Amazon.co.uk Review
The Fuji FinePix 2800 Zoom offers an innovative design, a fantastic 6x optical zoom and great image quality all in an incredibly small form. Fuji has clearly departed from many usual design cues with the 2800. Most notable is the introduction of the EVF--electronic viewfinder. This replaces the standard optical viewfinder and provides an SLR style experience. The benefits of this are more accurate image composition (as parallax differences between viewfinder and lens are avoided), a better indication of depth of field prior to taking the shot and improved battery life over using the main LCD monitor. The EVF is not a perfect solution, though, as the panel is not as bright or detailed as its optical counterpart, has no diopter correction for wearers of glasses and disconcertingly freezes the image while autofocusing. However, the EVF is a useful feature and places the 2800 at the cutting edge of digital camera design.
The 2800 is exceptionally easy to use, with manual controls limited to adjusting white balance and exposure compensation--more experienced photographers will miss the ability to fine tune aperture, shutter speed, ISO settings, etc. The 6x optical zoom is superb and makes an enormous difference to picture quality and ease of composition--it equates to a zoom range of 38mm to 228mm on a standard 35mm camera.
Fuji has included a movie mode with sound running at 10 frames per second and at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. Disappointingly, this is limited to 60 seconds of recording time, regardless of the capacity of memory card in use, and does not make use of the optical zoom, instead relying solely on the digital zoom. Other features include voice captioning and, bizarrely on a camera of this specification, a video conferencing mode allowing use as a WebCam. A notable omission however, is the lack of a video-out socket.
As you would expect from Fuji, the 2800 is straightforward to install and includes paper manuals for both the camera and the supplied software--this includes a simple viewer/organiser, QuickTime, Videoimpression and Adobe Photodeluxe. The 2800 uses 4 AA alkaline (supplied) or NiMH rechargeable batteries. Fuji recommend avoiding lithium batteries as the heat discharged can damage the camera. --Nick Baxter
Manufacturer's Description
The FinePix 2800 Zoom is a powerful camera, which couples a high-resolution 2.0 million pixel CCD with a huge 6x optical zoom lens for flexible shooting. The enthusiast photographer looking for high-resolution stills, sharp lens and great value for money will love this camera. As well as high photo quality, the FinePix 2800 Zoom also offers multimedia features, including a video clip capability, voice captioning on images, Webcam and video-conferencing.With its 2.0 million square pixels, the 1/2.7-inch CCD with RGB filter delivers high resolution (1600 x 1200 pixels) for sharper and more lifelike images. The CCD offers a high S/N ratio that makes subjects look smooth and natural. The FinePix 2800 Zoom comes equipped with an extremely versatile high-performance Fujinon optical zoom lens that delivers the equivalent of a 38 - 228mm range on a 35mm camera. Precise auto-focus system assures sharp, focused images in an instant. The optical range can be extended with a digital zoom to give a total magnification of up to 15x (38 - 570mm). The USB connection and the included FinePixViewer software make it easy to download picture or movie files to your PC or Mac for viewing. Connecting the camera causes the software to automatically launch. The FinePixViewer also allows you connect to Fujifilm's Internet services for hints and tips and other online resources on digital photography, while the included "PictureHello" utility software turns the FinePix 2800 Zoom into a PC-Webcam. Using the camera's movie recording feature, you can capture up to 60-second bursts of movie action with sound, which can then be sent to friends and relatives as a video e-mail. The FinePix 2800 Zoom also boasts the facility to add 30-second voice notes to images. Designed for maximum ease of use, the FinePix 2800 Zoom is a similar shape to a conventional 35mm SLR and fits perfectly into the palm of your hand. The clear, well-positioned electronic viewfinder allows you to frame your pictures easily; alternatively the 1.8-inch LCD monitor located on the rear of the camera can be used for framing and reviewing shots.
