Fuji Finepix 2400Zoom
A mega pixel
digital camera designed to bring photography into the new age.
With an on board removable
smart media card, allowing for very quick download and editing.
Powered by
AA batteries, this camera has a3X zoom lens and flash.
Costs under £400 (So hubby tells me), and is available from computer, electrical, and photography shops.
The whole idea of digitally recording pictures onto chips, is not only a brilliant idea, in the long run there are major financial advantages, as sending off films to the processing lab, will possibly become a thing of the past.
Obviously you have to have a PC and a printer, but if you are reading this, then you already have half of the equation.
Systems requirements are quite basic, and the software doesn’t need that much space.
A Universal Serial Bus socket is essential.
Costing in some instances around the same price as a good quality 35mm camera, this is the way forward, even professional photographers are turning to digital technology.
To all intensive purposes this camera looks just like a point and shoot 35 mm, until you study the back, where the disguise ends.
Nice and weighty with a metal case, this camera was bought by my lovely hubby (creep creep) as an upgrade to our elderly, but still very useful Sony.
Supplied as a bare bones package, this camera has capabilities to take photos with an amazing 1600x1200 resolution
Photographs are stored on a
smart media card, which in this case is 8mb, allowing for the storage of approximately 20 fine quality snaps.(Each photo tends to be around 300kb +/- 50kb, depending on the photo).
Easily accessible and removable, the card lives in the right hand side of the unit beneath a safety flap.
Leads (USB) and software are supplied, however in this package there was no
mains adaptor included.(But do read on)
On the bottom of the unit there is a welcome tripod fitting and the all important
battery compartment.
The software is extremely easy to install and use, and upgrades are readily available on the Internet at Fujifilm.com.
Measuring approximately 3 inches high, and 5 inches long, it is small enough to fit in any handbag or large pocket.
Designed for ease of use, the manufacturers have thought about everything to the benefit of the consumer.
Instead of a brand name rechargeable battery, this gizmo operates more than happily on 4 regular AA
batteries, rechargeable are fine, as there is a
power socket to charge them in situ.
Ease of transfer is good, and fairly quick, via the USB lead, but I really do prefer to use a card reader to download our photos, as the prospect of one of my children knocking off the camera is just too frightening and expensive to consider.
Not only is the card reader an excellent asset, the speed of transfer is quite astounding (20 photos=around 3 seconds, fast eh!) Anyway enough of that, I might review that later LOL.
In use, the camera has a slide back lens cover, something that our Sony didn’t, allowing superb protection for the
Fujinon 6-18mm
Zoom lens.
It is automatically powered down as soon as the lens cover is closed, preserving
battery life.
Operation begins by flicking the top switch onto play mode and selecting the format in which you want to take your picture by fine or normal, which I add is switch able between photographs.
It is vital to format the smart card prior to use otherwise major disappointment is likely as you take your photos only to discover that they are not saved.
The LCD is quite small, but very clear and colour too!!
In play mode it displays functions time and date, and a whole host of other options including write protection and format.
It allows you to view and choose which pictures to keep or delete individually or in bulk by following the simple menu and left and right arrow buttons at the top right of the back of the camera
There is a battery level indicator which is present in all use, either on play mode or camera, which although is tiny, is more than adequate for my purposes, along with a picture counter, giving some indication of the amount of memory left on the unit.
Actually taking the photos couldn’t be easier.
The camera works in very much the same way as a standard 35mm flash camera,
When held in the correct position your right thumb sits on the focus switches that allow a visible indication of what is and is not in focus, and can be adjusted accordingly with great ease.
The camera decides if there is sufficient light with it’s built in light meter, and uses the flash when needed.
There are no fangled lenses to twist, simply a couple of buttons, and voila, great pictures.
Why do I like it so much compared to my old camera?
It is more modern and far easier to use and download my snaps.
The memory card is removable enabling additional purchases of higher memory cards to be used, and allowing the cards to be used without the camera being present
It is exceptionally useful in foreign countries where no camera drivers are actually needed to down load the information via a smart media card reader, and your photographs can be filed on floppy disk or CD format, I occasionally send them to myself via email.
The quality is astounding, I had no experience of mega pixel cameras prior to this one, and boy, haven’t I been missing out.
Depending on your printer, I find that the copies are not blocky and give no indication of having been taken digitally.
It feels good in my hands and is sufficiently weighty to remind you that it is superb piece of equipment; you can really feel the quality.
I feel that it is more robust than my old camera, as there is protection for the lens.
The batteries are readily available in all parts of the world.
It is far easier to preview my snaps, and the software less complicated.
Is there anything that I don’t like about it?
Surprisingly enough yes.
It’s very expensive, and smart card replacements are expensive too. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that you can only use Fuji own cards; Jessops sell a full range of compatible cards at around half the price, and don’t even think about buying accessories in PCWorld.
The same sized card in PCWorld can cost well over double, but the salesman will smile sweetly at you there, knowing full well that they are a pricey option.
I would like to see an underwater housing for this unit available on the market.
There was no blooming mains adaptor in our package, and to buy an authentic one would cost an arm and a leg
I was used to viewing my subjects through the LCD on my Sony, and actually feel that this camera has a fundamental flaw, by using an eyepiece instead of the LCD it is fairly difficult to see your subject, however, this does not detract from the overall quality, looks and use of this unit.
Accessories.
As I have previously mentioned,
smart media cards are available in various sizes, the camera was sold with an 8mb card, but others ranging from 16-64mb can be purchased.
A disk drive can be bought, but in all honesty, I cannot really see the point.
A card reader shouldn’t cost more than £35.00, or £50 if you buy it from PC World.
I may even be tempted to change my lousy profile picture soon too
In conclusion, this is an excellent piece of kit for the amateur or the more intrepid experienced photographer, I cannot praise it enough.
Does it show?
Mega fantastic megapixel 
