Fujifilm FinePix F20- 43870065
By: Fuji Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 90
More Information
 On: 2008-08-26
This camera is awesome and does exactly what the write up says it will do. The pictures are fantastic and I dont miss a kid shot. I love it. I was however, disappointed in the shipping. I paid for expitited shipping and it was not here on time.
On: 2008-04-29
Ill skip to the chase - this is the best low light point and shoot camera you can buy. At any price - including 2008 model cameras. I hardly use the flash - even indoors and even at night. Just hold the camera steady and go. Natural lighting in photos always looks better than stark bluish flash. If I do use the flash its just for fill.
The video feature is a nice touch - DVD quality in sharpness, but I use it sparingly as its mostly a novelty even though it makes buying a full fledged camcorder irrelevant.
The only downside to the camera is the xD card which has slowish PC transfers, compared to SD anyway, although writing to the card itself when taking pictures is plenty fast. I use a 1gb card and its tricky to fill with images, but video eats up room fast.
Still, if the purpose of this camera is quick shots in anything other than bright light, you simply cant buy a better one - yet.
 On: 2008-03-31
I have had this camera for about a year and it is my Carry With Me All The TIme camera when I dont want to take one of my 2 dSLRs.
The camera is a good value for the original price ($150 I think it was) and would be a steal at a used price under $100.
The ISO performance is really good up to 400, decent at 800 and useable at 1600. The default colors are a little drab out of the camera but with a little tweaking to white balance settings or using the FujiChrome setting in some cases (or in post processing, of course) they can be made better.
This is a basic point and shoot, though, dont expect manual control or a bunch of options to fiddle with.
It is metal and feels pretty solid. Nice size and operation. If you are a real photo buff, it probably wouldnt satisfy as your only camera but would make a nice compact...especially for dSLR users who are used to being able to stray from ISO 100 or 200 and not experience a lot of noise.
On: 2008-03-13
Fugifilm Finepix F20... This camera is easy to use. It comes with a "quickie" learning directional tool. It takes GREAT pictures. For the money. size, and weight the quality is excellent.
On: 2008-02-26
The only regret I have is for Fuji who stopped carrying the Super-CCDs in those award-winning cameras, namely the F10 through F30.
On: 2008-02-15
Received a Fuji F20 refurbished in like new condition. Camera works flawlessly. Pictures at high ISO are outstanding. I also have the F30 and the picture quality is identical.. Cant go wrong for the price.
Lenny
 On: 2008-01-20
Ive had this camera for 10 months before the lens finally got stuck in the "out" position. Ill see soon enough if theyll honor their warranty.
In the meantime, its taken tons of wonderful pictures and videos. It was a great price and considering all the pictures and mini-vids that Ive taken, it was somewhat worth it. Our family has taken so many pictures with this camera and they came out fine. It would have cost me more money to get a regular camera and to develop pictures that might not come out right than for all the pictures Ive gotten out of this camera.
If I had gotten 4 years out of this camera before it broke down, it would have received 5 stars. The fact that I only got 10 months, itll receive 3 stars for very nice pictures while it lasted.
On: 2008-01-20
I got this Fujifilm F20 primarily for its low light capabilites, which are excellent (probably better than the newer F series cameras in this regard, since they have too many megapixels), but Ive also found it to be an excellent all-around point-and-shoot compact digcam with a good lens and reasonably fast performance, good battery life, and very convenient. I especially like the Flash/Natural Mode which takes two consecutive photos, one with flash, one without, for instant comparison. Also the Manual capability, though limited, is handy for limiting or unlimiting the ISO range. This handy camera can take some very high quality images!
On: 2008-01-18
I bought this camera as I was looking for a FujiFilm F30 or F31 - looking for a solid performing low-light compact camera. Noise is minimal even at ISO400 and pics are usable at ISO800, which coupled with the very short focal length of compact digital cameras makes for very good available ligh shooting. This is what I expected after reading the F30 dpreview where it performed comparable to a Nikon DSLR at high ISO values (800, 1600) - as the F20 shares the sensor of the 30 and 31.
Manual control is minimal, there is no image stabilization (just a anti-blur button or something - which is really a joke, it just throws the camera into a high speed automated mode with ISO2000, flash etc) but as we all know good high ISO performance is far more useful than stabilization.
A nice little camera, with amazing low-light performance for a compact.
 On: 2008-01-16
the f20 has very good image quality but a poor AF system. in Auto mode, the aperture and shutter seems to be selected at random. thats not good for low-light, which is what you buy this for. so you get ISO 2000 shots with a shutter speed under 1/10 of a second and like f 5, which is too slow. if you want to shoot in low light with no flash, you have to go into menu and select natural light mode.
the low-light performance on this is great. its fairly compact, but the buttons, which seemed small at first, were easy and intuitive to operate after just a few hours of practice. the compact size does induce camera shake, however, which the picture stabilization function doesnt correct, since its not optical stabilization but digital. i would strongly recommend getting a small tripod for night shots and long exposures.
there are some limited manual controls here, but its really a basic point and shooter with a good sensor chip and great low-light performance.
i would have been happy with it, but my refurbished unit suffered from battery drain, which could be quite inconvenient, especially since the camera doesnt take AAs. i charged a battery for 12 hours -- 2 hours is what the manual says -- and the red charge light didnt go off like it was supposed to. the battery indicator read full, and the f20 appeared to work fine, but after a night of about 20-30 shots and a day of not using it, it wouldnt power up. this appears to be a camera problem, not a battery problem.
this is unacceptable, something that should have been fixed before the camera was okayed for resale. also the internal motor sounds like its dying everytime it autofocuses or zooms. i have no idea if this is normal.
really wanted to have this just for jacket pocket low-light stuff when the dslr is a bit much, but looks like ill be sending it back.
On: 2007-12-31
I didnt want to drop big bucks on a camera, so I decided to get a lower-end, inexpensive Fuji (a recommendation from the local gadget guy). I got a steal ($85) on this one as the camera shop was clearing them out for the 08 models, so I couldnt complain about the price. As for the quality, it is second to none for an inexpensive camera. I even tried taking a picture of my wife in pitch black and got a gorgeous shot! It has a ton of picture modes and bells and whistles, but the menu is easy to navigate. It also comes with an AC power cord that you can use if you want to save battery life (which doesnt seem to be a problem since it uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery). The only downside is that Fujis use XD memory cards which generally tend to be a little more expensive, but I wouldnt let that sway me from buying this great camera. When my children get a little older Im definately going with Fujis for them also.
On: 2007-12-31
Recommended. Nice sharp outdoor pics. Indoor at hi ISO much less noisy than my other p&s cameras.
On: 2007-12-28
This is an excellent digital camera. Bought it for my wife and she loves how simple it use. Battery charge last a long time.
On: 2007-12-21
Pretty nice camera. Pretty cheap now-a-days, and it has the capabilities of creating some fantastic images. Itll take a little while to get used to playing with all of the features and settings, as AUTO mode sucks, but once you get it, the camera produces gorgeous photos. Very slow photo taking, and speckling at high ISOs though.
On: 2007-12-05
I bought this camera a year ago the day before we left to visit Disney World. I have four professional digital SLR cameras and did not want to risk scratching a lens or having to carry a heavy camera around my neck. I bought this camera and all I can say is WOW! Its very simple to use, my children (7 and 5) both know how to take great shots with it. It does well in low light situations. I never expected to get such great quality with a point and shoot camera, but it takes wonderful photographs. I enlarged several shots to an 8x10 and it gave superb quality. If you are an amateur needing a camera just for snapshots, this is it! The video is great too. I have really enjoyed this little camera!!!
 On: 2007-12-05
I would suggest against buying this camera yes the price is great and it does work great but I had this camera for less than a year and the camera screen went black so I cant see what I am taking a picture of anymore. The camera also doesnt have a viewfinder so I cant take pictures that way either. This has been a problem for other users as well. Besides that if you want to take a chance of that not happening it takes very good pictures and it has an excellent shutter speed.
On: 2007-11-29
Dont take my word for it. Read the professional reviews for this camera and youll see just how good it is. Its basically the same camera as the F30, without a lot of the manual controls. The low-light performance of the sensor in this camera is very good. Its a fast camera, too. Great autofocus accuracy and virtually no shutter lag. You can get it for a great price, too. Especially reconditioned.
On: 2007-11-28
I love this camera! Ive been through several cameras trying to find a simple to use, point and shoot camera. Ive had 2 Sony Mavicas, the floppy version and cd version and a Kodak. I bought this camera for my mother in law then she let me borrow it for a trip to Chicago. It truly was point and shoot in any condition...inside (even with no flash and very little light), outside, bright sun, night shots, up close, far away and almost every picture came out perfect. After my trip, I bought my own which I took to New York. My husband took the Kodak and we took a lot of the same pictures. 99% of my pictures turned out where only about 10% of his did. I highly recommend this camera.
On: 2007-11-26
This is the second one I bought. I gave away my first one to a relative. After researching for a new one, one year after the first purchase, I still went for the F20. The new cameras, including Fujis, went to the direction of higher Megapixels, which only improves performance in perfect outdoor lighting. For overall outdoor and indoor performance, this is the best compromise. I only wish it have real image stabilization.
On: 2007-11-21
Refurbished Camera just arrived.
Gives a "focus" error. Does not work at all.
Big disappointment - and no contact information for the store (no phone)
last refurbished I buy
On: 2007-11-17
I am not an "expert" photographer, but I do enjoy taking pictures and was looking for a good quality camera to carry around. The F20 is small & light, and the build quality is excellent.
I mainly take pics of family & friends and I found the F20 focus/shutter speed to be fast enough to keep up with their kids. Colour reproduction is very good and ISO 400 & 800 pictures are outstanding, especially when compared to any other point and shoot in its class.
I have found so far that setting the camera to -1/3ev seems to yield more consistent/better results, but YMMV. The flash does a fine job illuminating the subject without blowing them out, but I dont really use it all that much (strictly a personal prefrence).
I knew before I purchased the F20 that there was no viewfinder, and that the LCD screen wasnt top of the line, so I dont feel it would be fair of me to say that these are "negatives." Sure, I would have liked a viewfinder and a super bright 3" LCD that works in super bright sunlight, but in my mind that is not a realistic expectation from any $100-150 compact point and shoot camera.
Overall, I am very happy with the F20 and would gladly recommend it to anyone. Youd be hard pressed to find a camera that small & inexpensive that would take better pictures.
On: 2007-11-12
Bought refurbished camera, looked brand new from Fuji refurbished dept! Great price, product as advertised. Havent used much, since it was a gift. Will buy again.
On: 2007-11-10
Arthur Schopenhauer once wrote: "Truth goes through 3 stages: First it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third it is accepted as self-evident truth."
What youll read below is more than merely my opinion. What youll read are factual statements about this camera.
This camera has no wide angle lens, no optical viewfinder and it uses a proprietary expensive and hard to find battery. A better choice is The Nikon Coolpix P50 which costs about $30 LESS!
So, why give it one star, you ask? I give it one star because, for me, I would NOT buy this camera in preference to the Nikon P50. Because I would not buy this camera, for me it only rates one star. That does not say that it is a "bad" camera regarding its picture taking capabilities. You may love the camera and if it was the only camera on the market I might also. But, for me and possibly for you, The Nikon P50 is a better choice, in my opinion. If you wanna see some photos I took with the Nikon P50 email: boland7214@aol
Regarding the proprietary battery as compared with AA batteries, when you are out on safari in Africa living in a thatched hut or tent and your proprietary battery runs out of power, do you want to be running all over the jungle at night in a fruitless attempt to find a battery at a local "sari-sari" store while you hear lions and hei-enas roaring and sounding off all around you? With the Nikon P50, you can easily carry enough AA batteries with you on your trip so you wont have to risk your life searching for the proprietary battery all over the jungle on those cold nights with wild animals searching for YOU! Got it? :o)
So, you ask, "who needs a 28mm or 23mm lens?" You do! Most people concern themselves with how LONG is their telephoto lens. But, most people who "know" know that it is the WIDE ANGLE lens that is most important---most of the "best shots" are made with a WIDE ANGLE lens. For example, youre in Europe and you are trying to "get a shot" of that Cathedral of Notre Dame over there. You NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the California Poppy Fields and you want to get the expanse of the golden-yellow poppy flowers with the huge blue sky filled with white clouds above---you need a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are sitting at thanksgiving dinner and you want to take a photo from the foot of the table with everyone sitting on the left and right---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. You are in the garden of the California Mission and you want to take a photo of the ENTIRE garden surrounded by the mission walls---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. Its Christmas day and you want a photo of the ENTIRE GROUP of visitors in front of the Christmas Tree---you NEED a WIDE ANGLE lens. This is where the 28mm lens (or 23mm on this camera) comes in! So, you NEED THIS CAMERA! Otherwise youll be cutting off heads and leaving Aunt Sylvia out of the "Christmas Group Photo" this year---and shell disinherit you and youll live a life of poverty and misery everafter! :o) If you agree or disagree or know of ANY other digital point and shoot camera that has a WIDE ANGLE lens please write, Email:boland7214@aol.
PS: There is also a Canon SD800 which has a wide angle lens and an optical viewfinder. I like that one also. But the "killer" for me on that one is the proprietary battery necessary to operate the Canon SD800 over the use of AA batteries used in The Nikon P50 that are very cheap and you can find in almost any store in the world.
PPS: Why do you need an optical viewfinder when you have an LCD screen? The simple reason is that the LCDs SOMETIMES get "washed out" in bright sunlight. And, another reason, I think, is that the optical viewfinder is "faster to use" under "pressure circumstances" like when you want to "grab" that smile on your kids face. Why not have both is my opinion. If you disagree fine, but two ways to view and take photos seems better than one. Its just common sense. (Plus, some people are "far sighted" and have difficulty clearly viewing a small LCD screen a few inches from their eyes.)
One more reason having an optical viewfinder is a good feature is that: If you dont have an optical viewfinder youll have to use the LCD Screen ALL the time....thus using up more precious battery power--but with an optical viewfinder you can turn the LCD off and conserve battery power so you wont run out of electricity to power the camera.
On: 2007-11-09
I have had this camera for about 6 months now. I did quite a bit of research before buying it, and the points that sold me on it were:
- excellent low light performance
- very reasonable price
- compact size
- good battery capacity and no AAs to mess with.
This is a great camera, operates quickly so less missed opportunities. Also, I tend to shoot a lot indoors under less then ideal lighting. Focuses quickly and accurately. This camera handles poor light better then most, especially in the same price range. The battery lasts for a long time, even with a lot of flash photography. Colors are natural and lifelike. Built quality and "touch and feel" are impeccable. The only drawback is the XD card but it is not that much more expensive than generic cards, so its really not a big deal. For general purpose "family" photography, this camera cannnot be beat.
On: 2007-11-08
I have had this camera for about 6 months now. I did quite a bit of research before buying it, and the points that sold me on it were:
- excellent low light performance
- very reasonable price
- compact size
- good battery capacity and no AAs to mess with.
This is a great camera, operates quickly so less missed opportunities. Also, I tend to shoot a lot indoors under less then ideal lighting. Focuses quickly and accurately. This camera handles poor light better then most, especially in the same price range. The battery lasts for a long time, even with a lot of flash photography. Colors are natural and lifelike. Built quality and "touch and feel" are impeccable. The only drawback is the XD card but it is not that much more expensive than generic cards, so its really not a big deal. For general purpose "family" photography, this camera cannnot be beat.
On: 2007-11-08
I have been relatively happy with the Fuji FinePix F20. It takes pretty darn good pictures, especially in low light.
I dont have anything to add about the cameras features that havent been posted already, but I can give you a heads up on how they honor their warranties. About 6 months ago, my lens got stuck and the lens cover came off. No big deal. The camera still worked. Then, about a month ago it went completely dead. No big deal, Im still under warranty. I went by the book, called for an RMA, and sent it in to their Edison, NJ repair center. About two weeks later I got a bill for over 75% the cost of replacing the camera. The estimate description reeks of a company trying to sidestep their warranty obligations. So, I call them. I soon reach the typical I-Deal-With-Angry-People-On-The-Phone-All-Day-Every-Day rep, and end up in one of those conversations where you are presumed guilty before youre even heard. Eventually, I am put on hold, and in the meantime apparently "the manager" has decided to give me leniency and cut the repair bill down to about 50% the cost of replacing the camera [mind you I never spoke to "the manager" and quite frankly if I were to find out it was one of those Seinfeld conversations where youre put on hold for a few minutes while someone has a fake conversation with "the manager" I wouldnt be the least bit surprised].
Some things to bear in mind,
1. I am a lifelong photography hobbyist, and did not abuse this camera in any way
2. I packed it six ways from Sunday so that there could be no disputes with the USPS
3. I was the only one using the camera, so I know that it didnt happen into the wrong hands when the defect occurred.
4. IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY!
I like Fujis cameras, despite the stupid xD cards and I have enjoyed owning this camera. I dont know if any of the other manufacturers are any better about honoring their warranties, but HELL wouldnt it be refreshing if a company simply honored their warranty without argument or question? There are companies out there who do that. Fuji is categorically NOT one of them. I am not exaggerating when I state that I will not buy another Fuji camera EVER, simply on account of this experience. In fact, I am in the market for a digital camera as a gift this holiday season, and I will go with Canon or Sony or anybody else. They might be just as bad, but now its personal.
On: 2007-10-31
Having an Olympus before this, I was surprised at how small it is. The instruction booklet is very helpful and easy to follow. The features are impressive. The only drawback for me is the zoom. My old camera had up to 10x capability, now I only have 3x. That is an adjustment, but I still love it. The quality of the shots is outstanding.
On: 2007-10-30
I am a proud owner of the f31fd and my wife loved it but she said there was no need for the extra features. I decided on the F20 and its a great camera. She loves the ease of use and we trust it 100% for capturing the special moments our little ones give us. I am a Fuji customer for life. Please dont hesitate to purchase this little power house.
On: 2007-10-15
This camera made digital fun for me. It beats the other non Fuji F series cameras shooting at high ISO (low light). If you shut the flash off and hold it steady chances are you will get a shot that is above average and not even possible with other brands. The black and white night shots are great. With the sun to your back daylight shots are awesome. Using xD cards are no problem at all. The F20 is great for birthday parties and pub shooting where a flash may change the mood. Most of all this camera is fun and the pictures are clear. Battery life is terrific.
On: 2007-10-10
My son has had this camera since December and really likes it, so when I needed a new one I got the same. I like that theres very little lag time between shots, something that had always bothered me when trying to capture a cute shot of my grandchildren. The only minus is that one must use the LCD screen as a viewer before shooting, and thats difficult to see in bright sunlight. But the small size and low price make buying this one a no-brainer!
On: 2007-10-05
Nice and simple little camera with REALLY GOOD sensitivity. Works really well for my wife.
On: 2007-09-18
On my photographer sons advice I bought a Fujifilm FinePix F20, and I can happily recommend this camera to anyone. Some of the features that come immediately to mind: small size and light weight of the camera; large and bright viewing screen; long battery life; and the great range of ISO settings (making low light shots possible). One particular feature that I hadnt seen elsewhere is the setting that takes two photos--one with flash and one without--in quick succession. What a great idea!
Buy one and take it with you everywhere.
On: 2007-09-11
After it became painfully apparent that my old digital camera had been passed by smaller, faster, better ones, I decided I needed to buy a new one.
I knew I wanted something that worked well in low light, and this one more than delivered. Since I bought it, Ive consistently been the one not using flash when everyone else is, and the pictures turn out better with natural light. Its ready to go quickly -- turn it on and within seconds the lens is out and the camera is ready to go. It takes pictures quickly, too, even when using the flash.
The other thing that impressed me about the camera is how easy it is to use. The menus are intuitive, and Ive hardly had to touch the manual aside from putting the memory card in. Battery life is good, too -- it goes hundreds of pictures on a charge -- and after all the AA batteries my old camera ate, the rechargeable battery is refreshing.
Im a point-and-shoot person, so I dont profess to know enormous amounts about digital cameras or photography, so I cant speak to any shortcomings of the more advanced features. It does seem to go red eye a lot when I do have to use the flash, but fortunately the light has to be extremely low for that.
Overall the camera has been outstanding so far. If youre looking for a good, small digital camera that works well in low light you cant beat it.
On: 2007-08-12
I LOVE this camera. Im photographically challenged. Anything too far beyond point and shoot one-click beauty is usually out of my range.
I wanted to start taking quality pictures for my website though, and I was sick of my old battery-hog Olympus which seemed like it required one AA battery for every shot. A good photographer COULD take excellent pictures with it... but therein lay the rub.. a good photographer.
Now, thanks to my FinePix I have hope. If you put it on Auto mode for both pictures and flash, you can get some phenomenal pictures. If you use a couple of the easy to use shooting modes that only involve pressing a few buttons, you can get a LOT of phenomenal pictures.
The macro lens and motion mode are phenomenal. It also takes pretty decent video for not being a video camera.
I put my pictures on FlickR and then on my website, and some TRUE photographers have complimented me on my pictures. You can get to my website by clicking on my profile by the way.
I would strongly suggest getting a memory card with it. It doesnt hold a lot by itself.
The only thing I wish it did better was to take better digital zoom shots, but if I have the time to let it focus, it still does a decent job.
On: 2007-07-23
This little camera is excellent for the price.
Its a little hard to find because whoever carries it sells out fast, again thats because its a good camera, for less than 200$.
Remember to set the resolution to 6mp Fine, its on 6mp normal out of the box.
At full resolution, on a 2gb memory card, I can put just over 600 pictures.
Or 30 minutes of 640x480 video. The video this camera does is as clear as VHS tape. Very good video for a little digital camera.
Battery life is good too.
Very easy to use, pretty fast cycle time also.(time between taking shots)
Very happy I got this camera.
On: 2007-07-13
I typically shoot with digital SLRs and wanted a decent point and shoot that was small, cheap, and had decent image quality. This camera is small, cheap, and has... good enough image quality. Its touted as having great low-light capabilities, but the quality at ISO 1600 and ISO 2000 is crap. Other than that, it suffers from the same problems that just about every camera in this class does: very little manual control, no RAW, etc.
Dont get me wrong: I really like this camera. I think I just have a chip on my shoulder about the state of the point and shoot market. If you want a point and shoot, this is a very good one. If you pre-focus, the shutter is remarkably responsive. The video quality is pretty good. While ISO 1600 may be noisy, ISO 400 is better than most P&S cams.
On: 2007-07-09
Our goals in buying a camera were: 1. Turn on and take a picture quickly, 2. Take good quality video, 3. Small and easy to fit in a pocket, 4. Take good natural light photos. This camera has performed excellently on each of these objectives. We find that we rarely use our video camera anymore because this camera is so easy to turn on and start filming immediately. Thanks to this camera we no longer miss filming or taking pictures of those adorable moments of our kid. The camera is also easy to use, with a large LCD, a few simple buttons and an easy switch from pics to video. We found it so easy and convenient we bought the same one for my mother. A few drawbacks to the camera is that you cant zoom during video capture and that it can take a few seconds between pictures (unless in speed capture mode).
On: 2007-07-09
I purchased the FinePixF20 through a third party, by way of Amazon, in NY over the Memorial Day weekend. Delivery was fast leaving NY on Friday and delivered on Tuesday via FedEx. The reviews contained previously describes the camera attributes. I do miss an eye view finder though as it is difficult taking photos on a sunny day through the LCD monitor. The use of the camera is very "user friendly". I was unhappy with the FinePixViewer software once installed. Sometimes when I turned on my printer, the FinePixViewer would pop up unexpectedly. I found the software cumbersome and difficult so I uninstalled it and am now using a SanDisk ImageMate 5 in 1 Reader to download photos to a designated file of my choice. I am very satisfied with the results.
On: 2007-07-05
I had a hard time deciding what camera to buy when my Sony Cybershot PC10 finally died. The thing I disliked the most about the Sony was the orange light it put out before you took a picture and the lag time between pics. So after extensive research I decided to go with Fuji for the price and good quality and reviews from Amazon. Although I do take good pics with it, I sometimes miss my Sony. The main reason is I often feel like Ive taken a bad picture with the Fuji because the LCD screen is a little blurry, but I did know that was a factor when I bought it. So I end up taken multiple pictures just to make sure I have a good one. The pictures do turn out fine, but I never feel confident about them until I actually view them on the computer. So be aware of this, but do know the pictures will turn out fine.
The things I really like about this camera are:
the short lag time between pics,
the ability to take a natural pic and a pic with flash to determine which to use (VERY handy feature!),
the anti-blur button works great with my fast moving 3 year old,
the video feature allows you to take as much video as your XD card will hold (dont use my real video camera any more!),
all the different shooting modes are great!
All in all I am pleased with my decision to buy this camera. This is a great camera for the price and I look forward to taking many more great pictures of our family!
On: 2007-06-26
This camera is so small and light you hardly know
you have it with you. Take it anywhere. But its best
feature is its speed of response and low-light
capability.
On: 2007-06-21
I went to Best Buy in December to try out all the small digital cameras and immediately and instictively knew how to work it. This camera has a working video option that I have to figure out how to take the shake out of but other than that it is totally fun to take pictures again. I have taken more pictures with this camera over the past 5 months than I had in the previous 5 years. It takes great pictures by the way. I carry it in my car and in my pants pocket everyday. If it ever breaks I will just buy another one - it is that good.
On: 2007-06-15
My new camera arrived in perfect condition and in a timely manner and is everything I expected.
On: 2007-06-13
I bought two of these cameras for my wife and daughter. They were having trouble shooting pictures of my grandchildren indoors. Based on the reviews of this camera, I chose it. Since that time, both my wife and daughter have shot hundreds of pictures indoors with great success. I have also used my wifes camera a few times and found it to be a quality camera. The battery life is great and pictures shot in low light conditions arent grainy. I would recommend this camera to anyone who needs a point and shoot camera for use in low light conditions.
On: 2007-06-08
We bought this as a graduation gift for our daughter. It is typical Fuji. High quality, feature packed and generally fun to use. I tested it prior to giving it to make sure all was OK. Being familiar with Fuji digital cameras (ours is also a Fuji) it was quick and easy to start using without reading the manual. It is significantly smaller than ours yet feels very solid and well built. One nice improvement over ours it the placement of the On/Off button. Now it is all but impossible to hit this by accident. Focus is fast, recycle time is quick and if there isnt a mode to suit your situation (like, 14 of them) then you can do some serious manual work instead. I have used the FinePix software in the past and it was also nice. Now we use iPhoto on a Mac and life is REALLY simple. My only suggestion for anyone buying this camera or any digital camera is buy 2 memory cards in place of 1 huge card and if the battery is a Lithium Ion type, get a spare battery and external charger. This way you are always ready to go for even extended periods away from power. The 2 memory cards help if, for some reason one gets damaged, you have a backup. We have had memory cards go bad so at least you would have a decent sized backup. We purchased 2- 512MB XD cards because of this. Typically we shoot at about 2 resolution settings down from best. This yields over 500 photos per 512MB card! At this resolution the quality is good enough for prints and there is enough data for your photo editing software to make necessary corrections and improvements. About 2 years ago I convinced a buddy to buy a Fuji and as an outdoorsmen he loves the camera. Im sure there are other quality digi-cams out there but for my money, Fuji yields tremendous bang for the buck with quality among the best of them.
On: 2007-06-04
The basic controls are easy to find. Screen is large and clear for viewing menu commands or framing your shot. Speed of powering up, between shots and very short shutter delay have helped me get the shots I used to miss.
Picture quality has been great.
My old fuji digital would let the batteries fall out when the bottom cover was opened. I really like the new design; a much better catch for the bottom cover and individual catches for the card and the battery. Battery life (rechargeable) has been great. I used to go through AA batteries in my digital camera like popcorn.
Camera has metal body and lens extension seems solid, a big improvement over my old plastic one. Because it feels so sturdy, and is small and fast, I take it with me nearly everywhere. For the price, I couldnt find a better camera for interior/low light and now that I have it, I havent been disappointed.
On: 2007-06-02
Had the camera for 4 days and a friend dropped it. As it turns out, it costs more to repair than it does to replace. Big disappointment.
On: 2007-05-31
Considering around $110 after rebate (if applicable), it is almost perfect for pointing and shooting purpose. As other reviewers said, the quality of pictures is great.
On: 2007-05-31
Although I had to change the address because the product was LATE, it was still a very good purchase.
On: 2007-05-27
Excellent camera. I like the compact size, big viewing screen and simplicity to operate. Good quality picture.
On: 2007-05-26
This camera is awesome. We have taken multi-generational family photos and they turned out almost professional looking. I would reccomend this camera to anyone.
On: 2007-05-25
Ive tried several other cameras before settling on this one. Low light performance is truly exceptional. Overall the camera does quite well, nice sharp pictures.
Dynamic range in bright sunshine seems lower than I expected, however it doesnt seem anywhere near as bad as some reviews make it out to be. Ive shot over a hundred pictures outside in bright sunshine by deep shadows. Generally the exposure setting has almost always been ideal. Contract is high, which usually gives the picture an appealing look. Some detailed reviews show dynamic range drops as ISO goes up, maybe thats why some reviews think its not the greatest dynamic range. ISO 100 pictures Ive taken in bright sunshine showed good dynamic range.
Bottom line, it seems to be an excellent camera with few if any drawbacks.
On: 2007-05-23
It was nice while it lasted. I just packed it up and shipped it to Fuji to repair the front lens cover, which either stays half closed with the lens extended or half open with the lens closed, depending on how you look at it. Either way, cannot take pictures with it anymore.
After only a month and a half of ownership, Im not happy about this. Even if Fuji fixes it under warranty at no charge, I have no use of the camera while they do so, and I had to pay to ship it to them insured, with UPS. Adding that cost to the camera alone, I could have bought a more fully featured model from a competing manufacturer.
Maybe Im spoiled, but Ive had a ton of digital cameras since the first floppy Sony Mavicas debuted back in the dark ages. This is the FIRST one Ive needed to send out for repair.
On: 2007-05-23
I had been waiting for the price of 5-6 mega pixel dgcs to come down in price for about two years. Boy am I glad that I waited for this gem of a camera to arrive. I have used Fuji Digital before at about the 1.3 mega pixel range and was realatively impressed with the shots that came out of it but was always looking for a better camera to handle low light situations. Look through quite a few cameras in the DSLR range, but alas, I dont own a hedge fund or private equity firm that would afford me the cash to actually purchase one! Nothing else left to do but to go to my favorite links: Daves Pick List and Steves Digicams. I have enjoyed Digital potography since my body suffered a Major Stroke; cause it gives me visual work to stimulate my affected brain areas, especially with the software and I needed aroun 5-6 mega pixels for cropping purposes.
This camera is just what the Doctor ordered, so to speak, it went on my trip back to Ohio with me from Phoenix for a 28 year reunions with a couple of musicians that I worked with in the late 70s early 80s for personal around town shots, If I can figure out how to include a few of those shots in here I will.
Fairly simple to use even with someone like me who has traumatic brain injury, I like the way it handles and I have the 1 gig memory. The photographs in low light and daylight are impressive to me and I have shot only at the 3mp range so far. I am happy as hell with this camera. To borrow a phrse from one of the other reviewrs who brought it into their review, it is an excellent PHD (push here dummy) camera, I would have to agree.
The quality of the pictures at ISO 800 are far better than cameras I have tried at ISO 400 on those points others have mentioned I would have to share consensus with also. The only thing that really bugs me about the camera is the charging port/download compartment---Fuji---Come on---You could have come up with a much better flip cover for that, with all the brains in your corporation, that was a cheap shot, so I hope you have a future cover for it when the one on mine breaks at some point.
Nice feel to the camera, charges fairly quickly, I am happy as heck about this camera. Yes I would buy it again, although I might try the newer ones (F30 etc) when they get control of the noise on the higher ISO settings. Cant go wrong with the purchase of an F20. I would have to say Daves Picks and Steves Digicams were clear and informative in leading to my selection of this camera and boy they are right on the mark, other than going to see some of the other cameras that were so much smaller, this one is comfortable in the my hand.
Do Yourself a favor and get a case for this one, it deserves it. Cause you are going to want to have access to it throughout the day and night. Only other down side I have with it is thatI wish FUJIFILM would have included some drivers for it to be used as a webcam cause the clarity of this camera is phenomenal. You need anything better? Its not a DSLR, besides, I dont hold off balance sheets to afford such a camera.
Wonderful Camera and great speedy service from the vendor when ordering it here on Amazon.
On: 2007-05-19
the low light ability is somewhat hyped especially people who claim it approaches that of a DSLR...but Ill admit, its pretty good compared to current crop of small P&S. Another observation: the camera seems to do some post-processing of image on-chip. This is why I feel so: when I load a pic from it into Photoshop, and apply standard adjustments like Auto Levels, Auto Color etc, there is no difference. In other words, the camera already did that on the image, it seems; whereas with my Sony V1 (old reliable horse), I can apply those adjustments. I dont think this is bad necessarily but just am curious if anyone knows this for a fact (that F20 indeed does some default post-processing on the image).
On: 2007-05-19
This camera was a great value. It takes awesome pictures and the battery last a long time. I purchased a separate 1gb card which hold almost 400 photos at full resolution.
On: 2007-05-18
I am a professional graphic designer, and I am very good with digital cameras. That being said, you might not think this camera is as good as I do if you dont have extensive digital photo training and experience and dont know how to take advantage of its powerful imaging sensor.
I have been able to coax a lot out of this little camera in the short time Ive owned it. One of the ways to do that is to work with the white balance, bracketing and image settings. Also using the manual ISO setting is important in getting excellent pictures. I havent even gotten to take advantage of the continuous shot mode, but looking forward to it.
The sharpness on this thing even at 400 ISO is phenomenal. Macro setting is super sharp as well. Im just blown away by the detail this thing captures.... for $140!!!!!!!
Seriously, Im sure the F30 would be even better with the full manual settings, but knowing how to coax out the best from this camera, all I need is that super CCD image sensor and the high ISO settings and I can get what I need. I might even use this for some professional work, Im sure it will be good enough quality for print.
I didnt even charge up the battery before turning it on, and the thing still took about 50 pictures before needing to be recharged... So Im sure the battery life is ridiculously good.
Ease of use is great, buttons and menu are intuitive. Wish it used SD flash memory, but thats cool, its still great.
On: 2007-05-18
the low light ability is somewhat hyped especially people who claim it approaches that of a DSLR...but Ill admit, its pretty good compared to current crop of small P&S. Another observation: the camera seems to do some post-processing of image on-chip. This is why I feel so: when I load a pic from it into Photoshop, and apply standard adjustments like Auto Levels, Auto Color etc, there is no difference. In other words, the camera already did that on the image, it seems; whereas with my Sony V1 (old reliable horse), I can apply those adjustments. I dont think this is bad necessarily but just am curious if anyone knows this for a fact (that F20 indeed does some default post-processing on the image).
On: 2007-05-17
BUT I did want to comment on it as I was extremely happy with it & know that when I am researching something Im desiring to purchase I like to read a thorough review. When I first researched this & about 100 other cameras, I was looking for something user friendly, both with the cameras features & its techy connection to my computer. Ill have to say this has been the one new digital anything that Ive gotten that I am completely satisfied with. Id recommend the 1G xd card when you purchase it. The pictures come out crisp & clear & has many wonderful features like the image stabilization & a natural light/flash feature where itll take the same pic in both lights, safe them, giving you the option to pick which one is better. The low light, night shots are spectacular. Its F30 model is only different if you want to have a manual appiture. Otherwise, for the money THIS is a fantastic deal.
On: 2007-05-16
awesome point and shoot camera. Initially I was worried about the fact that there was no optical viewfinder but now Ive learned that the lcd works pretty well. I was essentially afraid that battery life would be heavily drained because of this, but in fact its been doing pretty well. Has a fair amount of options and good for people with shaky hands aka me. Great camera for its price.
On: 2007-05-16
One of the best camera in less price, produce good images even in low light
On: 2007-05-15
I love my camera. I wanted something inexpensive that took clear, non-blurry pictures. It does just that.
I had some software trouble uploading pictures to my computer. Now I simply leave my printer off till I have transferred my pictures. Problem solved. (Somehow my computer gets the two USB ports confused otherwise.)
On: 2007-05-14
Was on my way to Best Buy to buy a different entry level camera as a gift but stopped across the street first at Costco to buy a box of AA batteries to include with the gift. Stumbled on this neat little camera and was blown away by the feature set. Ended up buying two - the other was for me since I was looking for a decent smaller camera to take with me on my frequent business trips.
After 3 weeks, I finally returned it. I tried to reconcile the fact that it was such a good deal but I just didnt think it met Fuji standards. I think they simply crammed all sorts of features you typically see in much higher end cameras but didnt really maintain the same quality levels. I own a Fuji A400 and a more sophisticated S5100 as well as a couple of nice Olympus cameras and really expected more.
The LCD screen is misleading because photos look decent there but wait until you see them on a full size computer screen.
The best shots are made using the AUTO mode without zoom and taken in bright daylight.
The things that bugged me the most were the zoom, both optical and digital (too blurry), the proprietary battery (many Fujis use AAs which are easy to find in a pinch), mandatory software to transfer fotos (majority of digital cameras are recognized as an external device and behave just like an external drive for easy transfer), and the lack of a view finder which would overcome difficulty in seeing the LCD in bright conditions.
The features that I really liked are many. Heres a few worth mentioning. Remember, these are extremely rare in a pocket size camera. First are the super cool variety of shooting modes especially the "Natural &" which takes two shots in sequence, one with and one without flash (really handy when pesky shadows are around). I also had never seen continuous shooting mode options in a small camera. Thats the best way to capture subjects that are ever changing like kids playing, animals, or sports. It also helps to be able to change resolution settings with several to choose from topping off with 6 megapixel.
This is a decent starter-trainig camera that will teach a novice how to use many features that are common in more upscale cameras when it comes time to upgrade. Casual users who can tolerate photo quality comparable to disposable cameras will probably not notice any difference.
So I would give it to a first time digital user who has limited camera experience. The features are fun to use - just dont expect award winning photos.
On: 2007-05-14
There are no better deal between price and features. Enjoy, I really recommend you this camera. But sometimes the pictures appear purple distortion, but it is fine.
On: 2007-05-14
I am very pleased with this camera! It takes great pictures. I can take close-up photos of flowers and they look so good! It is very user friendly.
On: 2007-05-13
I recently purchased the f-20 after having a good experience with a previous camera. I had a problem with the pc adapter cable and called the fuji service center for a replacement. I am amazed at the unprofessional response. After sending in the bad part Im still waiting after 12 days and several calls to resolve such a simple issue. So beware, Fuji cameras are good, but my experience with their service has been awful.
On: 2007-05-13
Good quality, easy to use; Multiple-language on camera manual.
by: dj_primate On: 2007-05-04
This camera took good images, but only 3 weeks after I purchased it the lens would not not retract. The unit had been handled carefully and was in pristine condition, but they claimed I "dropped it", and tried to charge me over $100 to repair it!
After making several calls to explain what happened (i.e. that the lens had apparently just overshot its track), I finally got a technician who "reset" it when I was on the phone. Thats all that needed to be done. Then they sent an invoice for "non-warranty service", but never actually charged me anything. Im sure the purpose of the bogus invoice was to effectively void the warranty.
What this signified is that Fuji simply does not want to honor their warranty. Buyer beware!
Now I ONLY use it as a back-up camera (to a cheaper camera that doesnt take as good pics) or for low light shots without a flash, which is where it excels. I consider it $270 wasted (had to also get an expensive memory card thats not compatible with most cameras).
As for performance, it performs well enough. The flash is not overwhelming at close range, and it really does a fantastic job at taking pics without a flash under relatively low light, such as around dusk. The main weaknesses are that its rather user-unfriendly compared to other cameras Ive used, requires an expensive battery and memory card, and has a lousy macro mode: about 4-6" is as close as you can get.
So it performs OK, but I have to wonder about the quality of its manufacture and its durability. Crapping out in 3 weeks is not good; trying to weasel out of the warranty is even worse. If you still want to buy this camera, get a store warranty or use a credit card that provides extended warranty coverage automatically.
On: 2007-04-02
Heres the deal about the F20, its a great little camera for a point and shoot. This little guy is turbo charged. It fires up in a split second eager to take pictures. But its low light performance is being exaggerated. Its not the cameras fault really, they put a restrictor plate on it. Its true that the F20 has the same guts as its bigger brother F30, but the F30 has much more horsepower, and the reason why? MANUAL CONTROLS. You simply cannot take advantage of the high ISOs without some shutter control. If this isnt your bag, then you should be okay. But the real low-light performer is the F30.
On: 2007-03-30
Estou no Brasil.
Só compro na Amazon e sempre deu tudo certo.
A entrega é imediata e sem burocracia.
O produto é bom e atende às minhas necessidades.
On: 2007-03-27
I really like this camera and at its current price its hard to beat. Theres been a lot said already but I think what it boils down to when choosing between the F20 and F30 is - do you want to pay more for a "dial" - more about that later.
PROS (in order of importance to me)
1. Excellent low light shots! I cannot emphasize this enough. But please dont compare it to a DSLR - thats simply not fair. I compared it to a Canon SD700 IS - I carried both for testing and took identical shots. The Fuji outperforms the Canon hands down in this department. The Fuji took clear shots inside libraries and museums using natural light which is specifically what I wanted. The Canon produced photos in natural light that were grainy and blurry. I prefer to use natural lighting as much as I can so this is probably the most important factor to me.
2. Out of the box simplicity. I read somewhere someone saying this was not a good P&S. I do not agree with that. My SO was visiting DC and the Baltimore area and I debated which camera to give him - the Canon or the Fuji. This is the most un-technical person I know - he still has trouble with the whole "holding the shutter halfway down to focus" on digital cameras. However, knowing he would be in museums, memorials, etc, I gave him the Fuji and made sure that after I played with it, it was all set back to auto. He came back with beautiful clear shots! Far nicer then anything hes been able to achieve with previous digital cameras. Most indoor photos used natural light and his flash and outdoor photos came out great - all set on AUTO.
3. Nice size and solid construction. This is not a "plastic" camera like a couple others we have in our house that cost nearly the same. Its metal and feels solid in your hands. Its not as compact as others (like the Canon SD700) but actually for me, its better. I dont have big hands at all, but some of the smaller cameras are just too small even for me. Its small enough for a pocket or purse.
4. Lots of scene selections for when you want to experiment. This camera gives you a lot of pseudo-manual controls to play with but not like an SLR where you can adjust shutter/aperture. It gives you enough to experiment with and manipulate. Read the specs - I wont go into them all here except to say that the Natural/Flash mode is genius!
Which leads me to CONS
1. Nearly everything is menu driven. I find this cumbersome at times. I think I would be happier with the F30. But I was new to Fuji and didnt want to sink that much money into a camera brand that I was unfamiliar with so cest la vie. Heres an example of how its annoyed me: Were in the forest and Ive gone thru the menus to select the macro setting - minimum 6 clicks in the menu system. I am taking closeups of some foliage when behind me, my golden retriever does something comical that I would have loved to take a picture of, but I dont even try the shot knowing that in macro mode, theres little hope of a good outcome and it would take too long to get it back in auto mode using the menu system. With the Canon, I could have quickly moved the external dial to AUTO and tried the shot. I know that this is a bit of an extreme example but I wanted to share it knowing that a lot of you, like myself, want to experiment with the scene selections but will also use AUTO. If you think youre going to use AUTO most of the time, then its probably of little consequence to you. But you may want to consider the F30 for this reason. Now there *is* a button on the back called f-mode which is there to allow you to make some quick settings changes. Its basically a smaller selection menu which means youd get your settings done quicker, but what Fuji chose to place in this shorter selection menu is befuddling to me. I can see the value of the ISO setting there but honestly, the other two settings are (IMO) dumb. Picture quality (choosing between Normal, Fine, and a few others) is something I usually set once and forget about. This belongs only in the longer more tedious menu selection. Same with the other selection - Finepix Color where you can choose Normal, Chroma, and B&W. If Im setting those Im thinking about the shots - they dont need to be in the "quick pick" menu. I think Fuji should replace one of those with a quick pick setting that puts the camera in all auto mode. Maybe I just havent found the way to do it - if there is a simple fast way to get into AUTO mode, then someone please tell me. One of the few external buttons is the anti-blur button and it is very handy.
2. Like everyone else - I dislike the charging system. You can purchase a standalone charger however.
3. xD card - everything else I have in life takes SD cards. My card reader doesnt read xD. A mild annoyance.
4. I dont particularly like the slow zooming when in playback mode.
5. Slower then other camaeras when deleting photos in camera and formatting the card.
The rest - LCD quality, no optical viewfinder (the Canon has one but it is so tiny its hardly worth it) the battery life, zoom, macro mode are all good enough - not spectacular on the F20, but not bad either. They really werent much of a factor in my buying decision.
All in all - I really like this camera and use it a lot. There are some annoying quirks but they simply dont overshadow the wonderful photos it produces - especially in low light when compared to other compact cameras.
On: 2007-03-26
I really like this camera and at its current price its hard to beat. Theres been a lot said already but I think what it boils down to when choosing between the F20 and F30 is - do you want to pay more for a "dial" - more about that later.
PROS (in order of importance to me)
1. Excellent low light shots! I cannot emphasize this enough. But please dont compare it to a DSLR - thats simply not fair. I compared it to a Canon SD700 IS - I carried both for testing and took identical shots. The Fuji outperforms the Canon hands down in this department. The Fuji took clear shots inside libraries and museums using natural light which is specifically what I wanted. The Canon produced photos in natural light that were grainy and blurry. I prefer to use natural lighting as much as I can so this is probably the most important factor to me.
2. Out of the box simplicity. I read somewhere someone saying this was not a good P&S. I do not agree with that. My SO was visiting DC and the Baltimore area and I debated which camera to give him - the Canon or the Fuji. This is the most un-technical person I know - he still has trouble with the whole "holding the shutter halfway down to focus" on digital cameras. However, knowing he would be in museums, memorials, etc, I gave him the Fuji and made sure that after I played with it, it was all set back to auto. He came back with beautiful clear shots! Far nicer then anything hes been able to achieve with previous digital cameras. Most indoor photos used natural light and his flash and outdoor photos came out great - all set on AUTO.
3. Nice size and solid construction. This is not a "plastic" camera like a couple others we have in our house that cost nearly the same. Its metal and feels solid in your hands. Its not as compact as others (like the Canon SD700) but actually for me, its better. I dont have big hands at all, but some of the smaller cameras are just too small even for me. Its small enough for a pocket or purse.
4. Lots of scene selections for when you want to experiment. This camera gives you a lot of pseudo-manual controls to play with but not like an SLR where you can adjust shutter/aperture. It gives you enough to experiment with and manipulate. Read the specs - I wont go into them all here except to say that the Natural/Flash mode is genius!
Which leads me to CONS
1. Nearly everything is menu driven. I find this cumbersome at times. I think I would be happier with the F30. But I was new to Fuji and didnt want to sink that much money into a camera brand that I was unfamiliar with so cest la vie. Heres an example of how its annoyed me: Were in the forest and Ive gone thru the menus to select the macro setting - minimum 6 clicks in the menu system. I am taking closeups of some foliage when behind me, my golden retriever does something comical that I would have loved to take a picture of, but I dont even try the shot knowing that in macro mode, theres little hope of a good outcome and it would take too long to get it back in auto mode using the menu system. With the Canon, I could have quickly moved the external dial to AUTO and tried the shot. I know that this is a bit of an extreme example but I wanted to share it knowing that a lot of you, like myself, want to experiment with the scene selections but will also use AUTO. If you think youre going to use AUTO most of the time, then its probably of little consequence to you. But you may want to consider the F30 for this reason. Now there *is* a button on the back called f-mode which is there to allow you to make some quick settings changes. Its basically a smaller selection menu which means youd get your settings done quicker, but what Fuji chose to place in this shorter selection menu is befuddling to me. I can see the value of the ISO setting there but honestly, the other two settings are (IMO) dumb. Picture quality (choosing between Normal, Fine, and a few others) is something I usually set once and forget about. This belongs only in the longer more tedious menu selection. Same with the other selection - Finepix Color where you can choose Normal, Chroma, and B&W. If Im setting those Im thinking about the shots - they dont need to be in the "quick pick" menu. I think Fuji should replace one of those with a quick pick setting that puts the camera in all auto mode. Maybe I just havent found the way to do it - if there is a simple fast way to get into AUTO mode, then someone please tell me. One of the few external buttons is the anti-blur button and it is very handy.
2. Like everyone else - I dislike the charging system. You can purchase a standalone charger however.
3. xD card - everything else I have in life takes SD cards. My card reader doesnt read xD. A mild annoyance.
4. I dont particularly like the slow zooming when in playback mode.
5. Slower then other camaeras when deleting photos in camera and formatting the card.
The rest - LCD quality, no optical viewfinder (the Canon has one but it is so tiny its hardly worth it) the battery life, zoom, macro mode are all good enough - not spectacular on the F20, but not bad either. They really werent much of a factor in my buying decision.
All in all - I really like this camera and use it a lot. There are some annoying quirks but they simply dont overshadow the wonderful photos it produces - especially in low light when compared to other compact cameras.
On: 2007-03-23
After much thought, I ordered this camera to upgrade from my old Fuji Finepix 2.0 megapixel camera. I have to say, the pictures dont look to me to be 3x clearer on this 6.3 megapixel model. And I guess Im getting old because, like cell phones, smaller isnt always better for me! Its a little harder to navigate with the tiny buttons, but Im sure Ill adjust. If you order this camera, just add in the extra $25-30 memory card right away and consider it part of the purchase. I literally took 6 pictures when it said "memory full." But, for the $150, its a nice little unit and will serve my purposes until technology surpasses me again and I buy another camera!
On: 2007-03-13
For less than $200 this is a great camera. It is by no means spectacular, but for the price, it does a good job. I own a Canon Powershot S60 as well, and the Canon outdoes this camera in some ways, but its not pocketable. The F20 is easy to use, the menu interface is fairly simple and self-descriptive, it powers up and is ready to take a picture quickly, and shutter lag seems average (close to the S60). However, the only way to eliminate shutter lag is to buy a DSLR. The "anti-shake" mechanism is not really useful at all, it merely boosts the ISO to 2000 which makes the image unprintable (at least indoors). I have yet to try it this feature outside. Ive also found that dialing down the exposure compensation helps with the lowlights, especially outdoors. Manually setting the ISO from 100-400 will, I hope, make for more printable, usable pictures. I had actually thought of returning this little camera, but then realized that I could find nothing, for the price, that would be able to compete. I really wanted a 28mm lens, only found on more expensive models like the Canon sd800is, or Lumixs (which apparently have tons of noise at low ISOs). Its pocketable, portable, and with a little tinkering you can get what you want from it.
On: 2007-03-04
Once in a while a truly good bargain comes along. The Finepix f20 is such a bargain. Of course, there are better cameras and cameras with more features but not at the f20s price. Its not a camera that will meet everyones needs, but it is an excellent camera.
In addition to its quality construction, it features: 6.3 megapixels, Fujis new CCD sensor, ISO 2000 sensitivity, Dual Shot Mode (with/without flash), 15 scene modes, good battery life, quick response times, bright 2.5 inch LCD, and more. There are some manual features but no manual conrols for aperture and shutter speed and no viewfinder. All these features would mean nothing if it didnt take good photos. Some of the photos taken with this camera (particularly low light photos) are stunning. I dont see how you could go wrong with this camera at todays prices.
The only negatives for me are the Xd memory card and no viewfinder. However, those are minor and nothing is perfect.
On: 2007-02-14
This camera is supposedly GREAT in low light. Supposed to have a better, larger sensor. Well, its OK but its not all that great. If you shot at a high ISO (800 or higher) you start loosing detail. The noise filtering gives the pictures a kind of "watercolor" appearance. The effect is quite noticable at iso 800, once you go beyond that its fairly bad. You could print an iso 1600 photo at 4 x 6 inches and as long as you dont look closely, the photo will look ok. But if you print it larger, look closely, or zoom in on your screen, the picture will leave a lot to be desired.
The small size and retracting lens are great. The camera is small and light enough that I just carry it around with me all the time every day now. THAT is a big feature, though certainly not unique to this camera there are not many decent cameras at this size and price.
It surprises me that so many reviewers that say they are serious photographers that use digital SLRs praise this camera so much without telling us about its shortcomings. The effect of the noise reduction really is bad.
With that in mind, a shot with less detail is ABSOLUTELY still better than not being able to get a shot at all, or an extremely motion blurred shot. My father in law also has one of these and he loves his.
My only other gripe is that it uses xD memory rather than the FAR more common and less expensive SD memory.
On: 2007-01-24
This is my second Fujifilm camera. I recently bought this one after my dog ate (yes ate) my older one... I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality of pictures I have taken with this camera in comparison with my older camera (not sure the model but it was 3MP). Im also not a photography guru, and perhaps thats why I like Fujis, they are pretty self-explanatory. Outdoor shots and shots right before sunset seem to be the best!
On: 2007-01-20
I call cameras like this PhDs (Push Here Dummy) because I can not work a camera with more than the simplest of systems. This camera works great for me. Very compact and light with good battery life. It works in low light and bright and the image stabilization work well and I get nice sharp pictures now.
The display on the back is nice and large given the small size of the camera.
The image on the display is clear and bright even in the brightest light outside.
I wish there was a docking station like I had with the Fuji Finepix F410. It was a great gizmo and made charging the camera and down loading the pictures very easy
Buy it and enjoy it and if you are like me, overwhelmed by complicated gizmos, this is a simple straight forward camera to use.
On: 2007-01-19
I call cameras like this PhDs (Push Here Dummy) because I can not work a camera with more than the simplest of systems. This camera works great for me. Very compact and light with good battery life. It works in low light and bright and the image stabilization work well and I get nice sharp pictures now.
The display on the back is nice and large given the small size of the camera.
The image on the display is clear and bright even in the brightest light outside.
I wish there was a docking station like I had with the Fuji Finepix F410. It was a great gizmo and made charging the camera and down loading the pictures very easy
Buy it and enjoy it and if you are like me, overwhelmed by complicated gizmos, this is a simple straight forward camera to use.
On: 2007-01-16
This camera was purchased for my wife to replace an older Olympus digital camera. The camera is very compact, has a great 2.5" display and easy to use controls. The pictures taken too date have been sharp with great colors. In short; my wife loves the camera, especially the ability to take pictures without a flash in low light conditions and the long battery life. She will love it even more when she learns to use more of its many features.
On: 2007-01-10
This camera is everything they said it was. It takes great pictures, is very user friendly nad processes the pictuers fast. I also like the feel of the camera.
On: 2007-01-10
I was looking for a small, relatively inexpensive digital to take on trips and carry around in my pocket. (I already have a Canon Digital EOS Rebel but dont care to schlep it around the world!) After much research this seemed to have the right features at the right price. At under $200 on Amazon and with a couple of gift certificates, the price was easy on the wallet.
The performance was good. Without the image stabilization on I was able to take good daylight pictures but indoors the slightest movement caused some blurred shots. The image stabilizer seems to work adequately; although I did a comparison of indoor tripod shots without stabilization and hand-held with stabilization. The shots without were much crisper and more well-defined but the stabilized shots were very good but just didnt seem to have the same focus quality.
Where this camera really earns its keep is in low light situations. I was shooting without flash in museum that did not allow flash photography and was amazed at the results that I got in very low light conditions. Noisy images were a problem when the light level was very low but I must say that with a certain minimum level of light the pictures were very good!
Indoor flash photography leaves me wishing for a little better performance. The images are a bit washed out and the flash is not well diffused. My wife has the Canon SD800 IS and side-by-side comparisons of the flash photos shows quite a decided performance difference. Perhaps not a fair comparison given the Canon is twice the price but I think the Fuji should perform a bit better than it does.
The speed of the camera is good and I never found myself waiting on the camera to take the next picture or come on. Power it on and start shooting! Ergonomically the controls are well positioned and easy to use and understand. The feel of the F20 is solid and and well crafted.
On: 2007-01-10
Bottom line...my wife can use this in any setting to produce sharp and well saturated pictures.
by: roksyserg On: 2007-01-07
Okay, F20. First of all-you really cant compare this camera with any DSLR. Because in a way I did and I expected it to perform as well and it didnt. Focus is slow, theres shutter lug and image quality beyond ISO 800 is abysmal. Now again, I compare it to DSLR, which is not fare. But when I compare it to canons and nikons P@S cameras, this one is indeed excellent performer in low light, but again, comparing with p@s digital cameras. If your subject, person or whatever you are taking picture from is still as a stone and your hands as steady and sharpshooters hands-you will take good picture even on ISO1600, but otherwise it is going to be blur multiplicated on noise. Again I did all of my shooting in horrible poor light conditions, in order, to see how it perform without flash-it performed better than Canons and Nikons point and shoot digital, but didnt outperformed my Nikon D50. I suspect this camera will do fine in good light condition. One more thing, this camera appears to have higher ratio of compression of JPEG image files, which make it pretty much useless when you want to sharpen it in image manipulating software, on the other hand the noise this camera produce is much more pleasant to the eye, it looks like painting of French impressionists. So, my verdict is this: buy it as supplement to your DSLR if you need it-but remember this camera isnt what Leica M camera used to be for film SLR cameras.
Update: 1.22.2007
Still good for outdoor shooting. Indoor pictures getting worse and worse. You should always spotmeter while photographing people in poor light condition, never use cameras matrix meter. You cant believe cameras monitor-it always shows picture in better, means brighter condition than they are eventually appers at photographs. I dont know after using Nikon D50 its hard very hard, quality is just not there. Still better than Nikons and Canons P@S I used to use. I short, dont expect miracles with this apparatus, it will get you buy but never ever ever will come even close to your respectful DSLR. When they gonna make good point and shoot digital, when!!
On: 2007-01-06
Simple put, this is the best camera out there for taking pictures in poor or no lighting conditions. Pictures are crisp, sharp and clear. Definately cannot find anything bad to say about this camera except that it scratches pretty easily but then that has been a problem with all cameras ive owned to date.
This is a must buy for any picture enthusiast especially point and click photographers since it has a very good auto option. Also, nothing can move fast enough to cause pictures to look blurry. This camera is awesome
On: 2007-01-05
Ive had this camera for a week now and its been a nice surprise. Taking night shots is a blast with this camera because it WORKS. The pictures have been sharp and the menu is easy to navigate. The only thing I dont like is that it uses the xD, less popular of the memory module.
On: 2007-01-04
First of all it is a great camera loaded with unparalleled features at a great price. But, Fuji Canada has a very non-user-friendly site!. I am very happy with the camera I purchased, but not happy with the support there. I have had to input the same personal/product information twice, to register my purchase and then again to send a question. There is no phone support! Then, the accessory I am inquiring about is not even listed in the drop down box of accessories! (DUH!)
I want to know how to purchase a spare NP-70 Lithium battery for my F20 camera. Its not evenlisted on their site, yet it is the only battery for the F20!
Fuji needs to improve their support site!
On: 2006-12-31
The low light performace really differenciates this camera from all other compact cameras. The CCD sensor is bigger than other 6M ones, which means individual pixel size is larger. You can take normal indoor pictures without using flash. ISO 800 is clean and 1600 is also usable. I wish it had OPTICAL image stabliliztion.
On: 2006-12-28
This little champion wins best in class for compact all purpose camera. It tackles just about any situation with its lens and processor and gives you great pics all the time. If you have not had the pleasure of shooting pictures without a flash, you havent seen what perfect natural light photos look like. The F20 - like so many of the FinePix cameras - surpasses other manufacturers and models and really shines in this dept.
Here are the highlights:
Compact. This is a durable go anywhere camera.
Fast. Setup and shutter lag are minimal so you wont miss a pic.
Programs. An excellent range of programmed settings to cover a wide range of photographic sceanrios - comes in really handy for those tricky lighting situations like fireworks.
Low Light. Works superbly in low light. Pictures are so much more attractive without flash.
Flash. If you ever need it, is powerful enough to handle most situations.
Battery Life. Built-in rechargeable Lithium ion does the job for hundreds of pics on one charge.
Display. Bright and crisp but has a narrow angle - you need to look at it head on.
Picture Quality. Excellent. FujiFilm camera have always had great color saturation to look like actual film.
Interconnections: Plugging the USB and Power cable into the side of the camera takes a little getting used to.
Price. You cant get a better value for performance. At $172 youre getting a great deal on some of the best photo technology around.
On: 2006-12-27
This little champion wins best in class for compact all purpose camera. It tackles just about any situation with its lens and processor and gives you great pics all the time. If you have not had the pleasure of shooting pictures without a flash, you havent seen what perfect natural light photos look like. The F20 - like so many of the FinePix cameras - surpasses other manufacturers and models and really shines in this dept.
Here are the highlights:
Compact. This is a durable go anywhere camera.
Fast. Setup and shutter lag are minimal so you wont miss a pic.
Programs. An excellent range of programmed settings to cover a wide range of photographic sceanrios - comes in really handy for those tricky lighting situations like fireworks.
Low Light. Works superbly in low light. Pictures are so much more attractive without flash.
Flash. If you ever need it, is powerful enough to handle most situations.
Battery Life. Built-in rechargeable Lithium ion does the job for hundreds of pics on one charge.
Display. Bright and crisp but has a narrow angle - you need to look at it head on.
Picture Quality. Excellent. FujiFilm camera have always had great color saturation to look like actual film.
Interconnections: Plugging the USB and Power cable into the side of the camera takes a little getting used to.
Price. You cant get a better value for performance. At $172 youre getting a great deal on some of the best photo technology around.
On: 2006-12-26
Ive never been a big fan of Fuji, but decided to give it another try and bought this camera to replace my Olympus D-580, but was pretty dissapointed. It was kind of hard to take a sharp picture and the picture quality wasnt great. The outdoor pictures are fine, like with pretty much any camera, but the indoor ones are pale and dull. Overall I dont have any major complaints and I guess it would be a good thing for someone sho needs a basic average camera, but if you are fan of rich colors and bright pictures I would not recommend it. I sent it back and got a Sony instead and been very happy ever since.
On: 2006-11-08
An excellent camera with great low-light sensitivity for the price. I prefer this over the F30 due to simpler operation with same image quality. Also is very responsive. Outstanding movie quality.
On: 2006-10-29
Bought this camera for a friend 10 days ago and she has told me this camera is easy to use and has great colors. Shes not very savy with these type of gadgets but said she enjoys it very much. Plus side, the camera price has dropped about 14 dollars since I bought it just about 10 days ago.
On: 2006-10-29
The Fujifilm F20 is a good basic P&S digital camera that seems very solid and well built - only the battery/memory hatch could be a little more substantial. Image quality is OK, just be sure to dial down the exposure compensation about -2/3 stop (in manual mode) on bright, sunny days- like a previous reviewer has noted. This camera does not hold shadow or highlight detail very well at all in high contrast scenes. I find I have to do a lot of post processing with photoshop to get the images up to par. Low light performance is very good as advertised however. It is a fast camera; it powers on quickly, very little shutter lag - although the autofocus can be just a tad slow. Battery life is very good. The Manual mode and Anti-Blur mode seem a little gimmicky; its not a true manual mode where you can control shutter/aperature combinations, just ISO and exp. compensation. Anti-Blur uses ISO 2000 to get a faster shutter speed, however, with the noise it is not very useful, I dont think. There are several other competing cameras worth taking a serious look at before you buy... Canon A540, Panasonic FX-01, Nikon P4, and Olympus SP-350... all of these cameras have their quirks too; there is no "perfect" camera... yet!
On: 2006-10-07
PROS
Excellent high ISO images, nice LCD, variety of user adjustments, solid body
CONS
Occasional purple fringing, uses less popular xD memory
COMMENTS
After much research, I purchased a Fuji F20 in order to shoot in low light conditions without flash. The F20 (and its virtually identical sibling the F30) includes Fujis 6th generation SuperCCD sensor that promises high sensitivity in low light conditions without the usual image noise associated with conventional digital camera sensors. The F20s ISO range of 100-2000 turns out to be quite useable throughout the range. Ive taken hundreds of pictures in low light at ISO 800, 1600, and 2000 and the images are simply unmatched for their clarity, color fidelity, and lack of noise. There is no other point-and-shoot camera that can hold a candle to the Fuji sensors low light capabilities. The noise "grain" at high ISOs has none of the multicolored pixels that dominate the high ISO images from competitive cameras. In addition, the Fuji comes wrapped in a nice, solid body with good ergonomics and features for its small size.
Prior to purchasing the F20, Ive been using a Canon A610 (an excellent camera all around) and have been spoiled by the fine Canon image quality under normal lighting conditions (using ISO 50-200). Its hard to beat the Canon in daylight using its low ISO settings. When pushing the Canon to its ISO 400 limit, the images are very good but the multi-colored pixel noise is obvious if not distracting. The Fuji F20, on the other hand, produces images at ISO 800 that are easily comparable to the Canons ISO 400 and, in many cases, even its ISO 200 setting. The Fuji can snap photos under low, natural lighting that the Canon cant even attempt without using its flash. At normal print sizes, I find the F20s ISO 1600 images completely printable and useable. Several professional reviews have compared the Fuji F20/F30 image quality at ISO 800/1600 against digital SLR output at similar ISOs and found the Fuji output to hold its own remarkably well. Now that Ive used the F20 in a variety of shooting conditions I can say that its low light output indeed sets a new industry benchmark. The Fuji F20/F30 has opened up a whole new range of shooting modes that have simply not been possible without investing in high-end SLR equipment.
For those whove been wondering whether to go for the F30 or save some dough with the F20, heres my take. First, the F20 and F30 share the exact same 6MP sensor, processor, and lens. There will be no difference in image quality between the two cameras. What the F30 offers is aperture or shutter priority modes, a higher resolution LCD monitor, ISO 3200 instead of 2000, and a longer battery runtime. However, the F30s pseudo-manual mode may only be marginally satisfying to those craving full manual control since, like most point-and-shoot digitals, the f-stops are limited by the zoom setting youve chosen. I have seldom relied on using aperture or shutter priority modes in my point and shoot cameras since the program modes are excellent for most of my shots. As for the LCD, I have compared the F20 and F30 side-by-side and theres little to differentiate them especially since the F20 includes a 153,000 pixel LCD that is already at a higher resolution than most other 2.5-inch screens on competitive cameras. The LCD alone should not be the deciding factor. Battery life is very good on the F20 and typical of most consumer cameras at about 250+ shots per charge; however, the F30 nearly doubles the capacity per a single charge and this can be significant for many users who dont wish to have a spare battery on hand. Personally, I like to have a spare battery handy since I may not always have a full charge on the in-camera battery when I go shooting. Thats just my preference to safeguard against being totally stuck. Finally, the F30 has an ISO 3200 at its top end compared to the F20s ISO 2000. But nearly everyone is of the opinion that the F30s ISO 3200 is much less useable than the F20s ISO 2000 (and this may explain why Fuji reduced the F20 setting to something more realistic). All the other controls such as ISO selection, focus modes, scene modes, LCD refresh rates, and low-light ("anti-blur" as Fuji likes to call it) are the same between the F20 and F30. To summarize: The F20 and F30 are identical cameras in terms of image quality. The F30 comes at a competitive price with some nice additions (though not quite deal-breaking if image quality is your goal). But the F20 value is simply remarkable and the price difference goes a long way towards buying you a 512 MB xD memory card and spare battery.
There is very little to dislike about the F20. Fujis 6th generation sensor delivers on its promise for high ISO performance. Some folks think that Fujis color saturation is understated but I find it quite natural and more representative of the original scene. The preference for enhanced color saturation is nothing new -people like "better than real life" colors and so many manufacturers boost the saturation in order to generate what the customer believes looks good. To address this, the F20 provides a "FujiChrome" color setting to boost saturation but I find the Standard setting to be the most accurate.
As for lens performance, I have found moderate amounts of purple fringing in the high contrast areas of some images. Im sure Fuji will eventually solve this problem as some other manufacturers have. I have been impressed at how my Canon A610 is totally free of purple fringing at all focal lengths. Keep in mind that this purple effect is usually only noticeable when you view the remote details of your images at full size on your computer screen. You will seldom detect it in printed photos unless your prints are huge or highly cropped. Focusing performance has been very good with only a few mis-focused shots in very low light settings with the flash disabled. Nothing unusual here.
On the controls front, Fuji has provided a good range of controls such as exposure compensation, multiple scene/low light modes, various flash modes, and an unbeatable ISO range. Theres a really neat mode called Natural+Flash that shoots your scene with and without flash with a single shutter press. This ensures that youll always get a good picture to choose from and you wont have to ask people to wait while you change camera modes. Very, very clever. I also find Fujis menu system to be fast and logical to manipulate which is especially useful since most modes are accessed (quickly) through the menu system.
Besides manual ISO settings, Fuji also includes a couple modes called AUTO (400) and AUTO (1600) that limits the highest ISO that the camera can select. I really wish they would have thrown in an AUTO (800) setting since I have no problem allowing the F20 to select up to ISO 800 for just about any photo purpose. Just remember to dial in -1/3 or -2/3 compensation if youll be shooting in bright outdoors -youll help avoid blown highlights that can never be recovered in pp.
The only other minor issue is that Fuji is still sticking it out with xD memory while the rest of the world has virtually standardized on SD cards. Not a major deal, but it will probably require you to buy an xD card (I had to) and possibly a new card reader if youre coming from a different brand camera. I will probably buy the reader since Im not fond of downloading images by plugging in the camera to my PC every time. It would also be nice if Fuji included a separate battery charger instead of requiring the camera to be plugged in for charging. But this is the concession for making this camera available at such a low price and so I wont blame Fuji for that.
Having owned three Canon digital cameras (S10, A60, and A610) I thought long and hard about the switch to Fuji. The Canons are superb cameras and youre hard pressed to get a bad image from them. However, Ive increasingly found that I prefer to shoot natural light/low light scenes without flash and it is under these conditions that the limitations of conventional imaging sensors become apparent. This is where the F20 shines and I havent found any competitive sensor technology that comes close.
Fuji is poised to introduce some amazing cameras using this 6th generation sensor. But they will need the commitment to make sure that their entire camera line-up performs well from the lowest model to the highest. Success cant be built on just one or two successful models amongst a line-up of average offerings. This may well explain the success of Canon -every one of their cameras is a generally a high performer in its market segment. If Fuji implements their remarkable new sensors across the board and standardizes on SD memory, just imagine the choices well have! I applaud Fuji for bringing revolutionary CCD technology (that delivers on its promise) to the low-end market.
On: 2006-09-03
After much research, I decided on this F20 rather than the F30. Buying the F20 saves approximately $100 or more and only had to give up:
1) manual shutter and aperture priority (which I wouldnt use anyway in a basic point & shoot)
2) some LCD screen resolution (which is still better than many other cameras and doesnt affect picture quality at all)
3) some battery life (still takes approximatly 300 pics on one charge - plenty for me)
I appreciate Fuji putting this version out allowing us to save a little money for features that we might not use or that might not matter much for the extra money. Now I can take that savings and put toward a nice camcorder!
The real selling point for me on this camera though was the picture quality! The F30 (which this F20 is the same internally) is known for excellent low-light pics - giving great photo quality even at higher ISOs when pics usually begin to get fuzzy (aka lots of noise). And that was super important to me considering many pics are usually taken indoors anyway. The ISO 800 quality for this camera is equivalent or better than ISO 400 pics of many other cameras in its class/price point.
Even when knocking the pic quality down to 3 mp, the detail and clarity of my first shots amazed me! Just as expected, indoor shots came out excellent - the flash backfills really well. And I found the controls easy to learn. I really love this little camera, and Im picky when it comes to my electronics.
You will need to pick up an XD card though, as this camera doesnt have much internal memory. I found the 1GB card on sale, but probably would have been just as satisfied with the 512 mb - especially since I will take lots of pics on the 3 mp setting for email purposes.
On: 2006-08-31
For those on a budget and looking for a high-ISO capable compact digicam, this now available Fuji F20 does a wonderful job. Fuji took the internal picture quality essentials of the highly-regarded F30 (arguably one of the best overall P/S compact digital cameras) and made a budget version in the F20. This camera includes the same superb lens, low noise sensor and processor of the F30 while using a lower resolution (153K vs 230K) 2.5" LCD screen and a smaller battery. No shutter or aperature priority modes, either.
I have spent two days with this camera and its sharpness, color rendition, and amazing low light capabilties are identical to the F30. Resolution is high. Colors are natural and not overly saturated (like many Canons and some Sonys). For low light, non-flash photos, the least useful ISO3200 mode of the F30 has been limited to ISO2000 in the F20 which helps, though noise does start to creep in. Bypassing the "Anti-blur" feature and simply using the auto ISO (up to ISO1600) keeps noise manageable and pics are very clean. I have not yet noticed he much-discussed chroma problem -- aka purple fringing -- nor the tendency of the F30 to blow highlights in bright, contrasty outdoor scenes.
Shutter response is excellent. Handling is a bit different from the F30 -- noticeably lighter and the feel is not as substantial (it fits in my hands differently). The lower resolution screen seems to have a more limited field of view and is not as clear as the F30, though images are bright.
Overall, a great package for novices and advanced photographers needing a compact, affordable, well-designed camera that produces amazing results under varying conditions.
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