Smart little piece of kit

I bought the Z100 mainly to have a small, point-and-click camera I could keep on me at all times, to take shots quickly and with reasonable definition. It fulfils this function perfectly and, having fitted it with a decent memory card, I have captured images I would not have been able to with my usual camera (although as an SLR Film camera, the comparison is perhaps a little unfair)

The camera unit is not cluttered with buttons, and anything outside zooming or taking the picture is dealt with through the on-screen menu. Should you want to use these more advanced settings you will need to read the instructions first, as you can get lost in the drop-down menus. The buttons themselves are quite small and, while I have not tried yet, I could see problems with taking pictures wearing gloves or with numb fingers - but most people will probably not have to worry about that!

Once taken, the images appear on a display which is surprisingly large and clear for such a small unit. You can doctor the images in various ways, such as trimming down the picture, but you are better off waiting until you have downloaded the images onto a computer.

You are also able to record movies on the camera, although this will fill your memory card very quickly. It also has facial recognition and image stabilisation facilities. There are a range of preset photograph options, meaning you do not have to worry about shutter speeds and appertures, you just select the best option. These include: portrait, landscape, sport, night, fireworks, sunset and snow.

There is also a timer feature, should you want to frame and take a picture with you in the image. Should you want to develop your artistic skill, you are able to play with an array of functions, explained clearly in the reasonably easy-to-follow instructions.

One of the cleverest features is being able to record comentary of up to thirty seconds for each of your photographs. This means not having to grab a notebook or scrap of paper, should you want to make a note of the image you have just captured.

Other bits you get with the camera are:

Rechargable battery and charger
Hand strap
Cables to connect to your television and computer
Software for making your camera work with your computer

Fujifilm now make finepix cameras with a higher megapixel count, meaning the price on this little beauty is coming down. It is user-friendly enough to be an entry-level model for those just starting out in digital photography. It would make a very good present.