I was afraid to order this, though I've owned several Fuji cameras and I've been very pleased with them. I still have my first digital camera, a 2 MP Model A205 I got in 2004 it works fine as old as it is. So why the hesitation to order this T200? The 3 reviews I read which don't think highly of this camera. I'm here to tell you don't be put off by the other reviews. Sometimes you also have to take into account when you read a 1 star to 3 star review that the person writing it has no idea how to use a camera, not accusing anyone here, but always keep that in mind. I'm not a professional by any means, but I've been buying/using digital cameras for almost 8 years.This camera was intended as a gift for a young relative of mine. I took it on a test run beforehand, and here are my thoughts.
One reviewer complained about this having no focus assist lamp. That's a plus for anyone photographing pets, I own many cameras with this and most you cannot turn it off, so a blinding red lamp lights up right before you press the shutter on these types of cameras causing the cat's or dog's eyes to shut. This T200 does not have this lamp, and I've been able to obtain good pictures of my pets with the "Natural" mode choice on the dial. There is also a "Natural and Flash" choice too, which is working out well 2 shots are taken in rapid succession, one with no flash and one with, so you can compare which one is best.
Essentially, this camera is EXACTLY the same as the Fuji T300 Fujifilm FinePix T300 14 MP Digital Camera with Fujinon 10x Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens (Black) and look at the reviews for it compared to this camera. The only difference is the T300 has a 3" LCD screen and the T200 is 2.7" LCD screen. Not a big deal, and I preferred the gunmetal gray to black. It's a beautiful gray, great build quality (mostly metal), the fit and finish is fine, and it even has a textured surface on the right front to help with gripping such a small camera. This camera IS tiny though.
Photos taken with this camera are true to color. Outdoor shots are better than indoor, but it's this way with any cheaper P&S camera. Shutter response time is OK, although I have seen faster in the Sony camera I recently returned. When you are taking Natural & Flash, there is extra storing time, the same with the Panorama Feature, even using a Class 10 SD card.
Battery life is good. The optical image stabilization is good. Some people think there's something wrong with the camera when the dial is turned to SR Auto and you can hear the zoom motor but that's what it is supposed to be doing when you have the dial turned to SR Auto (SR stands for Scene Recognition) and you aren't holding the camera still, it can't decide what you want it to focus on.
Oh, and this camera DOES have optical zoom during videos. But I have a complaint and I don't know why Fuji does it this way when other camera manufacturers like Panasonic do it right. With this Fuji, while you are optically zooming out during a video, the audio goes away, then it resumes when you are finished zooming. I assume they do this so you don't hear the motor sound in your video, but it's just plain stupid to do it this way. The 720p videos are very good quality.
If you choose this camera, also pick up an SDHC card, preferably Class 10 for videos. They normally say Class 4 or 6 for videos is adequate but a Class 10 card would be even better and they don't cost much more.
This camera is thicker than other ultra-compact cameras due to the 10X zoom. The lens area isn't flush with the rest of the camera body, making the camera approximately 1-1/8" thick. So take that into account when choosing a case for it.
Here's a good fairly inexpensive SDHC card:
Transcend 8 GB Class SDHC 10 Flash Memory Card TS8GSDHC10E
I used the camera indoors, and out. I took it to the beach to take some sunsets in low light, the pictures are beautiful. I used it indoors with the flash, and without the flash; again, the pictures are marvelous. I shot some movies with it at the beach with the waves breaking over the rocks; they are dramatic and very high definition. Every feature on that camera works; and it is no larger than my cell phone. That is amazing to say the least.
The build quality is solid, and the camera seems to be mostly metal. The 10 X zoom is sharp throughout it's range; and the auto-focus worked even in the low light at the beach during sundown. I have the pictures to prove it.
Yet one might say, that with those other excellent cameras why would I get the T200. The answer is that camera has more features than many larger cameras, but it is unbelievably small in physical size, but enormously powerful with it's 14 mp, 10 x zoom, and really good image stabilization, even when zoomed. I'm extremely pleased with this remarkable camera.
Buy Fujifilm FinePix T200 14 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom (Gunmetal) Now
This camera has been very dependable and works as described. what it needs is better software for editing and picture removal from camera; it seems outdated and doesn't update to much better software. the other problem is you need very stable hands, as some pictures come out blurry.God, where do I start? It's slow, auto-focus is inept and the light-meter is arbitrary, even between 2 shots shot concurrently in the same setting. The shooting selections are retarded and the smile-detector won't allow me to take pictures of some buildings. When you switch between modes, the title of the mode covers the entire screen for several seconds with no shutter access, so shooting quickly is just not possible with this camera. It's even slower than my first digital camera, which saved to a "superdisk" (120Mb floppy). This camera sucks. When you press the shutter, you have about a 50% chance that it will take a picture. It does fit into my pocket, so I suppose that is good.However, it has one nice feature, which saved it from a one-star review. It has a "panoramic" setting (conveniently titled "SP1" for no reason) that actually usually does a decent job of patching 3 pix together in-camera. Didn't work well in a hot-air balloon, but on stable ground, it does a decent job, usually. Much easier to make panoramics than spending hours in Photoshop matching sky levels and horizon line, meshing foreground objects. Not great, but decent, most of the time. Assuming light-levels match; if you're shooting varying levels, like in a sunset situation, it doesn't match them well.
I bought this as a backup for my DLSR, and for a camera to carry on my longer hikes and jogs, as my DLSR is heavy and floppity when jogging. It isn't a good backup camera, my old 5 megapixel Canon Crapola 6000 is a better camera overall. But I do carry it in my glovebox for it's panoramic strengths, which is it's only strength. If you want an OK panoramic camera for the price, it's not terrible, but for a point&shoot, forget it.
Want Fujifilm FinePix T200 14 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom (Gunmetal) Discount?
I bought this as my third Fuji camera. It came and I liked. It does have some problems in low light but other then that I was pleased until month 10 when it started turning itself on and off repeatedly. I have to keep the battery out of it now, causing us to have to go thru date programing to use it.Then it started refusing to let me review pictures.Finally at 11 months it now switches to picture review when I want to take a picture. So a quick review...not great in low light, switches on and off repeatedly,picture review button doesn't work,won't let me take a picture but instead automatically switches to picture review. I have always like Fuji since the film days of old. I probably have the lemon out of the bunch. However I felt the need to share my experience. There are many good things about this camera including many features, simple to use, takes good point and shoot pics, lines up your pamorama photos, its small and appealing to the eye. I guess its really up to you.Save 41% Off
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