| Description : | Fujifilm FinePix AX200 - 12MP, Fujinon 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom (28-140mm), 2.7" LCD. Other features include: Face Detection w/ Red Eye Removal, Picture Stabilization, High Sensitivity 3200 ISO, 6 Scene - SR Auto Automatic Scene Recognition, HD Movie 720p w/ Sound, Panorama Mode, 2 AA Batteries. |
Reviews :
{ Rating: 3.5 out of 5 } | Versatile camera, great pix for the price
I read all the other Amazon reviews for this camera, and read the specs on the Fuji website before buying the camera. After using it for a day, I'm pleased to say that it has exceeded my expectations.
The menus are well laid out, and the modes and settings are very easy to change. I've read the manual fairly carefully and have experimented a good deal with some of the "shooting modes" and have the following suggestions and observations for those (few) who have complained of poor picture quality. (I've gotten outstanding results so far).
First, be aware that this camera has a WIDE ANGLE lens, which means that it's designed to capture a wider field of view than a "normal" 35 mm equivalent lens. This makes it good for close quarters (e.g. indoor photography where you're trying to get as much of a room as possible, or as many people as possible, into the frame). I just spent this afternoon photographing the interior of a small 17th century post-and-beam house, and the wide angle lens captured more of the interior than a 35 mm equivalent lens would have. The downside of the wide angle lens is that you will see some "fisheye" bending at the edges of the frame, but the bending does disappear as you zoom out to a longer focal length. The wide angle also means that, even with full zoom, subjects will appear farther away than with a "normal" zoom lens. So if you want maximum zoom magnification of distant objects, a wide angle lens probably isn't your best choice. On the other hand, if you want maximum field of view for nearby scenes and people, wide angle is the way to go. (This lens can also do "macro" closeups, but I haven't tried that yet).
Second, it helps if you read up on ISO settings and understand that some unavoidable digital "noise" creeps into digital photos at higher ISO settings. The higher the ISO setting, the more unwanted "noise" you're going to get. Therefore, you get the best quality shots at the lowest ISO setting (100 for this camera). Read the manual and learn how to either set the ISO manually to 100 (in shooting mode "Program AE") and/or use the other modes in such a way as to induce it to choose the lowest ISO possible. This camera seems to have very low noise at ISO 100, some at ISO 400, and is marginal at ISO 800. Try to avoid ISOs above 400.
Third, change the "Image Quality" setting from Normal to Fine. The camera comes set to Normal, which means that your photos will be digitally compressed to save storage space. However, the compression process loses some image quality. To get the best image quality, change to Fine, which will save photos without compression and thus give the best image quality. If you want more storage space and don't care so much about image quality, you can change back to Normal.
Fourth, read the manual and experiment with the different shooting modes, which make this camera quite versatile. I just shot the interior of the historic house I mentioned above using a tripod and the "Night (Tripod)" shooting mode, and the photos came out great even though there was little interior light and I chose not to use a flash. The Night (Tripod) mode gives up to 4 seconds of shutter open time for very low light conditions, at low ISO settings (like 100) for great quality shots.
Fifth, experiment with the "White Balance" adjustment in shooting mode "Program AE". White balance can make a big difference in the color of your shots.
Sixth, learn how to read the info shown on the screen as you set up for a shot. The shooting mode, ISO, image quality (Normal or Fine), White Balance, and flash status are all shown on the screen and are important things to be aware of. Depress the shutter button half way and see the shutter speed and f-stop displayed in the lower left corner. If the ISO and shutter speed aren't going to be satisfactory, make the needed adjustments to the shooting program or flash before taking the shot. Also learn how the auto focus works, how it signals that the auto focus has locked in(beep and steady green light) and how the red AF! indicator means that the camera is unable to auto focus, due to low light or some other condition. No focus=blurry photo.
Seventh, avoid the "SR Auto" mode. All it does is choose one of the other shooting modes automatically, which you should be able to do for yourself based on what/where you're shooting. According to the manual, the "SR Auto" mode is apparently a battery hog, because the manual recommends that, if your batteries are draining too quickly, you not use the SR Auto mode. And some of the other reviews here have complained about buzzing noises in the SR Auto mode (though I haven't experienced it). Don't bother using SR Auto. Problem solved.
In short, this camera gives you a lot of ways to take great pictures, but it can't do its best work until you help it out by setting it up right and learning how to understand what it's telling you. If you take the time to follow the above steps you'll be shooting great photos in one day. (And, to be fair, other reviewers have reported good results right out of the box without bothering to read the manual. Just saying...if you're getting bad results, don't blame the camera...unless it's obviously broken.)
|
