Fujifilm Finepix T190/T200 Camera Review

Using the Fujigilm T190

Setup of this camera is easy. Just choose your language and set the time. There are several pages of other settings that you might want to go through later, but they don’t need to be changed for the initial setup. The software disk contains the MyFinePix Studio which allows you to import, edit, and manage your photos. We found the software adequate, but there are other free programs that are just as good, if not better.
This Fujifilm T190 is a 14 megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom covering 28 – 280 mm (a 35 mm camera equivalent), and an ISO sensitivity of 100 – 3200.
It should be noted that at the full resolution of 14 megapixels, sensitivity is limited to a maximum of ISO 1600. Higher ISOs can be used at lesser resolutions.
Dual image stabilization is included by combining high sensitivity and CCD Shift type image stabilization. We found that this worked well for freezing action in motion shots as well as minimizing blurs when at the maximum zoom range. This amount of image stabilization is uncommon in a camera in this price range.
This camera also has a framing guideline, face detection, auto red-eye removal, blink detection, and smile recognition.
Fujifilm should be commended for making this camera easy-to-use. As shown in Figure 8, when you choose a picture mode, the screen displays the mode along with pertinent information about that mode. This means that you don’t have to remember what the various icons are. You can simply dial through the sections to make the right choice.

Figure 8: The screen information

This camera has three auto modes: full auto, scene recognition auto, and program auto. This allows the user to choose between the auto modes. The program auto mode uses an automatic mode but allows the user to select the settings for certain features like the white balance and exposure. All the auto modes work well and will be a bonus for the amateur photographer.
The scene modes are versatile, with everything from Fireworks to Snow. We especially liked the Text mode which allows you to take clear pictures of printed text or drawings.
While many other cameras have the smile and blink detection modes, this is the first camera that we reviewed that has a Natural & Flash mode. This mode takes two pictures with one press of the button. The first is taken with the flash off and the second with the flash on. This allows you to take a good picture when you aren’t sure if you need the flash or not. We found it to be more useful than expected.
A big, 10x optical zoom was a surprise in such a small camera. Thanks to the Fujinon lens, whether wide angle or zoomed to the fullest, pictures were sharp and detailed. The lens is shown in the extended position in Figure 9.

Figure 9: The lens extended

We were not surprised to find that when using the highest resolution and ISO levels, some noise was introduced into the photos. Indoor shots without the flash were susceptible to this, but using the flash and/or the Natural & Flash setting helped.
Photos at or under ISO 800 were excellent. Color representation was good. Some colors were a bit muted, but not enough to be problematic for most users. Photos were very detailed and macro shots were excellent.
We were surprised to find that Fujifilm removed the popular F (Finepix color) button that was found in most of their previous cameras, but we found that these settings were still available in the main menu.