To be honest, some of these pre-defined settings are not actually as good as just using the automatic mode! Sunsets taken in "sunset" mode are burnt orange in colour, and surprisingly dark.)
There is also a video function, which I really haven't bothered with too much.
All other settings such as camera sounds, flash on/off/automatic, and red eye reduction can all be selected, and are kept in the camera's memory - so no more having to constantly re-set your preferences!
The quality of the photographs is excellent, and much better than I would have expected from a snapshot-priced camera. I always use this camera at the full 8 megapixel, fine quality setting. (Don't use the DIGITAL zoom - the resulting photographs are terribly pixellated and filled with "noise"!)
Night-time shots of illuminations can be a tad grainy, but do come out surprisingly well. Use a tripod and the results are great!
I have always been very satisfied with the photographs that I have taken. Not always being able to properly see the viewfinder, or not having time to review the photos when taking them means that it is safer to take up to four photos, just to be on the safe side.
I have manipulated the photos in Photoshop and printed them out online: The results are astonishing! I was really impressed by the quality, and it is certainly comparable to good quality "film" cameras!
Included with the camera is the FinePix software, to load and store the photographs onto a PC. This is simplistic, though it is admittedly a bit too basic - but it does the job. Some (many, now that I think about it) outdoor photographs have a lot of "blue" in them. This is actually quite annoying, as it often dominates the "green" hues. The FinePix software automatic adjustment fixes this perfectly well. I have tried Photoshop, with these photos, and found it to be far more time consuming and doesn't necessarily get as good as a result.

One thing to note is that you will need fairly hefty (2000mAh or better) rechargeable batteries with this camera. Disposables will only take about 50 shots before dying! Rechargeables will take well over 150 photos, provided you don't get carried away with the flash.

I have been using this camera for nearly two years now, and I wouldn't want to upgrade it - I really don't see the need to spend any more money. This camera does the job, and it does it well!
My camera has been reliable, apart from once when what appeared to be a bit of lint appeared inside the camera lens. It showed up on photographs taken in low light conditions, and especially so if the optical zoom was used. I checked my warranty on Fuji's website, and found that I could return the camera (I only had one week to go!) - they checked my camera and found that they had to replace the entire zoom/lens housing, which they did without question or charge. Very impressive customer service from Fuji.

Summary: Very neat snapshot camera, that takes excellent quality photographs

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