Fujifilm SL300 14Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Matte Red)

Before I bought this Fujifilm Fine Pix SL300, I have read so many customers' reviews. Most of them are positive and only few are unsatsifactory. Then, after testing this camera for a few days, I really love this camera because it has all the functions it claims and easy to use it. Panorama is amazingly easy to use. The quality of the pictures I took is extremely clear and bright.(above my expectation). As for other functions, I have to read the user's manual to test them out and they are easy to use in the end. Even though this is a entry level for SLR camera, it's already good enough for me since I am NOT using it professionally. Most SLR costs a lot but this one is an inexpensive model for you to see if you need to go to the sophiscated model. Like my wife said: "This model is complicated enough, don't give me more functions. I only need to take some clear pictures and video. I will be very satisfied if the quality of photos and video is bright & clear." Overall, I'd recommend this camera to others.

I bought this camera through a lightning deal for about $130 US. It has a whole lot more features than I'm used to-- I'm not really a technology person. I'm used to just a simple point & shoot kind of camera with not many features, so this camera is a tad overwhelming for me, but I just look at it as an opportunity for me to learn more. It was also more than I was really okay with spending, but its well worth it. I was wanting a better camera than the one I previously had, for more professional-type photos and this was an excellent choice. The user manual that comes with the camera is quite helpful. I keep it in my camera bag just in case I need to look up which setting would be best for whatever type of photo I am taking. I love that you can switch back and forth from the LCD screen and the viewfinder. I find that having the rechargeable battery is so much better than having to put batteries in it. I do recommend buying at least one additional battery, though. I'm just starting to use my camera, trying it out, familiarizing myself with the features....and the fully charged battery was used up quite quickly. I sure hope it doesnt normally drain that fast, but either way, it sucks when your battery dies and then you dont have a backup battery and you cant take pictures till its charged. But again, I think the rechargeable battery is cheaper than continuously going through regular batteries, like some other cameras use. The lens cap is a bit annoying since you have to press the grip levers...I'd rather have one that snaps on. The strap that comes with the camera is good. Feels and looks well made. I LOVE that you can add notes to your photos... I had never had a camera before that was capable of that, so I find this very awesome. You can take a picture, then go to review it and there is an option to add an audio recording to it-- for me this is helpful because when I travel, I can add an audio note so that when I go to look at the pictures later, I will have those notes as a reminder of the exact place I was at. I'm not sure how silhouettes are taken or if this camera is capable, but I'd like to find out. It has a panoramic setting, which I'm learning is pretty neat. The 30x zoom is great-- you can zoom in REALLY close on objects that are far away, and it still picks up on all the detail. I had a little bit of difficulty finding a camera bag. I wanted to buy one locally because I think it easier to return items that way if I get the wrong thing as opposed to when I purchase online. Unfortunately, the stores I went to around here didnt have much of a variety. I am very happy with the bag I got, but if you plan to carry camera accessories with you, you'll be looking at getting, what I consider to be, a large bag. I do wish the user manual was more detailed. For someone like me who isnt used to a camera with so many features, it'd be nice if the manual explained more. There are terms in there that I'm not at all familiar with. Also, I like that there are little indentations for where your thumb and index finger rest. This camera is most suitable for a right handed person.

This camera takes beautiful photos very simply. As an amateur photographer and not having the time or funds to explore the fancy cameras, I find this camera to be perfect for my needs. I can quickly and easily photograph my daughter or scenery on vacation. This is the best money can buy if your price range is $150-200. The only thing I dislike about this camera is that it is a tad too automatic. I wish that on the rare day I have the time to customize the settings that I would have more options. But for the price, it is a wonderful camera. UPDATE: I was able to use this camera over the weekend in D.C. (Two moths after purchase.) This is the first trip I've taken it on and the first time I've had the opportunity to really see what it can do. I set it on automatic and took several pictures as we walked. If I didn't stop completely, the photos turned out blurry. I did get some beautiful photos of the Washington and Lincoln Memorial at sunset. The color wasn't as vivid in the photos, but that is an easy editing fix. When we were at Ford's Theatre, I had the most difficult time trying to get a decent photo in low lighting. I ended up snapping a few with my iPhone - which much to my surprise turned out quite crisp and clear. I still must say, for the price, I am quite pleased with this purchase.

Its a camera that people notice, Its style and the look of a high end camera make it a sweet deal This is my 4th Fuji FinePix and one of the main attractions is the battery, its a single battery, so along with the ZIP-NP85 Kit its so much better to change out one battery than 4 AA's You need to learn all the settings as at night your pictures will need the flash, but with practice I believe you can get more control. Its nice on the weight, it has a shoe horn for a flasher I can not wait to buy. I love the sound and feel of the turn knob on top as you know you are in the next setting, Video is sweet, Camera sounds it clear,color-red is an attention getter.. Wait ,I almost forgot, I wear glasses but when I'm out in the sun I wear Gradient Lens sun glasses '''' so when you use the look thru, there is a roll knob on the left side by the eye viewer that rolls, so it's like having your eye glasses on, I mean you roll until you can see clear," without having to put your glasses on". I even took a Moon picture in the evening holding the camera in my hands and it was a great picture. The nose of the man on the moon is a flat top mountain ridge, maybe about the size of Texas. its that good...........

wonderful camera! easy to use. easy little charge. takes beautiful pictures. well worth the money

First of all, I am not a professional photographer, nor do I expect professional photos from this camera. I am an artist however. One reason in which I needed a camera is for occasional reference photos in which I will make paintings from. As I do not do photo-realism, great photos with perfect detail retention are not necessary for this purpose. The 24 mm wide angle of the lens is nice when I need a photo of the bigger picture. And the panorama feature provides an even wider view...at an extremely easy to use method. It practically does it for you if you keep it set on auto panorama. And the 30x zoom is wonderful to bring distant objects closer. Like I said, they only are required to be used as a reference, so the quality doesn't need to be great. The "dual image stabilization" feature is a bit of a farce. "Dual" means sensor shift, coupled with high ISO, so that the shutter speed can be faster, thus less blur. So with the high ISO, it produces quite grainy pictures. It would be nicer if the camera had the option to separate the "dual" into "just sensor shift," "just high ISO," or "both," so that you wouldn't be forced to get a grainy picture. But that is not an option, so I question its effectiveness. The other reason why I needed a camera was to take photos of my artwork. For this purpose, I set the camera to P "Programmed Auto" so I can chose the ISO, and set it to 64 or 100 ISO. I set the painting in an outdoor courtyard on a bright sunny day...in the shade. I use a tripod (this camera has a tripod mount) to get it framed just so, and use the 10 second delay to avoid shake when pushing the shutter button. One problem I had was there was sometimes a bit of pincushion distortion on a few shots. But at other times it was perfectly square with no such distortion. So I think that it depends on how much you zoom, for such distortion is apparently avoidable. I have a large format printer that prints 13 x 19 size paper, and the quality of the prints of my paintings is acceptable after photo editing (cropping etc.) and minor color correcting. It seemed that emeralds and teals were a bit cool and washed out. But that may just require me finding the proper settings for white balance and saturation, for which the camera is adjustable. But photo editing and color correcting is almost always necessary even with a much more expensive camera, so this is not a big deal. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 to manually color correct and crop. This program also lets you eliminate any pincushion or barrel distortion that such a camera may impart. So for such a procedure, this camera produces quite acceptable results...although I do intend to upgrade to a DSLR for this purpose in the distant future. But for now, this camera suits its intended purposes. There is a product video on Amazon which does outright state some incorrect information. It says that this camera has manual focus...it does not. It says it has 60 X intelligent zoom...it does not. It does have a regular digital zoom however, and it is up to 201 X digital zoom...I just don't recommend using it. The video also says that the camera has a back-side illuminated EXR Cmos sensor...it does not. It is a CCD sensor. It also shows that the camera has "advanced anti-blur mode," which takes several pictures at once and merges them together. This is also not true. It also claims that you can take 360 degree panorama pictures both side to side and up and down. It can only do up and down panorama pictures if you hold the camera sideways. And either way, it is definitely not 360 degrees...maybe 180. And one huge misleading bit of information that the video shows is that the 3" LCD screen tilts. This is also not true, as it is completely fixed. As I researched for a camera for some time, I already knew that these misleading claims were not true and actually apply to the higher end Fuji models HS25EXR and HS30EXR cameras. Since I wasn't expecting these features, I wasn't fooled or disappointed. But for the price, I wasn't expecting everything, even if these features were stated to be on this camera according to the video. So for the price, and for my needs, I believe that this camera does just fine. If I expected to sell landscape or birding photography, I would be disappointed. But that is not what I expected or required from this camera. The pictures of grass and leaves are a bit "watercolory" looking (Is that a word?) when looked at closely. But even those photos will look just fine printed on 8x10 paper. The lithium ion battery works well and really lasts a pretty long time. It would be nice if I could put on a UV filter to protect the lens, or a polarizer filter to make skies blue and to adjust reflections...but there is no filter thread. One part that bugs me is the lens cap...it jams if you turn on the camera and attempt to zoom if you forget to take it off. But I think I will learn to get used to that. I looked at other cameras that just had the LCD screen, but I like the fact that this camera can use either the 3" LCD screed or the electronic viewfinder, for there are times when the viewfinder just works better...such as in bright light. I will not comment on the video feature, as this is not something that I use or need. It also has other features that I probably will not use, such as smile and blink detection. But they are nice features to have if your camera is meant as a Facebook tool. I also do not like the fact that the full manual is on CD only. Before I received the camera, I went on the Fuji website and downloaded and printed the manual for this camera so I could read up on it...but I did kind of expect a nice printed book with the camera, but there was just the CD. But for a capable camera at an affordable price, I give this camera four stars. High ISO pictures are pretty grainy, but low ISO pictures in good light still takes quality pictures of my artwork. So for what I use it for, and for my budget, I think I made a good choice.

I sent this camera back to Fuji, which before has always been a reliable camera for me, as amazon told me to do. It took about a month for me to get it back, no paper work, no explanation as to what was wrong, zip. I charged the battery and the camera still would not work. So now I have to call them to see what they will do about this situation. I feel as though I have been taken and I would advise anyone not to buy from Fuji. I realize this is not a premium camera but it should take photos. Here's a tip to all amazon shoppers, if you buy something with your amazon rewards card you can not challenge the charge on your card of products brought from a third party. So I have no recourse against Fuji, whereas if it was on my AM/EX card I would be able to have the card company take care of this. I will follow up on this review after I have contacted them. This issue was resolved, it was a battery issue. This camera is good for the cost. I still like the point and shoots better.

I love this little camera! I bought an earlier version of this for my daughter in 2010 before a trip to Spain, and I bought myself a Canon PowerShot A3100IS for the same trip. Her camera worked splendidly, mine was a total disaster and died two days into the trip. Anyway, I decided to replace my dud with one like hers, and I couldn't be happier with it. It has some nice upgrades from the earlier version; the zoom is more user friendly, and the lens cap is an ingenious little device that you pinch and it fits inside the lens casing (hard to explain how this works, but trust me, it's a great feature!) There are so many different settings that I haven't tried them all, but I can say that it took some spectacular pictures on a recent trip to Yosemite. However, if you're looking for a little camera you can just stick in your pocket or your purse, this is not the one.