Customer Reviews

Fujifilm FinePix 2400 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's been 9 mos and 1000's of pictures since I bought this camera and I have no regrets. Although my wife still uses our 35 mm camera, most of the really good pictures we've taken in the past year (mostly of our kids) have come from my Finepix 2400. When I was shopping for a digicam last February, I compared this camera to the other 2.1 mpixel w/ 3x optical zoom offerings from Olympus (more money, no usb), Canon (digital elph...smaller, but more money, only 2x zoom, and proprietary battery), and Nikon (not as well reviewed as the others). The best features for the price fell out w/ the Finepix 2400. The only features it is missing a video out to TV and movie mode. I didn't think I'd ever really use these features so this was something I didn't mind missing out on.
Advantages: 3x optical zoom. Price is great. Most important: picture quality is superb. I take all my shots at the best resolution and highest quality. The 64mb card I added holds around 80 pics and I rarely fill it (thats like 3 or 4 rolls of film.) If I was going away, I'd probably step down a level in resolution or quality to fit more. I print on a regular two year old hp printer on photo paper and the results are amazing. Unless you specifically look from a few inches away, you'd never know the pics are from a digicam. Downloading to computer is a snap w/ the usb adapter. Just plug in the camera and it appears as a drive so you can do whatever you want. The included software has run fine on two computers, one w/ Win 98 and the other with WinME. Battery time is superb with NiMH batteries. I had heard all sorts of horror stories about digicams and battery life, but they last fine (I use the LCD about half the time). If I go out with fresh batteries they've never run out on me.
Downsides: Included photo viewer software is only fair and it took me a couple times to install correctly (note this was the photo viewing software, not the drivers...the drivers installed fine). Don't get me wrong, the software does the basics fine, it just isnt the greatest. On the plus side, Adobe Photodeluxe is included, and this is a terrific program. Low light performance is not great, but this is likely with any camera of this type. Startup and lag time between photos is also a little slow, but my understanding is this is also standard for digital cameras. Finally, the lag from shutter press to capture does take some getting used to. Partially pressing the shutter button to "ready" the image helps, but you don't get the near instant response you do from a conventional 35mm camera. The zoom will also not work for a couple seconds when the camera is writing a picture to the card.
Summary- There are lots of 2.1 megapixel digital cameras out there. The combination of great picture quality, all the features I wanted, and a price below the rest of the other cameras in it's class made this a great choice that has held up over time. I would buy this camera again. The only things it is missing are a movie mode (gimmicky and useless in my opinion) and a tv out jack.

I bought this camera last September and fell in love with it immediately. Great quality pictures and easy to use. HOWEVER .. after 2 weeks of use I turned it on one day and it "froze up" -- nothing would move after that. Went through the ordeal of contacting customer service - which advised taking it to one of their local repair shops. The one they specified is one with a great reputaion in our area. After two weeks they told me that the parts were back ordered through Fuji and not available in the US. Weeks went by and no parts. The first of November I requested that the camera be replaced instead of repaired. As of the 9th of December still no word. I have owned this camera for three months and except for two weeks it hasn't been operational. It doesnt't matter how good a product is, things occasionally go wrong, and if there aren't repair parts avavilable or a company willing to stand behind their products - the quality doesn't mean squat. Not only do I not recommend this particular camera, but I will never buy a product from Fuji again.

My previous digital experience was with a cheapie that I found to be absolutely worthless--still I had a need for occasional "instant photos". So I read several online reviews and once I saw samples from the Fujifilm Finepix 2400, I was really impressed! Even better, it was the most affordable digital camera offering this resolution--as of December 2000.

My intended use was really for "throw-away" or temporary stuff, (i.e. no baby pictures,) but the quality turned out to be so good, and the camera interfaced so well and so fast with my Blue & White Apple G3, that I quickly became addicted to this camera.

There's a lot to be said for the instant gratification you get with digital: 1. You see the photo appear instantly on the small LCD screen on the back so you know right away if the shot is good or not. 2. No waiting for the film developing. If you're near your computer, you can view the full-size results immediately.

And as for archiving and trading--now I can burn a CD with up to hundreds of hi-quality photos from this camera for about 2 bucks (plus whatever electricity costs in California these days!) That's a big savings over double/triple prints I had to buy so the grandparents could get copies. Now I just send them a CD.

If you're not a pro, and you're not going to blow up your photos for poster size prints, I can't imagine why you'd need to spend twice the price for a 3-4 megapixel camera, because this one will suit you just fine.

My accessories of choice: Nice little case to protect camera, with a little storage. NiMh battery charger with two sets of NiMH AA batteries (compare prices--these are now easy to find in drug/department stores), one set in the camera, one set in the case for back-up. Of course you'll want to collect a few SmartMedia cards--pick 'em up as you find them on sale.

I received this camera for Christmas and I think it's great! I bought 4 rechargeable NiMH batteries, a 32 MB card and an ac adapter as recommended by reviews I had read. I was able to start taking pictures as soon as I took the camera out of the box and it took me only about 5 minutes to install the software on my computer and start viewing the pics. My only other experience with digital photography was using two different models of the Sony Mavica. I found my Fuji 2400 Zoom to be much easier to use and the pictures are clearer (although that could just be because I never really figured out how to set the Mavicas properly). I don't have a photo printer at the moment so I don't know what the printed photos look like. Most of the digital images I've taken have been very sharp especially outdoors with good light levels. Nighttime shots are another matter altogether. I have been unsuccessful in taking scenery shots at low light levels. However, I was never able to do this with my point and shoot regular camera. This is not a camera for professional photographers or even aspiring photographers; this is a camera for those who just want to remember their vacations, birthday parties and everyday events. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this camera, especially since it only costs about ($).

The reviews were good, but the pictures are even better than advertised! This compact, handy little camera takes absolutely great shots for the amateur or first-time digitaller. I've used several Mavicas, and the 2400 is much better. Colors are rich and details are sharp. Quality is especially good in well lit situations: outdoors, or brightly lit rooms. The flash works okay, but is prone to red-eye, although the red-eye reduction works moderately well. Battery life is excellent. We spent a week at Disney World, took 130 shots, mostly with the LCD display on and many with flash, without having to change batteries (NiMH, 1600mAH, Rayovac). My 64MB smartcard will hold about 160 pictures at 2 megapixel with "normal" JPEG compression (half that at the camera's best resolution). Even the 8MB card that ships with the camera will hold a respectable 20 shots. The camera is surprisingly rugged - it's even survived a bounce off a hardwood floor administered by my 2yr old. My biggest complaints are that the LCD display is pretty much useless in the dark or in bright sunlight (the optical viewfinder works very well though), and the delay time between depressing the shutter button and when the picture is recorded is disconcertingly large, making it difficult to catch a moving target. The software loading was very easy, and transferring pictures to my iMac via USB is a snap. I was disappointed that the PhotoDeluxe software which shipped with the unit was only for Windows, but the viewer for the MAC isn't bad. Altogether an extremely good value.

This was my first digital camera. I had mostly been using a 35mm SLR and occaisionally a compact 35mm previously. I thought it was a great deal, so I joined the digital photography era. I have been extremely satisfied with the camera. For the price, I did not expect it to compare with my SLR. Many of the pictures I have taken, however, are comparable. The quality of the images are truly amazing to me. The auto flash and focus function as well as any compact SLR I have had. Compared to other digital cameras I have been exposed to (family and friends) the camera is quick to boot up and respond to pushing the shutter. The software that comes with it is not perfect, but I found it very easy to use. I am still trying to get an AC adapter for it. I have been using rechargable batteries and they last a reasonable period of time. With a 64MB card, I have taken 177 high quality pictures and down loaded them through the USB cable in about 6 minutes. For those who don't want to spend much for compact 35mm equivalent that is easy to carry and use and can take great pictures, I think this is a good choice.
Since I wrote my original review 8 months ago, I have had a problem with the lens protector continueously shutting the camera down and had to send it for repair. This took over one month and the camera still tends to shut down if the lens protector is moved even slighly. Also, I have noticed that pictures taken in a low light setting (with flash, of course) are frequently out of focus. Pictures taken in bright light are very sharp. I have reduced my rating from 4 to 3 stars.

I have owned this camera for 10 months, and have taken it all over the world. I continue to be very pleased with the performance, and amazed at the picture quality. I was a professional photographer for some years, and so I was not expecting such good quality from a mid-range "point and shoot" camera.

I have heard a lot of nonsense spoken about digital cameras, especially that "you need the most megapixels you can get". This is simply not true. The Fuji is a 2.1 Mpixel unit, meaning that you can take pics from 640x480 up to 1600x1200 pixels. More pixels does NOT mean a sharper picture - it means a bigger picture, both on screen and on paper when you print it. However, a big reason that people use digital cameras is so that they can email pics to loved ones. A 1600x1200 pic in fine mode runs out at 760 kb - about the biggest size you would want to try to email. Personally, I use 1280x960 in normal mode, which uses about 310 kb per pic. (A 640x480 pic is 90 kb). The supplied 8mb memory card holds about 24 pics at 1280x960. I bought a 32mb Viking card ... which holds 99 of these pics, and it works great. The 1280x960 resolution gives me a letter sized print (8.5"x11") with good quality. How much bigger does anyone need to go? You only need more megapixels if you are a pro photographer or if you plan to print out poster sized prints all of the time.

The optical zoom works very well on the Fuji, but you should use the LCD screen to compose - the viewfinder is not completely accurate. (You get more picture on the left side than the viewfinder shows). The slow synch flash setting that is available is not a common feature on cameras at this price, but is superb for taking night time pics where you want the subject (e.g. your loved one) lit by flash, while also getting the background (e.g. city lights) properly exposed.

All in all I am extremely pleased with this product. I bought a top of the line Sony 3 years ago, and the Fuji blows it away. Nowadays I don't even bother taking my 35mm SLR with me!
Happy Snapping!

I am very pleased with this camera. The picture quality is very good, software is easy to use and setup and camera settings are simple. I also purchased rechargeable batterys with a charger and a 64MB Smart media card. I highly recommend the combination. I have used a Sandisk card reader and while it is a nice toy it is not necessary for this camera.

I have also used a Kodak DC265 and a Canon S100 camera. I feel that the Fujifilm is a much better value.

Just bought the 2400 yesterday and immediately fell in love. Small, easy to use..having never used a digital camera before...the resolution is amazing, comparable to my Nikon 35mms. I resisted getting a digital but once I saw the first images, I was hooked. Lugging my 35mm around was sometimes a pain....this goes right in a pocket. My nine year old granddaughter loves it and learned to use it in a few minutes. I would suggest buying a SanDisk Imagemate to quickly download your pictures to the PC..no need to use the camera and, of course, it saves your batteries.

After doing our research, we bought this camera for our 13 year old daughter. After only 1 week, we are fully versed in its many features, and are now sending high quality photos to friends and relatives all over. The USB connection is fast and easy, and all the features make this the best buy for the money! Everything about the camera is aimed at making even novices like us comfortable using it, and it is small enough to go anywhere, but large enough to feel comfortable in your hands when shooting. I recommend it highly.