Fuji or Kodak? What do you think?

[waves044]

I have narrowed my camera search down to 2 cameras:

The Fuji Finepix E550 and Kodak DX 7440. Has anyone used either of these cameras or other Fuji/Kodaks and have any opinions on which would be a better choice for a first digital camera?
I am looking for something with @ least 4 mp and at least 4x Optical zoom that isn't too big or expensive. If you have any other suggestions for something that meets these criteria let me know!
Thanks!

[kimnicho]

They are both highly regarded/rated cameras - good job on the research end! I just went through this myself and after perusing the web and also heading down to my local electronic store, I have decided to go for the FUJI. The FUJI seems more like a camera that I could "grow into" whereas the Kodak seems like an all-around great camera but doesn't have too much room for creativity or growth. For example, you can add lenses to the FUJI. Also, I like the fact that the FUJI uses 2 "AA" batteries. I DON"T LIKE the fact it uses the xd card but I was luckily able to find a FUJI 512MB xd Card from Amazon Marketplace for $55 which seems reasonable.
It's funny-I literally just placed at order on Dell.com - I'm typing while awaiting for my confirmation email. Btw, both cameras are on sale right now at Dell and you can buy a $35 off coupon from ebay for $5. My Total Price: $247. I also prefer to order from Dell b/c they will let you return a used camera without a restock-fee. I will let you know my first "hands-on" impression in a few days time

[jbcm]

I agree with Kimnicho I would go for the Fuji

[jessie25]

When I looked at the two cameras, I liked the Fuji but ruled it out because of reports of poor low-light focusing and because it uses a pop-up flash which would drive me nuts. I'd ruled out the Kodak DX 7440 because of the proprietary battery.

I was very interested in getting a Kodak DX 6440, because it uses AAs and also has the above features, and a friend of mine has a Kodak which she loves and takes great pictures with. But I couldn't find the 6440 too many places - it's an older model.

Ultimately I went with the Canon A520. I've owned it for 3 days. So far, so good.

[gary_hendricks]

Here are my thoughts on the Kodak 7440.

The Pros:
1) The 16 built in presets work beautifully, they range from "Sports" to "Self Portrait."

2) This camera is great for a whole family. Point and shoot people can just leave it on "auto." More advanced photographers can set fstop and aperature settings manually. I particularly appriciate that Kodak made seperate controls for the dummy and pro settings. A little wheel in the upper right corner controls manual settings.

3) The preview screen on back is HUGE, making it very easy to frame shots.

4) You can change aspect ratios on the camera itself, so instead of shooting at 4x5 (equilivent of an 8x10 photo) you can set it to shoot at 2x3 (equilivent of a 4x6 photo). This means less cropping and photo editing later. This feature is espically nice if you have a printer dock and want to print straight from your camera.

5) The video feature works shockingly well. Set it to video, press the button once, and it will film until you fill up your memory card or you press the same button, telling it to stop. You don't have to hold down the shutter the whole time, which is a major bonus. The video quality is about average, with surprisingly good sound pickup. The ability to simply plug the camera into a TV using standard cables is *wonderful.* I never thought I'd want something like this, but now I'll be disapointed if I ever lose it.

6) Zoom is smooth and fast. You can set it to either flow organically or to hop to 1x, 2x, etc.

7) The interface software is the best in the business. You don't have to "learn" a Kodak camera. They are very intuitively designed. Other manufacturers could learn something from studying their interface.


The Cons:
1) The presets are easy to access, but just as easy to accidentally switch while in the process of taking a photo. Several pictures intended for party mode have ended up in "Night Landscape." They were partially salvagable with color correction software, but still pretty unsatisfactory.

2) The camera loses the time and date settings every time you remove the battery. If you have a charging dock, this probably isn't an issue, but for those of us who charge the battery seperately, it gets annoying very fast.

3) Like most digital cameras, people complain about the brightness of the flash. As a photographer, I'd say they use just enough, but as a subject, it can be painfully blinding. This is all the more reason to take action shots rather than lining people up for posed photos.

All in all, the 7440 is a wonderful camera and is highly recommended.

[jakoky@shaw.ca]

Hi there, i own the fuji e550 and i absolutely love it. I originally had a canon a75 which i liked very much also, but it started to make some really bad grinding noises and sears upped me to the canon a85. I was very disappointed in this camera. The image quality was much better in my 75 and so was low light focusing. I returned the 85 and got the 550. As for low light, i think many cameras in the lower price range all struggle somewhat. I find it quite good in low light, i get the odd bad picture, but it is probably more the photographer than the camera :) I find it very comparable to the 75 for low light, but i find the picture quality amazing with the fuji. It is also extremely light and very easy to use. I also was happy it is used with AA batteries, i think this is a great quality. Also, movie mode in this camera is awesome. Far better than my canons were. Yesterday i took some action shots of kids on the trampoline and i got them in mid air with no blur, you could actually "see" the action, my canons had trouble focusing on action shots. This camera is very, very fast from startup. If flash is needed, it does take a few extra seconds, but when you dont need the speed is amazing. I thought i would hate the pop up flash, but other than being only a mild annoyance once in awhile, it truly is not a big deal at all. I would not let it be the deal breaker for you. Anyways, if you choose the fuji, have fun...i know i am
shar