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Fujifilm FinePix 40i 2.4MP Digital Camera /MP3 Player, Silver

Fujifilm FinePix 40i 2.4MP Digital Camera /MP3 Player, Silver

List Price: $499.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: After a year of ownership....
Review: After a year of owning this camera I have to say I am still pleased with it. It has been the ultimate device to have for traveling & vacation, especially when visiting museums where you can use all the functions - still camera, video, and MP3 player.

Those who wrote less than favorable reviews, seemed to have higher expectations of this camera than what was advertised. If you want to take professional quality photos, have lots of little buttons and settings on the camera to play around with, and be able to zoom in on distant subjects, then just buy a digital camera that has those features. Or those who expect more from the MP3 player, like ID3 tag support and being able to fast forward through songs, should just buy an MP3 player that has these options. After a year of using this camera I found I don't care about ID3 tags.
I think the only legitimate complaint people should be posting are about it's reliability problems. I recently had a problem with the automatic shutter door not closing, so I have to send it in to be repaired - so 1 star off for that. But I am confident that once fixed, I'll resume using this great little camera.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Nice, but probably not worth the money.
Review: An excellent camera with a few major faults:
The obvious one - theres no optical zoom. If you look through the viewfinder, and your subject is only taking up a tiny fraction of the display, YOU're the one that's going to have to physically move yourself closer to the subject. The camera cannot do the zooming-in for you.
And secondly, the shutter speed is far too slow. Trust me, you cannot take photos of, say, people dancing. All you'll get is a blur.
Oh, and why Fuji neglected to include the AC Adapter as part of the package is beyond me. Supplying two rechargeable batteries, which take about 13 hours to charge simply isn't on...

That aside, it is a good little camera. TV-Out is more of a gimmic than something you'll use regularly, as the pictures look very fuzzy, even on a decent TV. And it's very very easy to use, and produces very good photos.

But personally, I'd think twice about going for this camera over, say, the Canon Ixus V.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Nice, but probably not worth the money.
Review: An excellent camera with a few major faults:
The obvious one - theres no optical zoom. If you look through the viewfinder, and your subject is only taking up a tiny fraction of the display, YOU're the one that's going to have to physically move yourself closer to the subject. The camera cannot do the zooming-in for you.
And secondly, the shutter speed is far too slow. Trust me, you cannot take photos of, say, people dancing. All you'll get is a blur.
Oh, and why Fuji neglected to include the AC Adapter as part of the package is beyond me. Supplying two rechargeable batteries, which take about 13 hours to charge simply isn't on...

That aside, it is a good little camera. TV-Out is more of a gimmic than something you'll use regularly, as the pictures look very fuzzy, even on a decent TV. And it's very very easy to use, and produces very good photos.

But personally, I'd think twice about going for this camera over, say, the Canon Ixus V.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Huge Piece of Garbage
Review: DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA ! I have owned two so far, both have stopped working. The first one broke the same day as purchased. Replacement one broke on my vacation(Less then 90 days old). It is now on it's way back to Fuji for repair. I have nothing good to say about this camera. Wish I never bought the piece of sh**.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: Excellent product. Small enough to fit in your pocket, which is what I found to be the biggest advantage of the camera. Photo quality is very good. Just make sure that you focus on the item that you want to be the focal point of the shot. Strong recommendaiton.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A MP3 Player and a Digital Camera into ONE, wha'd ya expect?
Review: For those of you who have read the previous reviews, and think this thing is just what they said, your wrong. What do you expect from a Digital Camera and MP3 Player into one for only 500 dollars? Didn't think so.

One thing is the design of this thing, it's just plain out nasty. Why would any one wanna buy a thing which looks a fat,overloaded, 25 dollar camera?

The music quality isn't good either, and not to leave out the picture quality. The pictures come out too dark, even though you can make them light.

IT JUST ISN'T WORTH IT!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great camera but not an mp3 player
Review: I bought the Finepix40i, thinking it would be great to combine a digital camera and mp3 player. But I realized after I bought it, that this isn't really the case. Not that the mp3 feature is that bad, but i'm afraid to use it to listen to mp3 because of the possiblity of me dropping it or the increased chance of someone stealing it. also you can't even change bit rates of mp3s to fit more, of the camera wont accept it. The pictures are great though. Really sharpe and brillant. And the movie feature is actually a great and little handy bonus. So I guess you can some up my review like this: Its a great digital camera with a well done video recording feature, but if you are seriously into mp3s, you'll probably be better off buying a stand alone mp3 player.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome Camera
Review: I first fell in love with this small cute camera. Then for the sake of having a better resolution, returned it and bought a Canon Powershot 20; but it was too heavy (compared to the Fuji) and the image quality was not any better. I don't care for the MP3 but this camera is cute, ultra-compact, very light, sexy and produces amazing quality pictures. I am very pleased with it and take it every where. It also shoots a movies for 1mn30s. It does not have an optical zoom but the other comparative ones don't have a great zooms either. I definitely recommend this camera. ... Shahin

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FinePix 40i sets a new standard for small digital cameras
Review: I had been looking for a digital camera for the last month, and my uses are primarily recreational. I wanted something that was small/convenient (for frequent traveling a must! ) and easy to use. The three cameras I originally evaluated included the Canon PowerShot S100, Canon PowerShot S20, and Fuji FinePix 4700. Additionally, I also considered the marvelous Nikon Coolpix 990 (one of my best friends owns it).

Based on overall performance and features alone, let's be realistic - the first three cameras pale in comparison to the 990 (except the 4700's pixel count). The 990 has the most depth of features for taking pictures. But the criteria for size eliminates the 990. During the time that I was looking, the 40i was not yet available. Between the S100 and S20/4700, my decision came down to smaller size of the S100 vs. the pixel count of the other two. I eliminated both the S20 and 4700 based on size (though the 4700 is pretty impressive). While I was still a little concerned because the S100 only has 2.1 megapixel resolution, I ordered the S100 through Amazon. On a trip to Istanbul, I ran across an electronics store in Heathrow Airport that had just gotten an initial shipment of the 40i. I got to compare the S100 (called Ixus in UK) head to head against the 40i. For roughly 10-15% more in price, you get a camera that's about the same size BUT you get better resolution AND MP3 player capability. Looks and size were essentially a tie, but I liked the feel of the 40i better and the blue color version was, how can I put it, just sweeeeeet! I think the one shown on Amazon right now is the silver version so make sure you check out the blue one. I returned the S100 and am keeping the 40i.

In terms of experience using it, the camera is great - you can take it anywhere easily and you'll find yourself clicking away. I also bought a 64MB Smart Media ID card which lets me get 79 pictures on the normal setting on the highest resolution. Here are the positives and negatives on the camera:

Positives:

1) The small size comparable to S100 - these two cameras are head and shoulders above all others - make it tops for traveling.

2) The 40i has super easy navigational controls (the dial in the back for setting, electronic menus, and the on/off switch are all great).

3) The MP3 capability with remote control and headphones included is a differentiator and the avoided cost of not having to buy a stand-alone MP3 player should be factored in.

4) This camera can record and playback short movies up to about 1 1/2 minutes. You really need more memory to use this feature.

5) Rechargeable battery pack, travel pack, strap, headphones, A/V cables, and remote control are all included in the kit.

6) Fuji has included really easy user manuals for all hardware/software needs.

7) Pretty standard these days - the camera has USB interface and A/V connection for TV viewing.

8) And of course, because I have to live with it - it looks great in that blue color with its design. The "oooh and aaaahhh" factor is up there.

Negatives:

1) The limited zooming capability (digital) makes it hard to take certain pictures (ex. close-ups of a building in the distance), and this zooming capability is not available on the highest resolution setting.

2) Flash capability is only helpful for shorter range stuff; distance nighttime shots are darker than expected unless other light sources aid the picture. The 990 rules in this category.

3) Battery-chewing appetite - it feels like you go through a new set of batteries (using monitor full-time and flash 1/2 of time) every 20-30 shots. I think this problem is common to all digital cameras (blame the segment!).

4) While a 16MB Smart Media card is part of the kit, you need at least 32MB to have more flexibility and do serious damage.

Overall, the Fuji FinePix 40i is superb - it's fun to use and will exceed your expectations. Make sure you're able to live with negatives #1 and #2. When compared to its peers and the criteria above (size, ease of use, breadth of features), it sets a new standard for digital cameras.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fun & easy, but be aware of its JPEG-only file storage
Review: I like this camera for its compactness and well thought-out features. BUT, if you are someone who likes to tweak the photos in your image-editing software when you get home, be aware that you'll be working from JPEG originals. This is not ideal, as JPEG is a 'lossy' format, meaning that when you save the edited image, you lose quality. I tried to compensate for this by shooting at the camera's highest quality setting and editing down from that; but the result was still a 2nd gen. JPEG with the typical flaws starting to show. This is true even when you save at the highest-quality JPEG setting (e.g., in PhotoShop).


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