Fujifilm Finepix F40fd 8.3MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)

I got this camera in New York hoping that it would live up to fuji's reputaiton for compacts that perform well in low light.
It did indeed produce some excellent shots of the city.
Good performance at mid ISOs (400/800) meant it could take sharp prints. Also pretty decent indoors.

However in good light I was very dissapointed.
Firstly it always seemed to want to underexpose everything meaning I needed to use exposure compensation. People ended up as shadows.
Then there was the colours. Rather cold, as if I was there in winter rather than summer. Barrel distortion was poor (a friend said it was obvious) and purple fringing was often a problem.

I took the first half of holiday shots with a samsung L700, a very cheap budget camera and was interested in how much better the fuji's images would come out.
To my horror I prefered the samsungs which actually did well in most conditions.

I've since owned a sony P200 (in a different league) but as thats rather old and has a poor 2 inch screen, is a bit too bulky I've just got a canon SD1100 for the next big adventure! Seems pretty good but the fuji remains the best in low light.

I purchased this camera as an upgrade from a Casio 5MP digital camera. The difference is amazing. The detail and crispness of the pictures is stunning, I can't believe what I've been missing!

I did a lot of research before buying this camera, went to lots of camera shops and talked to lots of people "in the know". Everyone agreed Fuji is the leader in digital cameras.

I love the multiple picture options, there are 2 specialized setting options, which is great for quickly flipping between settings. I also love the 'N' setting - the camera takes 2 pictures a 1/2 second apart, one with flash and one without. It's great for when you're uncertain if you should use a flash or not - you get both pictures and can decide later! I also love that there is a rechargeable battery. I don't like that you have to remove the battery to charge it (versus having a stand charger) - but that isn't a huge deal as the battery lasts a looong time between charges.

I'm not thrilled with the fuji photo loading software, and instead just copy and paste directly from the camera onto my harddrive. I don't like that you can't open the pictures from the camera drive into Windows Picture Manager (or maybe you can, and I just don't know how). Either way, that's not enough to even deduct a 1/2 star from my 5-star review. That is just how great this camera is.

This camera was recommended by online reviews when I searched for the best camera online. It is easy to use and has excellent instructions in English and Spanish and is very easy to download to your computer. Highly recommend this camera which is the best camera for taking indoor pictures.

I researched this camera and I have found it to be an excellent fit for me, the low light shots are very good.

This Fuji F40fd impresses me all the time with the quality of its pictures. I bought this camera because of its strength in low light. The lack of manual controls was a known concern, but 99% of the time, it is a non-issue. I have another camera (big and bulky) with those controls and a big zoom and better macro. But for general use, it doesn't take pics any better than this Fuji. And the Fuji wins sometimes. This F40fd can be had for a very good price and who knows how long they will be available. Look at the prices for the used F30fd and F31fd.