Customer Reviews

Fujifilm FinePix F650 6.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had an old Fuji 3.2 MP that took great pictures but was big and had a delay when you snapped the picture that made it difficult to take fast action shots, good for portrait type shots though.

I wanted a subcompact with better responsiveness and same or better quality. I bought the Casio Exilim Z60. It has a ton of features and is the thinnest on the market. At 6 MP I thought it would have all the quality of my old Fuji, but I was wrong. The pictures were grainy, even with some of the mid level ISO ranges. Anti shake did not make a big difference and the high ISO settings useless.

It was hard to find reviews for the F650, since it is reletively new. I found a few and decided to try it, since I had good luck with Fuji.

This camera only goes up to 400 ISO and does not have a lot of advanced features, but does not need them. The QUALITY of the sensor and the lense are fantastic. There is no distortion or barrelling at the edges of the picture like the Casio.

The 5x zoom is very usefull, and I noticed it pans out a little further than the Casio.

The pictures are gorgeous. The colors are better, there is better depth, and the graininess is gone. You can actually zoom and crop.

PROS: 5x zoom, great quality shots, 3" LCD, simple to use
CONS: Large but pocketable subcompact, design not as sexy as Exilim, XD cards not as cheap as others

I have used this camera for a month now and I love it. I bought it since I got tired of squinting at the 1.5" lcd of my current camera. Pros: the 3" LCD is big, clear and bright, the battery charges up quickly, hinged door for USB connector (not a rubber flap), and I can get good photos in low light. Cons (minor): It's a little non-intuitive to have to press the shutter halfway to switch from photo-viewing mode to photo-taking mode, & the bundled FinePix software sometimes hangs on win XP.

Things to note: a) the LCD can scratch easily, so buy an LCD protector (available on Amazon). I did, and cut the protector film to leave 1/8" on each side of the screen before sticking it on. b) You'll also need a spare battery when traveling, since cameras with large LCDs, such as this, dont use AA batteries. c) On initial charging, the red LED on the charger takes a few minutes to light up, creating the [mistaken] impression that the charger is DOA. On subsequent charges, the LED lights up right away.

I am THRILLED with my new camera, which I've been using for the past few weeks now! (I'm only going to cover the highlights of this little gem, and respond to erroneous critiques that I've read.)

I have the Fuji Finepix 3500 also, which is a semi-pro camera with multiple lens, that I absolutely love. But since it's now 2 years old it only has 3M pixs (not that that makes any difference for those of us who are not taking pro pictures)and I found this camera (various settings all the way up to 6.2M pixels) [...]. I went for it because I wanted a pocket/purse camera (the 3500 is like a 35mm Nikon in size)that didn't weigh a lot - it weighs only 0.7 oz with the battery & xD card on board. 4"L x 2.5"H x 1"D. The lens retracts when it's off, so it's very compact.

I was intrigued with the fact that with this camera I could take up to 9 min sound videos (only 1 minute on the 3500) and it still had all the shooting modes for portrait, landscape, sports, night, fireworks, sunset, snow, beach, museum (no sounds and flash suppressed), and party!! That's twice as many as my other camera. It also does most of the things that the bigger camera does, and number of things my other camera doesn't do. It has a THREE inch viewing screen. This is SO great for those of us who now require reading glasses. I can actually manage without them :)

It also has 32MB of memory on board! So if you're xD card runs out, it will carry the rest in the camera. Or if you're not taking huge amounts of pics or going to use the video for more than a minute or two, you can go without the xD card (16MB comes with it). I use a 512MB because then I do longer videos and have hundreds of pictures when I'm travelling.

Some have complained in reviews that it doesn't take good low light pictures. Well, I took pics of my Christmas tree under candle light with flash suppressed that came out fantastically! Taking the same shot with the flash on but no other lights in the room, it came out like daylight! I took several videos indoors under ambient light and the pictures were fabulous and the sound really fine.

Another complaint was that it only goes to ISO 400. Now how many users even know what that means, and for those of us that do, how many are actually going to need anything beyond that? Who wants to be lugging a tripod around. Rather defeats the purpose of a pocket camera, don't you think? It has several ISO settings, 7 settings for white balance including "automatic", and you can set it to "continuous" so that you can shoot quickly with a 1.2 second recovery, numerous exposure (appeture) settings. Shooting distances from 4 inches to infinity. It has a self-timer and plenty of manual control for those who enjoy nature shots and close-ups -- and I'm only ten pages in on a small but thick manual!

You can download to computer or directly to printer (it has Picbridge). Or you can put the xD card in any electronic device that will accept it to transfer the pictures, or print them, that way.

The other complaint I read was that it doesn't delete all pictures at once, but only one at a time. YES, YOU CAN. You just push the little menu button on the back instead of pressing the < > arrows (which do them individually), go to the second Setup icon and scan down to Format, press Ok, and they'll all erased in one go.

You can also see all your photos at once in thumbnail format! It will sort by date also. You can also do various editing while in playback format.

As with my other Fuji, this camera has so many functions, that I will never use them all! The battery, I understand lasts a long time (set it in "powersaver" mode when you setup the camera). I also use the AC adaptor from my other camera, which of course works with this one, when I'm downloading or doing any lengthy functions because then you're not depleting the battery. I'm also going to buy an additional battery to have on hand.

The camera comes with the USB cord, AV cable to plub directly into a monitor, Li-ion battery, battery charger, 16MB xD card, wrist strap, Fuji Finepix software, and a thick, easy to read manual -- the AC adaptor is additional.

Bottom line -- the complaints I've read are all not true and seem to be stemming from not bothering to read the manual. EVERYONE NEEDS TO AT LEAST SCAN THE MANUAL.

For those of you who want a camera with ease of use, a lot of potential (more than 95% of us will ever use), that takes great pictures and videos, is small and light weight, then this your camera.

I can't recommend this camera enough!!

UPDATE: February 12, 2007

I am even happier with this camera now that I've been using it more! I've shot about 100 pics and about 15 minutes of multiple videos, and it's hardly made a dent in the battery (I do use the AC adaptor when downloading and deleting pics, because that saves your battery time). The picture quality is fantastic, and the video and sound are amazing!

The manual, which measures 6.5"x5" AT 146 pages, is very well written -- clear, concise, and yet it has explanatory information for those who are not camera-savvy. It has clear pictures to go along with the instructions. The length of the manual is not indicative of verbosity but of the many functions this camera possesses. The instructions are easy to understand, yet succinct.

A kind reader commented on his concern over no viewfinder. While it has taken a bit of getting used (not slamming the camera against my forehead), it has posed no problems whatsoever, and is just a matter of retraining. If you wear reading glasses, you may or may not need them depending on whether your arms are still longer enough. :)

For those of you who are old enough, look in your family album of the photo size from the late '40's and early '50's, you'll laugh when you realize that some of them are smaller than the display screen on this camera! And none are bigger than 3x3. With the early Kodak cameras, like my mother's, you had to look down into the top of the camera to frame the shot, they didn't use eye-viewers. So, I guess it proves the old saying, "everything's old that new again".

I also want to add this disclaimer. I have absolutely no association in any way, shape, or form with Amazon (other than being a constant customer), Fuji, or any vendors that sell this camera, nor I asked by anyone to hype this product. I'm just a 58 y/o female who's having a whole lot of fun with her new little gem of a camera!

Cheers,
DC

UPDATE MAY 29, 2011 - This wonderful little camera still goes EVERYWHERE with me! I will be taking it this holiday weekend on my hikes (it fits perfectly in my cargo pants pocket). The photos it takes are just outstanding. I love to take pictures of flowers and waterfalls and nature, and friends. With the exception of about four photos, all of the pictures, and both of the student comment videos, on my website were taken with this little gem, including my bio pic. It takes great videos, even in lower light indoors if you place the camera so that sunlight is coming in behind you.

It does not have 'anti-shake' ability, so you must hold the camera still. BUT! If you are in a position where you might worry about woggle, or wind is moving things about when you're trying to get a still frame, just switch it to Scene and select Sport. It uses a fast shutter speed and does the trick! I use a tripod in my classes to video certain class segments, and the sound and video are very clean!

:) healeratlarge.com

I always like Fuji cameras because of its optics. The images are always sharp with lots of depth. Fuji cameras are responsive -- the shutter lag is usually very low.

This little camera is great for the money -- 5X zoom, some creative controls (Aperture and Shutter priority exposures), and the huge 3" screen is a show stopper. I am surprised why this camera is not as popular as it should be. Maybe it is theuse of proprietary battery (NP-40, which you can get a third party spare for about $15), the xD card (which is not as cheap as SD cards), and lack of viewfinder (I have not use a viewfinder ever since I went digital in 1999).
Overall, I like the camera the a lot.

This is my first digital camera, so I've let my friends make the learning mistakes. This camera has everything I need, nothing too fancy and takes great pictures. This camera is easy to use, lightweight, and the 3in screen is a show stopper! No complaints, although I was a bit nervous because the screen is a bit grainy, but the actual pictures are NOT! The price was RIGHT on amazon, you can't get a 3MP for this much at any big box store. I just wanted to leave my praise because I rely on feedback myself.

I bought this camera just before I took a week long trip where I would not be able to download photos. So, I bought a Fuji 2GB XD memory card for it as well as an extra battery. I took hundreds of photos and only had to change the battery once! Also, bought a cool little USB XD card reader that makes it easy to download photos to any computer without having to hook up the camera. I love this camera. It is easy to use with little reading of the manual, takes great photos & fits in my pocket. Only thing I would like to have is a small camera case made just for this model. Haven't found one yet.

I bought this camera to replace another Fuji that I bought 3 years ago (which was an amazing workhorse of a camera until I dropped it one too many times...). After much research, I chose this one because I was happy with Fuji, already had a great xD card, and this looked like it would fill the order.
Did it ever! First assignment? A family trip to Disney. After one read-through of the manual, I felt comfortable using it for action, low-light, no flash, and fireworks pictures, and they all turned out beautifully. Downloading the pics was quick and easy. The display is HUGE. Battery life had been a concern for me, and I was really happy, although I will be purchasing an extra battery for my personal satisfaction. In a variety of light, zoom, and flash conditions, my camera took approx 120 pics at 3 megapixels before the battery became a concern. I took many more on days where outdoor photos did not require my flash.
I love being able to do some basic editing right on the camera, such as picture rotation and digital zoom. Being a busy mom, it saves time. I'm looking forward to discovering even more as summer requires more pictures, but consider this average picture-taking mom completely satisfied!

WHEN THE CANON ELPH 35mm CAME OUT YEARS AGO, I WAS THE FIRST TO HAVE ONE... I WANTED THEN, A CAMERA THAT WAS SMALL(POCKET SIZE), CONVENIENT, NICELY PRICED AND EASY TO USE ...

WHEN I WAS READY TO BUY A DIGITAL POINT AND SHOOT, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE SAME FEATURES...

WHEN THE CAMERA ARRIVED I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. THE FIRST THING I NOTICED AS I TOOK THE CAMERA OUT OF THE BOX, WAS THE SUBSTANCIAL WEIGHT AND FEEL OF THE PRODUCT. IT FELT NOT LIKE A CAMERA BUT LIKE A PICTURE TAKING INSTRUMENT. AFTER READING THE OWNERS MANUAL AND PLAYING WITH THE CAMERA FOR A FEW DAYS I HAVE BEEN ASTOUNDED BY THE FEATURES PACKED INTO THIS LITTLE GUY. ADD TO THIS THE GREAT PRICE ON AMAZON.COM AND I KNEW HAD A GREAT DEAL...
THE LAST THING I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT I LOOKED AT EVERY DIGITAL CAMERA I COULD FIND ON LINE AND IN THE STORES AND I AM EXTREMELY CONFIDENT I BOUGHT THE RIGHT CAMERA FOR THE RIGHT PRICE FROM THE RIGHT PLACE...

What more can be said in favor of the rapid obsolescence of technology than that you can get something like this for a couple hundred bucks? I used to have a 3.2 MP camera and was told that it was unsuitable for a piece I was trying to submit which made me go out and charge up this one. After taking my first few pictures I had eureka moment after eureka moment. I felt as if I were looking at slides produced by my old Nikon model from the mid-nineties. There isn't much that is "digital" about this photography apart from its ease of use. The back screen is quite impressive and it satisfies everyone who can't wait to see the shot that you just took. The display is certainly an added advantage of the model; although, the price is what brought me to it in the first place and my bank account is pleased with my decision.

I wanted to upgrade my Toshiba PDR for a while now, and searched through the internet for the perfect camera at the right price. I wanted a camera that took nice clear pictures and was dependable. Well I found that camera. You will not be disappointed with this camera, it has a nice bright 3" LCD, 5x Zoom, and most important of all takes crystal clear pictures. The cons to this camera is it is not a slim pocket camera, it cannot zoom when you are taking videos, and it does not have all the features that the Canon SD600. But if you are like me and just want a reiable camera that takes great pictures and has a substantial amount of features than this is the camera for you! I was hard pressed against the Canon SD600 or this one, for a hundred dollars cheaper I am glad I chose this one.