Fuji F401Z or Olympus C-300Z camera?

[Fat Tone]

Anybody have experience of these?

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/fujidc/fp401z/index.html

http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/digimg/intro.cfm?id=C-300ZOOM

The Fuji won't be available for a few days here, but I think it is in the USA. The Olympus has been recommended by a friend who has seen a very favourable review.

Prices are £315 and £260 respectively.

TIA

Tony.

[Guru]

I have been happy with the Fuji line of cameras! Personaly I recomend this http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/fujidc/fp6900z/index.html (Same model as I use)!

[103er-Fan]

I have no experience with Fujifilm digital cameras, but I tested some Olympus cameras and I really liked them, currently I am using an Olympus C-2100 UZ on my own.
I suggest you to take a look at DC Resource, they tested a newer model of the Fuji and also the Olympus C-300 Zoom (you have to look for the D-550 Zoom, because the US names are different.)

Personally I would prefer the Olympus, because I am more experienced with their cameras. But there are other choices, have you looked at this one?
- Canon Powershot S30

May I ask what exactly you want to use the camera for? Because if you are using it mainly for web photos or usual printed size, you can take a slightly older camera from ebay which isn't available in retail stores anymore...

[Fat Tone]

Guru - I currently have the MX-700. It is great, except no zoom, no lens cover, no movies, no USB. Great for it's time
I don't think I could afford your camera!

103er-fan, Thanks for the links. The Olympus review is very positive, but the lack of a built in recharger is a negative for me. I used to use rechargeables with an Olympus, and the battery was always going flat when you least expected it.

The Cannon looks very nice indeed, but is way out of my budget unfortunately.

Whatever I buy will become my all-round camera. Mainly family shots, portraits, some holiday use. I think I'll stick with new, especially with something so expensive.

Cheers

T,

[Gurm]

I have an Olympus C3040, and a friend has the Olympus C500. Can't beat 'em. The way that they really shine is that for whatever reason, printouts made from the Olympus just plain look BETTER than printouts from Fuji or any other brand.

- Gurm

[Dr Mordrid]

I've had several Olympus cams over the years. All of them were excellent cameras and well worth the money when it came to 35mm's.

My fondest memories of an Olympus camera are not of the big models but of the the just flat-out excellent 35RC...which even today seems to me nearly the perfect pocket 35mm camera.

It always seemed to be the one I had on hand when photo opportunities presented themselves and it never/ever failed me, delivering excellent pictures every time.

http://www.cameraquest.com/olyrc.htm

Of course in my studio the Mamiya RB67 is always the one I go to first

Dr. Mordrid

[Fat Tone]

What is the point of either of these cameras writing so many virtual pixels? Couldn't Corel or simillar do just as good a job when resampling?

How would you rate the image quality of these sample pictures:

Olympus: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ol...w/gallery.html

Fuji: http://home.fujifilm.com/products/di...01/sample.html

Unfortunately they are rather different subjects and styles.

Basically, I want to get the Fuji for its features, but I am not yet convinced about image quality.

TIA

T. (FT).

[Paddy]

What have you gone for matey?

[orangejulius]

Don't have any exp with the Fuji or Olympus, but I can tell you the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0110/01100202canons30s40.asp">Canon Powershot S30</a>
produces gorgeous <a href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s30_s40-review/s30_photos/gallery.html">pictures</a>, both <a href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s30_s40-review/s30_photos/IMG_0010.JPG">indoor</a> and <a href="http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s30_s40-review/s30_photos/IMG_0013.JPG" title="Doesn't this remind you of atlas shrugged? Scroll to the bottom real fast for an optical splatter effect.">out</a>. (700k)

[Fat Tone]

So far, all I have gone for is a 128MB smartmedia card as it was only £41.

I haven't checked yet this week, but the Fuji prolly still isn't available, and I am still not convinced about picture quality.

My initial feeling is that there is a lot of jpeg artefacting in the Fuji pictures, but that they are less noisy in the darker areas than the Olympus. I need more evidence before deciding.

Anyone?

T.

PS Orangejulius, 103er-fan also likes that camera, but it is way out of my budget. The Fuji at £315 is my limit.

[VJ]

This site:

http://www.dpreview.com

has a lot of in depth reviews for a huge amount of cameras. In the buying guide, there also is an option to put 2 cameras side by side.

Other good review sites are

http://www.steves-digicams.com

http://www.imaging-resource.com

edit: I can't seem to find in depth reviews on dpreview of both camera's you mention, but the specs are there... perhaps on one of the other sites...?

Jörg

[Fat Tone]

Thanks VJ. Finally some reviews are appearing on dpreview. I'll be watching closely.

Cheers

T.

[Paddy]

In PCW (Fosse Park) at the moment they have a printed picture of a photo taken by a digital camera. The quality is outstanding. I cant remember what it is, but they tend not to have 'top-of-the-range' stuff there.

It might be worth a look at?

[Fat Tone]

Thanks Paddy. Will bear that in mind when I settle on a model.

T.

[Fat Tone]

Installing the Fuji s/w as we speak. This is one sexy camera!

I'll post details after a proper trial if anyone is interested.

T.