Customer Reviews

Fujifilm FinePix AX200 12 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Honestly, I purchased this camera solely for the HD recording feature. It's a bonus in that it takes pretty darn good pictures, too. I trust the Fuji name and I should have known this camera would deliver on both counts. My first digital camera was a Fuji A205, and even today it takes quality photos as good as it did almost 7 years ago.

Pictures are sharp and the colors are right on target. Response time after taking a picture without using the flash was just about 1 second or even slightly under a second, which is great considering this camera uses AA batteries; response time between pictures with the flash firing was around 2 seconds before ready to take another flash shot...a lot better than some other brands I've tried recently. (Specifically the Canon A495 and the Nikon L20, which I tried and eventually returned for a refund. This Fuji AX200 leaves these two cameras behind in the dust.)

A minor complaint I have with the AX200 is the shiny black plastic it is made of - it shows every fingerprint. It looks nice but I wish they would make these cameras with a matte black finish instead. The tripod mount is plastic also and is located in the center bottom, which is good for stability if using a mini-tripod.

The optical wide angle zoom on this camera is 5X (a majority of cameras at this price point have 3X). It uses readily-available AA batteries. The camera comes with 2 alkaline batteries; I was able to shoot around 125 pictures and some short movies with these batteries before they expired. I recommend buying rechargeable batteries; I got double the amount of shots with rechargeables. You also need an SD card, this camera has some internal memory, but not enough to do anything other than take a few pictures.

This camera is so easy to use, anyone from a young child to older people should have no trouble. I handed it off to my 5 year old nephew to use and even he could figure out how to take a picture. It's larger than an ultra-compact, and easier to hold onto. The measurements are 3.7" wide x 2.4" high x 1.1" thick. It's thicker on the end where the batteries and SD card are inserted.

You can take the camera out of the box and be taking pictures in no time flat. SR-Auto (the default) automatically senses the scene and adjusts itself accordingly: Portrait, Landscape, Night, Macro, Backlit Portrait, or Night Portrait.

There is no dial to change settings, everything is accessed thorough menu navigation. It's easy to select the right shooting mode as there is a full description on the screen as you scroll through the settings. For example: on the Portrait Scene, the description underneath says "Portrait with soft overall tone and beautiful skin tones".

In additional to having Face Detection, this camera has the following Scenes to choose from: Scene Recognition (SR Auto), Auto, P Program AE - where you can change ISO (100 to 3200), white balance and exposure. Natural - no flash - and flash - takes 2 pictures, 1 with flash, 1 without. Natural Light, Portrait, Baby Mode, Landscape, Panorama, Sport (I use this with pets that don't want to hold still). Night, Night with Tripod, Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, and Text.

This camera has Picture Stabilization (somehow built into the camera's software), but it is NOT optical image stabilization.

Next, you have your movie modes - 3 to choose from - HD at 720p, and also 640 and 320 in the AVI format.

This is IMPORTANT: You can use the optical zoom while recording movies, however, sounds will not be recorded AT ALL during the ENTIRE time the lens is zoomed out......But if you leave the movie zoom setting on digital, not optical, you will record sound the entire time it is on digital zoom. **This is a major complaint of mine for this camera.** I did keep my rating at 5 stars, though, mainly because I won't be using zoom that often on my movies, and the digital zoom isn't as bad "quality-wise" as I thought it would be.

If you want to play the movies back on your TV, you will need to purchase an additional A/V cable (AV-C1) if you don't already own one. If you want to play an HD movie back on your HDTV, you will need to purchase an additional HDMI cable. There is also an optional Model HDP-L1 player available on Fujifilm's web site, which includes an HD card reader and a remote. Since I don't have an HDTV myself, I didn't purchase this so I can't comment on it.

The AX200 also comes with very basic Fuji MyFinepixViewer photo editing software. It's compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP and Mac. This is one area where Fuji lags behind the rest; I wish they could come up with software as good as the Canon ZoomBrowser. The Finepix software was finally upgraded from the 2003 version with this camera, but it still doesn't impress me. Using XP requires a minimum 512 RAM and Vista requires a minimum of 1 GB RAM. Just download Picasa, it's better - and a free download.

I decided to get a new camera after I realized how bulky my Canon A40 has become. I started to research as my primary concern about the new camera will have to have 5x optical, minimum 28mm wide angle, and uses AA battery. This camera was a dream come true: with all of the above features, plus all the extras.

When I first received this camera, I was amazed how small it is even though it uses AA battery. The body feels quite plastic-ish but sturdy, as long as you don't drop it, it shouldn't break that easily. The grip is comfortable for one hand operation, but my hand is smaller than average, so for those with larger hands, you might want to get a feel of the camera before ordering. The silver edition does not seem to have the finger print smudge issue as of the black edition.

I received the camera and start to take random photos. I realized the supposedly best feature of this camera SR AUTO is causing the lens to constantly making a buzzing noise. I guess that's ok when you are out door, but can be annoying when you are in a class, or quiet environment. All the photos turn out ok on the camera LCD. I also played with the zoom and settings. The menus are really simple and easy to navigate. The thumbnail viewing function is the best I've seen.

After I loaded the photos into the PC, I found a major issue with this camera, which is supposedly its best feature - wide angle lens. I notice severe bending on the edge of the images. It's not as obvious in a scenery view, but you can still see that. However, for MACRO shots, you will feel like you are using a fish eye lens.

The sharpness of the image is average, not the best, but not the worst either. The main quality problem with this camera is the ISO, once you pass 800, the noise level is unbearable. However, if you use the SR AUTO, you cannot adjust ISO (hopefully there will be firmware update fixing this). Thus, I recommend users to manually set ISO when in low light; when you are out door or with abundant lighting, then use the SR AUTO to fully utilize this camera.

The video recording is great! Remember to use Class 6 or above speed if you like to make mini HD movies, else the camera will be really slow. The video quality is fantastic for a camera this price range.

After all, I returned this camera as I did not like the fish eye effect, also the ISO noise level. But this doesn't mean this camera is bad, you are definitely getting whole lot features with this price for such a small camera. If you want a cheap HD video recorder, not taking close up shots, and always in places with enough lighting, I would definitely recommend this camera.

PRO:

- Pocket sized

- AA battery powered

- Wide angle lens

- SR AUTO mode

- Great photo viewing function

- FANTASTIC HD video recording

- The only camera with AA + wide angle lens in this size

- REALLY inexpensive

CONS:

- Plastic body

- Image are bent on the side due to the wide angle, creates a "fish eye" effect

- Cannot adjust ISO in SR AUTO

- Buzzing noise when using SR AUTO

10/27/10 Update: When you buy an SD memory card, MAKE SURE THAT IT IS CLASS 4 OR HIGHER. Lower class (lower read/write speed) cards will cause the camera to freeze when taking HD video. I just experienced this problem with a lower class card and see from reading other reviews that other people are having the same problem, not realizing you MUST HAVE CLASS 4 or higher memory in order to shoot HD video. I also see from the Amazon page that "other people frequently bought" a 4 GB SanDisk Class 2 card along with this camera. That Class 2 card WILL NOT support HD video, according to the Fuji manual. I have ordered a Class 4 card and will report back when it arrives.

10/28/10 Update: Kingston 4 GB Class 4 SD card arrived today. I tried taking HD video clips outdoors this afternoon, and later this evening indoors. In the outdoor test, in bright afternoon conditions, using alkaline batteries, I took a total of 21 short HD videos. Of the first 10 videos, 2 caused the camera to freeze while it was shooting. Of the last 11 videos, 7 caused a freeze. Pretty bad, right? Well...this evening after dinner, I tried again, this time indoors. I took 16 more short HD videos in low indoor night light conditions, and NONE of them froze. Using the same alkaline batteries as before. No freezing. I tried switching to NiMH batteries...no freezing. I tried running the alkaline batteries until the camera shut down...no freezing. It's working perfectly now. Go figure... *****end of update*****

I read all the other Amazon reviews for this camera, and read the specs on the Fuji website before buying the camera. After using it for a day, I'm pleased to say that it has exceeded my expectations.

The menus are well laid out, and the modes and settings are very easy to change. I've read the manual fairly carefully and have experimented a good deal with some of the "shooting modes" and have the following suggestions and observations for those (few) who have complained of poor picture quality. (I've gotten outstanding results so far).

First, be aware that this camera has a WIDE ANGLE lens, which means that it's designed to capture a wider field of view than a "normal" 35 mm equivalent lens. This makes it good for close quarters (e.g. indoor photography where you're trying to get as much of a room as possible, or as many people as possible, into the frame). I just spent this afternoon photographing the interior of a small 17th century post-and-beam house, and the wide angle lens captured more of the interior than a 35 mm equivalent lens would have. The downside of the wide angle lens is that you will see some "fisheye" bending at the edges of the frame, but the bending does disappear as you zoom out to a longer focal length. The wide angle also means that, even with full zoom, subjects will appear farther away than with a "normal" zoom lens. So if you want maximum zoom magnification of distant objects, a wide angle lens probably isn't your best choice. On the other hand, if you want maximum field of view for nearby scenes and people, wide angle is the way to go. (This lens can also do "macro" closeups, but I haven't tried that yet).

Second, it helps if you read up on ISO settings and understand that some unavoidable digital "noise" creeps into digital photos at higher ISO settings. The higher the ISO setting, the more unwanted "noise" you're going to get. Therefore, you get the best quality shots at the lowest ISO setting (100 for this camera). Read the manual and learn how to either set the ISO manually to 100 (in shooting mode "Program AE") and/or use the other modes in such a way as to induce it to choose the lowest ISO possible. This camera seems to have very low noise at ISO 100, some at ISO 400, and is marginal at ISO 800. Try to avoid ISOs above 400.

Third, change the "Image Quality" setting from Normal to Fine. The camera comes set to Normal, which means that your photos will be digitally compressed to save storage space. However, the compression process loses some image quality. To get the best image quality, change to Fine, which will save photos without compression and thus give the best image quality. If you want more storage space and don't care so much about image quality, you can change back to Normal.

Fourth, read the manual and experiment with the different shooting modes, which make this camera quite versatile. I just shot the interior of the historic house I mentioned above using a tripod and the "Night (Tripod)" shooting mode, and the photos came out great even though there was little interior light and I chose not to use a flash. The Night (Tripod) mode gives up to 4 seconds of shutter open time for very low light conditions, at low ISO settings (like 100) for great quality shots.

Fifth, experiment with the "White Balance" adjustment in shooting mode "Program AE". White balance can make a big difference in the color of your shots.

Sixth, learn how to read the info shown on the screen as you set up for a shot. The shooting mode, ISO, image quality (Normal or Fine), White Balance, and flash status are all shown on the screen and are important things to be aware of. Depress the shutter button half way and see the shutter speed and f-stop displayed in the lower left corner. If the ISO and shutter speed aren't going to be satisfactory, make the needed adjustments to the shooting program or flash before taking the shot. Also learn how the auto focus works, how it signals that the auto focus has locked in(beep and steady green light) and how the red AF! indicator means that the camera is unable to auto focus, due to low light or some other condition. No focus=blurry photo.

Seventh, avoid the "SR Auto" mode. All it does is choose one of the other shooting modes automatically, which you should be able to do for yourself based on what/where you're shooting. According to the manual, the "SR Auto" mode is apparently a battery hog, because the manual recommends that, if your batteries are draining too quickly, you not use the SR Auto mode. And some of the other reviews here have complained about buzzing noises in the SR Auto mode (though I haven't experienced it). Don't bother using SR Auto. Problem solved.

In short, this camera gives you a lot of ways to take great pictures, but it can't do its best work until you help it out by setting it up right and learning how to understand what it's telling you. If you take the time to follow the above steps you'll be shooting great photos in one day. (And, to be fair, other reviewers have reported good results right out of the box without bothering to read the manual. Just saying...if you're getting bad results, don't blame the camera...unless it's obviously broken.)

I Have A Low Budget For This Kind Of Thing But I Really Wanted A Camera For Myself. So With My Set Budget I Looked Around At Cameras, Prices, & Features. I Was Getting Disheartened, But I Then I Saw The Fujifilm FinePix AX200. The Description Of The Camera Seemed Great For Its Price, So I Preordered The Camera.

The Overall Camera Is Great. The Biggest Letdown Is The Battery Life. This Camera Sucks The Life Out Of Batteries. I Like To Use Rechargeable Batteries, If Not At Least Recycle The Others When They Die. Camera Also Comes With Some Great Settings, Features, & Modes:

Image Size - From 2m - 12m

Image Quality - Fine Or Normal

3200 ISO

Exp. Compensation - Auto Or Manually Set

White Balance - Auto Or Manually Set

Continuous Mode - Up To 3 Pictures. Shot Up To 3 Consecutive Pictures

Intelligent Face Detection

Red Eye Removal

Scene Recognition Auto - Automatically Detects Scene Type & Scene Conditions And Sets Camera's Focus, Exposure, & White Balance Accordingly

Program AE Shooting Mode - Automatic Mode With Programmed Setting. Set Your Own Exposure, White Balance, Features, etc

Movie Shooting Mode - Movie Recoding With Sound. 720p HD Movies With Still Shots In 16:9

Natural & Flash Shooting Mode - 2 Images Shot Continuously Without Flash And With Flash

Natural Light Shooting Mode - Retains Natural Ambience Without Flash

Portrait Shooting Mode - Portrait With Soft Overall Tone And Beautiful Skin Tones

Baby Mode Shooting Mode - Suitable For Babies, For Natural Skin Tone Without Flash

Landscape Shooting Mode - Clear Scenic Shots

Panorama Shooting Mode - Panorama Pictures By Consecutive 3 Shots Or Less. Put 2 Or 3 Pictures Together To Create 1 Image. Example: Landscape With A Structure Focus Point Is Too Wide For A Single Shot. Select The Panorama Mode - You Can Choose 2 Or 3 Shots To Later Stitch Together. You Select 3. (Panorama Mode Works Best With A Tripod, In This Example You Have One.) You Set The Tripod At The Far Left Of The Scene. The 1/3 Of Your Shot Is Taken Here. Like It, Keep It. The Camera Will Show The Cutoff Of Your Shot So You Can Line It Up For The 2nd Shot To Make The Panoramic Shot In The End Match Up And Look Great. Just Repeat What You Did In The 1st Shot For The 2nd & 3rd Shots. The Images Will Then Be Lined Up And Put Together To Create A Single Image

Sport Shooting Mode - Suitable For Shooting A Moving Subject

Night Shooting Mode - Reduces Camera Shake With High ISO Setting For Night Scenery

Night (Tripod) Shooting Mode - Clear Shots Of Night Scenery With A Slow Shutter Speed

Fireworks Shooting Mode - Vivid Shots Of Fireworks With A Slow Shutter Speed

Sunset Shooting Mode - For Shooting Sunsets, Making Colors More Vivid

Snow Shooting Mode - Suitable For Shooting In Snowy Scenes

Beach Shooting Mode - Crisp, Clear Shots When Shooting On The Beach

Party Shooting Mode - Suitable For Shooting Indoor Events

Flower Shooting Mode - Effective For Taking More Vivid Shots Of Flowers

Text Shooting Mode - Effective For Taking Clearer Shots Of Lettering

Silent Mode - Turns Of Flash And Turns Down Volume Of Camera For Places That Require Non-Disturbance

Macro Mode - For Shots Of Up-Close Images

Picture Stabilization: Reduces Blur Caused By Such Things As Shaking Hands By Combining Higher Light Sensitivities And With Faster Shutter Speeds To Stabilize Pictures

Picture Time Delay - Delay Pictures By 2 Or 10 Seconds. Delaying By 2 Seconds You Can Have More Time To Reduce Blur Or Get Your Shot In Focus. If You Have A Tripod, You Can Delay Your Picture For 10 Seconds, Allowing You Time To Get In The Shot

Picture Search - Search For Your Pictures By Scene Mode, Look At 1 Picture At A Time On The Screen Or Choose To Look At 20 Pictures Or As Many As You Want Or Have. Looking At A Picture - When Looking At A Picture You Can Zoom In, A Small Box With The Whole Picture Will Show Up On The Side. That Small Box Will Have A Small Square In It Showing Where On That Whole Picture Your're Zooming In On.

Zoom - 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom

LCD Crystal Screen

There Are A Lot Of Great Things About This Camera. I Think It's Made Pretty Well. I Accidently Dropped A Heavy Battery Right On The LCD Screen. Thought I Broke It. I'm Clumsy...But The Camera Remained Unharmed And The Screen Was Still In Perfect Condition. It's Built Great And The Images Come Out Great As Well. I Definitely Recommend It.

A Couple Of Cons:

Battery Life - Like I Said Above, Sucks The Battery Life Right Out Of The Battery. I Suggest Rechargeable Batteries, You Won't Have To Buy New Ones For A Little While. The Camera Comes With A `Discharge' Feature That Drains The Rechargeable Batteries Life Out When You're Done Using The Camera . This Saves The Batteries Overall Life Span. Draining A Rechargeable Battery Completely And Then Recharging Them Makes Them Last Longer.

Sound - The Camera Makes A Lot Of Sound. It's Noisy When On The SR (Scene Recognition) Mode. The Sound Comes From It Constantly Scanning What's In Its View And Adjusting The White Balance, Selecting A Mode, Etc. But I've Gotten Used To It When I Want To Use The SR. If You Don't Want The Noise, Just Choose The Program Shooting Mode Or One That Fits The Environment Your In.

Besides That Other Things Are Minor. Depending On What Type Of Memory Card You Choose, Movies Can Last Up To Around 28min. I Have A Fujifilm SDHC 8GB Class 6 Memory Card. I Recommend It.

Got delivered in 7 days, nicely packaged with two AA batteries, manual + CD and cord to plug into computer.

I bought an 8GB sandisk memory card and rechargeable batteries with it.

I was very pleased with the design of the cam and the nice 5x zoom with decent quality.

The functions are very easy to learn and get used to, my only hassle is that i have to select for the video option and its not just a switch of one button b/w video and pic... (more like 3 buttons and it really matters when i wanna switch quickly b/w the two to take a pic or opt for a video!)

My major concerns: when sound is off, the flash and self timer is off as well...

WHen i was recording a video in HD for 60seconds+ and i pressed stop to save, it spazzed out and froze, after a minute it self shutdown and when i start it again, there was an error message for the video. This happened TWICE out of the ten times that i was recording, i have no idea what happened.

BTW: the two AA batteries lasted me ~6 hours (total ~200 pictures + 3 vids), battery life depends on how often you use the cam but this is just an estimate if it helps..

Lots of shooting modes: Scene recognition, auto, programmed, movie, natural light, portrait, baby mode, landscape, panorama, sport, night, fireworks, sunset, snow, beach, party flower, and text.

Overall it takes great pics and HD videos (its only $100 too!)

A real pearl. Does everything you need and more for a point-and-shoot camera. Good quality on build and pictures. Ease of operation, multi-language and short times to write and shoot. Bought two of them.

I have a Nikon D90 with Nikon 18-200mm lens. But at times I don't want to carry all that weight for taking pics when quality really does not matter. I was thinking about Canon S90 (which is probably the best point & shoot camera), but the $400 price tag was a setback. Anyways I decided to give Fujifilm FinePix AX200 a try. the picture quality is pretty good along with ease of handling. it is little bigger than most P & S cameras out there because of the AA batteries. So when I'm out of town I down have to carry a charger all the time. AA batteries are easily available everywhere. that was one factor I considered buying this. you will not be disappointed. it takes pretty good pictures and video. what the heck, it only cost around 100 bucks and Fuji makes good stuff. If you don't want something expensive give this one a try as a side kick for quick pics.

I just bought this camera online and am Impressed. I've been using a Sony 4mp for years. Back when I bought it, I poured-over all the online reviews. Soooooo many models to choose from! The little Sony had the best blend of price, image quality, build, and speed. It still works great!

But I wanted something with more resolution, and a little smaller. I also wanted a longer zoom and a larger LCD. One other important feature was that my new camera must operate on AA batteries. This last need really narrowed the field. Not many AA cameras out there anymore these days. I looked at 'em all. And read all of the reviews. I spent sooo much time at it that i got in trouble with the wife. I hands-on tested and read about the Nikon F20 & 22, Lumix LZ10 & LZ 8's (couple years old, hard to find new,) Kodaks, GE's and Canons a 1100, SX120 & 130, a 490 & 495.)

I ended up buying a Canon A2000. It was a couple of model years old, but was reviewed very well. 6x zoom, 3 inch lcd, 10mp, & optical stabilization. It takes very nice pics, but it is too big, and the zoom is a little clunky. It doesn't have a very wide lens. It also has a long pic-to-pic lag. When the flash is on, it's way-annoying. Still, a nice camera.

So, I saw the Fuji on clearance. I had to have it. I feel that with a little work and practice, the fuji is better. The canon is just too big to comfortably throw in a pocket and it looks way-dated. But the fuji is small, sleek, and can take great shots

I really like the AA power. You can buy batteries anywhere. I'm always the guy shooting at parties and trips long after everyone elses batteries are toast. The wide angle lens is nice (much wider than the canon's 28 vs 36), and if you don't need wide angle, just zoom a bit. Get closer and narrow the field. The zoom operates smoothly and quickly. (I actually got the AX 230. It's the same as the 200 but has a 3 inch big bright 3 inch lcd.) The batteries seemed to last longer in the Fuji, over my sony or canon. And it's significantly smaller than either. Pockets comfortably. If you see a photo opp at a party, but you've got to run get your camera off the counter, or outa the wifes purse, what's the point?

As one online reviewer indicated, you need to coach this camera to take great shots. Sure, you can start snapping away on Auto, and get some decent pics. But you can get some stunning shots if you understand the settings a little more and use them.

First and foremost, especially with indoor shots, I would highly recommend that you do not enable the digital image stabilization. This feature simply cranks iso to 800 or 1600 for low-light shots, in order to combat shakey hands. Pictures come out with tons of noise=grainy, pixelated=lame. When this feature is off, low-light indoor shots (without flash) are taken at ISO 400, and are much better. Another option that works well is to turn on the flash, and shoot indoors with flash.

Outside, my pics come out clear as a bell. As the other reviewer indicated, you should also avoid the SR Auto mode. My pics turn out better with plain-old Auto. If you want to frame a single person, inside or out, the wide angle lens often requires that you either A)Get close to your subject or B) you use the zoom a bit, as it's intended.

Oh yeah, the 720 video is awesome. Better than my Sony hard-drive handy-cam.

Bottome line= Great camera. Do as I indicate above with the camera settings. Keep your elbows in, close to your body (keeps the camera steady) and snap away. I got this little cam for less than $50 on clearance. It is sweet and hope it lasts a long time.

People keep complaining for some reason like if they're mad that it doesn't do more. What do you all want, for it to make you breakfast? It's a camera!

It does everything it says it does! I've heard a lot of people complain about the bending of the picture on the corners but i have not seen anything like it. I've had it for over a week but yet to see that. Also, about the noise it makes adjusting to take a picture in SR mode. Some people are just nitpickers!!! it's not overly loud or take forever to adjust at all. People just need to relax with their observations. They make it seem like it's a huge booming sound that's intolerable or something. I'ts not even loud. It's just adjusting anyway!! They tend to get too critical without realizing this: it's a under 100 dollar camera, be happy it takes pictures, if you don't want to wait 2 seconds for it to take a picture.....BUY SOMETHING ELSE. Go buy a 400 dollar camera. I bet you'll still find another inconvenience!

At first I tought that this camera was not a very BIG thing but when I used it, just change my point of view about it. The pictures taken have very good resolution and the videos are actually in HD, just need a memory card with enough capability to storage of your images and videos. 100% recommended