My new toy - Fujifilm Finepix XP20

A lot of people I know will turn their heads and stare at a flashy sports car or a nice boat.  Not that I don't appreciate those fine items, but maybe they just don't catch my eye as much as a couple other items do: Guitars and cameras.  Since this blog is about photography, I'll dispense with my feelings about guitars... for now.  And as far as cameras go, I'll usually ignore the compact, or point-and-shoot cameras.  If you'd compare them to cars, they'd all be like the conventional economy cars like a Toyota Camry... there's a million of them and nothing really exciting about them.  But then, along comes something radically different like a Scion Cube.  It's certainly not a sports car, but it is a head-turner.  

That's the way it was for me with this camera:

I was invited on a hike to Mount Constitution for Girls Camp this summer and one of the girls was using one of these.  Immediately, I saw that it not only didn't look like a conventional compact camera, but it also looked solid.  I asked to see it and found out that it was waterproof, shockproof, dust and freeze proof.  Now that really caught my interest.  I asked her where she got it and she said it was at Costco.  Costco?!?!?!  Why didn't I see that there when I bought my point-and-shoot?  I was envious!  I asked how much it cost and it wasn't much more than I spent on my Nikon S220.

I did my research on this camera and found that it was designed for underwater use (not just weather and dust resistant, as some cameras claim).  It is sealed from the elements.  The lens movement is contained within its protective casing.  I also found out that the camera is capable of 14MP, has a wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom and takes HD 1280 video.  Now I was REALLY interested (and still envious).  

Well, I didn't have to be envious very much longer.  Rather impetuously, I bought one of them.  I was walking through Costco and they happened to have a $40.00 rebate on them that expired that weekend.  At that point, the only decision was: What color?  The camera comes in several flashy colors: black, silver, blue, green and orange. All the ones I could see were black, so I dug underneath the top box and found the ones with color.  Blue... it was definitely going to be blue for me!

So, after using this camera for about a month now, I have some good things to say about this camera and maybe a few concerns.  First, I will say that the video function, especially underwater video, was a major attraction.  Check out this video where I dropped it in while in a rubber raft in Lizard Lake (video quality is diminished because I compressed it to upload it):

Now, how cool is this?  Now, I not only have a camera that I can truly take anywhere, but it can fully function underwater as well.

As far as photo quality, it is about on-par with any typical point-and-shoot camera in its class.  It still doesn't have the capabilities of a DSLR, but that shouldn't be expected either.  I shoot in 640 video because it is jittery when I play it back on my computer and I really don't need widescreen for most of what I do anyway.  I would rather be able to play it back without problems.  

Now the concerns:

First, the camera takes some getting used to.  Being where the lens is located, I can almost guarantee that you will get your fingers in front of the lens for some shots.  The zoom control is kind of weird.  It is a little switch on top of the camera that is awkward to use.  You don't want to zoom while you are shooting video because the auto-focus lags and your image will be blurry for a half a second or so and the lens motor is noisy and you will hear it in the audio.  The video button is conveniently located to where you can just press the button to start the video.  It is also kind of awkward, especially when you go to stop the video (using the same button).  

The camera makes annoying beeps and clicks when you use it.  The problem is that if you turn it to "silent" mode, you can't use the flash or some of the other important functions.

The camera is rated for underwater use.  I took many pictures and videos on a trip to Deception Pass.  I had it in the lake, in the salt water and it went with me while I hiked, kayaked and jogged.  Towards the end of the day, I noticed that the protective lens was starting to fog up on the inside.  I don't know if this is a common problem, but it could be a major concern.  That means that there is possibly some moisture getting inside the camera.  I opened it up and used the hand dryer at the public restroom.  That seemed to clear it up.

The neoprene carrying case holds the camera snugly and securely, but getting it in and out is kind of a pain.  The cover wraps over the end, going through a hole in the case.  I expect this to break soon... just based on the way it is designed and the amount of stress it goes through to pull the rest of the case through this hole.  

Aside from those concerns, I still love this camera.  It was worth what I paid for it.  I hope to enjoy this camera for years to come!  Unfortunately, there is no $40.00 rebate anymore.  Currently, they have a $20.00 rebate off the $179.00 price, but even still - without the rebate, I think I would still buy it at full price.