Fujifilm FinePix F420 Zoom

Opinion: I bought this Fuji, my first digital camera, last January (2005) and have since shot nearly 10,000 photos with it or nearly 600/mo.

I thought I might enjoy the practicality of digital photography (no film, no processing, etc.) after having used a film SLR for many years prior. I have not been disappointed! I take more photos now than I ever did with my old SLR and would say I've improved my photography techniques as a result.

LIKES:

* Size + Build + Style: The ultra compact F420 is small enough for a shirt pocket and it's a well put together product: the metal body is sturdy and attractive - many people comment on it. The screen in it's day (2004) was huge, though now 1.8" is average or smallish. The on/off front panel is very slick but can easily be pushed off by accident.

* Simple Operation w/ some Manual Controls: Although it's a point and shoot, it has a few manual controls of which white balance is the most useful for adjusting exposure values in low or high light situations. Alas there are no shutter speed controls. In very low light I use the Burst mode to capture subjects clearly.
Macro lens is great for close ups like flowers and architectural models.

* Quick Startup: Under 2 sec.

* 30fps video capture. A bit of a novelty but kind of fun.

* Data transfer to a PC is relatively quick through a USB cable.

Overall, I have not been disappointed with the F420 esp since I purchased it for $250 + tax Cdn. or nearly half it's regular retail price since the retailer was clearing "old" stock for the then upcoming F440. I've not had any problems with the camera and would by it's successor if it's as well built and reliable.

Opinion: Bought this for my wife almost a year ago because of made in japan, metal case, small and cute, and use AAA battery that is readily available. It takes OK picture for 3MP camera but it has serious power problem. The camera was designed to draw little power continuously even it is power off (it's in the manual). I have tried to use new 950mAH AAA batt but still dissapointed. I seldom use this camera and most of the time when I want to use it the batt power has drain and only enough for few shoots. Sometime even the batt has drain off completely and I am loosing settings in this camera! Bought Pentax WP for replacement (FP420 goes to my mother) because of water proof. I am not entirely happy with it (see my review under Pentax WP) but at least I don't have to worry for empty batt when I want to use it.

Edit: 10 Nov 2006
Well, I haven't used my camera for almost a year (I took out the batt when my mom don't want it) and now it is broken when I put fresh batt. The AF! red letter blink and the screen LCD won't show anything (stay dark). I can't take any pictures with it (when I push the shutter button). The LCD is still able to show menu so it is problem of camera sensor (not LCD). Very2 dissapointed. And my fresh lithium batt is pronounced dead just 5 min without taking any pictures. My old Nikon CP950 is still taking pictures just fine. I will not buy Fuji again.

Opinion: This was the second Fuji camera I've owned, the first being my first
digital camera. My main desires when I first bought a camera were
1) small size so I would be able to keep the camera in my pocket
easily, 2) USB direct cable hookup (common now, but not so when
I first bought),and 3) non-proprietary batteries. The problem with
my first fuji was no physical zoom, which was remedied with this
one.

I loved this camera. Super easy to use and great photo quality. All
of the photos at http://homepage.mac.com/japansen/ (except the
webcam) were basic shots taken at the highest quality settings.

This camera also has audio annotation of photos, which was a nice
unexpected feature.

I have no real complaints about the camera (see below for a few
small quibbles) and would buy it again. Sadly, I lost it two weeks
ago on vacation. On the other hand, I also bought a Nikon D70
while on vacation. Win some, lose some, I guess.

As great as the D70 is, I still wish I had the Fuji for the times when
I just want an easy-to-carry, quality snapshot camera. I'll probably
buy another Point&Shoot in the future for that reason, and I know
I'll go with whatever Fuji is offering at that time

Opinion: Blur results could be avoided by :

1. Make sure you hold the camera with both hands and your shoulders tight.

2. Use the Auto mode and allow auto flash
3. Set the ISO to 200 or above
4. Bear in ming this defect og you camera every time you take a picture.

Overall I think it is a pitty good DC especially for people with taste and style.

Opinion: my previous (and first) digi cam was the Olympus 1.3mp which i bought several yrs ago. a few months before, i have decided to change into a 'better' camera, and after some readings here and there has chosen the F420...and has not regretted since!!

pros:
- nice construction. simple, small, sturdy model
- nice metal color
- big lcd screen
- easy to use features, with simple navigation buttons
- xd card is just superb, very quick..
- good 3x optical lens
- superb color even when printed using 4R size.
- lightweight

i'm only a beginner, and just use my camera for pleasure. this cam is small enough to put on ur pocket-bag. point and shoot easily. good value for money (bought mine for around US 300).

maybe the one thing that stands out most its the design.. the camera just looks so stylish.. and it's true: they're not everywhere.. and u are guaranteed that people will stare at u when they see the cam, coz they'll be wanting one! :)

Opinion: Was comparing the 4 mp A80 with F420 3mp.
Decided to invest in the F420.

Important factors (pros):
1) very slim, light and compact, very good shaped.
2) simple to use
3) great large bright lcd and resolution
4) unlimited movie clip (limited to xd card)
5) runs on cheap AAA batteries (alkaline or nickel mh)
6) 4th GL Super CCD processor
7) has 3x optical zoom
8) fast shutter/capture n review/playback (using fuji xd card. not sure if other brands will be just as fast)

Cons:
1) solid metal body in front, but plastic-like body on rear.
2) a bit tricky to hold-n-snap with one hand without shaking.
3) sometimes night shots pictures may not look realistic when auto mode is used.
4) as with other cameras, the lense is still opened when you switch from capture to review mode.
5) sometimes the on-off panel feels slippery to slide.

Yet to test:
1) pict bridge printing (sequence, date/ no date)
2) printed picture's color, border (sharpness) and resolution.

Conclusion:
A high quality camera which captures great pictures. Very portable and not too difficult use.

Opinion: I did TONS of research on DCs and was basically deciding between the A70/80 or either the F410/F420. I chose the F420 for these reasons, in no particular order:

1) EVERYBODY has an A series, 70 or 80 ... The F420's operation time is very quick. You can easily take pictures in succession, and pictures are taken with only minimal delay. The A70's delay is pretty unbearable, in my opinion. After holding down the shutter button, it always takes at least 2 seconds before the picture is taken. Sometimes, you just cannot wait that long because your subjects might not be human friends who are waiting for you to take the picture.
2) Fuji metal construction is just unbeatable . . . the A80's flip out LCD felt so cheap in construction.
3) unlimited 30fps video is hard to pass up!
4) xD card. Load time is fast, save time is fast, review time is fast, edit time is fast! Some people confuse the blinking orange light after a picture is taken as "image save time". But that is actually the flash recharge time. If you take shots without flash on, you can start taking pictures almost instantly.
5) 1.8 LCD on an ultra-compact camera (this camera is so small. Online pictures make it look so much bigger). The LCD is bright and has a good resolution.
6) Very little competitors within it's category. Super CCD 4th gen. = great colors + 6MP (interpolated), extremely small, big enough LCD, AWESOME user interface, aesthetically pleasing.
7) Buttons are neatly placed and intuitive. Most cameras I've looked at have so many buttons and they're placed all over. No intuitive feel to it. Lots of my friends have great cameras, but they just don't use all of the features, simply because a) no one wants to read a huge user manual b) just so darn complicated to access different features. The F420's interface and buttons are extremely well designed and you can easily figure out how to use all of its features without the manual.
8) "F" photomode button for quick access to ISO, shooting mode and resolution
9) you WILL get complimented on the camera because it looks absolutely gorgeous. The Canon A series, although good in their own rights, are like Civics. They are worth the money, but they're just everywhere and don't stand out. The F420 is extremely rare and people will notice and want to play with it.

In the end, the camera itself only cost me roughly $415 canadian (roughly $315 US) since it has been out in Asia for a while now. North American prices for the F410 alone are still well over $600 CAN / $500 US. So I did not even hesitate to get the newer F420. But you will want to get yourself a bigger memory card. 16M is very little space.

I've been over-using the camera (to my fellow students' frustration!) for a few days now and I've tried it out in all conditions I can think of. Day, night, pitch black, sunny, indoors, subway, computer labs, various areas in my house ... overall, picture quality is good. What stands out, though, is the color. If you take pictures of multi-colored scenes, you get beautiful colors that are well defined. Unfortunately, superb picture quality can only be obtained through trial and error and figuring out which settings are the best. This is my biggest complaint ...

Opinion: Great point and shoot camera, with great images, easy menus, smooth 30fps videos and compact stylish case.

Average start up time, and it seems to have a very slow lag time between shots.

It can use AAA batteries as well.