Fujifilm for fantastic fotos! (Fujifilm Finepix A900)

Member Name: ~*pink-pilgrim*~

Product:	Fujifilm Finepix A900
Date:	29/10/07 (163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great quality photos, good price

Disadvantages: not as small as other models

INTRODUCTION
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After my holiday I decided to purchase another camera. I managed to break the lens cover by getting sand inside. The screen was scratched and I found that photos were not as good as they could be. I found the camera very hard to use as fiddling around with flash buttons and menu features confused me. By the time I had figured out what to do I had missed what I was taking the picture of. I also found that after pressing the button to take a picture the camera was too slow at taking it. With fast moving objects or action shots my camera was rubbish. I have heard many great things about Fujifilm so decided to take a look at the cameras on the market and was impressed.

FUJIFILM
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Fujifilm was founded in 1934 with the hope of producing modern products for photography. The headquarters is based in Tokyo. It is the largest photographic company in the world. Fujifilm sponsor the FIFA world cup.

The grass green colour of the background with the bold white writing across the centre is usually sign of its quality. Many people are attracted to Fuji for its superb quality and good reputation.

APPEARANCE
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The camera is quite stylish. It is silver all over which is very sexy and goes with almost every outfit (probably not important to the men). It feels robust and looks like it can withstand a drop or two. It is ergonomically designed and feels nice and snug in my hand.
At about 9cm long, 6cm tall and 3cm thick it is average in size. It's fairly small compared to many cameras out there but in comparison to miniature models it does look big and bulky. It is not heavy to carry and is light enough to carry in a handbag or on a neck strap.

EASE OF USE
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The camera is easy to use as it comes with pre-set functions such as sports mode, firework mode etc. This saves you from fussing around with many different features such as colour, gradient etc. I found this quite useful as the camera is set up to point and snap.

The camera is easy to turn on and navigate. The instruction manual is easy to read, but then again I am used to new cameras so pick it up fast. I am sure most people reading and using the manual will pick it up. I wouldn't say that the camera is a perfect piece of equipment for a professional photographer but is perfect for family snaps and as a holiday accessory.

FEATURES
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This 9 Mega pixel camera produces excellent quality pictures. I have found that with many cameras the quality of snaps taken indoors can be poor. It comes with Real Photo Technology (RPT), I will not pretend to know what this means but I know that it helps create pictures of fantastic, top quality. When using a camera without the flash the picture can appear blurry and slightly cloudy, with the Real Photo Technology pictures look sharp and have a very crisp image.
The shutter release is quicker than my old camera making it easier to capture sporting moments, moving objects and action shots. I liker this feature as getting pictures on the spur of the moment are easier.

The camera has 4x optical zoom and 3x digital zoom. Using both zoom features you are able to zoom in much closer, producing an amazing quality photo. The quality of pictures are clearer and more crisp due to the high sensitivity intelligent flash. I have not only been able to capture the foreground and people clearly but the background also appears clear and in detail rather than blending in the back.
The movies are also very crisp and clear showing high quality detail. The playback sound quality is excellent. The colour is clear and the movement is not jagged or wobbly. I have managed to record over 40 minutes of film on a 1GB memory card and take 300 photos with a high quality setting. It has 10MB of internal memory and a memory card is included in some packages.

The 2.5 inch screen is reasonable and makes a good screen for viewing pictures and playing back movies. This also helps you delete, rotate and edit photos on screen.
There is a wide variety of modes to enable you to take the best photo and helps make the camera easier to use. These modes are Auto, Baby mode, Anti-Blur, Red-eye Reduction,
Landscape, Sport, Night, Natural light, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Sunset, Underwater, Flower, Party, Museum and text. I haven't had chance to work out how all of these work although the fireworks one is quite useful, I haven't noticed much difference with this.

The camera takes two AA batteries, these last quite a long time and are cheap to use. The camera comes with these batteries, although you can also use rechargeable Ni-MH batteries.
A hand strap is included in the box but some stores such as Comet sell the camera with a package including memory card and case.

PRICE
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It is fairly cheap compared to other cameras of similar performance and quality. A 9 mega pixel camera usually costs between £120 and £200 depending on quality, features and where purchased. This camera can be bought from most electrical stores such as Comet and Dixons. I managed to get mine with a package (camera, memory card and carry case) for only £119.99. There are some great offers if you take the time to look around and price them up. It does not sell in Argos but the 8 mega pixel Fujifilm sells at a low price and has similar features.


SUMMARY
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I have been through about 4 digital cameras in 6 years. I started off with a simple 1.3 Mega pixel camera and have gone up each time gradually becoming happier with them. This camera however is perfect for what I want it for. Using a good printer or processing company the pictures come out very good and look superb enlarged. This is a great camera as it is so easy to use. I would definitely recommend this product.

Summary: Gret quality...good price!

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