Fujifilm FinePix A610

Every digicam manufacturer is thriving on newer technologies, a result of competition in the market. What distresses me is that most often it's just a bit of tweaking of the existing product. Customers will obviously be smitten by the thought of carrying a cam that boasts Real Photo technology or the anti-reflective screen. How about a budget camera that clicks good snaps?

The FinePix A610 by Fujifilm is a camera that advocates the same philosophy. This camera I feel is marketed towards people who would like to buy something because it's new and has a couple of unique features. Come, I'll show you what I mean.

Build
Quite honestly, the build quality of the A610 is nothing to write home about. It isn’t exactly very stylish either. All-in-all, I’m put off by the steely look. There is a mixture of brushed metal clubbed unevenly with glassy steel. The camera makes for a bland design composition (especially when you look at it from the top). No reason why I shouldn’t believe that the commercial artists at the Fuji labs weren’t half asleep while designing the A610. But, seriously, you can’t be expecting a stellar piece of work from a budget camera.

My first reaction when I got the piece in hand was why in the name of beauty the power button had to be sunk in? In such cases, you either end up looking for the button all the time or have to press it more than once. In this case, however, the power button is quite responsive. Just a light flick and the camera came on without any hassles.

Amidst all the criticism, I have to commend Fujifilm for the little depression given at the top right corner beside the screen. At first, it may appear to be a functional key. It’s simply there to allow you to sort of lock your thumb in place. A huge convenience, as most users tend to accidentally hit the neighboring keys while clicking pictures.

The A610 comes with a largish LCD screen, which is quite pleasant to look at. Just a word here about the screen before we proceed – Don’t be afraid to use it in broad daylight. The screen features an anti-reflective coating that makes using the LCD without straining your eyes too much. Also it allows you to adjust the brightness of the screen for outdoor shooting. Bliss!! After all, it’s a 2.5-inch amorphous silicon TFT color LCD screen.