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Is this camera any good?


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Old 25-08-2010, 12:56
wildmovieguy
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http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/5593543.htm

Fuji S1730 12MP Camera

I posted a thread before about an upgrade from my 3mp camera from 5 years ago and wanted a decent upgrade and also something that would let me take shots more quickly. I think it is called shutter speed? For instance in my old camera i would take the picture, wait about 5 seconds for the picture to come on screen then wait a further 10 seconds before i could take the next picture. Apparantly it is an Argos exclusive. Here are the features. What do you guys think? Apparantly it also eats up batteries. Is it worth my while buying a battery charger or is there special batterys you can buy that last a long time?

12 mega pixels.
Plastic body.
Fujinon lens.
Zoom lens 15x.
Wide angled lens 28mm.
15x optical zoom.
6.3 x digital zoom.
23MB internal memory.
3in LCD screen.
PictBridge compatible.
Dual image stabilisation.
In-camera red eye fix.
Face detection, 10 faces.
Continuous shooting, up to 10 frames per second.
In-camera red eye fix.
Memory card format supports SD/SDHC.
Movie capture with sound.
High definition movies, 720.
Cables supplied for output to TV.
Maximum ISO 6400.
16 scene modes.
Intelligent scene mode.
Manual over-ride.
View finder.
Smile shutter.
Self timer.
Built-in flash.
USB connection.
Tracking auto focus.
Auto scene recognition.
Panorama mode.
Instant zoom.
Includes 4 x AA batteries, USB cable, strap, lens cap and cord, CD ROM software and instruction manual.
Weight 335g.
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Old 25-08-2010, 13:57
Oldhippy
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Fuji are great cameras, however I would avoid buying a camera that runs on AA batts. I had two when I started out and the problem is that AA rechargeables refuse to work in the cold of winter and show as being empty even when they are fully charged.

Rechargeables that have a high Mah rating are best (2400 or 2700), but will have the problems above.. mymemory.co.uk are the cheapest for these... Along with memory cards.

If you can spend a little more money and get one that has it's own specific rechargeable battery then do.. You will not regret it..

My first camera was a Fuji 2mp camera of a similar design and I now shoot with a Nikon D300 and semi pro.. I also run photography courses. if the bug bites it bites hard LOL....
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Old 25-08-2010, 14:24
wildmovieguy
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This is a huge step up for me so maybe this is the camera where i will get bitten by the bug. The camera is mostly for special occasions coming up soon but i am fascinated by taking pictures of other things, like clouds and the sky for example. I know it might sound silly.
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Old 25-08-2010, 14:41
GetFrodo
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This probably doesn't apply to you but one huge advantage of cameras running off of AA batteries is that you can buy them practically anywhere in the world.
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Old 25-08-2010, 14:54
rwould
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Got this (or a very, very similar one..) for my girlfriend from Jessops at Christmas and she absolutely loves it. Very idiot friendly to use, but has some good more advanced options if you want to get a bit more detailed. Pictures are excellent, and the batteries last quite well in it. It was also cheaper than that from Jessops! (My local Tescos had one reduced last week too...)
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Old 25-08-2010, 15:44
Oldhippy
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This is a huge step up for me so maybe this is the camera where i will get bitten by the bug. The camera is mostly for special occasions coming up soon but i am fascinated by taking pictures of other things, like clouds and the sky for example. I know it might sound silly.
Not silly at all.. Part of being a photographer is seeing things differently to others..

Check it has a filter thread on the front of the lens as filters like graduated grey filters wll help with landscape photograpy etc..

I thought you should be aware of the NIMH pitfalls, which is why I said what I did, if you go out in the snow or cold, be prepared to get frustrated...

On another note it is a pretty good deal...
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Old 25-08-2010, 16:47
wildmovieguy
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I just got it home and have tried it out. Quite happy with it so far but will need to read the book and find out how to do things and get it set up correctly. For instance this Sunday i am going somewhere and will need to take photos both inside and outside the venue so will need to see what the best settings to use for each place.I've taken 6 photos and it now says internal memory is full. I don't have and SD card reader on my computer but i have a micro SD one. Would i be able to buy a micro sd card, put it into an SD card adapter and still use it or does it really have to be an actual SD card? It can also record in 720p video. How much video would a 2gb card be able to take? Or am i better spending more on a bigger memory card?
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Old 25-08-2010, 17:14
Gogfumble
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This probably doesn't apply to you but one huge advantage of cameras running off of AA batteries is that you can buy them practically anywhere in the world.
My camera cam use both. I have 4 or 5 of the rechargeable camera batteries and have not used AA's in it yet but it is good to know I have the option if caught short. (just have to remember it has to be Lithium AA's and not any old sort).
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Old 25-08-2010, 18:01
ClickNegg
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i just bought a canon eos350d, used, for £180. i'd say its well worth the investment if you're thinking of spending £150ish.
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Old 25-08-2010, 18:34
CS Aye
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I thought you should be aware of the NIMH pitfalls, which is why I said what I did, if you go out in the snow or cold, be prepared to get frustrated...
But Lithiums are rubbish in the cold too!
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Old 25-08-2010, 20:13
wildmovieguy
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There is a lot for me to learn with this camera. There is a 25mb internal memory and the photos i took have dimensions of 4000x3000. Is that the quality for 12mp?
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Old 26-08-2010, 08:49
Oldhippy
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But Lithiums are rubbish in the cold too!
Well, that has been said about the battery type, but I have been down to -9 with no loss of power...

with an AA powered camera It wouldn't work below +6....
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Old 26-08-2010, 08:59
Oldhippy
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There is a lot for me to learn with this camera. There is a 25mb internal memory and the photos i took have dimensions of 4000x3000. Is that the quality for 12mp?
Yes that is the right image size for 12mp.. Though I would recommend getting a memory card.

A quality card will be faster when the camera saves the image and they will be faster when transfering to the computer..

Have a look at these... Much more space for not much money.. http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/SanDi...C%29---Class-6

Get yourself a card reader too, much better and safer than connecting your camera to the computer...

http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Memory-Car...1-Media-Reader

For prints, look at Photobox, http://www.photobox.co.uk/
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Old 26-08-2010, 12:53
wildmovieguy
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Last night i ordered a Sandisk 8GB micro sdhc card from Play.com for £10.99. I have lots of SD card adapters from Sandisk and other companies. I would be able to put the sdhc card into the SD card adapter and use it shouldn't i? I have a card reader but it is only for micro sdhc cards.
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Old 26-08-2010, 14:10
CS Aye
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Well, that has been said about the battery type, but I have been down to -9 with no loss of power...

with an AA powered camera It wouldn't work below +6....
Eh? What kind of AA NiMH are you talking about? I've taken literally hundreds of photos below +6 with them. In fact, below zero.
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Old 26-08-2010, 15:09
jim_uk
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I just got it home and have tried it out. Quite happy with it so far but will need to read the book and find out how to do things and get it set up correctly. For instance this Sunday i am going somewhere and will need to take photos both inside and outside the venue so will need to see what the best settings to use for each place.I've taken 6 photos and it now says internal memory is full. I don't have and SD card reader on my computer but i have a micro SD one. Would i be able to buy a micro sd card, put it into an SD card adapter and still use it or does it really have to be an actual SD card? It can also record in 720p video. How much video would a 2gb card be able to take? Or am i better spending more on a bigger memory card?
On my s1700 plugging it in via USB without the Fuji drivers installed makes the camera show up in Windows as a removable drive, no need to keep opening it up to get the memory card in and out.
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Old 26-08-2010, 17:21
Oldhippy
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Eh? What kind of AA NiMH are you talking about? I've taken literally hundreds of photos below +6 with them. In fact, below zero.
Just the usual AA rechargeables.. Remotely chilly and they showed as being dead, go inside in the warm and sprang back to life.. In both a Fuji and a minolta Dimage 7Hi...

Since moving to a DSLR in 2004 no such problems... They are or were known for it.. I still have problems with Uniross in my flashgun when it is cold...
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Old 26-08-2010, 18:51
CS Aye
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Just the usual AA rechargeables.. Remotely chilly and they showed as being dead, go inside in the warm and sprang back to life.. In both a Fuji and a minolta Dimage 7Hi...

Since moving to a DSLR in 2004 no such problems... They are or were known for it.. I still have problems with Uniross in my flashgun when it is cold...
Yeah, I'd have to suspect that since the NiMH batteries have a slightly lower voltage at lower temperatures, the cameras were over-zealously shutting down even though the batteries still had power available. I've taken a load of shots at around freezing with a NiMH Fuji camera without any trouble. That was a 2008 model, which might make a difference.
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Old 27-08-2010, 22:48
gemma-the-husky
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you will find a lot of better cameras have a "burst" shooting mode,

they also take decent video clips (HD often) - and you could even cut a decent still from those
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