Fujifilm FinePix 2800 2MP Digital Camera w/ 6x Optical Zoom

Fuji Finepix 2800 Digital Cam

2-megapixel sensor captures 1,600 x 1,200 images for prints at sizes up to 8 x 10 inches

6x optical plus 2.5x digital (15x total) autofocus zoom lens

Included 16 MB Smartmedia card stores 39 images at default resolution

Automatically connects with Macs and PCs via USB port

Uses 4 AA batteries (alkalines included)

Average Customer Review: ( 146 customer reviews )
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Some of the positives of this camera include, a killer 6x Optical Zoom, Sharp and Crisp Pictures, extremely easy to use menu system, 60 second video with audio, and it can double as a webcam. This camera is pretty much a point and shoot camera so if you are looking for a digital camera that has a wide selection of manual settings, look elsewhere as this camera is not for you. You do, however, have control over the white balance, exposure, and flash settings. Other than that, the rest is automatic.

As I mentioned, this is a great little camera, however it is not without a few "flaws". As well noted, this camera has trouble in low light situations, specifically the EVF and LCD. In the few weeks that I have had the camera and the several hundred pictures that I have taken, I have only run into 1 situation where the EVF and LCD were useless. This issue can be worked around and should not be a sticking point for those looking to purchase this camera. I personally like using the EVF as, unlike an optical viewfinder, it shows you "exactly" what is being photographed without distortion. Finally, if you decide to pick up this camera, make sure that you get some rechargeable batteries and a 128mb Smart Media card. You will be set.

In summary, if you are looking for a simple to use, point and shoot camera, with a great zoom, sharp pictures, and a few additional nice features, get this camera. You will be hard pressed to find a better camera for the money!

117 of 117 found the following review helpful:

I am having fun with this cameraNov 12, 2001
By Hanyu Xiao
I got my Fujifilm Finepix 2800 three days ago and here's my first take.

The camera has a good look, and feels sturdy with the all-metal case. Its width is about that of a credit card, so you can say it's small; however it’s pretty thick (comparable to its width) due to its 6x zoom lens, so it won't fit in your shirt pocket.

I have only taken indoor photos, and the image quality is excellent. The photos usually look very nice as is, without having to be fixed by a photo editor.

The 6x optical zoom was a big factor in my decision to buy this camera. It doesn't work well for me when taking indoor pictures. I would have to keep the camera absolutely steady under the full zoom or the picture comes out blurry. A friend of mine has an Olympus C-2100, which has a 10x zoom. It comes with image stablization, which is probably absent in Finepix 2800 (at least I didn't find any mentioning of it).

The electronic view finder (EVF) gave mixed results. On the one hand, it is great to be able to see everything with EVF, including the menus. This removes the need to switch on the LCD just to change some menu settings, and as a result, you get longer battery life. On the other hand, the EVF was completely useless in a low light setting. The room wasn't that dark, but the EVF was totally blank when I pointed the camera to a dark area, so was the LCD. I had to point the camera to the general direction and let the flash do its job. Luckily the picture came out OK, but still I wished I had an optical view finder at the time.

The webcam is very easy to set up. You'd use the menu to set the so-called "USB mode" to "webcam", and then connect the camera to the PC through the USB cable, just as if you were uploading the pictures. Then you'll launch the PictureHello program and that's it. The captured image is pretty dark, though.

It is just as easy to take a video as to take photos. The movie is a little dark, tough, when taken indoors.

Fuji says in the manual that the operation of the camera is only guaranteed when it's used with Fuji SmartMedia cards. However I am using a 128MB Mr. Flash SM card I bought (...) and the camera took it without incident. I also bought 1600mAh NiMH batteries and a charger from newegg.com. The price was great, so was the service. I highly recommend them.

The battery life seems very good. I have taken over 100 indoor photos, all using the flash, and the 1600mAh batteries are still going strong. As I mentioned earlier, it certainly helped not to have to switch on the LCD very often, but I didn't go out of my way to avoid using it.

Software installion on my Windows 2000 laptop went smoothly. It was actually a series of independent installations for USB driver, FinepixViewer, QuickTime, VideoImpression, and Microsoft Media Player, etc. You can also install Adobe's PhotoDeluxe and ActiveShare.

All in all, I am having lots of fun with this camera. It has its limitations, such as the lack of TV out and certain manual controls. But I would say at this price level you won't find another comparable camera that has such a rich set of features.

101 of 103 found the following review helpful:

Fuji 2800Zoom - PleasedNov 13, 2001

(...) I liked the fact that it looks like a camera and that it is quite small, compact and light weight. I did some research, but honestly not that much. I was interested in optical Zoom, and the 6x optical zoom is what made me buy the Fuji 2800Zoom. Most of the other digital cameras in my price range only had 3x Optical zoom. So far I've taken at least 50 pictures and I am very pleased. The software installed easily and worked the first time on both of my computers, Win98 and Win2000 Professional. The only problem I have is that the on/off button is right where the 'take a picture' button is on other cameras, which means that I have turned the camera off, instead of taking a picture on at least 4 or 5 times.

I also like the fact that it has both a small eye viewfinder like a regular camera plus the eye viewfinder is also in color. Plus it has the LCD screen. The eye viewfinder is very useful in bright sunlight where you might not be able to see the LCD screen. You can change the LCD brightness also.

Overall I am quite pleased with this camera. The Fuji 2800Zoom has 2 megapixels, which at first I thought might be a drawback since 5 megapixel cameras are now available, but now I see that the photos are very clear and sharp at the "1M Normal" setting, so that is not an issue. The camera allows you to change the settings for picture quality. There are 8 settings. Naturally the higher the setting the fewer pictures you can record on the card. The lesser the setting the more you can record. But at the Normal setting, on a 16Meg card you can still get about 50 pictures of very good quality. If you need more you can buy a higher meg card to store more photos. That's it, have fun.

44 of 44 found the following review helpful:

Its very very niceMar 19, 2002
By Stephen Rice "STR"
I bought two digital cameras recently. Both of them Fuji. Mine is the 2600zoom finepix and the 2800zoom is the one I got for my wife. ( She thought it was 'cute'.) Personally, I like the 2600 better for a number of reasons. It comes with a battery recharger and two of the 1700mHa batteries by Fuji. The 2600 only takes two batteries instead of four like the 2800 does, and they last a long time.(The 2800 eats up the batteries, you will want to get extra batteries and a fast charger for it.) Overall both cameras are excellent and I give both 5 stars. The 2600 is just a better value when you weigh all features and benefits. You will have to order an a/c adapter for both cameras from Fuji as they are an option, and I had to buy a charger and rechargable batteries for the 2800 after the purchase. It comes with 4 alkaline batteries when you buy it. They lasted about 25 minutes before they were dead.(No lie) I don't particularly like the grainy look in the view finder of the 2800. I'm not fond of the way the viewer goes blank when you take the picture either. The 2600 doesn't have this grainy appearance at all and it doesn't blank out when you snap the pic. Of course the 2600 doesn't have the ability to show you the display and menu in the view finder like the 2800 does. The 2800 video mode is much better than the 2600 and the sound quality is quite impressive too.(No sound on the 2600) The one thing I found after the purchase is that most of the NiMH batteries you will find are 1600mHa and Fuji's are 1700mHa. This may seem slight but it makes a difference in how long the batteries last between charges and how fast they recover after each shot. I found some that were 1800mHa and Fuji told me not to use them as they may damage the camera. I recommend that you find 1700s because the 400mHa difference is quite noticable. The 5 volt a/c adapter for the 2800 and the 3 volt a/c adapter you can get for the 2600 both have plenty of length to the cord and I like that. Overall for the money the 2800 is a good deal but other than the 6x zoom feature it really doesn't take any better pics than my 2600 does. It was harder to find a case that would hold the 2800 than it was for my 2600 and the 2800 is heavy compared to the 2600. I'm glad the 2800 is my wife's camera really. The only time I'll use the 2800 is if I just have to zoom in twice as far for a shot. ... My wife thinks it was worth it and love the camera. I'd recommend either one but value for value the 2600 is a better deal. Fuji has got it going on with these little cameras. They are impressive. If they came with an a/c adapter and carry case and if the 2800 just had a charger and NiMH batteries it would be better but they'd be a lot more expensive up front I'm sure. The fact is though, these are both quite high in quality and supreme user friendly cameras.

36 of 36 found the following review helpful:

Fine Aperture!!!Jun 17, 2002

OK, in a nutshell- This camera takes great quality photos rich in color. The detail really does rival that of higher MP cameras.

Much of this can be attributed to two factors. First, the 6X Optical zoom allows the photographer to bring the shot to them without the distortion that is caused by a Digital zoom. Second, the lens Aperture, the size of the lens opening, is by far the largest of any digital camera I have seen in this price range. This large aperture gives the camera a greater light gathering ability and contributes to vivid color reproduction.

The camera's case is made of plastic, which may seem flimsy to some, and will probably scratch if not handled carfully. If you plan on accompanying the 'crock hunter' on an outback photoshoot any time soon, I recommend finding a camera with a metal casing.

The on-screen menus are logical and easy to navigate. The menus can be seen via the LCD (display screen) or the EVF (viewfinder). This camera has many amatuer features and they all work great. The movie feature has decent quality video (for a digicam) and good sound.

Because the viewfinder is electronic and it's source is the zoom lens, this camera is effectively a digital SLR, which means that the image you see is exactly the image you get -a great plus.

This camera's main drawback is it's display performance in low light situations. Both the LCD and EVF are useless at night, and indoor shots may become difficult under low light conditions. This may make it difficult to take advanced shots, as it may be impossible lock the focus on your subject properly. The flash will ensure that the pictures come out great, though, and its not like your wasting film if your subject isn't centered properly. Just fire away! Still its a major shortfall.

Software works fine, but you may want to use something you're more familiar with.

Get a set of Nickel Metal Hydride rechargable batteries. The higher the mAh the better as this determines how long the batteries will last per charge. I have found a set of 1800mAh batteries and they work great.

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