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Fujifilm FinePix JX300 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £80
inc VAT

Image quality is far from perfect, but this is still a competent camera at a competitive price.

Specifications

1/2.3in 14.0-megapixel sensor, 5.0x zoom (28-140mm equivalent), 130g

http://www.morecomputers.com

Budget cameras are broadly divided into metal-clad models costing over £100 and plastic ones for less, but the JX300 bucks the trend with its metal body and £80 price. Its lens is well specified for the price too, with a 5x zoom range and f/2.6 maximum aperture, which lets in a little more light than its rivals’ lenses. The mode dial is another welcome surprise, providing quick access to photo, video and various scene modes. However, this camera lacks the optical stabilisation that pricier models use to counteract camera shake.

Fujifilm FinePix JX300

It’s reasonably responsive, taking a photo every 2.2 seconds, but all other buttons become inactive until photos have finished saving. That meant we had to wait for around four seconds after taking a photo before we could begin to adjust any settings. The menus are sparsely populated, with no metering modes and few autofocus options, although the ability to track not just faces but any object could prove useful. Text descriptions are used to explain certain settings, but some didn’t stay on screen long enough for us to read them.

A 720p video mode is great at this price but clips are limited to less than 10 minutes. Picture quality was decent, except for some heavy barrel distortion at wide-angle zoom positions. Sound quality was a little boxy, and after enabling optical zoom for videos in the Setup menu, the soundtrack was muted whenever we adjusted the zoom control.

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Basic Specifications

Rating ***
CCD effective megapixels 14.0 megapixels
CCD size 1/2.3in
Viewfinder none
Viewfinder magnification, coverage N/A
LCD screen size 2.7in
LCD screen resolution 230,000 pixels
Articulated screen No
Live view Yes
Optical zoom 5.0x
Zoom 35mm equivalent 28-140mm
Image stabilisation none
Maximum image resolution 4,288×3,216
Maximum movie resolution 1280×720
Movie frame rate at max quality 30fps
File formats JPEG; AVI (M-JPEG)

Physical

Memory slot SDHC
Mermory supplied none
Battery type Li-ion
Battery Life (tested) 180 shots
Connectivity USB, AV
HDMI output resolution N/A
Body material aluminium
Lens mount N/A
Focal length multiplier N/A
Kit lens model name N/A
Accessories USB cable
Weight 130g
Size 56x94x24mm

Buying Information

Warranty one-year RTB
Price £80
Supplier http://www.morecomputers.com
Details www.fujifilm.co.uk

Camera Controls

Exposure modes auto
Shutter speed auto
Aperture range f/2.6-8 (wide), f/6.2-20 (tele)
ISO range (at full resolution) 100 to 1600
Exposure compensation +/-2 EV
White balance auto, 6 presets
Additional image controls none
Manual focus No
Closest macro focus 10cm
Auto-focus modes centre, face detect, tracking
Metering modes multi, face detect
Flash auto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, red-eye reduction
Drive modes single, continuous, self-timer