Cheap and cheerful camera with HD movie shooting capacity
We’ve already seen one or two cameras that offer 12-megapixel images for less than £100, but the new Finepix JV100 from Fujifilm goes even further, with advanced features such as high-definition video recording and a special ‘panorama’ mode.
Priced at £100, the JV100 is slim and neatly designed, with a 3x optical zoom lens. It measures just 2.1cm thick, so it’s easy to slip into a pocket and carry around when on the move. It doesn’t include a memory card for storing photos and video clips, so you’ll need to buy your own. Unlike some cheaper cameras it uses a rechargeable battery, which can be unpopular but tends to offer longer life – this one should last for about 200 shots.
The camera’s resolution for still images is 12 megapixels, and this produces clear, sharp images with strong colours. In addition, the JV100 is one of the first cameras we’ve seen in this price range that can also record high-definition video clips at the 720p resolution.
Another useful feature is its ‘panorama’ mode, which allows the user to take three separate shots as they pan the camera across a landscape, and the camera will then automatically merge those shots into a single wide panoramic image.
Like most digital cameras, the JV100 has an auto mode that allows it to automatically adjust exposure and other settings so that the user can quickly take shots without having to adjust the settings manually.
However, the JV100 actually has two separate auto modes and the manual doesn’t really explain the differences between them, so you’ll need to experiment a bit and see which one works better for the shots you’re taking.
We also found that the built-in microphone, used when shooting video, was quite weak. The audio quality will be adequate for little video clips that are going to be put on the internet, but not for shooting longer or more important video, and there’s no way to plug in an external microphone.
