I’ve been a bad man. Fujifilm lent me a couple of cameras well over a month ago for review and I’m just now getting around to writing up my impressions of them. Normally I dawdle on these sort of things because I don’t want to write them, usually because the product is so poor or boring that I just can’t get excited enough to say anything meaningful.
That’s not the case here (although I make no promises of “meaningful”). The Fujifilm F440 has been in my bag for weeks now and I’m going to be sorry to see it go. It’s exactly what I had been looking for in a sidearm and I could recommend it to almost any casual photographer who wants a good camera that’s small enough to take anywhere.
My impressions after the jump (I’ve brought lots of wigs, so watch out.)
First, my dirty secret: I love cameras, but I don’t know much about them. I’d say I’m your average consumer when it comes to digital cameras. I know a little about film speeds and F-stops and megapixels and the like, and I certainly know when to get excited about new DSLR (answer: when it’s new and shiny). But ever since I took over Gizmodo, I’ve been looking for a new pocket camera to complete my faux journalist ensemble; size was the number one factor, with battery life a close second, and image quality a somewhat distant third.
What I’m saying is that if you want to know about the white balance or superform clarity Huygens metrix apperature scale timings or whatever, I’m not your man. Please check out any number of fine photography sites and blogs on your local internet.
But what I can talk about is how well the F440 performs at being portable, being easy to use, and how it impresses even gadget-weary trade show representatives. I’m going to skip to the punchline and say that it does all of those things very well.
I had been looking at the Sony DSC-T1. I almost bought one, if fact, but a half-day excursion through Manhattan trying to weasel out a good price from the various electronics vendors left me sort of worn out and frustrated and of the persuasion that maybe I didn’t need a camera after all. I’m glad I didn’t get one, though, especially at the $500 or so the T1 was going for a few months back.
What I liked about the T1 was that it was so pocketable and easy. I need something that I can take everywhere just in case to take pictures when my cameraphone won’t cut it (which is most of the time). The F440 has almost everything I liked about the DSC-T1, but only costs about $250 (there is a 5-megapixel F450 version that goes for a little more). I’ve had the F440 in my jeans pocket and in either of the two bags I use for over a month and never noticed it at all. It’s small and light enough to be a non-factor (except you don’t want to put it in the same pocket as yours keys).
In fact, the only problem I’ve run into so far has been that the lens cover sometimes sticks open and you have to tap the chassis to get it to close. That’s a potentially big problem, obviously, but if you are mindful of it it doesn’t really make that big of a difference. If it’s a problem endemic to the product line itself, though, Fujifilm needs to fix that pronto.
It’s been great, though. I just keep the included USB cable in my bag along with the F440, take shots whenever (the battery has kept a charge for up to two weeks of disuse, although to be fair I usually only snap 5-6 photos and then put it away). The controls are very simple to use and understand (although some people have trouble figuring out the big switch on the front is the on/off slider). It even comes with nice dock that has a rocker switch that changes between USB and “Play” (as in “Play a slideshow of your images.”)
So yeah, I like it, but I don’t really know what else to say. I’m not much of a photographer (as you can see from the images I use on the site) but I’ve gotten such a kick out of the F440 – showing it to people, watching them ooh and aah over it – that I wanted to get the word out what a good piece of kit this is.
Oh, and here’s a review from somebody that is apparently smarter than me (and knows more about photography, too).
DCRP Review: Fuji FinePix F440 [DCResource]
