Fujifilm FinePix T200 review

Compact cameras with 14-megapixel sensors have a poor track record in our reviews, with the excessively high resolution enhancing noise levels more than details. This was certainly the case with the T200, and low-light shots were extremely scruffy-looking when viewed up close. Indoor shots without the flash were only really suitable for use as small web images.

Low-light shots indoors were scruffy looking – click to zoom image

We also found that, even in well-lit scenes, subtler tones were under-saturated. This resulted in an almost monochrome appearance to parts of the image in some shots. We suspect that this may be another symptom of the sensor’s noisy output and the noise reduction that’s employed to counteract it. Either way, it meant that a fair proportion of shots looked drab.

Some images lacked colour, appearing almost monochrome – click to zoom image

It wasn’t all bad news, though. The lens achieved sharp focus, which is a great achievement considering the generous zoom range and slim camera body. The live view image exhibited heavy barrel distortion at wide-angle settings but fortunately this was corrected digitally in the saved images.

This correction wasn’t applied to the 720p videos, though. Focus and optical zoom were fixed for the duration of clips and indoor picture quality was pretty noisy, but despite all these issues, most video clips looked and sounded excellent. Our concerns over image quality mean we can’t wholeheartedly recommend the T200, but at this low price it’s unfair to be overly critical. If you’re after a big zoom in a small body, it’s a good-value choice.