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Reviewed by
TWBanner
, Casual
Price Paid
$325.00
at Don't remember, it's
Photography Experience
21+ years
, Outdoor
Summary
Let me start by saying that, having bought the Fuji S3100 before any other digital camera has spoiled me. The few drawbacks are more than made up for by the quality of the pictures taken. If I'd never owned this camera, I'd have been perfectly satisfied with any of the other cameras I've since purchased (except the Olympus).
After owning and using the S3100 for somewhere around six or more years now I guess (since I can't find the original box or receipt and am looking back at pictures taken that long ago that I'm pretty sure I took with this camera), I can only say that it continues to impress me. With a larger lens than pocket digital cameras, that's to be expected, but to be able to take pictures with better resolution and color than ANY of the pocket cameras I've tried in the 8 to 10+ megapixel range has been a surprise to say the least.
I've spent the last three years trying to find a camera that my wife could carry in her purse and use regularly and have gone through many different pocket digital cameras (Canon, Olympus, Fuji and another that I can't remember) only to be dissappointed by each and every one of them and only because I end up comparing the end result pictures that she's taken to the ones that I've taken with my S3100 at the same time. We both attend our son's soccer games and tennis matches and both take our own cameras. Whether on the automatic settings or any of the specialized presets, mine has always taken a better quality picture than hers on the same, or similar, settings. WE'VE COMPARED!!!
Long story short, similar conditions, settings, etc., and the S3100 takes a better picture than any other camera I've been exposed to.
For what it's worth, despite being larger, bulkier and heavier than a lot of other cameras I could carry, I take the s3100 backpacking with me just to ensure the best pictures possible. I've taken my wife's smaller cameras, which take good pictures by-the-way, but have never been as happy with the color and quality of the pictures taken.
Strengths
Great picture quality
LONG zoom (6x)
Easy to use
Never a glitch or problem
Uses easily found AA batteries
Makes a great web cam
Fantastic pictures!!!
Viewfinder in addition to screen (makes lining up pictures with sun at my back easier)
Weaknesses
Kinda slow between pushing the button and capturing the picture. This sometimes makes getting action shots a little tricky.
Larger and bulkier than pocket varieties
No sound with movies
Movie resolution is poor (but, who cares, I bought it to take pics)
Small viewing screen
Similar Products Used
Olympus fe-170 (was replaced by retailer 3 times due to the same defect on all three. NO SATISFACTION FROM olympus even after contacting them multiple times. Will NEVER even consider an Olympus product again.
Canon Power Shot (I think it was a 2000?) - Nice camera, good quality pics, easy to use, but wife needed something with better image stabilization.
Fujifilm A820 - Wife's present camera. Good picture quality and movie quality (her primary use any more). She likes it better than the Canon.
Customer Service
I'm happy to say that I've never had to test Fuji's customer service as there's never been a problem after sevenish years and who-knows-how-many pictures bumps, thumps and drops. I hope I didn't just jinx it!
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