Not the best, not the worst

Author's Rating:

Pros: The price, the zoom, the body style.

Cons: The colors seem way too subdued compared to others.

The Bottom Line: 
Beyond the color issues (which I'm working on), it's a solid and flexible camera.

Author's Review
I'm not as enthusiastic about this camera as I hoped I would be.  This is our third Fuji in a row and I was hoping that the pictures would blow me away.  But after a few weeks of using in several different situations, it seems to be only newer, not necessarily better than our 5 MP E510.

So what's the problem?  The colors are not vibrant.  In fact, the colors are very subdued, to the point of looking like the CCD is not functioning correctly.  I will do some more background searching on methods to try to correct this flaw (as I see it) before I decide what to do with it.

It's not all bad, though.  The sharpness of the images is quite good, even using the auto modes.  I bought this camera in order to start playing with settings to get better pictures, and I have tried some of that, but there is lots more to be 'played with' on this camera.  It has lots more flexibility than the 5 MP we have and it feels much more like a real SLR, too, due to its heft and body style.

It also features a 12x zoom and the ability to leave the (crappy) digital zoom off.  You won't find that on compact cameras which is one good reason to look at this size camera.

And of course the price is incredible on this camera now.  It can be had most places well-under $200.  For a 10 MP camera, it's hard to beat that price.

I will continue to play with it to try to resolve the subdued colors.  So far it's not a deal killer and I'm sure that I can find ways to make it better.  I will post up my experiences in a few weeks or once I have it all worked out.