I bought the Fujifilm Finepix A500 as a camera to pack in my PC case on business travel. I use it mainly to get candid snapshots in business meetings and conferences. It is small, discrete, and works well for the purpose intended. The 5MP resolution allows me to get quick shots without much care for composition, background clutter, etc. since I use a photo editor to take care of those tasks later-on. When buying this camera note that it does not have a case or much on-board storage. An XD memory card and a case are necessary. I also recommend getting a NiMH battery charger to keep battery replacement costs low.

This is a fantastic camera! I really can't say enough great things about it. I just upgraded my digital camera fortress with a Minolta 5D (SLR) and with this tiny baby. I had an Olympus Stylus 300, 3.2 mp for about 3 years now. The indoor pictures were always grainy and blurred, but outdoor pictures were beautiful. However, I felt that I needed more bang for my buck and began researching for a new digi cam. I came across this Fuji and noticed 1.) 5MP, 2.) Less than $200!!!, and 3.) Xd card compatible (i already had about 512 mb of xd cards for my Olympus camera).

So, I began testing out this new baby and found that: it is very tiny and light, every single picture is bright and crisp, and the LCD screen is big, bright and noticeable even in bright outdoor light!

The LCD screen is one of the best features. I always had trouble viewing pictures in outdoor light with my other camera, so my next camera purchase HAD to have a viewfinder. But I find I don't need the viewfinder option with the camera because the LCD screen is perfect in all lights...that is one of the best features, and for the price, you can't beat it!

I can't recommend this camera enough. But I would highly recommend purchasing rechargable AA batteries. Regular Alkaline AA batteries drain very quickly!

I bought this Finepix A500 as a budget replacement for a digital camera that was recently stolen from me. I think its fair to say that you get quite a bit of camera for the money spent here (you can find this camera at several places on the internet for less than $120 , I bought my for 118.99 brand new with free shipping included), it has a 5 megapixel resolution and 3x optical zoom and takes great pictures , in a comparison of picture quality with a friend who has a Nikon that was about 4 times the price of this camera when we took the same pictures in identical situations with same picture settings this camera performed just as well with color and clarity just as vivid. Ok his camera has bells and whistles this one doesn't and more preset picture modes but for the average picture taker this is definitely a winner, great macro shots too and professional-looking clarity and resolution on 8X10 photos as well. The software wasn't quite as elaborate as my other camera's (an HP Photosmart) but I do my general photo editing with either Picasa or the basic Adobe Photoshop (both free downloads on the web) so I can't really see this as a downside either, definitely a satisfied buyer and user here.

This is a good camera for taking photos...outside...in good light...if nothing is moving. I bought it to replace a similar older Fuji. This camera is not nearly as good as the older one. Most photos are blurry or out of focus. Colors are not great. I wish I could get my money back on this bad boy. My advice...if you do buy it...take lots of pics quickly. Inspect. I've loved Fuji in the past, but this one is a dog and a disappointment.

I got mine today and have been testing it out. It is small, barely bigger than a credit card (though thicker) and reasonably light.

It was easy to figure out how to use, except for how to get into the picture viewing mode. Turns out there is a special button for it. But that is the only thing I've had to consult the manual about and I'm not a digital camera expert. I had one camera before, a Kodak DX3700, and I must say that not only did I pay less for this camera, it is a much better camera to boot. My old camera only took decent pictures in bright sunlight, and many pictures were blurry.

This camera I have only tested inside, so far, but the pictures look great. The LCD screen is bright and easy to see, and a pleasure to use. The zoom lens works wonderfully. Taking pictures is easy and I was favorably impressed by the quality.

This camera can also make short movies without sound. And unlike my old Kodak, the LCD screen is in real-time so it shows exactly what you are seeing through the viewfinder.

I don't know what happened to the other reviewer - maybe he got a defective camera? For me the Finepix A500 works beautifully and I'm very glad I bought it. It is excellent value for money. I bought it after reading on a digital camera site that it was highly recommended for its price range, and I can understand why. It's inexpensive, compact, has a great LCD screen, and takes good-looking pictures. What more could you ask for?

I bought this camera for my teen age daughter for general use as it was time for a new camera. I wasn't expecting much for $130, however; this camera has far exceeded expectations. Pictures are clear with great color. Battery life is better than average, the camera is easy to use and we haven't experienced any problems with indoor shots. The camera is very compact. Its amazing how something so small can have a generous display and take such high quality photos. I agree with the previous review, you need an extra XD Picture Card (I ordered the 512 mb) and rechargeable batteries. Overall - we are very happy with this camera.

Overall I am very happy with this camera. I got it last month and have already taken 400+ pictures. Here's what I see as its pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Small and lightwieght (I can fit it into the back pocket of my jeans)
2. Easy to use (I haven't opened the manual once)
3. 5.1 MP (more than you need for an 8 x 10)
4. Price
5. Battery Life (runs on 2 AA) I have taken 180 pictures at the highest setting and done a download before having to change them.

Cons:
1. Slow response time - takes awhile between pictures, hard to get candids
2. All my zoomed in pictures turn out badly (possibly because I don't hold the camera steady enough)
3. USB and power ports on the side are exposed (a case solves this rather easily)

I picked this up after much hesitation (I didn't like the idea of dropping over 100 bucks on a camera), but as an open box at a nearby store. I wanted a camera with at least 3x optical zoom, and a decent resolution, for casual/semi-artistic use and this delivers to meet my needs.

The pictures in daylight with a flash are quite crisp, although the same can NOT be said about dark or moving pictures, as mentioned in an earlier review. The camera has a very hard time focusing in low light situations, and when an object is moving, it gets a lot of motion blur. It was rather hard to get a nice shot of some jack-o-lanterns this Halloween, for instance- most came out obsenely blurry when taken in the dark (no flash of course).

I heavily recommend purchasing a set of rechargeable AA batteries. The battery life on this camera is not half bad, but it ends up cheaper in the long run.

Startup time is about 2.5 seconds, for those of you who want to take more spontaneous photos.

In my opinion, this is one of the best cameras in its price range. Go for it.

I got very good service from this distributor. The item purchased arrived soon and in good order without any problem. Thanks a lot.

The other reviewers speak the truth, so I will not parrot them. Why do that? But I would like to bring one little flaw to your attention. The on-off button is recessed and so miniscule that if you have anything approaching a beefy paw you will have trouble turning this baby on. Yes, you will. Ditto for turning it off.

Other than that, it is a nice camera for what it is. I bought it because I wanted an upgrade. My other camera is the Fujifilm A101, now an antique. The A101 is still a sweetheart. And the on-off button is far better.

I am a little disappointed in the product. Having owned another Fuji digital (which I loved!)and going by the customer reviews I thought this would be a good little camera. Picture quality is excellent, but it is really poor on getting candid shots. The shutter activates so slowly that you don't get the picture that you thought you snapped. Good for outdoor scenery and stills. Not so good for photographing the grandkids!

I have found that MOST of my photos with this new 5.1 are NOT very good at all. I MUCH preferred my older A2600 which was a 2.1. The pictures were fabulous with my old camera. I noticed shortly after getting the camera and taking several photos with it that many of my pictures were blurry. I sat and read the manual to ensure that I wasn't doing something wrong. If I do closeup pics, they are very nice, but general photos are most often blurry and horrible. It's incredibly disappointing. If I could just replace my old camera I would except that they don't make it anymore. I used to rave about my old camera, but I am NOT happy with this one at all. I am going to have to send it to the manufacturer to have them check it out and fix it. What a PITA since I bought it brand new!!!!!

Good luck to everyone else - I hope you have better luck than I!!!!

The A500 is a quality camera that is easy to use and produces excellent point and shoot quality photos. Controls are simple and easy to use.

The downside, as you would expect in a $100 range camera, poor low light performance. Even when using the flash in a well lighted room, the delay between pressing the shutter and the actual image capture is enormous. Not very useful for children or partys where people are moving.

Overall a good camera for a very low price.

Cons: Xd Cards, zoom button, I would like more buttons on the back for various options, such as delay timer

Pros: Small, great pictures, very easy to use.

The camera stopped functioning within three weeks of purchase. It would no longer close or zoom. It did however take excellent photos while functioning, so it doesn't get the worst rating. We are still awaiting the camera's return from Fujifilm. Sigh.

This is a good camera!
It is small, discrete, great pictures, easy to use.
One disadvantage is recording without sound.

This is the second digital camera I have owned and I LOVE IT. It is small, sturdy, and light weight. I can fit it in my purse easily. The picture quality is very good. I did purchase additional memory to hold more pictures. It is a very good deal for the price. The only thing that is a little too small is the on/off power button.

I have owned this camera for about 2 months and really enjoy it. I did not want a camera with out a view finder and this is one of the few that I found that has one plus I have owned FUJI products before and like them. The camera is a little bit to small but over all I like it.

Excellent value for money as always with Fuji products, its does what is sets out to do and is a simple to use compact camera with enough manual capability for the basic user, it gives clear bright photos for the resolution, better than you would expect on the downside the video capability has no sound, its slow ( shutter lag ) to use and a little over cost reduced in the case design ( looks better than it really is ), the LCD screen is not much use for determining focus or qulaity of photos, menus difficult to use, battery usage quite high, you must get rechargable batteries, but this is common for most digital cameras, that all said, for the price and to get started in digital photography you cant go wrong, but I predict within a few months the limitations may become frustrating and you will want to upgrade, Fuji do some much better compacts than this, if you dont have any more money then buy this and give it to someone when you upgrade.

I have another Fuji Digital camera which has been fine for several years. I bought this one for my teenage daughter for her birthday and within 3 days of using it , the shutter button stopped working. Amazon paid for the shipping back, no problem, but cannnot replace it with a new one because they won't be stocking any more of this model . This leads me to believe that I am not the only one that has had a problem with this camera. Research others as I would avoid this one even though the price is good.

I am giving it 4 stars...
I got this camera today and it is really small compared to my old hp 315 camera. It takes great pictures but the shutter takes a while to snap things like a cat. It has no sound for video ): that realy hurt me but I got used to it I bought this for a digi not a video. The battries drain if you leave the LCD on a long time...1 hour latter my battries were dead but I was taking alot more videos than pics. Then the ISO settings suck and a dumb I mean up to 400 I would spend more that 40 bucks for this camera which I did get it for that price. I would get a cannon or kodak for a little more money but his camera is great for 40 bucks! so in the end 0 stars, Hope this helps.

I got burned in the past trying to get away with buying my kids sub-1.0 megapixel cameras, which really were a waste of money and disappointed everyone in terms of quality.

I am happy so far with this model. I got two for my sons at about $85 USD each. It's a perfect size for them. Controls are simple. The quality of the photos has been good. It runs on a pair of AA batteries which makes it easy to replace without hunting down a special, expensive size.

The only thing that annoyed me was the internal memory is about 12 MB. The default setting allows you to save about 10 photos. You can change the resolution down to 1600x1200 to double the number of photos. But still, for kids running around taking pictures of everything, they fill that up the internal memory real quick.

This camera uses an uncommon media format - xD-Picture Card Type M. So now in addition to SD cards and Compact Flash cards I own for other devices, I have to buy XD cards. If I had realized that, I would never have purchased this model camera.

I went to the local box stores, and a hard to find 1 GB xD-Picture Card costs $80 -- about the price I spent for the camera. Absolutely ridiculous, considering in the same store they sell 1 GB SD cards for $15-25!

Shopping on Amazon, I settled on buying 512 MB xD-Picture Card Type M for about $16+5 S&H each - the cheapest I could find. If I keep the resolution down to 1600x1200, The specs say 818 photos can fit on a 512 MB card.

In summary, be sure you want to start buying xD-Picture Card Type M flash media before you buy this camera. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

I hope you found this helpful.

Our 20- and 17-year-old children each bought one of these cameras last week. So far, they're great. Just a note about the xD cards: the earlier reviewer is right, they are not as common as other types, but with a little patience, good deals can be found. Also, we checked the Fuji website and found that either type of xD card (H or M) was compatible with the camera. We purchased Olympus 512mb type H cards from Amazon (we got the cameras from another online store) for $15 each. Since we bought two, we were over the $25 limit required for free shipping. We ordered on April 11th, expecting to receive them on or after the 23rd (the kids were using a couple of smaller xD cards we had on hand, so no big deal for us to wait), but we received them yesterday, April 18. My son, the techie, really wanted a 1gb, but I pointed out that he was very unlikely to need to store that number of photos for any length of time, plus larger cards usually mean slower camera action. The 512mb will hold 486 photos taken at the 5.1N pixel resolution. I encourage them to put their photos on their computers frequently so they don't lose those memories (we order prints online or use a digital scrapbook program).

Other notes: the photos they've taken look great, the controls are easy to master, the price (under $100) is terrific. Using AA rechargeable batteries is a big plus. If those run out, you can always pop in a couple of alkaline. I use a Fuji S5100 4mp that I absolutely LOVE, but I wouldn't mind having one of these for times when I don't need the 10x zoom and want to travel light.

Its a nice little point and shoot for $88

pros:
-------
small & lightweight
decent zoom
easy to use without reading the manual
AA batteries for power - easily replacable
cheap $6 uw housing
- that's why I bought it, to use underwater see link to WP-FXA500
Fujifilm WP-FXA500 Aquamask Underwater Housing for Fuji A400 and A500
Has movie record option with sound, records in AVI format

cons:
--------
xd card
- a little pricier than CF cards
- use type H for max memory speed/capicity
eats batteries like a hungry fat woman at a free unlimited buffet
no manual exposure option
no flash exposure adjustment
highest iso 400 (cmon fuji - where's at least 800?)
movie option grainy and poor in low light

overall worth every penny of $88.

I love this camera. It's small, lightweight, easy to use. I take it everywhere.

I bought this camera for my boyfriend as a gift and he loves it. I'm actually thinking I want one for myself. As far as a basic digital camera, this one is perfect. It takes decent shots, is light, easy to use, and cheap!! I highly recommend it to people who are one a budget or don't need state of the art equipment.

The Fuji A500 is perfect for someone who doesn't have much money to spend on a digital camera or that does not require a lot of additional features. Its 5 megapixels and 3X optical zoom will allow for very good pictures.
It takes about a second for the camera to shoot the picture once you have focused on the subject, though, so if the subject moves ...
And the camera uses 2 alkaline AA batteries, that won't last too long, so it is a good idea to buy a kit of rechargeable batteries.
One advantage is that you can get an underwater housing for this model for about 6 dollars! Such item may come really expensive for other models and / or brands.

I had never owned a digital camera before purchasing this camera, so I have nothing to compare it to. For a long time I has simply been using my creative cam as a camera and in comparison the Fugi does provide better quality.
What I have noticed is that you have to be pretty close to what you're shooting in order for this camera to be effective. The zoom doesn't off much help unless you are already pretty close to what you're taking a picture of. It takes close-ups just fine. It does not work well in poorly lighted conditions.
You have to have A LOT OF BATTERIES!!! I have found that I am left high and dry unless I have at least 2 packs of 10 batteries just to take pics at the beach.
I have not replaced this camera yet, but I plan to. I wish I had listened to the many, many reviews that said to spend that extra 50 bucks on a better camera.
It gets the job done, but I can't wait to see what a better camera can do!

I am currently building a house and wanted a good, quality digital camera without spending a lot of money. After almost a week on constant research, this camera was always in the running when searching through everything that was out there. I was able to purchase this camera and a 512mb card for under $100, and the quality is amazing. I would recommend this little workhorse to anyone.

So far so good. I really enjoy the camera. I only have one concern though... the power button is a little small and I'm afraid it could get worn out quickly... but other than that... it's great!

I purchased this camera for my[..]daughter as her first digital camera. She loves it! The camera is simple to use with not a lot of unnecessary functions to confuse her. She found the menus easy to navigate and understand, and is taking beautiful pictures. Rechargable batteries are a must for any camera belonging to a [..].

The only drawback is that this camera is better than the 3 megapixel camera I use! I have an older Nikon digital which has some great features (that I really don't use). So now my daughter can take clearer and sharper pictures than I can! I should have handed down my Nikon to her and kept this great little camera.

Great camera for the money. I needed something to use with the construction business I work with (before/after, quality control, etc). Also great for family/everyday use. I love it. I always have a 512MB card in it, so I can't vouch for the built-in memory. Quality, ease of use, size -- all A+. Can't say enough great things about it.

The camera looks and feels cheap. But for less than 100 bucks you may not get anything better than this.

I got this camera a little over a year ago and was instantly amazed by how easy it was to learn. It doesn't do anything fancy, but I didn't need anything more than a good "point and click" camera to carry around. The delay between clicking and the camera actually taking the picture was a bit off, which makes action shots difficult, but still life photos and portrait type photos are great! The only major downside is how quickly it goes through batteries. Yikes! Rechargables are a good solution, but you better NEVER forget to take an extra pair of fully charged if you're going out for an evening of picture snapping. If you're going on vacation, take a lot.

I'd give this camera a higher rating if not for the way it died on me. The day after I took some pictures, the camera developed a Focus Error and the zoom lense wouldn't retract, even after replacing the batteries. I emailed Fuji about it and they suggested some things that didn't work, or I could send it in for repair that would probably ultimately cost more than the camera itself did. Why bother?

My advice -- shell out a little extra for something better. You'll be glad you did in the long run. If you just want something cheap, this camera is decent, but remember what they say about getting what you pay for...

I bought this camera for my daughter. It was inexpensive and seemed to have good reviews. The surprise was how good the pictures are. I think they are better than my Canon S3's.

It does not give the impression of being a real robust camera, but so far it has worked excellent. It does eat the batterys. I recommend getting some high capacity 2700 mha nimh rechargeable batterys

I love this camera in every way except the power button, which is very tiny even for 5'3" me. Also, you cannot always tell in bright lighting if the picture has taken, although it usually has.
What I love is its size and the quality of the pictures - inside and outside.
Downloading from it is a simple process.
Buy it.

I just got this camera, and I haven't fully explored its range yet, but so far I'm happy with it. This is my first digital camera. It's a light-weight, compact camera that makes it easy to take along. It was very easy to start taking pictures and install the software on my computer. I just took it with me on vacation in New Mexico and got some great outdoor shots in a wide variety of lighting conditions, and I've also had success using it indoors.

This is a good affordable camera.
I really don't have any complaints.
Just make sure you don't buy any cheap batteries,
cause the camera wont operate or go off after a lil
while.
I personally use the lithium batteries with this
camera and they last me for a long time depending
on how often you use the camera.

Great camera for the price... pictures are sharp and clear and it is easy to use!

My first digital camera, and so far I'm havin lots of fun with it! I still haven't used all it's many features as yet, but I would recommend this camera to anyone! I was surprised to find out that my sister, who is a professional photographer, has this exact camera for her personal use. She also loves it!

First of all, I got this camera in Best Buy for about $100 quite a while ago. It's a nice camera, don't get me wrong - but only taking pictures outside when it's very bright. I took this camera to a concert, hoping it would suffice - but the batteries ran out nearly 5 minutes in, and the few pictures I was lucky enough to take, had immense amounts of noise and were very grainy overall.

The concert was low-light, yes, the the stage had a decent amount of lighting where I figured it wouldn't really matter if I used flash or not. However, I used flash on a few pics, and didn't use it on some others - but overall the results were the same. I even toyed with the different modes, hoping I'd get a decent picture. Nope. As soon as I got home and transfered them to the computer, they all looked like crap - not blurry, just very noisy, and the colors seemed a bit... off.

Aside from that, the outdoor pictures I took were rather nice. So if you really have no use for good low-light photographs, and nothing-special-but-decent outdoor photographs, this camera would be right for you. Just make sure you buy it really cheap, and don't make the same mistake I did.

I owned this camera for a bout 8 months and took very good pictures. Than out of the blue I got a focusing error and the lens would not detract. The product is out of warranty and would cost too much to repair. I will never buy this product again.

The camera is fine as long as nothing goes wrong. Fuji has the worst customer service I have ever delt with. They pass you from one person to another and do everything they can not to help you. Be prepared to deal with the worst customer service in the business. I really hope this helps you.

I used this several times, took about 50 pictures with camera, I was disappointed.
Compare to my old Fugi A201(2 mega pixel), this A500 does not have good color; it may have better resoltion but the color on photo are not as good as A202.
When I checked the spec on those 2 camera side by side, A201 has RGB filter on CCD while A500 ihas just high resolution CCD.
Anyway, A500 is disappointment.

This is an upgrade to the last Fuji & still have & after using Fuji its no wonder I & Others Love them!!.. They are easy to use & work so well taking excellent pictures!! !

This is my second Fuji Digital Camera. The first one failed with a "ZOOM ERROR" after only a few months of average use. The camera was useless. I returned it to the place of purchase, and of course the model is no longer in production. After an argument with the store manager, they allowed me to trade up to the newer model, charging only the difference.

Well After about a year of average use, I got the exact same "ZOOM ERROR" message on the newer model. I do not want to pay $250 every two years for a camera, so this will be my last FUJI purchase. When I spend money, I expect reliability, and FUJI misses the mark!