Saturday, September 19, 2009

Fujifilm Finepix Digital Camera



The Fujifilm Finepix A820 is an entry level, compact Point and Shoot digital camera. While it doesn't have the price tag that the Fujifilm F series does, it does have the Super CCD sensor that is used in those more expensive models. The F models are known for their low noise levels at higher sensitivities (ISO). Let's see if the A820 can fill the shadow cast by the F models.

The A820 is a 8.3 megapixel camera with a 4x optical zoom and 2.5 inch LCD. It's able to shoot at up to ISO 800, is powered by 2 AA batteries and has a memory card slot that will accept SD or xD-Picture Card media


NUTS & BOLTS

Viewfinder/LCD

The 2.5 inch LCD has 115K pixels of resolution. With the lower pixel count, the image is pretty grainy, but still serviceable. The refresh rate is fast enough to provide a smooth image and colors look good on the screen. Outdoors, in bright sunlight, the LCD does a fair job.

There is no optical viewfinder on the A820.

Lens/Zoom

The Fujinon lens provides a 4x optical zoom and maximum apertures of f2.9 - f6.3. While the camera is powered off, the front element of the lens is protected by a built-in lens cover. On power-up, the lens extends from the camera body.


n normal focus mode, you can focus on subjects as close as 2 feet. In macro mode, at wide angle, you can focus between 0.3 and 2.6 feet away from the lens. In macro, telephoto, this range is 0.9 - 2.6 feet. The A820 has a single focus area mode - a center area mode.

Flash

You can use the built-in flash in a few different modes. The flash can be set on auto, red-eye reduction, forced flash, disabled, and slow synchro.

The flash range, with ISO on auto, at wide angle is between 2 feet and 5.9 feet. At telephoto, the flash is most effective between 2 feet and 12.8 feet. At macro, you can use the flash between 1 and 2.6 feet.

Memory Media

The A820 has approximately 10 MB of internal memory, but can also accept SD or xD-Picture Card media. The addition of the combo media slot is a great feature as it removes another hurdle that people may have had when considering which camera to buy. Since most people buying cameras now are upgrading, there can be some resistance to purchase if another memory media type has to be acquired.

Image/Movie File Format(s)

Images are stored as JPEG only and movies are recorded as AVI files.

Connectivity

The A820 has separate jacks for the USB 2.0 connection, AV out, and a DC in jack that can be used with an optional power adapter.

Check Out These Other Reviews:


5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent compact camera for the price, December 10, 2007
I bought this camera after extensive research to take with me on a three-month semester in Europe. My main criteria were: 1) low price, 2) good picture quality, 3) short startup and lag time between photos, 4) portability, and 5) good battery life. Over the course of the semester I managed to take a good 1600 pictures of people, landscapes, and artwork in all different settings, and frankly the image quality blew me (and my family) away with its sharpness and vivid color. Lag time was great, much better than otherwise comparable cameras I've used. Battery life was excellent, too; I managed to get through the whole semester only recharging about four or five times (though this was probably because I tried to avoid using flash as much as possible). Video is quite passable, with decent sound quality. Durability was impressive; I managed to drop it at least twice, once on marble, and it is still in perfect working order.

Drawbacks: image stabilization is digital and not, in my experience, particularly useful, so if you're in low light and don't want to use flash you will want a tripod or at least a solid object to steady it on - but that probably goes for most cameras anyway. The autofocus can have trouble in low light or when you're aiming at a hazy horizon for a landscape shot, but otherwise no problems there. The main thing that disappointed me was the lack of manually adjustable options under the "manual" setting: it allows you to control white balance and exposure, but that's about it (and even there you have to choose between presets).




Bottom line: if you're a pro then this is probably not the camera for you. However, if you're like me and want a portable, inexpensive camera that takes quick, sharp, semi-artistic pictures, then you will be happy with the Finepix A820.


5.0 out of 5 stars So much camera for so little money!, November 26, 2007
I bought this camera to replace my old Fuju A200. Having already owned a Fuji, I knew mostly what to expect in terms of quality, but the enormous leap forward from the A200 to this is like going from DOS to a fully integrated Windows environment. This camera is small - you can fit it in most pockets - but it can do almost all the things a fancier camera can. The digital zoom is great, and the internal settings which allow you to select different shooting conditions, ISOs, and even take video amazed me. The LCD is big enough to see clearly in most conditions and can be set brighter or darker as you need. I never once missed having a viewfinder. Honestly, I cannot think of anything bad to say about this camera. Try it, you'll LOVE it!

4.0 out of 5 stars Another great Fuji camera, November 13, 2007
I've had several Fujifilm digital cameras in addition to Olympus and Samsung. I can summarize the A820 by simply saying that this is another great camera by Fujifilm. I love the 4x optical zoom and the multiple memory capability. If there is anything that isn't great about this camera it would be the location of the mode selector. It's in a location that would normally be occupied by your thumb when holding the camera. For this reason it is slighty easy to inadvertently move the dial. Otherwise, its a great one!


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