Fujifilm Finepix S700 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom by FUJIFILM
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Digital camera reviews of Fujifilm Finepix S700 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom
Digital camera Review: Coudn't be happier
Summary: 5 Stars
Fujifilm Finepix S700 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom From the moment I took the camera out of it's box I knew I had something special. Auto is easy to use and my pictures came out crystal clear. Yes the instruction book is excellent,the camera has a lot to offer. Why people complained about the cd I have no idea. It is easier to use than any of the other programs I have.
Thanks Amazon.com
Digital camera Review: Crummy autofocus
Summary: 3 Stars
Reading through the reviews, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person having trouble with the autofocus. It's pretty good with distant wide-angle focusing, and the super-macro setting works well if you're 0.5cm away from the subject... but I have a lot of trouble focusing while zooming in. (Notes: the zoom can only operate with normal and macro settings; super-macro is wide-angle only. And if you're unfamiliar with the term "macro," that's what you use for close-up shots.)
Apparently, if you want your subject to take up the entire frame, either you need to physically put your lens a couple millimeters away from the subject OR you can zoom in from across the room. There is no middle ground.
I had a few focusing troubles with my Nikon Coolpix 3200 3.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom, too, and I was excited that the Fuji had a manual focus. My excitement was misplaced. The manual focus is intended to deliberately make things BLURRY.
Another annoying feature is the dial explanations. Every time you twiddle the dial, a brief explanation of the dial setting appears on the screen for a couple seconds. I'm sure this is fine and helpful when you're just starting out, but I've had this camera for a week, and I KNOW what the dial settings are now and don't need to waste the 2 seconds. I can't find any way to turn this feature off.
By default, the when you take a picture, it appears on the screen for 1.5 seconds. If you don't have 1.5 seconds to spare, there is the option of NOT displaying the photo you just took on the LCD screen. It doesn't totally eliminate shutter lag, but it helps a little.
You need the memory card. The internal memory of the camera only holds about 15-20 pictures (at 7MP).
Now, despite all I've said, this camera isn't a COMPLETE waste of money. The resolution is good, and I do like the 10x optical zoom when I need it, but I can't help feeling that these features could be found on other cameras. I like the manual settings that allow you to control individual aspects of the picture (aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed, etc.), but again, I'm not sure any of these are unique to this camera.
What is unique is the lack of moving parts. The 10x optical zoom is all internal.
This isn't a bad camera. I just wish it had a manual focus ring for times when the autofocus decides to give me a hard time.
Digital camera Review: Decent Camera with Defective LCD
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the S700 in 2007 as my first digital camera purchase. It has the specs I wanted: fast start-up, good picture quality, 10x optical zoom. It takes a decent picture using only the automatic settings, and if you are willing to experiment with the various manual modes you can get some really good shots.
About two months after buying the camera I turned it on to find the LCD gone berserk! Streaks of purple, and green fluctuated across the entire LCD like some kind of infrared display. I turned it off, turned it back on same thing, replaced the batteries, reset all the settings but nothing helped.
I contacted support they told me I needed to send in the camera for repair with me paying for shipping (both ways if I recall correctly). Grudgingly I prepared to ship the camera back but just before packing it up I turned it on one last time to find the LCD was fine! Since the LCD seemed to work, and I did not feature paying for shipping nor waiting who knows how long to get my camera back I decided not to send it in for repair.
Well fast forward about ten months to shortly after the warranty expired, and guess what the LCD flaked out again! This time for good!
So at this point I cannot use the LCD to take/view pictures nor to manipulate camera settings. The camera does have a view finder with which I can take pictures and change camera settings otherwise it would be a useless paper weight. Though squinting through the view finder to work the menus will give you a headache quickly.
I have read other reviews to find at least one other person who had a similar experience. So beware of this issue when considering this camera.
Digital camera Review: Decent camera - just about what I expected after reading all the reviews
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes it's a very good camera... great color, decent zoom, good battery life, fairly comfortable to operate compared to other bridge type cameras.
Weaknesses, as mentioned in several of these reviews are - poor results with automatic settings in low-light conditions (especially if no flash is used, you'd better understand how to adjust settings manually) and some purple fringing in high-contrast situations (i.e. a tall building against a bright daytime sky).
Video - It's nice to be able to zoom and have the autofocus adjust during video recording - but don't zoom if you want to use the recorded sound - the zoom motor noise is quite loud on playback.
I don't have much of a complaint about the 'pseudo' image stabilization as some others have. My results have been pretty good shooting freehand with the stabilization vs. without. And for the price (I got it for around $170 about a month ago) you really can't whine about no external flash shoe, etc.
Oh... and don't even bother installing the software.
Digital camera Review: Definitely a good buy...
Summary: 4 Stars
Amature photographer here, and this was my first camera buy.
That said - so far so good. The picture quality is fantastic, with excellent stabilization.
My only complaints have been that the camera itself freezes up in cold or windy weather. By this I mean, the zoom and picture review options temporarily stop working, and only return to normal after you restart the camera.
Other than that - I love my camera and recommend it to anyone looking to buy in this price range.