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Today I broke down and bought a new camera. It’s not one of the cameras I dreamed of getting as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. It’s a Fujifilm FinePix S2950 14 MP Digital Camera with Fujinon 18x Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LCD.
It’s basically another point-and-shoot. However, judging from the reviews, it comes with a lot of upgrades and is more like a beginner DSLR.
Perfect. I’m not sure I’m ready for a full-blown DSLR, but I’ve used and abused my poor little Sony Cyber-shot. I fear it’s on the verge of conking out on me based on some new sounds it’s started making.
The thought of being suddenly camera-less and either in a pinch to pick a new one right before a trip, or, worse (much worse), being on vacation and suddenly finding myself with nothing at all, scares me more than any haunted house ever could. (And that’s quite a bit, if you know my aversion to them.)
So today while I had some extra time I decided to shop around, thinking I might go back to Canon, or even get another Sony. I’ve really enjoyed both digital cameras from those makers that I’ve had.
But then I spied the Fujifilm FinePix one. Like it did when I bought my Sony, it felt right to consider something different. I spent a painstaking hour hemming and hawing and comparing against a Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD and another Fujifilm (Fujifilm FinePix S3200 14 MP Digital Camera with Fujinon 24x Super Wide Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LCD).
The Canon was comparably priced, but only had 12x zoom. The FinePix S3200 was about $40 more, but had 24x zoom.
The camera I have now has 7x zoom. Either way I went, I was going to upgrade on that front. But how much zoom do I really need? The 12x would be nice, but to get 18x for the same price? I dug that. 24x almost seemed too much.
Then there was the dilemma of not buying a Canon. I have it in my head that only real photographers use Canons. Maybe because my professional photographer friend uses nothing but and is even a rep for them at events and conferences. Also, a lot of the bloggers whose photos I admire seem to use Canon and always enthusiastically recommend them.
I know they’re quality cameras. But the design of the Fuji appealed to me more.
The Canon is a better seller, but the reviews between the Canon SX130 IS and the Fujifilm FinePix S2950 were about the same for pros and cons. People raved about the features and picture quality, but said it sucked both use AA batteries and recommended getting rechargeable ones.
The thing that made me sort of leery about the Fujifilm was those with negative reviews land-blasted it for taking crap pictures. However, a lot of people with 5-star reviews defended why some might say that. Apparently it has to do with power settings and some tips in the manual. That was a big thing proponents said, “Be sure to read the manual. If you do, you’ll know how to properly operate your camera to get stunning pictures.”
The review that sold me was a woman who sounded much like me. Like me, she wanted to upgrade camera features some, but wasn’t quite ready for the DSLR league. She’d also read the negative comments about bad picture quality and almost didn’t buy the Fujifilm because of it. She was thinking she’d have a hard time working the camera since she was also only used to point-and-shoot. But she liked the design of it and decided to give it a shot, since she could always return it if she wasn’t satisfied. She said she was thrilled to discover it was easy to work, any questions she had were covered in the manual, and her photos looked amazing.
I guess I will soon find out how I like this new camera.
What kind of digital camera do you use?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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