Fujifilm Finepix A850 (Fujifilm Finepix A850)

Member Name: hildas

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix A850
Date:	11/02/09 (503 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent camera for it's price

Disadvantages: None

=== Reasons for buying ===
I bought this Fujifilm FinePix A850 only one month ago, but I have been so impressed with it I thought I would write an early review about it "but I will keep it up dated" just to tell everyone how pleased and very impressed I am about it all. The lens in my kodak camera has jammed open and I am finding it very expensive to get repaired, so when I saw this camera on sale, for half it's original price, at my local store, I just had to buy it, because I hate to let a bargin pass me by. I really could not believe the price of it, for all the features it states it has. It is not the camera I really wanted to buy, but with cash short at the moment, I thought this one would tie me over in the meantime, since my old Kodak is broken and I have a new grandson and was missing taking photographs of him.

Inside the box when I first purchased this Fujifilm, I was very pleased to find a beautiful and very stylish camera. I think this camera comes in silver and black, but the one I had purchased, was black, and has beautiful, shiny silver buttons and zoom lens on it. It felt very sturdy and well made and everything on it was really well designed and well laid out. It is also very comfortable to hold and is not heavy in my hand.

Also inside the box, I received with this camera, was two AA alkaline batteries, a USB cable, a carry strap that attaches to the camera and two CDs. The first CD is the software for Windows and Macintosh. System requirements state, Windows Vista, XP Home, XP pro, 200 pro and Mac OSX. This camera is certified for Windows Vista. The second CD is the owners manual, which is Windows and Macintosh compatible. Fujifilm also has an excellent website you can visit if you have any problems or queries and I have found it to be a great website for further assistance.

This camera has a good sized LCD screen of around 2.5*3.0 inchs on the back of it. The screen is really clear and easy to see and view. On top of the camera is a shutter button and the on/off button and these are all very easy to work and press. On the front of the camera is the flash button which slides back and forth, the lens and cover, a mircrophone and a timer light. On the back of the camera is the display and back buttons, an indicator light and the zoom in/out button. All of these features seem to work very well and are not to hard to use. On the very bottom of the camera is the battery chamber and the memory card slot and both can be easily accessed by opening up the plastic cover that protects them.

Memory Card Slot.
The memory card slot seems very easy to use. I can pop my cards in and out with ease, when ever I desire. This camera stores your pictures in internal memory or on SD memory cards. The card can also be used for recording and playback. If your internal memory gets full, all your pictures can be easily tranferred to your computer for storage. The memory card sometimes springs out if you remove your finger to quickly after pushing the card in, so just a word of warning to push it in the slot quite slowly and keep your finger over it, until it is securely locked.


Start up

The camera is really easy to start up. Just press the on/off button to turn it on and the lens will move out and the lens cover opens up. The LCD monitor lights up, but will dim to save power, if you do not use it after 10 of more seconds. The full brightness comes back if you touch any off the buttons again. The camera can be set to Auto Power off, if you do not use it after your own selected time, which is great if you forget to turn it off. The playback mode is easy to use also, by pressing the back arrow for a short time.

The basic setup is straight forward also. A language selector appears on the LCD screen the first time you turn it on and by using the menus arrows, it allows you to select this and then hit OK. Setting the time and date is exactly the same, you just highlight what you need of what you want to do and press OK. Once this is all setup for your needs, it's all ready to start taking your pictures.

This camera is 8.1 mega pixels and it really does take excellent quality photographs. I really was amazed by how crisp, bright and very vibrant they all where, with this cheaper camera. I find the auto face finder really is spot on and all your images really are very central. It is the best shots of my family I have taken to date and they all seem in better alinement with peoples heads intact. If the camera is unable to focus poperly neither, the focus frame turns red, which is a great feature and helps you get the perfect pictures every time.

All your pictures you have taken can be viewed on the LCD monitor. the last picture you have taken is always displayed first on this camera. The little arrow on the menu, when pressed, shows you the next picture you took after that and so on. Deleting pictures you are not happy with is also very easy. The picture displayed on the monitor can be deleted by using the selector to highlight OK. You then press Menu ok and you will see the erase ok, which you press and the picture is deleted.

I use the flash when the lighting is poor. Sometimes the flash will go off several times I have found, so do not move your camera away from your image until it stops.

I have not copied the pictures I have taken yet to my computer, but the software was easy to put on with the FinePix Viewer disc supplied in this package. Just check your computer meets the system requirements before doing so.


Overall Opinion Of This Fujifilm A850.

Overall this is the best camera I have ever owned and it is also the cheapest I have bought. I really cannot believe for such a cheap price this camera does all the things that an expensive camera does and maybe better. The picture quality of the photographs I have taken are excellent. They are really clear and the colours so vibrant in them. I am really impressed indeed. I also am really pleased with this cameras looks, style and every single aspect off it. The quality is excellent and overall it is very impressive. I really would highly recommend anyone to try this camera out, as you will be amazed like me. This is my best camera to date, but the cheapest one I have ever bought. Well done Fugifilm. This cameras great.

(This review also puplished by me @Ciao.com under the same name hildas)

Summary: Excellent little camera that takes top quality pictures and it's price is a cheap one.

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