Fuji Finepix A210

Besides some of the bad points mentioned,I think this is a good digital camera compared to the one that I recently have especially because it takes good photos. My Finepix A210 was great value for money as well because it was given to me as a present.

Fuji Finepix A210 Digital Camera.I have fancied a digital camera for some time now, and felt quite envious when my brother did a photo album of his grandchild on CD. Then on a break with friends, they revealed a new Kodak digital camera, and I was hooked - I wanted a good one!

In the past I had bought a couple of the cheap variety, you know the sort you can get online for about £20-40. They had never proved satisfactory, and the pictures weren't of any good standard.

So with my birthday looming, I decided to ask for a digital camera or if no one liked me that much - money so I could save for one.

My wife kindly donated £100 to my digital camera fund, and I began searching the internet for a good quality camera that was easy to work, you see another problem with me is that as much as I like technology I am a technophobe.

My brother had a Fuji camera, and as said my friends had a Kodak one, which they both swore by, but the choice was wide and prices varied enormously.

Finally upon reading a few reviews online I made my choice, which happened to be something that I both liked the look of, and has a greater number of pixels. (The one thing I have learnt is the higher the pixels the better quality of picture).

So I placed my order on Amazon on the Sunday, and my camera came a few days later. I paid about £104 for my camera from Amazon.

Un-wrapping my parcel (with some trepidation and excitement) I was confronted by a medium sized box, with a life size picture of the enclosed camera.

Enclosed within the box you get:

. 16MB xD-Picture Card

. 2 x AA type alkaline batteries

. Hand strap

. USB cable

. Video cable

. Cradle adapter

. CD-ROM includes software to help you get the best out of your camera.

Loading the software is easy, simply place the CD into your drive and follow the instructions on screen. You should not attach your camera to the pc until the software has been loaded successfully.

Once loaded the software will start automatically each time you connect your camera and switch it on.

FIRST USAGE:

My first use of the camera was with care, and despite being a technophobe I found it easy to operate - and suffered no subsequent stress, depression or other medical ailment due to the camera.

I was so used to using a 'non-digital' camera that I found myself placing the camera to my eye - which with this camera is an option that can save your battery life. However, I kept reminding myself that this was a digital camera, and the viewing screen at the back of the camera was a great idea.

Now to choose my first subject, what could be worthy of my virgin use of my new camera: Of course no option - the other half! She willingly (well okay not so willingly) posed for a few shots, and then was pushed out of the way by my 'self loving' daughter (I tell you if mirrors hadn't been invented she would have thought of it!). Eventually, I snapped pictures of anything that didn't move - and even some of the dog while she WAS moving!

Taking the picture is easy; once you have the perfect pose you simply press the button half way to 'grab' the frame, then fully to take the picture. Once the picture is taken you will see it briefly on the screen at the back of the camera. Otherwise you need to change mode to check them out (more on that later).

You are also able to record movies on the camera with an allowance of about 60 seconds - which isn't a great deal but about average I suspect.

VIEWING YOUR PICTURES:

This is where the fun starts and you can view your pictures in three ways

1. On the back of the camera: simply switch the switch to play mode and press the forward/backward button to see the pictures that are stored on your camera.

2. On your TV: (I didn't even need instructions for this bit) simply attach your camera to the lead enclosed, and plug the other end into your TV. Switch the TV to AV and again press the forward/backward buttons to see your frames on the TV screen.

3. On your pc: This is done via the software that you get with the camera, or other software you may have available.

4. As an option (though not done it yet) you can also take the 'card' into Boots or similar and have them printed.

So as you see if this technophobe can do it, then anyone can. So far so good, and I haven't had any real trouble-well if you don't call the fact that I didn't read the instructions and failed to see the obvious forward/backward buttons, but next to that it really has been straight forward.

OTHER INFORMATION:

You can protect any pictures that you do not want to delete by error; this is done by going into the settings on the camera (the press of a few buttons). This option allows you to protect all or a selection of frames. From the same menu you can also delete any pictures that fail to meet your high expectations: Again you can delete one or more at a time.

The camera is quite heavy compared to other cameras that I have had, though I guess it has to have a lot more know-how on board. A lens protector needs to be slid across to enable picture taking, and if you haven't done this you will get a message on the screen telling you.

I opted for automatic flash, which as suggests loads the flash automatically.

The camera can take between 19-325 pictures depending on the size of your memory card. The zoom is fairly effective with 3x optical, and operated by the up/down button.

WHAT I LIKED:

I loved the ease of use, and the fact you can take a picture and if you don't like it delete and take another until you are happy with the picture you are taking. I like the way in which you can view the pictures on screen, or TV, and the software enables you to write them to a CD (if you have the capability of this on your pc). And I liked the fact that even taking pictures at the low resolution that I was I was very happy with the quality. I also like the self timer, this lets you arrange the pose and press the button. You then have ten seconds to get yourself in the picture, before the snap is taken. This is a great idea for many reasons, but in particualar group photographs, when someone is always left out. A bleep lets you know the snap is about to be taken.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

A few points about the camera could be improves I think, these are: Taking pictures is great but if you want to take another one immediately you can't, you have to wait for the camera to do whatever it does before showing the screen again. I found the battery life is very limited, so rechargeable is highly recommended. The batteries that came with my camera only lasted a few hours-totally inadequate. I also didn't like the fact that you have to pay out more money on a carry case, which should be standard with all cameras in my opinion. But next to that I can't moan.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:

. Effective pixels: 3.2 million pixels

. CCD: 1/2 .7-inch 3.34 million square pixels

. File format: Jpeg/AVI

. Lens: 3x optical zoom lens-F3 to F4.8

. LCD: 1.5 inch TFT (60,000 pixels)

. Interface: Multiple connector (for USB or cradle), Video socket

. Video output: NTSC/PAL selectable

. Power source: 2AA Alkaline/Ni-MH battery or AC power adaptor

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

. Factory installed USB port is required

. IBM compatible computer

. CPU Pentium, 2000pro or higher

. Windows 98, 98SE, 2000pro, ME, XP HE/PRO

. 64Mb Ram (windows XP:128mb or more)

. 140mb free hard disk space

. CD-ROM drive

OPTIONAL EXTRAS:

. xD-picture card

. AC power adaptor

. Picture cradle

. Rechargeable battery pack

. PC card adaptor

. Image memory card reader

. Soft case

. And more

OVERALL:

Overall I would highly recommend this camera. As someone who is a little apprehensive about new things I was pleasantly surprised at the ease in which I was able to use this camera. There are a few things I'd like to improve (see above), but next to that I can't really moan. I enjoyed using my camera very much, and with the ability to delete pictures and re-take until you are satisfied it's just great to use and capture those memories.

A reasonable price tag ensures that this neat little camera is a super buy, if you are thinking of getting a digital camera; you could do worse than buying this.