The Fujifilm Z200fd: a perfectly decent, thin little point-and-shoot


At 2cm thick, this little Fujifilm is a slick little piece of hardware. I generally trust the camera-based brands like Pentax and such when it comes to cameras, but this looks like a pretty decent one. It’s 10 megapixels, with a 5x optical zoom on probably a cut-rate lens, image stabilization (good for a small thing like that), and a wealth of “entertaining and versatile functions.” That means using face detection in smart ways, like switching quickly between faces when reviewing images, or waiting until two faces are close together before taking the picture with the “couple timer.” It comes in a few colors, but I like the red and black version – reminds me of Les Miserables.

I’ve never been one to use my camera as a slideshow machine or all-purpose viewer; I’m very secretive about my uncropped, uncorrected photos. But if you’re one of those people, there are lots of modes for that as well. You can even fire photos to other cameras, but only if they’re equipped with an IR port like its own. I get the feeling that doesn’t happen very often, since it’s not 2001.