Despite J40 and X100 launched a few months ago being still fresh in our minds, Fujifilm has launched Finepix AV200, an upgrade of its much older Finepix AV100. Being an entry-level point-and-shoot camera, AV200 is fairly closer to J40 with more or less the same features, except that AV200 can shoot high definition movies and also scores on advanced options and modes.

AV200 is a compact camera with a glossy form, covered with metallic buttons and side frame, rendering it good looks and sturdiness side by side. The front panel has a 5-18 mm 14 MP lens with a mechanical cover and a flash above it. The back section is dominated by a decent 2.7-inch LCD display and a control panel, which includes, in descending order; keys for zoom, back, playback and navigation cursor with a menu key cum confirmation in centre. The navigation cursor also functions as delete, flash and AF tracking keys. The On/Off and the shoot buttons are placed on the top frame, USB slot on the right frame and tripod slot with a battery and SD/SDHC card chest at the bottom.

Camera processing is fast and smooth and takes a second or two to start up. For an entry level camera, it can click some brilliant stuff using multiple modes such as natural mode, portrait with face detection, smile detector, sports for moving subject, night, sunset, and panorama. We clicked pictures in all the modes and found each creating a distinct impression from the other, capturing the object perfectly, except in night or low-light conditions, where the image is mostly pixelated. Program mode allows more possibilities like ISO 3200, white balance, face detection, and AF. The optical zoom is just 3x and slightly noisy.

AV200 impresses with its ability to shoot up to 10 minutes of 720 pixels high definition movie without any stutter. The video quality is fine and images can be transferred to PCs through USB 2.0 cable. AV200 draws power only from dual AA alkaline batteries. Using rechargeable AA is more economical.

For an entry-level camera, AV200 is a stunner with its crisp image quality and high definition recording and is backed by two years warranty.

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