Fuji S3000 3.2 Megapixels is all you need

Author's Rating:

Pros: Comfortable, easy to use controls, superb pictures 6X optical zoom, decently priced

Cons: Odd-size = difficult to find carrying case, marginal USB capture software

The Bottom Line: 
If you want decent performance, cool features and the feel of a small digital SLR without the price the S3000 is well worth a look.

Author's Review
The Fuji FinePix S3000 was a Christmas present from my wife as a replacement for my trusty Nikon Coolpix 800.

Despite their convenience, I am not a fan of miniscule digital cameras so the S3000 (and the Nikon for that matter) fit my ideal profile for a primary consideration for what makes a decent camera - comfort in use.

I particularly like the optics and decent zoom range. I was surprised to read some of the reviews here mentioning blurry images as the only time I have experienced that with the S3000 was hand-held in low light with no flash.

Talking of blurring, there is an image stabilizer that does an "ok" job but its not really going to fixup the shakiest picture taking.

I particularly like the XD card format though I'm concerned that I might easily lose something thats the size of my thumbnail!

I have taken several thousand pictures with the S3000 and the clarity, colour balance are first rate. The shutter lag is much improved from the Nikon but it is still not perfect (as found on $2000 digital cameras).

3.2 Megapixels is more than adequate in fact I only use a 2MP setting for most of my shots but 3.2 is good for 10x8 shots through Shutterfly or O-Photo. The 6X Zoom is pretty decent for a digital camera, the old Nikon only had 2X. Digital zoom in general is pretty much worthless as you can achieve the same effect at your leisure back in your paint program on the PC or Mac.

The movie-mode with no sound is pretty worthless for most uses other than the occasional candid sequence but it has its uses (just none that I can make use of). I like the default colour viewfinder for pre-picture review rather than the battery guzzling LCD panel all the time. I used rechargeable Lithium Ion AA batteries which gave me decent usable battery life - just be sure to carry a spare pre-charged set.

The flash is far superior than my old Nikon and very simple to select either pop it up to use or shut it down to turn the flash off!

I was not that impressed with the supplied software to read the content via USB. Alternative XD card readers are still hard to find but I'm sure this will change as the format becomes more popular.

Excellent camera for the price- if you are looking for sub-miniature this is not the camera for you - if you are looking to replace a standard camera or older digital and don't want something the size of a few credit cards then this is a great choice.