By Mark Quarmby (Sydney, Australia)

I can’t believe the one and only review of this camera on Amazon so felt compelled to write this review. I have owned two digital cameras (not Fujifilm) costing three times the price of this one. Most of the photos I take are inside without a flash and I was looking for the best camera with a wide angle lens for this purpose. I read many reviews and spoke to several camera salesmen. They narrowed my selection down to three cameras; this one and two other brands which were more than double the price of this one.

I was allowed to test all three cameras in a leading camera shop and could not believe the quality of the photos taken with the Fujifilm camera compared with the others. Without a flash or tripod, I could clearly read the writing on the cash register computer screen on the other side of the shop with this camera. The other two (Canon and Panasonic) didn’t even come close.

While the other two had sleeker looking cases and some extra features, the superior quality of the Fujifilm camera sold me.

Having used several other digital cameras, the only negative point I can find with this camera is that it is somewhat slower to process the pictures once taken. You need to allow a few seconds between taking a photo and reviewing on the screen. If you rush this, the camera may freeze and you need to remove the battery and replace it again to continue using the camera. This has only happened twice to me and since realising what was causing it, and waiting a couple of seconds, it has behaved itself. I was warned when buying it that the much cheaper price was caused by a slower processor.

Since I have bought this camera and used it, two friends have bought the same model after seeing the quality of my photos.

By Richard L. Steiner (OREGON United States)

I have owned this Fuji F-480 camera for about three weeks now. The F-480 is small, has a wide angle Fujinon lens (28mm-112mm), a 4.00x optical zoom and provides a higher resolution (8.2 MP) than my Fuji Z-3. This new Fuji f-480 camera seems to be a durable little package that should withstand a few bumps along the way.Those things and the comparatively low price gave me reason to make the purchase. Admittedly, the differences between this camera and my Z-3 are not large, but significant to me since I use my cameras to take landscape pictures while traveling and I have been looking for another small format camera with a wide angle lens. The wide angle lens on the F-480 is just what I needed for my landscape shots.

They refer to ultra-compact cameras like this one as “entry level” which implies they are somewhat toy-like, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth in my opinion. The capacity of these tiny compact cameras is amazing to me having used 35mm film equipment extensively over the years.

I have gone through the entire instruction booklet trying out each attribute found in the F-480 camera. Everything works as it should, but don’t expect perfectly exposed pictures when using a number of the AUTO settings. It takes a bit of experimentation to determine how some of them behave.

This is a Japanese camera made in China, but the quality is very good. The price on the camera represents an excellent value for what it provides in photographic choices and performance. I paid about $180 for mine, but fully expect to see that price drop a few Dollars in the near future. The camera is new to the market and represents one of the latest additions to the F-series Fuji FinePix line. It is the next edition of the F-470, but is (in many ways) an entirely different camera.

The menu of settings is extensive yet easily understood and used. The only complaint I have is with the highly touted anti-shake (picture stabilization) setting. It can be set from the mode dial on the back of the camera, but when it is activated many other shooting options are apparently unavailable. I can set my older Fuji Z-3 on `anti-shake’ from a dedicated button on the back and the other shooting options remain accessible. Not so with the F-480. I see that as a shortcoming. I shake all of the time (taking pictures at the beach, under fluorescent light or in the snow) and would like my cameras to compensate for my twitching no matter what shooting options I choose.

The F-480 accommodates both x-D and SD memory cards, but not at the same time. I suppose that attribute advances the versatility of the camera. However, the feature is not particularly important to me personally. The large 2.7-inch anti-glare LCD display is clear, crisp and provides a good idea of color balance prior to shooting a picture. There is no eyeball view finder on this camera, but I don’t miss it. Not many of these modern mini-digitals have a separate view finder anyhow.

The only real measure of this camera is in the photos it is capable of producing. This is not a big cumbersome high end professional camera with a super fast shutter and a high powered lens, but is just great for family photos or getting that quick shot while traveling. I am satisfied with the passable quality of the pictures I have shot so far and believe the camera will give me the photographic versatility and image quality I require as I begin using it on my next trip abroad.

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