I am looking at both of these, and don't know which to choose...any infor on each? Maybe even the Canon A5

Thx

-- Toon (toonbot@hotmail.com), August 12, 1998

Answers

We're hoping to add an MX-700 review soon, are waiting for Fuji to make a decision to go ahead. Thus far though, we haven't had any experience with it. Speaking from experience, the PDR-M1 is a fantastic value and takes great pictures (as you can see from our review). It's the hands-down resolution winner anywhere near its price point of $599 retail. Although lower resolution, we liked the Canon A5 very much too - it's absolutely the sexiest digicam we've tested to date: Very small & compact, plus it takes great pictures too. If it helps make the decision, the PDR-M1 uses SmartMedia, which means you could get a FlashPath adapter to import images from it via your floppy drive, while the A5 uses CompactFlash, meaning you're looking at a PCMCIA adapter solution for rapid imports, if your computer has a PC-card slot. (You can also get PC-card adapters for SmartMedia, they're just more expensive than similar adapters for CompactFlash.)

Bottom line, we liked both the PDR-M1 and the A5 very much, and I think you'd be happy with either. Download some of the pictures from both and see for yourself about the relative resolutions...

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), August 20, 1998.

I was finally able to take a look at the Fuji MX-700 in a local store. Of course, thats not enough to test the camera properly, but I finally got my hands on one. It was easy to use and seemed to take good pics, at least as shown by the lcd. My bigest complaint was the size...it was so small and narrow that it was difficult to hold on to. I could see a lot of thumbs showing up in future pics. I would like to here from anyone who owns one...any more comments?

-- Joe Grabinski (toonbot@hotmail.com), August 20, 1998.

Just started using the MX700. The images on the LCD look great, but haven't figured out how to download them yet! But I will be returning the camera for two reasons: (1) digital zooms are a bad joke- and for this amount of money, I am not laughing, and (2)that horrible "lag" problem between your click and your image. Fuji makes it worse by actually blackening out the LCD screen (while it auto focuses, I am guessing)for a second but that can be overcome by pressing the shutter button half way down- to go thorugh the blacked out process- before you really want to shoot. But at the "decisive moment" there is still a delay- and I can't understand why anyone interested in photography would put up with this ridiculous feature of so many newer cameras- nor who manufacturers who had the arrogance to invent and market it. This is not photography; it is lottery! But if you restrict your photography to still objects- whether they be nudes, ripe fruits- a la classic still lifes- buildings, or dead fish, then disregard my comments for they don't apply.

-- Robert Ostrowski (robertphoto@hotmail.com), September 02, 1998.