Fujifilm Finepix F480 8MP Digital Camera with 4x wide optical zoom
- 8-megapixel CCD sensor
- 4x wide optical zoom ((28-112mm); 2.7-inch LCD screen
- Picture Stabilization technology; shoot up to 800 ISO at full resolution
- 14 selectable scene modes
- Stores images on xD or SD memory cards (not included); powered by lithium-ion battery (battery and charger included)
Fujifilm FinePix F480 – 8MP, 4x Wide Optical Zoom (28 – 112mm), 2.7″ LCD, 14 Scene Modes, Up to 800 ISO at Full Resolution, xD/SD Compatible Media Slot.
List Price: $ 229.95
Price: $ 229.95
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Wide Angle and More,
I have owned this Fuji F-480 camera for about three weeks now. The F-480 is small, has a wide angle Fujinon lens (28mm-112mm), a 4.00x optical zoom and provides a higher resolution (8.2 MP) than my Fuji Z-3. This new Fuji f-480 camera seems to be a durable little package that should withstand a few bumps along the way.
Those things and the comparatively low price gave me reason to make the purchase. Admittedly, the differences between this camera and my Z-3 are not large, but significant to me since I use my cameras to take landscape pictures while traveling and I have been looking for another small format camera with a wide angle lens. The wide angle lens on the F-480 is just what I needed for my landscape shots.
They refer to ultra-compact cameras like this one as “entry level” which implies they are somewhat toy-like, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth in my opinion. The capacity of these tiny compact cameras is amazing to me having used 35mm film equipment extensively over the years.
I have gone through the entire instruction booklet trying out each attribute found in the F-480 camera. Everything works as it should, but don’t expect perfectly exposed pictures when using a number of the AUTO settings. It takes a bit of experimentation to determine how some of them behave.
This is a Japanese camera made in China, but the quality is very good. The price on the camera represents an excellent value for what it provides in photographic choices and performance. I paid about $180 for mine, but fully expect to see that price drop a few Dollars in the near future. The camera is new to the market and represents one of the latest additions to the F-series Fuji FinePix line. It is the next edition of the F-470, but is (in many ways) an entirely different camera.
The menu of settings is extensive yet easily understood and used. The only complaint I have is with the highly touted anti-shake (picture stabilization) setting. It can be set from the mode dial on the back of the camera, but when it is activated many other shooting options are apparently unavailable. I can set my older Fuji Z-3 on `anti-shake’ from a dedicated button on the back and the other shooting options remain accessible. Not so with the F-480. I see that as a shortcoming. I shake all of the time (taking pictures at the beach, under fluorescent light or in the snow) and would like my cameras to compensate for my twitching no matter what shooting options I choose.
The F-480 accommodates both x-D and SD memory cards, but not at the same time. I suppose that attribute advances the versatility of the camera. However, the feature is not particularly important to me personally. The large 2.7-inch anti-glare LCD display is clear, crisp and provides a good idea of color balance prior to shooting a picture. There is no eyeball view finder on this camera, but I don’t miss it. Not many of these modern mini-digitals have a separate view finder anyhow.
The only real measure of this camera is in the photos it is capable of producing. This is not a big cumbersome high end professional camera with a super fast shutter and a high powered lens, but is just great for family photos or getting that quick shot while traveling. I am satisfied with the passable quality of the pictures I have shot so far and believe the camera will give me the photographic versatility and image quality I require as I begin using it on my next trip abroad.
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|High marks for its feature set at its low price, in spite of limited and diminished capabilites in some areas.,
If this camera is evaluated for what it is, a quite inexpensive subcompact (about the size of a deck of cards) no frills camera, it gets high marks. It has an excellent 2.7″ LCD monitor, and is extremely easy to use. This ease means there are few user adjustable functions. For example, it does not allow direct user control of aperture or shutter. However, in modest compensation, when the shutter button is half pressed, it does display at the bottom of the LCD both the shutter speed and aperture at which the picture will be taken. Also the user can affect the camera’s choices by selecting one of the available mode setting.
Its functions are generally intuitive, I was able to use it directly out of the box (after the battery was fully charged, less than 2 hours), and only needed to refer to the enclosed 130 page instruction book for clarification in a few areas.
The F480′s most important features are directly accessible from its minimal set of mounted controls: buttons, rocker, or rotating controls. The zoom control placed around the shutter release button works quickly, and switching from still to movie mode is done easily via the mode dial without need to enter a menu. One of its best features is its atypically wide zoom, starting at 28mm (equivalent).
Its still picture quality is nice, but not exceptional. Fuji clearly did not use their best quality electronics here. The stabilization mode appears to simply apply the equivalent of electronic ISO amplification. Pictures taken in low light display considerable noise. Playback and some other functions are a bit slow, but certainly acceptable. However, arguably, its weakest feature is its minimal 320 x 240 pixels movie mode, which does not seem really acceptable for current technology – but at least a movie mode is available in an emergency.
I found the photo software provided with the camera to be almost useless for me. On my Vista system, the USB connected camera was essentially treated as another attached flash memory and images could be more easily read and stored directly than with the enclosed software. Fortunately, the Fuji software uninstalled without problem.
In spite of some limited and diminished capabilities, the F480′s exceptionally low cost, ultracompact size, its excellent wide-angle lens and large 2.7″ monitor, and its included feature set earns this unit high marks for what it provides at such a low price.
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|A Disappointment–older Fujifilm cameras were better,
I was interested in getting a camera with a wide angle lens like this one had, and had favorable experiences with my Fujifilm F20, which was one of a highly-regarded series of Super CCD cameras from 2006, but which doesn’t have a wide angle lens. I bought the F480 on sort of an impulse without trying to research it too much. I didn’t notice that it wasn’t a Super CCD camera, which apparently makes a big difference. I took a number of test photos with both the F20 and this camera using the same subject and settings. Unfortunately for this camera, during the week I owned it the weather was grey and dingy, and that is where the older Fujis, the F20, F30 and F31 really stand out among small cameras. The result was that this camera’s photos were far inferior to my F20, which on these overcast days took shots that were bright and clear. So I took the F480 back and bought a second F20, because I knew that they were about to become obsolete, which I believe has happened, as they are only available now at inflated prices from small resellers.
It’s too bad because it seemed like a very nice, slim, well-made camera with a very nice LCD display on back. I really liked it’s build, but I’ve gotten a little more serious about cameras and this one just didn’t cut it. Probably fine for someone who wants to take shots of their friends at the beach and that sort of thing.
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