Fujifilm FinePix A310 3.1 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

I have had my Fujifilm a310 for 3 weeks and I am amazed with it's performance. I was considering getting the Canon elph s100, however after reading the article in Consumer reports I was convinced that the a303 was what I was looking for. The a310 is newer than the a303. I am a college student who does not have the money to spend n a pricey 4 or 5 megapxel camera, but needed an upgrade from my 1.3 MP olympus.

My two key elements of criteria for purchasing my new camera was battery life and shot to shot recovery. The a310 is excellent for both.

I thought that getting a camera with AA batteries would leave me always having to replace them, but this camera has allowed me plenty of shots (around 200 so far), with the screen on and I still have yet to replace the batteries that came with the camera. That also includes many movies that I took (no sound but still worth taking).

The shot to shot recovery is great, about 3 seconds. I can take a shot and then be ready for another almost instantly. Also upon opening the lens the XD card does not need to be loaded at all, and the camera can take a picure as soon as the lens has loaded in the correct position.

All this for over a hundred dollars in savings to cameras that perform equally if not worse. The camera is small, cheap and takes great pictures. If you have the money you should get a 4 or 5MP camera however if you want a 3MP camera look no further than the a310.

I own an awesome Canon Rebel S2 camera (35mm) and needed a fit-me-in-a-pocket sleek digital camera with decent megapixels. I saw this camera and bought LOVE IT! It shoots in 6 MEGAPIXELS! What Fuji did was they found a way to "overlap" the 3.1 megapixels onto eachother to creat 6 megapxls.

I OWN IT FOR OVER 2 WEEKS NOW AND TESTED THE PHOTO QUALITY:

Let me tell you the COLOR is 100% ACCURATE TRUE TO LIFE COLOR which was my number 1 quality I was looking for (next to megapxl and clarity).

I blew up one of the photos to 13" x 18" and THE PICTURE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR, the picture was of me and my dog and you can see the finest hairs on my dog. NO PIXELATION WHATSOEVER!!!! People were very impressed!!!!

It's very compact. The next best one is Canon S400. See the complete reviews with test images at . For the money you can't beat it!

Wait a year or two and then upgrade to a fancy 5 megapixel or by then 8 megapixel

(which just came out for $1000). Technology rapidly advancesin the meantime stick with this camerayou'll love it!!!

Krissy

Buy Fujifilm FinePix A310 3.1 MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom Now

Ever tried using an Olympus digital camera and wished it were a little easier to navigate the menu's? Fuji digital cameras are the answer!

I've tried Olympus' digital cameras before and must say the people who designed the menus and buttons were not thinking of the average camera user when designing it.

This little A310 camera is nice. It has an automatic sliding cover that covers the lens when the camera is turned off.

The pictures it takes are great, as long as you are in Fine (3MP) mode. 1 and 2 MP modes are good too, but noticeably less than the 3MP. Macro mode works excellent. Colors are good.

To compare it to an older Fuji Finepix 2400 camerathe 2400 would show mysterious white circles in the photos when taking pictures under low-battery conditions. With the A310, I can take pictures until the batteries are on their last legs.

The only real beef I have with this camera is that its movie mode does not allow sound via any type of built-in microphone. You're stuck with silent movies. This isn't a big deal me however, since I'm not into videotaping..

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I received this camera as a gift last Christmas. I am your average technology user not a computer wiz by any stretch and I found this camera so easy to use right out of the box. It takes gorgeous pictures and uploading to my computer is as simple as plugging it in to the USB cable. In the year that I've owned the camera I've never had one problem with it and it's been put to the test with the hundreds of pictures we've taken of our first child! I highly recommend this camera.

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I am a long time Fuji fan, starting with a 35mm film camera. My next camera was a FinePix 2300, which served me well and with which I have taken over 11,000 photos. Looking for something a little better, I next purchased an A310. This camera has never given me the sharp and clear pictures that I get with the 2300, and I have never been happy with the camera. I love the little xD picture cards and I really like the cradle, but I sure do not like the camera. At the present time the A310 is retired and I am using the 2300.

Bob Gussman

Houston and Costa Rica

GoPro HERO3 Black HDMI Cable - HD Video Cable for GoPro HERO3 Black

• Use this cable to play HD movies from your GoPro HERO3 Black on your HDMI equipped video display
• GoPro HERO3 Black HDMI Cable
• Connect to all standard HDMI devices
• Length: 6 feet
• Color: Black

I was hesitant at first to purchase this cable because it wasn't the GoPro brand but I am 100% satisfied with the product. The cable feels and looks very high quality and shipping was quick. I hooked it up immediately to my GoPro Hero3 Black edition to make sure it works and am very pleased. With this cable you can have a live view of what you're pointing your camera at and recording, and you can watch your recorded videos straight from your GoPro to your TV.

Don't waste your money on the expensive name-brand cable; save yourself some money and purchase this.

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I had purchased a DIFFERENT Micro HDMI to HDMI adapter for my Hero 3. The shipper didn't specify that it shipped from China so 5 weeks later, I finally received it and apparently there are no standards for cheap, crappy Chinese products as this particular micro HDMI was nothing like the Micro HDMI port on my Hero3. Still waiting to hear from the seller on a return/refund, and it's an Amazon listed vendor.

I purchased THIS cable based upon reviews from others.

It works as advertised, as all cables should. I'm amazed there's even a need to review it but apparently there is so other buyers don't make the mistake I made.

If you have a Hero3 and don't want to pay the inflated price for the GoPro branded cable, buy this cable.

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Great product with no problems at all. I would buy it again if needed. Its also cheaper too!! I highly recomend it!

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Do not buy these in the store, it is a total rip off. this one functions and works perfectly for a fraction of the cost. Highly recommended.

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Item is not a GoPro product as sold, the micro HDMI end is wide so that you cannot use the USB plug. Had to call Amazon to get a return on the item as it was otherwise blocked for returning.

Canon VIXIA HG21 AVCHD 120 GB HDD Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom

Let me start by saying that I've been using camcorders for 20 years, way back to the full sized VHS days. Canon and Sony have been my favorites for many years, starting with their 8mm days. Since consumer HD seems to have stabilized in its second generation, I decided to upgrade from my six year old Sony 8mm.

The Canon Digital SLR cameras are second to none, I own three of them (Digital Rebel, Rebel Xti and an EOS 40D) and they blow the competition away. I fall into the "prosumer" category for digital categories, and the Canon Digic processor is one of the things that has separated Canon from its competitors. So certainly the second generation HD Canon Vixia 21 with the Digic II processor would be a no-brainer, right? Not exactly.

The good:

120GB hard disk drive you can record up to 45 hours of video in LP mode, and about 11 hours in the best HD mode the camera has. The storage capacity will, by far, outlast the battery that comes with the camcorder.

SDHC slot Unlike Sony and their proprietary Memory Stick, Canon has and continued to use SD and now SDHC memory. SDHC cards are available from numerous vendors and they are easier to find and less expensive than the Memory Stick.

12X optical zoom this works extremely well, as advertised. Digital zoom takes away from the quality of the recording, so I prefer to stick with the optical zoom. The controls for the zoom are very fluid and smooth.

Picture quality in daylight and indoors with good light, the picture quality is exceptional. Playing the video on my HDTV is just as good as any broadcast HDTV quality you'll ever see on TV.

Image stabilization very few people can hold anything completely still. With the image stabilization feature, you don't have to worry about it the camcorder handles it for you and does a great job of it.

The bad:

Short battery life the battery that ships with the camcorder (BP 807/808) will give you no more than 80-90 minutes of operation. If you don't plan to use it any more than that on each outing, then it is not a big issue for you. If you plan to use it for a day of on and off shooting, you need to get another batter. The BP827 will give you almost five hours of running time, for a steep $144. Adding to this, you can only charge the battery while the battery is in the camcorder. The external battery charger is another $60 or so. In short, if you plan to use this camcorder for longer than an hour, buy an extra battery and the external charger so you can charge one battery while using the other. This is not a Canon specific problem, every vendor, including Sony, has its limitations with batteries and charging. They also have the "optional" longer life batteries and external chargers for a steep price as well.

Low light shooting The picture quality is grainy and unimpressive. After seeing what the daylight shots looked like on the TV, then watching the low light shots, you will be somewhat dissapointed. Perhaps there is some special low light setting I do not know about I've only had the camcorder for a week. Another reviewer indicated better luck in low light. I will report back if this is resolved.

Despite the additional battery and charger purchase, I think this is a very good camcorder. I hope to resolve the low light issue. Daytime and good lighting recording is breathtaking on replay. Given that this is a consumer grade camcorder, I doubt you'll find any better for the money.

Update:

As promised, I've worked with the camcorder for a couple of weeks now, and not much has changed. The daylight and well-lit room video is broadcast quality HD. Low light is still somewhat grainy. I also purchased a longer life battery and external charger from Amazon, which comes in very handy. I would still purchase this camcorder.

First of all, this is my first camcorder. We do have the ability to use our small Canon digital camera in this mode but this is a far cry from that. I was excited to get one of the first even though I figured I would be taking a slight gamble as I am not exactly that informed on the subject and wonder about the wisdom of getting a product that is not yet proven.

So far, so good...Our grandchild had a birthday the very day this thing came in so I was determined to figure things out in order to capture the event. I figured that we paid a premium price to have the high HD quality so of course I shot in the highest mode. I only had time to charge the battery and skim through the book but I am happy to report that the quality of the videos was simply outstanding. In my opinion, the easy part is taking the pictures...set it to the quality and mode and fire away. Then, the question is, what to do afterwards...This is the hard part.

I have an Intel Mac and IMovie 08 so I read other reviews of similar cameras and figured out how to move the shots from the camera to the computer. No problem. In my opinion, and that is what these reviews are all about, if you are shooting at the highest quality, you better have a lot of room on your hard drives, and, or, prepare to spend a lot of time on the back end moving your videos off the camera and on to disks or the drives. I did not have much hard drive space left on my Mac so perhaps that fact made things seem very slow. On the other hand, because I wanted to shoot in the highest quality, the wait and trouble were worth the investment...Remember, I am just at the edge of knowing what I am doing so you must consider that my skill level is still very low by comparison.

The great thing about this camera, in addition to the fact that the HD videos are breathtaking, is that the built in hard drive is 120 gigs...wow! that is equal to 82 of the smaller 3 inch DVDs! About 45 hours of recording time on lower quality and near 11 hours or so in the highest quality...so, unless you get nervous about hard drive failure, you can go for a long time without having to move them off the camcorder.

After doing a little reading and fiddling around, I hooked the camera up to our HD TV and was pretty much able to use the little remote device and see the videos. Simply outstanding...most shots were taken in the house with average lighting. One of my concerns was reading that low light might cause grainy videos but I did not find this to be the case....I suspect this could be the case when shooting in extremely low light but I cannot see this ever becoming an issue. I was too impatient to actually link into the HD ports of my TV so we settled for using the ports at the front and went to the game port...I do not think this was actually in HD but it still was just incredible. Later, when I played back some videos on our HP Vista computer and just was blown away with the quality...I had gone outside and take videos of the hummingbirds on our feeder and could not believe how crystal clear the shots were.

The 12X optical zoom is very close to walking up to the subject...very nice. The image stabilizer works great as I never used a tripod and still saw no real shaking. I did notice that you can negate image stabilizer when using the camera on a tripod so that was something I was a little concerned about.

One addition thing that may concern some...apparently these hard drive camcorders could suffer damage to the drives if used at an altitude of 9800 feet and above. If you are a serious mountain climber or plan to be above 9800 feet, you might consider other options.

I am very interested in reading other reviews. So far I am very pleased...no camera will ever be perfect and do all things so, regardless of the quality or cost, there will always be some element of compromise. I have already ordered another battery as well as an SD card for it. The battery life is short of two hours so trips out in the wild pretty much would demand more power. Most may not feel the need to have another battery but I cannot imagine missing any great shots...you pay too much for these things not to be able to use them to their fullest extent...maybe another review when I actually know what I am doing!

Buy Canon VIXIA HG21 AVCHD 120 GB HDD Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom Now

HG21 is probably the best HD Camcorder out there. I say this because I have tried another high end camcorder from Sony with a 120GB harddrive, which (the Sony) was unbelievably disappointing in both color and resolution. Fortunately, we bought it at Costco, and just returned the Sony within a day.

The Canon HG21 has amazing High Def pictures for daylight scenes. The color is very rich and eye pleasing. If you do a good job shooting, it can fool the untrained eyes as if it's professional HD video. I have a Pioneer 50" 1080i Plasma, and the pictures from the HG21 are so refined, the colors are beautiful.

Night scenes are grainy. This is very disappointing. I also have a Flip MinoHD. The $200 little Flip out performs the Canon for night scenes. Canon should be a bit embarrassed by it and catch up on this front.

The Mac/Apple compatibility of HG21 is a big plus. Canon has shipped a software CD with the camcorder, however, the software doesn't work for Mac, and Mac users really don't need it anyway. It was a pleasant surprise to open up iMovie'08 and the HG21 was automatically recognized on the USB port, and the Camera Import Window within iMovie popped out immediately to guide you through the importing of videos. Previously, everyone said AVCHD editing tool is hard to find. The Mac has it built in. Hats off to Apple. Select "Large" setting to import, "Full" resolution will cost you a lot of hard drive space.

Overall, I would give this HG21 a "A-" for great daylight performance, working with iMovie'08 which is a wonderful consumer movie making tool, but has lackluster grainy night scenes.

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This is best HD camcorder on the market. It takes amazing pictures. The clarity is similar to watching a blue-ray movie. I love the huge hard drive. It takes hours of video without any worries. The best part is the quick and easy transferring of video clips to my computer. I used to spend the whole day uploading DV tapes. Now, through the USB is 10 times faster. The editing software is very easy to use.

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I was using a MiniDV camcorder and decided to up grade. I'm not a big Canon fan, mostly because of price but I sure do love this camcorder. There is A LOT of great features on the HG21 and yes it does have a viewfinder (the HG20 does not). Its very simple to use and you have a lot of storage with the 120GB hard. I love shooting in the 24p cinema mode. I definitely would recommend it! If you don't need a huge hard drive or viewfinder than go with the HG20 its exactly the same and you will save some $$$.

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Gold Plated 3.5 FT 1M Micro HDMI Type D High Speed Male Cable to HDMI Male Cable for HTC EVO 4G

Worked just fine with HTC Evo 4G. Hard to beat the price I made ($6)The EVO is the only thing that limits the use of this hdmi. Pretty much all you can do is view photos from gallery :(

I have the HTC evo, an I purchased the mini hdmi cable, an I'm only getting audio, no vid. When plugged in to hdmi tv

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COOLLCD HD2 7-Inch HDMI Monitor with HDMI in HDMI out Component in Composite in for DSLR CANON 5D 7D

This is a cool little LCD, (No pun intended) for the price and with HDMI in and out makes it even better. I gave it 4 stars because the zoom function is unusable and locks up the screen to a 480p res. I was able to get it back to 1080 by connecting to a blu ray player, but have not tried it again since with fear that it may happen again. I don't need to use this function since I shoot on Canon SLR's and it has that function built in. I don't want to hassle trying to send it back and thus far it seems to being doing the job.

JVC Everio GZ-MG630 60GB Standard Def Camcorder (Blue)

I had read nothing but positive user reviews on another website and then read the negative ones on Amazon regarding the bundled software only working on systems with Vista. The camera itself had had such great reviews, and it was a great price, so I decided to buy it last week so I could film my son's school performance. The camera did an awesome job in a darkened auditorium -the video was nice and clear, there was minimal distortion when zooming in, and the audio was clear and at a good level as well. Afterwards, I installed the software on my Windows XP computer, hooked up the camera via USB, and was able to easily transfer the video to my computer. Playback was extremely clear! While I did have trouble with upload fails trying to get it to YouTube using the MediaBrowser software, I was able to upload from YouTube without a problem. I just fell compelled to write and let other readers know that the camera and software DO work with XP -no problem at all. I'm very happy with this camera!

Unless you want a High Definition camcorder, I highly recommend this camcorder to anybody who wants a camcorder that is small, light, and easy to operate, has a hard disk drive, gives high quality videos, and is still reasonably priced.

I got this camcorder about a month ago, learned how to use it in a few minutes, and shot quite a few videos with it including four test videos which you can see at Shoban Sen's YouTube channel.

I especially like the cameras zooming capabilities, strong built-in microphone, and the image stabilization feature (it automatically and effectively neutralizes camera shake to a great extent though the manufacturer does not advertise this feature much). The microphone is so strong that it picks up the noise made by blowing wind during outdoor shootings you have to turn on the "Windcut" feature from the camera's menu to stop this noise. The low-light shooting capability is also reasonably good, although the camera's built-in light is nothing but a gimmick (and the camera does not have a shoe to attach external video light). The laser touch scroll bar of the camera eliminates the need to touch the LCD monitor to select desired functions, and I love it. No more finger prints on the LCD monitor. The little remote control that comes with the camcorder is very handy almost addictive! I have not tried the Core Filter yet. I did notice some annoying background noise (sounds like rumble of thunder) in some of the scenes that I downloaded in my computer. The manufacturer says, "The core filter reduces interference caused when connected to other devices." I think when downloading videos to my computer, if I use the provided Core Filter on the USB cable, this noise will go away or will be reduced to a great extent.

THE SOFTWARE THAT COMES WITH THE CAMCORDER WORKS FINE WITH WINDOWS XP (BOTH HOME AND PROFESSIONAL EDITION WITH SP2/SP3). BUT DO CHECK THE CPU AND RAM REQUIREMENTS. THE MANUFACTURER CLEARLY TALKS ABOUT THE OPERATING SYSTEMS ON PAGE 29 OF THE ENGLISH MANUAL THAT COMES WITH THE CAMCORDER. THE SOFTWARE WORKS WITH WINDOWS VISTA AND WINDOWS XP. Only the Direct Upload to YouTube failed when I tried it once. But I won't say, it is the fault of the software I may have made some mistakes myself. I tried it only once. I do not use that feature anyway.

I have one negative point to talk about. The first Everio camcorder I received had a faulty rubber cap or cover on the USB port on the front side of the camcorder. It didn't close after I opened it for the first time. But thanks to Amazon.com's excellent Return Policy. They immediately shipped a replacement camcorder to me, even before they received my return!

A word of caution: do not swing or jerk the camcorder while carrying it. Its Drop Detection mechanism is very sensitive. The camcorder shuts itself off if you unknowingly swing the camera a bit while carrying it.

In conclusion, TWO THUMBS UP to this product. You cannot buy a better camcorder at this price.

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I'm very happy with this device. It does everything I wanted it to do. I don't do broadcast, but I do post video to iTunes for use on my college campus. The good video quality and the included software make file conversion and uploading to iTunes very painless. I really like the hard drive; I doubt that I could ever go back to tape storage. It seems to have good picture stability when zooming. If I could change anything about it, I would consider two things. First, I would make the documentation a bit more understandable. I have a PhD and it still took me quite a while to understand the conversion and uploading process. There are two sets of documentation, one print and one on the CD, and both continually refer you to the other. I eventually got where I needed to get by trial and error. The other thing I would change is that I think it would be nice to have an input for an external microphone. In general, I am pleased with this product.

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I purchased this camera a week ago, used it for the first time yesterday, filming a concert, and it worked flawlessly....I was very pleased with it, especially since the light was very dark in the club where the band was playing...I downloaded the video to my computer using their software, and after I figure it all out, I think it will work fine, seems to be simple to use...the picture quality is very good, the sound could be improved, but, all in all, not bad for a built in mic..I was concered by the negative review I saw here, but since having the camera, Im pleased with my purchase....the only thing it needs, is a longer life battery, I will have to buy the bigger battery for filming a concert or a trip, the one provided is only 90 minutes or so..bottom line is, Im happy with it, and would recommend it to anyone

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This is an outstanding camera. Out of the box it was easy to use and performed flawlessly. Took it to NHRA drag races and captured all the action without a hitch. Sound quality is outstanding, picture quality is almost as good as HD. Software included makes backing up the video a snap. Great lowlight enhancement also.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS25 16.1 MP Tough Digital Camera with 8x Intelligent Zoom (White)

I bought this camera to replace an older Panasonic that was lost. I bought the camera for its ruggedness and weather resistance. Too many times in the past I've had cameras that stopped working after one drop, or after getting a little wet. But the main thing I like about the Panasonics is their very fast shutter response. Like the film cameras, it takes a picture when you press the shutter button, not half a second later. That lag occures in too many newer digital cameras, making it difficult to take good pictures, especially of moving objects.

One thing I don't like about this camera, is that there's a message about waterproof use every time you turn it on. You must click past this message before using the camera. If anybody knows how to disable this message, please let me know. I docked one star because this slows things down too much.

Update: A commenter helpfully showed how to turn off the warning message. Now I can turn on the camera and take pictures pretty much immediately. This, along with the fast shutter response, makes it very to take shots quickly. I changed the rating to five stars. Note: I bought this camera for "all-weather" use. I don't take underwater pictures so cannot comment on how watertight it is.

UPDATE 2: Just noticed another issue. The flash sometimes causes a bit of reflection the color of my finger along the right side of the imate, evidently becuase my fingers are too close (to the flash). This isn't an issue, I just move my fingers a bit. Good thing I preview work-pictures, though. I can't tell you how much I am appreciating the water and dust-proofing in this SE Florida monsoon season! No change in the rating.

UPDATE 1: Since purchasing I've used this quite a bit for work and personal photos. I still love the camera I've been able to take pics in rain, around water and with a 4 year old hanging all over me without worrying about dust, water or dropping it. However, there are a couple of issues I haven't seen in other reviews: (1) the lens is easily "dirtied" by a finger print when you take this out of your pocket (no cover), and (2) I have to be more careful about taking photos in the direction of the sun or I sometimes get a big glare-streak... don't know why my other cameras didn't have this problem but it sometimes requires two hands (one to block the sun). These issues have not changed my rating.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Lots of camera-geek analysis here, and from what I read Panasonic meets my criteria fast cycle after shooting, wide angle, durable and mainstream ("reliable") manufacturer. I mostly take photos for work, and any modern camera is satisfactory for family use.

This has a wider angle than my Canon PowerShot, which I am replacing, and no moving parts. I can shoot in the rain and carry it in my shirt pocket, neither of which are feasible with the Canon. The unit is "closed" so that I won't get construction dust or lint inside the lenses, which is why I need to replace my Canon.

Other than that, it's just a nice camera that I can get wet or drop, with all the usual bells and whistles (90% of which I'll never use). The price:value ratio is very good for my needs.

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I bought this camera to take on my honeymoon to the caribbean. I love it. The instructions are clear, it is very easy to use and I am delighted with how my pictures turned outabove water and under water. Only con is that I wish it would zoom a little more. For the price, I'm super happy with this camera.

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Im satisfied with the pictures it takes under water, as a point and shoot camera is ok as well, if used a lot of zoom since it's digital the pictures dont look so great, but that is expected. Overall the camera works for what is intended water activities pictures.

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I took this camera to Mexico with us on vacation. The camera worked well and took some good pictures in and out of the water, as long as you used the normal optical zoom. My only complaint would be that the Intelligent zoom does not work very well, it's a bit grainy, especially in low light and under water. Saying that it has an 8X zoom is a bit misleading, since it is not a true optical zoom. Had no problems with leakage and we snorkeled for a couple of hours. My husband has an older model that has manual modes and a lot more picture options. Next time I would go with a higher end model to have those options. This camera is very small which can make it a bit hard to hold on to and the movie mode button is so small it is hard to push, especially if you had larger fingers. All in all I like the camera, but some small changes could make it much better.