"I think the interest in Fuji's FinePix 2600 Zoom is justified. It's a fine, entry-level optical zoom camera. While it's fairly limited when it comes to manual controls, it's intuitive menus make it very easy to use. The photo quality is quite good, and it's nice to have a 3X optical zoom on a $299 camera. Also, I appreciate Fuji including both a large SmartMedia card as well as rechargeable batteries with the camera. On the downside, the playback mode is limited, and there is noticeable shutter lag. Overall though, I think the camera is a good buy, considering what you get for a low price."