Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Economic and Functional - the Fujifilm FinePix z20fd

By Matt Ryan

Fujifilm has recently introduced another amazing product to their family - the FinePix z20fd. This camera is a great advancement since its predecessor, even though the older one really did not need much improvement. This pocket-sized camera is perfect for any level photographer, and has just enough pizzazz to catch the eyes of your subjects.

This is truly a compact camera with measurements of only 3.6 x 2.2 x 0.8 inches and it only weighs 4.4 ounces. Due to the nature of its physical design, along with its weight and measurements, this camera fits comfortably in nearly any hand. To add a little something extra, the FinePix z20fd comes in a multitude of colors, red, green, pink, blue, and black.

This 10-megapixel camera comes standard with a 3x optical zoom, although 5.6x digital zoom is also available on the camera. (Like many other cameras, digital zoom can distort pictures. The 3x zoom is a better option on the FinePix z20fd.) This small camera produces vivid images at 3,648 x 2,736 pixels.

There are many functional and user friendly features on the FinePix x20fd. The automatic exposure control allows users to take nearly perfect pictures without having to adjust anything. The camera senses the proper settings, automatically adjusts, and snaps the shot.

Other features include preset shooting modes, face detection with or without red eye removal, photo stabilization, IrSimple, blog mode, white balance, ISO settings, and even color modes. Features that can easily be adjusted manually would be the ISO settings, color modes, and white balance adjustments. Again, this really should not be necessary with the automatic exposure control.

As for the preset shooting modes, there are numerous different options. These modes make your life easier as you do not have to figure out what settings to adjust for different scenarios that you are shooting. Some of these modes are beach, snow, sunset, and even night. (There are 14 preset shooting modes.)

Blog mode is another phenomenal feature. This feature allows consumers to - effortlessly - share images with their friends and family. Simply enter the IrSimple menu to adjust picture sizes, and send them on their way. The camera will automatically rename the resized photos so that you do not lose the originals.

All menus, on the FinePix x20fd, are accessible via the LCD screen or the navigational buttons on the backside of the camera. The display is a 2.5-inch LCD that allows you clearly see your images, along with navigate through different menu options. To the right of the display are two 4-way navigational menu options. These are for easy access to simple actions like flash.

The camera also has a expansion slot for memory cards. The FinePix x20fd supports xD-Picture, SD, and SDHC memory cards. You may need to pick up a decent sized card since the camera itself only has 45MB of storage.

Fujifilms FinePix z20fd is economically priced at around $200. Whether you are considering purchasing this for yourself, a friend, or even a child, it is a fully functional digital camera and a great buy. - 17943

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