CONS:
LENS Placement. The reason I don't give it more stars is the location of the lens. Check out the diagram -- It is crammed in the upper corner of the camera. With the tiny size of this camera, holding it (and not dropping it) is sometimes a challenge. Depending on how you try to hold it, you'll find sometimes a bit of your finger entering into the shot. Or, if you hold the camera the way an 8 yr old girl holds a teacup at a tea party, you might be okay. I found that taking it out and grabbing it on the fly -- my finger is usually part of the picture; it's a tough camera to grip, especially with the lens where it is.

NO LITTLE SCREW THING for a tripod: I don't know what it's called, but ....not a big deal, but if you are using this to hike out in the boonies by yourself, it is impossible to take a self portrait. There is no mount for a hand-held tripod, and it's tiny size and unstable profile makes balancing it on a rock impossible. There is a timer (and it's nice), but you'll not be able to use it.

LCD DISPLAY ONLY, and no viewfinder. Truly, this isn't much of an issue, and I'm okay without having it, but it is wrong to say that it doesn't matter at all. I was out with my dog in the stream, on a very bright sunny day. I could see the blurby images in order to center my dog in the frame, but I really couldn't compose a picture.

OVERALL
This is my second Fujifilm camera, and I also have a NIKON 8700 COOLPIX. I bought this Z1 because it is small enough to take everywhere, and has been reviewed for being rugged as well. My NIKON is an awesome camera, but because of its size, I've missed candid shots because it is too bulky to be handy. This camera is a good complement to a "better" camera, but I wouldn't recommend it as your ONLY digital camera. If I want to take some "real" photos, I take my NIKON. If I want to make sure I don't miss shots, I'm sure to have this one close by.

          
GREAT CAMERA! HAD TO BUY THIS ONE, June 6, 2005
Reviewer: R. D. Byrne

Positives:

I just bought the Fujifilm FinePix Z1. Took it on a weekend at a beachfront spa on Tampa Bay. Took great pics. Very good lowlight shots. It was a cloudy and rainy day but the color was great. Zoom is 3x and you can digitally zoom in on the pic on screen. BTW, the screen display in back is larger and sharper than I've seen on other cameras. Video and stills are sharp and bright in the display. You can zoom the stills while viewing them.

Easily fits in a pocket. Lens is protected and automatically powers down when you close the sliding cover.

Directions were simple. Transferring pics and movies is easy via USB cable or removing the card and plugging it into my pc card reader.

Negatives:

The supplied card is only 16 megs. Not enough to store one video but good enough to store stills. I recommend buying a larger card. I purchased a 256 meg card and found it easy to store movies.

Speaker is tiny but then, this camera is so small it is understandable.

No case. You'll have to find one that fits. (I'd have rated it 5 stars if the case was included.)
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Great camera!, March 23, 2006
Reviewer: J. More - See all my reviews

I bought this camera after being tired of my current Fuji Finepix A340. The A340 is a great camera, but the time btw pix was painfully slow for me. Plus, I needed an excuse to buy a new camera!

The Z1 actually was bought by mistake. I was after a different camera, and hastily bought this one and I am extremely glad I did. At first I was wary of a rechargeable battery and was going to take it back, but I opted to toy with it for a few days first.

The rechargeable battery really is no issue. You get about 200px per charge and there's always the option of buying a backup off ebay for about $40. (Don't fall for the extended warranty crap at some appliance stores. They told me it was $60 and if the battery goes I can get a new one, well since I can get 1.5 batteries for that warranty cost, I opted to take my chances and save my money)

I love the metal case and the practically instant on when sliding the cover. The size is smaller than a deck of cards but it doesn't feel fragile. There is no view finder, which is fine by me, I never use it since I went digital anyway. There a lot of settings and I found that for dark environments, this camera is slick!!! Easily the best dark environment camera I've ever owned.

I'm not a photo expert, I take a lot of pictures, and as long as they are clear, crisp enough to print if I choose, I'm happy. I am sure there are other cameras that others will say are better for this or that but for a casual photo taking endeavor, this Fuji is perfect.
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Great Camera, March 2, 2006
Reviewer: Utah girl! "utah girl"
It really worked great for me!! I know people that doesnt like it because its too small and you cant fit it in a tripod...In my case I love it because I just use it when I go to parties and concerts and its so small and great to carry. Regarding to the picture quality i think I got a great camera.... Its beautiful...I get great pictures!!
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