Fujifilm FinePix A610 Silver Digital Camera (6.1MP, 2848x2136, 3x Opt, 10MB Internal Memory, SD/xD-Picture Card Slot)

This FinePix offers a generous number of scene modes--14 total. The top button, which is for deleting photos during preview, can also be used to adjust the brightness of the LCD. At its highest setting, this screen is bright enough for viewing in midday sunlight--a welcome feature, since the A610 lacks a viewfinder. Other than these controls, you'll have to dive into the on-screen menus to make most changes because the A610 doesn't have a mode dial.

Overall, the A610's scores in our image quality tests were about average, but impressive for a budget-priced camera. In lab tests, our jury gave the camera scores slightly above average for the color and exposure accuracy of its images, but rated it slightly below average for image sharpness.

The A610 runs on AA batteries, and in our tests, it lasted just 195 shots before running out of juice, compared to the average of 260 frames. In contrast, the similarly priced Nikon Coolpix L10, which also runs on AA batteries, lasted 343 shots.

The A610 comes with a well-organized printed manual--no need to resort to a PDF file. The FinePix Viewer software is for uploading, viewing, and printing photos. There is also an e-mail function, which simply launches your default e-mail program with selected photos automatically attached to a message. You can also make slide shows, though the software does not offer any editing functions.

Although the A610 is a competent low-cost camera, a few more features would make it a better deal.

Eric Butterfield