Fujifilm Finepix S700 7.1MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

Just a few thoughts about why I like this camera.

1. The viewfinder. I can shoot without glasses in the bright outdoors and focus and see my shot and get great results. No need to rely on an impossible-to-see-in-bright-light lcd.

2. The 10x zoom. Gets you close. I get pictures of things far away that I can't see with the naked eye. Makes for fun when a companion and I bet on what's going on far away and then take a picture to settle the bet.

3. Is light weight. I carry this everywhere.

4. Can use SD or XD memory cards. SD card readers are all over the place as are SD memory cards.

5. Uses AA batteries. I get a lot of pictures out of my rechargeable batteries, and then pop in another set when needed.

6. Focuses at low-light with a beam. Whether one is using flash or camera is steadied with a mount, the beam eases the process of taking low-light pictures.

7. With all the above conveniences, the quality of the shots is very good!

bought the camera for my dad, his first digital camera. i have the s5700 and thought this would be a great easy camera for him to use, and it is. its a great camera for the price and 17th st photo is the best

I bought the S700 in 2007 as my first digital camera purchase. It has the specs I wanted: fast start-up, good picture quality, 10x optical zoom. It takes a decent picture using only the automatic settings, and if you are willing to experiment with the various manual modes you can get some really good shots.

About two months after buying the camera I turned it on to find the LCD gone berserk! Streaks of purple, and green fluctuated across the entire LCD like some kind of infrared display. I turned it off, turned it back on same thing, replaced the batteries, reset all the settings but nothing helped.

I contacted support they told me I needed to send in the camera for repair with me paying for shipping (both ways if I recall correctly). Grudgingly I prepared to ship the camera back but just before packing it up I turned it on one last time to find the LCD was fine! Since the LCD seemed to work, and I did not feature paying for shipping nor waiting who knows how long to get my camera back I decided not to send it in for repair.

Well fast forward about ten months to shortly after the warranty expired, and guess what the LCD flaked out again! This time for good!

So at this point I cannot use the LCD to take/view pictures nor to manipulate camera settings. The camera does have a view finder with which I can take pictures and change camera settings otherwise it would be a useless paper weight. Though squinting through the view finder to work the menus will give you a headache quickly.

I have read other reviews to find at least one other person who had a similar experience. So beware of this issue when considering this camera.

My wife and I are by no means photographers, though I have read some and have gotten better at using manual settings. Overall this camera has been great.

My wife 100% of the time uses point-and-shoot modes, and she has been happy with it. There are some instances where the auto modes fall short and you have to toy around with the manual settings to really get a good shot, but that's part of it.

For the money, it'd be hard to find another camera with the flexibility of this one. It gives you pretty good point-and-shoot as well as the ability to venture into the manual settings.

The only cons I can think of are it's ability to give quality photos in some night settings (in auto modes) and the little plastic door that holds the batteries sometimes comes loose due to it's location and it causes the camera to shut off.

As stated before, it isn't a perfect camera, but for the price it's a great camera. I'd totally recommend it.

I absolutely love this camera. It is my third digital and it is so much better than basic models. It is very easy to use, comfortable, and lightweight. It takes great photos although the zoom is limited.
I am planning to order the lenses now that I know how to work the functions.

I bought rechargeable batteries which I highly recommend.
The only negative is that the lens cap pops off easily. But that is minimally annoying considering the strong positives.