Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR Kit 12MP Super CCD Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Silver) + WSP/iCon Case. Review

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(More customer reviews)The FujiFilm F200EXR is a very compact camera that packs a lot of advanced features into a "Point & Shoot" format camera body. This camera is capable of taking outstanding photos in all of it's modes, including the "Auto" Mode for everyday picture taking (not to be confused with "Auto EXR Mode", see below). We are avid photographers and own several other digital cameras, including Point & Shoot, Compact, and a dSLR that we use for family photos and taking product pictures for our small business.

This is somewhat of a lengthy review, so I will summarize my findings here:

If you are looking for a "Point & Shoot" camera for taking the occasional casual picture, this camera is probably overkill for your needs and you would be better off with a less expensive alternative. That being said, if you are looking for a very powerful, feature rich camera that can be made to perform well in almost any setting and for any application, all in a very small "Point & Shoot" format, then this camera is well worth the investment! This camera packs more features and often takes better pictures than our much more expensive dSLR camera.

Now for my overview and full review:

The F200EXR is truly packed with many top of the line features, including -
* 12 Megapixel Super CCD EXR Sensor
* 3" LCD Screen
* Wide Angle (28 mm) through 5x Optical Zoom (140 mm)
* Dual Image Stabilization
* Wide Range of Preconfigured Modes (see below)
* Face Recognition with automatic in camera Red Eye Removal (works well!)
* Support for SD, SDHC, and xD cards
* Includes 48 meg of internal memory, enough space for about 10 pictures in the highest quality mode
* Long lasting Lithium Ion Rechargeable Battery (NP-50)

What's in the Box -
* F200EXR Camera
* Lithium Ion Rechargeable Battery (initial charge took just under 2 hours)
* Home Battery Charger
* Wrist Strap
* Proprietary USB/Video Cable (standard video/audio only, a HD cable is available but not included)
* Printed Basic Manual Booklet (in several languages)
* CD with Owner's Manual (Full) in PDF
* CD with FinePixViewer Software (not bad image management, basic editing, and linking to Fuji web content)
* Plastic Sleeve for Battery Storage
* Miscellaneous Warrantee and Warning Pages

The Controls on the small camera body are generally well placed and easy to use, with a "rose" type interface for selecting and navigating the many menu options, selecting Flash, Macro, Self Timer, Delete, and Exposure Compensation settings. In addition to the Power Button, there are also four small buttons for selecting Playback, Photo Mode (F), Face Recognition and Red Eye Removal, and Display.

Pressing and holding the Playback button while the camera is off will turn on the camera and allow for viewing your pictures without extending the lens.

The Photo Mode (F) sets many options that will affect your pictures, like ISO, Dynamic Range, Image Size, Image Quality (jpeg compression, I turned mine from the default "Normal" to "Fine"), White Balance, and Film Simulation. Interestingly enough, this important mode is not covered in any detail in the printed "Basic Manual" so you must look at the Owner's Manual on the CD or download it from the Fuji web site.

The numerous shooting modes are accessed through the Dial and include:
* "Auto" (Red Camera Icon) mode allows the F200EXR to be used as a "Point & Shoot" and usually produces truly outstanding quality pictures
* EXR Mode (EXR Icon, White Letters with Red Background) -
- Fine Capture Mode (High Resolution), produces very crisp detail of intricate subjects and is useful in product photography - The Camera will display HR when in this mode.
- Pixel Fusion Mode (High Sensitivity and Low Noise), produces low-light shots with minimal noise - The Camera will display SN when in this mode.
- Dual Capture (Wide Dynamic Range), takes two pictures and merges them in-camera to provide great detail in highlights and low lights. - The camera will display DR when in this mode.
- Auto EXR Mode, tries to select between several presets (many found in the SP Mode, see below). This is very Hit & Miss, as the camera will "hunt" around a lot - I will avoid using this mode and use the regular "Auto" mode or manually set the SP mode when possible.
* Program (P) and Manual (M) modes are standard modes enabling the user to set Shutter/Aperture priority or to take full control of settings, respectively
* Natural (N) is an interesting option for capturing images with the natural scene lighting
* Natural + Flash (N+ Lightning Bolt Icon) option takes two pictures, one as the "Natural" mode and another with the flash, to ensure a good picture is captured.
* Movie Mode (Movie Camera Icon) is a really useful video (with audio) clip capture mode that allows for 320 or 640 resolution at 30 Frames/Second. The clips are saved in standard AVI format and are surprisingly good! The one main complaint is that you cannot use Zoom while filming, so you must select the Zoom you want before starting.
* Scene Position (SP) Mode allows you to select between 15 presets, including:
- Portrait, Portrait Enhancer, Landscape, Sport, Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Underwater (for use with the optional Underwater Case, this camera is not waterproof), Museum (turns off sound, flash, and Focus Assist Light), Party, Flower, and Text

There are far too many options and combinations to cover much more deeply, so I'll wrap this up with my major likes and dislikes:

Likes -
* Great Point & Shoot "Auto" Mode takes impressive 12 MP pictures (file size is roughly 4.3 MB in Large 4:3/Fine resolution)
* Very low "Shutter Lag", even when not pre-focused
* Impressive Wide Angle and 5x Optical Zoom Lens
* Clear description of Shooting Modes displayed on LCD when changing dial settings
* Fantastic EXR Modes allow for capturing outstanding pictures that would have been unusable with lesser cameras. In particular, the Pixel Fusion (SN) and Dual Capture (DR) modes are very useful for solving difficult photography problems.
* Outstanding "Super Intelligent Flash" produces great illuminated scenes without washing out the subject, a feature that is very useful in Macro Mode which we use heavily for our business product photography needs.
* Accurate Face Recognition with automatic in-camera Red Eye Reduction - This feature assures people are in focus, helps with in-camera Slide Show playback, and can automatically remove Red Eye. It is also very cool to watch it work!
* Large ISO range of 100 to 12800, without much noise or grain when using SN mode
* Decent battery life of about 180 - 200 or so shots without flash, drops fairly quickly if flash is used a lot. I recommend buying an extra battery or two.
* Lots of user selectable options - Spending a little time reading the Owner's Manual is a good investment to learn about all of the features packed into this camera.

Dislikes -
* Steep Learning Curve (reading the Owner's Manual is absolutely required to take full advantage of all the features this camera offers)
* Auto EXR Mode is really "Hit or Miss", we will not be using this option as the camera makes a lot of noise and does not always select an appropriate mode.
* No Zooming while filming in Movie Mode
* No Remote Control
* HD Cable is not included

This is a very powerful camera that can be made to outperform almost any other consumer grade camera currently on the market if you spend a little time reading the Owner's Manual and do a little experimenting with the extensive options.

We have been able to take absolutely beautiful pictures in the standard "Auto" mode and have produced some photos that we would not have been able capture, because of tricky lighting, by using the EXR modes. We will likely make the F200EXR our primary camera for taking our business product pictures (using the EXR "Fine Capture" mode), as the results are truly outstanding!

The F200EXR is "Highly Recommended"! The positive elements of this camera significantly outweigh the few negative items, making this an easy choice for those in need of the advanced features and functionality this camera delivers in a very compact Point & Shoot form factor, 5 out of 5 Stars! You can see more reviews and my video review here: Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR 12MP Super CCD Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom

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Product Description:
The F200EXR offers the most advanced technologies available, including Dynamic Range Bracketing, Dual Image Stabilization, Face Detection 3.0, and ISO settings of up to an unprecedented ISO 12800, allowing you to capture any shot, any place and at any ...

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