digitaldust.co.uk

Since our Fuji Finepix F45fd broke a few weeks ago I have been looking for a replacement that will take decent pictures indoors. You would think that this would be quite a simple process to find a suitable compact camera. The reality is most budget compacts perform very poorly under low light conditions. The main function of the camera will be a point and shoot for work nights out for my wife who has no photography skills yet wants the pictures to look acceptable when she shares them with friends on facebook.

There is a great site for reviews, comparing cameras features, looking at images taken with a camera and reading user reviews called DP review. After looking at the various cameras in our budget it came down to 2 Fuji finepix cameras again as they appear to be the only make who cater for low light conditions (on a budget camera). The two models were the Fuji Finepix F70EXR and the F200EXR which is a slightly older model. The forum rates both cameras as extremely good for a budget compact and both photo galleries looked very impressive.

The 10 megapixel F70 has a 10 times zoom where as the older 12 megapixel F200 only has a 5 x Zoom but a better quality lens which for me outweighs the benefits of a longer zoom.  Both cameras has the latest low light Fuji technology called EXR which basically means the camera is able to capture sharper colour even under low light conditions, where other compacts will show the image as grainy.

Full description http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/FujifilmF200EXR/page2.asp

After I have a chance to test the camera both indoors and outdoors I will post some pictures. Anyone interested in the f200EXR will need to grab yourself one soon as they are being discontinued so there won’t be many around for long.

With the good weather here it’s the time to get out your flip flops which are much more comfortable and practical than wearing shoes. There are so many choices now to choose from, some of the nicest flip flops are the Havaianas style that have Swarovski crystal rhinestones over the strap. To buy them they are not that expensive buy the price goes up sharply when those little sparkly crystals are added. Most of the crystal flip flops on offer it would appear are hand made so there is nothing stopping you from creating your own. This way you can choose the colour and design of the crystal layout you like and they look simple enough to make. The Swarovski crystals can be purchased from Crystal and Glass Beads who offer a selection of both hotfix and non hotfix crystals. The non hotfix ones are the better choice and using an adhesive that sets as rubber they should stay on permanently. You can also create a bracelet or necklace to go with the flip flops with Swarovski crystal beads which have a hole through the centre for threading. The crystal AB is by far the sparkliest if the crystals and goes well with the other colours available. You can get Stretch elastic and simply thread the beads onto the elastic thread and then tie the ends.