Film Reviews

This is the first major camera purchase I have made since I bought the Canon AE-1 many years ago. I have taken and printed several pictures with it and am very pleased. Since I'm new to digital cameras, I'm not sure what all the hype is about concerning mega pixels. From what I can tell you can only squeeze so many pixels into a 3x5 rectangle anyway. I have printed an 8x10 with my HP812 and I am stunned by the quality. I just can't see why I would need anything more than this camera has. Dittos to other posts: buy at least a 32M card to replace the 8M one; you need at least 1 extra battery and the BC-80 quick charger (1 hour vs 8). A word of warning here -- though I live in a large metropolitan area, neither the battery nor the charger was available locally through camera specialty stores or huge discount stores. The specialist battery store doesn't even stock them. A call to Fujifilm resulted in a recommendation to a webstore that specializes in digital gear. Be prepared to spend [more money] for the charger and the battery. The point is that, evidently, Fuji has not made a significant impact on the market here in the U.S. for digital cameras. Anything you need may have to be ordered. After you're set up though, you may not need much else. Easy to use, super USB connection, lightweight, compact, nice features, and a quality product. AE-1 has been retired!

There are many good things to say about this package but one of the best is that it works so much like a regular camera that most first time users will never become confused. In addition, for the more advanced user, it has almost all of the manual settings that you would ever use. You may see cameras at a lower price but then you have to add everything on. This comes with a recharger built in and unlike other comments, I found that I could take about 30 pictures and delete all but 15 without running the battery down at all. The key I think is to not use the LCD display unless you have to. The pictures in "Normal" mode are excellent for e-mail or e-bay and print out very well. The detachable flash is a real lifesaver (battery life that is) and works well. Having the AC adapter is a real bonus if you take a lot of pictures in a controled setting (such as for on-line auctions) or for when you are reviewing pictures on the TV or PC. I did have some difficulty loading the USB Card Reader but I think it was more "user error" than anything. I couldn't use the CD provided because it won't work with auto-run and my PC kept trying to open it as an audio CD. I then went to fujifilmsupport.com but it took me a long time to find the correct download. When I did get it, something about the program disabled my modem and I had to delete and re-load it again. Once I figured it out, it worked great. Again, I may have missed a step so I wouldn't make this a deciding point in purchasing this package. The zoom is excellent but I wouldn't count on the digital zoom being much help; the resolution goes down quick and you end up with a pretty low resolution pic. We spent a great deal of time researching cameras and this is by far the best for the money. I have to say one more thing: Amazon's service is incomparable. We ordered this camera on Saturday, regular mail. They sent it UPS on Sunday and we recieved it at 3:00 on Tuesday. We were able to charge it, play with it and then take it on our Vacation which started Wednesday. It was also great to be able to track the package on line. By the way, the best price we found around town (Sacramento) would have been over $700.00 with the accessories. If you have any questions e-mail me at moandlo@jps.net. Morris B

I bought my brand new MX2900 camera (including the same"freebies") at an online auction last May 2000 for similar price... It's a GREAT camera, and this is a good enough price for this package (although you'll agree that it will continue getting cheaper with time). The package includes all the basics you'll need. However, I recommend buying the following extras: extra rechargeable battery (NP-80), a quick charger (BC-80)and a few more smartmedia cards (32MB or more). I also found useful to have a wide conversion lens (WL-MX29).

A spare battery is useful because the camera drains the battery really fast (especially when you always use the LCD monitor). A quick charger (BC-80) is really handy because it only takes an hour to recharge the battery (the AC adapter takes 8 hours). A few smartmedia cards are necessary because the 8MB smartmedia card that's included in the package doesn't hold much photos. For example, 1 picture taken at the "hi" setting (uncompressed file) and "1800x1200" pixel setting will use up 8MB of space already. Without the extra memory cards, you'll find yourself always running to your computer so you can move your picture files from your smartmedia card. By the way, unlike what the other reviewer said (5 photos at "fine" setting with 32MB smartmedia card), a 32MB smartmedia card will actually store up to 36 photos taken with the "fine" and "1800x1200" pixel settings. You can even verify this at Fujifilm's website... I suggest you visit that website to learn more about the camera's features and specifications.

The camera has both automatic and full manual modes. It even has a self-timer. There are so many features so make sure you read the manual... As of today (July 27,2000), this camera rates as #2 in the 2-3 megapixel range (second only to Olympus C2020).

I have not found much use for the "high" setting (uncompressed ".tiff" images). Like what the other reviewer said, this format is nonstandard. Most online photo sharing/printing services accept only the ".jpeg" format (available with the "fine," "normal," and "basic" settings for this camera). If you plan to print your photos, the "fine" and 1800x1200 pixel settings will produce 4"x6" prints that are comparable in quality to photos taken from a 35mm camera (I have not tried printing larger prints). Otherwise, for web sharing, the lower settings will do the job just fine...

I have no regrets about buying this camera. Yes, there are cameras with 3+ megapixels out there, but I do not yet see the need to upgrade. This camera is worth the price that Amazon.com is selling it for (I would not pay more).

Before I end this review, let me just say a few basic things: 1.)Cost: it's a good value 2.)Strengths: looks impressive (like those 35mm Nikons); auto/manual modes; photos show good colors; crisp images on LCD monitor 3.)Weaknesses: internal flash can be weak (make sure you always have your external flash at reach); the lens cap just dangles on the side; kind of slow (takes too long between shots) unless you use "continuous shooting" mode (in which case, you're automatically fixed at only 640x480 pixels)

This card works perfectly in my 8 megapixel Olympus C-8080 digital camera.

At the camera's highest resolution setting of 3264x2448 pixels with minimal JPEG compression (SHQ in Olympus terminology), I am able to shoot and store 130 pictures. This is approximately 3.9MB per image on average.

At 640x480 pixels with 'normal' JPEG compression, this xD card fits 5324 pictures. It's also very fast and well worth the money and convenience.

I also have the 256MB xD card as a bsckup in case I fill up the entire 512MB xD card before downloading the images to my laptop PC.

In my Fuji F700 camera this card will hold 343 6mp images, and almost twice that at 3.2mp. Can't wait to take my camera on vacation this summer. The nice thing about such a large card is you absolutely never feel like taking a picture would be a waste of space. It'll also hold (not at the same time obviously) about 7-1/2 minutes of 640x480 video with sound.

Transfer rates are blisteringly fast, too. And since the F700 comes with a docking station, I doubt I'll ever have to take the card out.

I use it for my 8 MP digital camera, and I'm pleased with how quickly it receives image data. Its miniscule size is both an advantage & disadvantage: so small it's easy to lose, but it's equivalent to 4 rolls of 36 exposure 35mm film.

Originally, I had very negative things to say about this product--namely problems with scanning chrome. Well, it took a couple of attempts over the past three years, but Nikon's support crew did a fantastic job once I convinced them of the problem, and they absorbed the entire cost of the repair (which was almost half the cost of the scanner).

In other words, Nikon stands behind its products. And you can't beat that. Buy it.

I've had this since it was first released and have found it to be a superb scanner.
As someone else has pointed out, there are occasional issues with slides, but from my experience that is a glitch in the NikonScan software and not the scanner itself. Using other scanning software (eg. Vuescan or Silverfast) has solved those issues for me.

The Coolscan IV is definitely worth the price for scanning negatives. I looked at flatbed scanners and cheaper film scanners previously, but in the end I bit the bullet and bought the Coolscan. I have no regrets about doing this. The resolution of the scanned negatives is amazing - I can see details that were not visible the original prints. What really makes the investment worthwhile is the Digital ICE technology, which "cleans up" dusty or imperfect negatives. I am in the process of converting my entire film library into digital images.

This brings me to the downsides of the scanner. It does not utilize USB 2.0, and the process of scanning negatives at high resolutions is very very slow. I basically have to devote 45 minutes to an hour to scan in a roll of film because I have turned on Digital ICE as well as the other touch-up features available on the scanner. However, this is by choice, so for people who don't want the highest resolutions, the process may be somewhat faster. The other problem is that the included software is very powerful but has a steep learning curve. I spent a lot of initial time tweaking the settings to find what produced the best images.

Overall, though, the gripes are minor since the quality of the images is so high. This has changed how I take pictures now. Since the resolution of the digital images is higher than any reasonably priced digital camera on the market, I am now shooting most pictures with a film camera and scanning the negatives. This provides the best of both worlds - a set of cheap prints as well as high-quality digital images. Now I just need to get another hard drive to hold all the images that I am scanning in...

I bought my camera the day I was on my way to Disney World(Magic Kingdom) in less then 1 hour I was taking pictures. this Camera is simple to use and takes great photos. I love my Camera and I have recommended it to all my family and friends. I think that day I took 120 picture (5 rolls) and all of them came out GREAT!!!!! It was GREAT indoors and outdoors. And the motion setting was great for in the car....

I bought this camera in the summer of 2003 which was when I started my photography endeavor. This camera has been awesome for everything that I have done from practice portraiture, landscape, close up, and everything that I was able to thow at it. I still constantly use this camera as it still continues to intrigue me with its abilities.

Many, and I say MANY people complain online about the lense that is given in the kit. For the work that I have done, and the work that most amature to "prosumer" photographers do, you will not be so extremely dissapointed about this lense. I do have the EF 50mm f/1.8, which is awesome!

The Rebel GII is also extremely light to carry around, especially when compared to older manual type SLR's. Sure, its not as light as a point and shoot but its NOT a point and shoot, its a great SLR. As I advance more in Photography, by December 2004 I'll be buying the Elan 7Ne to meet all of my photo needs. Due to the weight though, the Rebel will be my more rugged body for those shoots that I don't want to risk ruining the Elan. Great camera overall, go buy it!

I just got my camera for Christmas and I love it. The quality is great, and it's so lightweight! Gotta have it if you're into photography...great starter camera.

I've been using this product for several months now, and I am very happy with it. To summarize its qualities:
1. high resolution
2. rich in features
3. reasonable easiness of use; pretty intuitive.
4. it doesn't require proprietary & dedicated external flash, a general good-brand external flash would do it as well.

The downsizes:
1. the flash that comes with the camera is a toy; you need to buy an extra one (which adds some $$$ to the cost - for a good flash).
2. Fuji doesn't provide a good fully-automatic flash for the camera. As mentioned above, there are very good manual flashes available are reasonable prices, but thus say bye-bye to the auto modes.
3. no remote. For taking the picture from a tripod, this may be annoying.
4. the depth of field is not very versatile - the camera is quite limiting in the respect of aperture.
5. the zoom is good, but not stellar. For a camera of this performance, a better zoom/aperture control would have made it of real 5 stars.

Overall, good stuff for the money.

Okay okay ... You can get this from several Z-shops sellers, starting at $438 (as of 12-26-03). There are some small errors in the description, which you may clear up for yourself at the Fujifilm.com site. But compare this to the S5000, which you can get new, here, for about $340. And if you hunt diligently, today you can grab it for $296. I am not repeat not talking about some auction sight, either. (Nor in Japan, where I live at the moment, though there is a place here I must check tomorrow just in case. Besides, delayed gratification is not my strong suit.)

The Fujifilm site gives a detailed description of their CCD (Charge Coupled Device) pixel array that to me sounds like the best thing going in what the working class like me can afford. The S602 is Fuji's 3rd generation CCD, the S5000 is their 4th generation. The 602 has 6x optical and 4.4x digital zoom (26.4x), the 5000 had 10x optical and 2.2x digital (22x). If that extra 4.4 turns your head, then shopping for a telephoto is probably something to consider. I find the greater lens power more attractive, and sould give clearer photos, at 22x side by side with the 602 at a comparable setting.

If you want to spend serious $$$ for something that has 5 to 8 megapixels, more power to you. But the S5000 is a better Fuji for less money ... the S602 is really last year's news. My hard earned greenbacks are on the S5000.

After a long search, I purchased the Fujifilm FinePix S602. Unlike the compact form factor digitals, this camera has buttons that can be operated by normal-sized fingers. It also handles both SmartMedia and Compact Flash cards; Fuji recommends the IBM Microdrive, but Compact Flash is about the same price, faster, and uses less electricity. I get 100 pictures on a 256 Mb Compact Flash with the 3Mb/Fine setting. The 3Mb setting takes great pictures for anything up to 8 x 10; most photo paper is only 4 x 6 anyway. I've never seen the need for anything more. In fact, for online publishing I have to reduce the image quality and size. The 640 x 480 video uses 1 Mb per second of video; it's a bit jerky, and the built in mic isn't terribly sensitive, but it's not designed to replace your camcorder anyway. This is the best camera I've ever owned. I take more pictures now because I can afford to; I'm my own photolab. On the negative side, the camera price is a little high, and the included software is lousy. You'll want and need better software, but it'll do in a pinch. Great camera, great fun, great geek cred.

I bought my 40i 2 years ago when I was in Japan where they have the exclusive pink version. I love that I don't have to have two separate items for digital photos and MP3's! That alone is what made me buy this camera. But the photo quality has been great too. Pictures generally come out true to color and, if you get a 64 MB card, it holds a bunch of them to boot. Compact, convinient, efficient. Not only that, it is exceptionally user friendly. Setting it up for my Macintosh was a breeze.

3 gripes:

1) Prodigious appetite for batteries, as been noted in other reviews.

2) I have two Fuji cameras, this and an APS. I love them both, but they both have the same problem; at short range, the flash is strong enough to vaporize a cow. Long range flash is virtually useless on this camera. (Fortunately, my APS Fuji has great flash range.)

3) No zoom in the highest quality setting.

Despite the niggles, there's no better camera/MP3 player for your money. Oh, and if you're in the market for one of these little jewels and you're planning a trip to Japan, get the pink one!

This was my introduction into the world of Digital Camera's. I bought this camera for my trip abroad. I wanted something small and light but I did not want to give up functionality. I had no problem giving up the zoom that was just something for me to break when shoving it into my bag. This camera has been dropped and kicked and it still works great. I have not had any problems uploading or downloading the pictures and the printed pictures look amazing. I highly recommend this camera to any one with an active life style who wants a great camera with out the bulk. I did buy much larger memory cards and have two sets of rechargeable batteries. I love the fact that if in a pinch I can go to the drug store and pick up some AA batteries and keep snapping.

I am not sure what surprises me most about this camera. Probably the fact that it is 2 years old and still outperforms many others! It is in a class by itself. You will be hard-pressed to find something comparable for its size, resolution, or features.

You can shoot an incredible 2400x1800 picture or listen to mp3s from this unit, not much bigger than 3" x 3" square. Swap the included memory for a 128mb SmartMedia card and you have about two and a half hours of music (at the lowest bitrate, 96kbps) or close to 100 images at likely three times the resolution of your computer monitor. You can even shoot short video clips.

The FinePix 40i is not without its downsides, however. The software is worse than what you will find on most $50 webcams. The music downloading program forces you to use the USB cable and its own proprietary format, so don't bother with any speedier SmartMedia readers (like PCMCIA). I am still dumbfounded as to why they did not give an option for voice annotation, since there is a microphone built-in for video recording. And the lack of zoom is annoying but understandable given its size. That said, in my opinion, it is still the small camera to beat.

Would you believe this has been discontinued? If you live in the US and are awaiting the next version of this great camera like I was at first, just buy this one now while you can. The 30i and 50i have come out in Europe and Japan but are doubtful for release here. Plus, FujiFilm actually cut costs so they are not as good. The 30i has a nice feature though to upload pictures to certain cell phones in Japan, which would be cool. They also improved the ultra-basic mp3 remote included with the 40i and offer new colors. But since those aren't coming to America, do yourself a favor and pick this up -- then you can laugh at everyone wasting their money on a Kodak mc3. This costs only slightly more but it is leaps and bounds better!

This film has great color reproduction and performance. I would give this film 5 stars except for the fact that Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400 provides similar performance for a cheaper price.

I am not a professional photographer. I just happen to be a grandson of one. I use a fully manual Canon TX SLR for my work. So far I've shot 5 rolls of this stuff. Every time there has been something wrong with the camera/me/lighting. Every time I got a usable, and sometimes, great print. This film has a huge exposure latitute (you can really screw up and still get an image) When I show these prints to others, they look at me funny and say, "This is ISO 400?" It has REALLY fine grain. And because it's ISO 400, you can use it for almost anything (I got usable prints after shooting a soccer game: My camera was set at ISO 100 and there were light leaks in the camera door). It's a great film, although I'm told the Royal Gold it replaces is still better. Pick up a pack of this and see what you get. You'll be amazed.

I have not been a huge fan of 400-speed film in the past. It could be that I'm not a professional photographer and therefore have not been using it properly (I have been using it primarily in shade and somewhat low-light situations, both in my point-and-shoot and SLR), but no matter how I've tried to use it, I've always found it to be grainier than I would have liked it to be, regardless of the brand I selected. I decided to try this film on a whim, as I knew I would be taking some pictures in a situation where the Kodak 200 Gold just wasn't going to cut it (fairly subdued light action shots, no flash allowed), and lo and behold, this film did the trick. Granted, I was using a fast 50mm lens with the f-stop generally set between 1.4 and 2.0, so I had speed on my side, but what really impressed me was that this film showed virtually no grain. I really had to look for it in some poorly exposed images. Also, the colors were very true to the setting.

The most recent role of this film I shot in the Rushmore Cave in South Dakota. As you might imagine, it was pretty dark in there, with ambient light coming from strategically placed lightbulbs here and there. I loaded this film by accident, instead intending to load a roll of 800 I had (I will review the Fuji 800 (NPZ, I believe) I used at another time - the best 800 I've ever used). However, after I discovered I loaded the wrong film I decided to give it a try, especially considering that the mid-roll rewind on my camera had failed me a few hours prior. So I went into the cave with this film loaded and the same Canon 50mm 1.4 lens I mentioned before hoping to be lucky and get something out of the pictures. It ended up being a most auspicious mistake, and those pictures are amongst my favorite of the whole trip. I took a few pictures using a flash, but I wanted to try to make the most of the ambient light. I was amazed to get back these crisp, clear photos with colors so warm and vibrant, and again, very true to life. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if the photo lab pushed the film or not. I did not ask them to. So if you try this film in a very dim/dark situation, you may want to experiment and ask your lab to push a role or two, and process a role or two as they normally would. Somewhere you will find a result which is most pleasing.

I have yet to try this film with a point-and-shoot, but I expect it would produce excellent results, as well. Finally, for those of you who like to shoot 200-speed film, Kodak's new High Definition 200 is excellent, as well. I am now using it as my general purpose film, and even favor it over Kodak's 100 Gold. When Amazon starts carrying it, I will be reviewing it, too.

This is one of my favorite films. If you like smooth toned black and white shots, with little grain, great detail, and a bit of a silvery-gray feel to them, use Tri-X. With a 400 ISO, it can handle a wide range of conditions, and has a lot of latitude in development.

I have other choices for when I'm looking for a more old-time feel (Efke 50 or 100) or when I'm looking for the impact of a grainy film (Ilford 3200), but Tri-X Pan is probably the best Black and White film for everyday that I've used.

I've found that this film Can't be beat. I'd rather spend the extra few dollars to get better looking pictures. I've shot this film out of my Howell+Bell point and shoot as well as my Canon Rebel G with very pleasing results both ways. a few tips I've found for shooting B&W use a R2(Red) Filter For better contrast, the pictures turn out sharper and Clearer depending on the lens your using. I shoot with Sigma's AF but I think it's the only way to go with a Canon Camrea. none the less, this film Can't be beat. SLR or point and shoot you can't go wrong.

I've had GREAT results shooting with TRI-X -- even on a point and shoot pocket camera. It's the only Kodak film I go out of my way to buy (Fuji is my preference for 35mm color).

Images are sharp and have excellent contrast - even in gray/lower light scenes (outdoor shots on a rainy day came out exceptionally well). TRI-X particularly showed better depth of field than the regular Kodak Select B&W film - it's worth the price to get sharp, professional looking images.

I use this film just normally for everyday stuff. It isn't grainy when you enlarge the photos, and the colors are just outstanding. I use the 800 for the really important stuff though because I think the colors are more vibrant. But, for just vacations, stuff around the house, the 400 will do a great job. Anything less it basically a waste of money. I shoot at least a roll a week just of everyday life and this is the one that I choose all the time. I have a basket full!

This film has great color production and performance. The price is also just right. You can't go wrong with the Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400.

Modern 400 speed films are better in every way than the slow 100 speed films when I first started shooting 35mm. Because of this I see no reason to shoot anything slower than ISO 400 these days. Of all the color films I like Fuji Superia the best; the colors are rich and saturated without looking unatural. Grain and sharpness are very good for a fast film. This is now my standard film. I buy bricks of Fuji Superia X-TRA and onsies and twosies of everything else and my pictures have never looked better.

I find this camera to take adequate photos, but the camera is made of poor quality. It has scratches on it everywhere, and in under a year, the flash cover keeps falling off. It always gets me noticed, and I might have to buy a new one because I love the size and the shape. It goes everywhere with me, I just wish that the body was stronger.

We bought this camera for my 10 year old daughter at Christmas, and have been nothing but pleased with the quality of the pictures. We chose it for it's size and ease of use for a child with the use of only one hand. I've been known to grab it, though, for quick pics around the house!

We have compensated for the additional cost of developign APS film by only getting our pics developed at Sam's or Wal-Mart...

I purchased this camera for my husband who doesn't use a camera much. We ended up using this camera all the time, as I misplaced my 35MM camera. It takes great pictures for the price. Sometimes, I have noticed red eye (it is supposed to have red reduction) and some the pictures indoors are darker in the background than outside, but overall this ...camera has out performed itself in my opinion.
I highly recommend it.