Fuji Finepix A204 Review

Overall Rating

Compact, fast, very high quality 2.0 Megapixel picture comparable with higher specification cameras. Lens can be protected by sliding cover when not in use.

Presence of optical zoom means you don't have to rely on digital zoom (and the loss of a little quality when zooming) to get a close up. Surprisingly good in low light.

Poor movie mode without sound (320 x 200 and only 20 seconds - A205 slightly longer). Restricted to the 3x optical zoom (37 mm to 111 mm focal length) and 2.5 digital zoom, however, that's all you can expect from any compact camera - hence not that much of a negative.

The Fuji FinePix A204 is an easy to use camera with easy to use menu system via the built-in screen. Screen can be switched off to save battery power, the user switching to the optical viewfinder.

When not using the camera to take photos, a screen can be slid across to protect the lens and the robust nature fo the camera means it can take some reasonable knocks.

The response time of the camera when you take a photo is very fast compared to other similar cameras by other makers.

The image quality depends on the megapixel setting chosen (0.3, 1.3, 2.0, 2.0 fine), however, the high quality of the images in 2.0 fine mode can come out looking extremely professional.

2 Megapixels (fine) is okay for your amateur photographer (and actually took pictures comparable to a mate's 4 megapixel camera) and will produce a top notch looking A4 (even A3) print with a good printer. However, if you're looking to do poster size prints of greater than A3, look elsewhere.

If you're wanting more than a point and click camera, look instead at the Fujifilm Finepix S3000 (6x optical) or S5000 (10x optical - or come October 2004, S5500 - I now own an S5000 camera too), which are the cheapest cameras on the market offering SLR style functionality and the option for extra lenses. The Finepix A204 (and it's sucessor, the S205) is at the end of the day compact cameras and you are restricted to the 3x optical and 2.5 digital zoom offered by the camera.

Movie mode (without sound) is restricted to 320x200 AVI video clips of 20 seconds (longer on the A205 I believe).

A further surprising plus point was it's ability to take a usable photo in low light conditions - flash and nighttime settings allowed a reasonable image to be taken.

Battery life isn't brilliant but definitely not a major problem. However, rechargable batteries as with any digital camera are strongly recommended, as is when possible using the optical viewfinder and switching off the LCD screen. By doing this, I managed to extend battery life from several hours to 2 to 3 days.

I'll continue to keep and use the A204 as a compact, go anywhere camera. Put it this way, my other camera (A Fuji S5000) is not a camera I can tuck out of sight of pickpockets in a big city.