Is this a good camera???

[Jeremy Blaze]

Fuji FinePix S3100

Specs,

Number of Effective Pixels: 4.0 million pixels
CCD Sensor: 1/2.7" Conventional CCD System (Number of Total Pixels: 4.23 million pixels) RGB Filters
Number of Recorded Pixels: 2272 x 1704 pixels (3.87 Million), 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480
File Formats: Still image: JPEG (Exif Ver 2.2), WAV, Movie: AVI (Motion JPEG)
Storage Media: xD-Picture Card (16MB to 512MB)
Lens Focal Length: Equivalent to 39-234mm on a 35mm camera
Optical Zoom: 6x
Digital Zoom: 3.4x (at 640 x 480 pixel mode), 1.7x (1280 x 960 pixels), 1.4x (1600 x 1200 pixels)
Focus: Auto focus (TTL center point fixed) - contrast type
Focus Range: Normal: 2.6 ft - inf., Macro: 3.9 in. - 2.6 ft.
Aperture: F 2.8/F4.8/F8.2(Wide-Angle), F3/F5.2/F8.7 (Telephoto)
Viewfinder: 0.33 inch 110,000 Pixel Electronic Viewfinder
Exposure Control: 64-zone TTL metering-multi
Exposure Modes: Auto, Manual (Aperture Priority, Exposure Compensation)
Color Control Modes: Normal, vivid (chrome), black and white
Sensitivity: Equivalent to ISO 100 (automatically set between ISO 64-250 depending on the shooting mode and subject)
Shutter Speed:
Auto/SP: 1/4 sec. - 1/1500 sec.
SP (night scene mode only): 2 sec. - 1/250 sec.
Manual (A. priority): 1/2 sec. - 1/1500 sec.
White Balance: Automatic, Manual (Fine, Shade, Fluorescent light (Daylight), Fluorescent light (Warm White), Fluorescent light (Cool White), Incandescent light)
Flash: Auto flash uses flash control sensor
Effective flash range: 2.6ft - 11.5ft (W)/2.6ft. - 11.5 ft (T)
Flash modes: Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro
LCD Monitor: 1.5-inches amorphous silicon TFT
Digital Interface: USB interface, power-input socket
Power Source: (4) AA Alkaline or 4 AA NiMH batteries (sold separately)
Dimensions: 3.9(W) x 3.0(H) x 2.7(D) inch
Weight: 10.1 oz. (excluding battery and media)
Shooting Modes: Auto, Manual, Scene Position, Movie
Scene Position Modes: Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night scene,
Movie Recording: 320 x 240
Video Out: NTSC and PAL Switchable
Playback: Single frame (with 14x playback zoom), 9 multi-frame
Self-timer: approximately 10 sec.
System Requirements - Windows:
Windows 98, 98SE, 2000Pro, Me or XP
Available USB port
128MB RAM
450MB of free hard disk space,
CD-ROM drive

 

[maroun.c]

Guess it depends on your expectations from the camera.
What would be your use of it, I believe it'll be aquarium shots (as you're posting here but still you might have other interests for it?
Do you need to print your pictures or is it just for computer viewing?
Guess sucha camera would be nice for general use and some tank photography it will print very good till A4 (maybe a bit less) for aquarium shots I guess you will struggle a bit with shutter lag and focusing speed especially in darker lit areas of the tank. guess it will not take an external flash so you will endup resoriting to the built in one where shooting without flash would not be possible and Point and shoot built in flash is just too close to the lens and is very hard to get rid of the reflections of the glass.
Still you with some effort you could manage to capture decent pictures with it.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Yes it will be for aquarium shots.

Would it be better than this,

1/2.5-inch CCD, 4:3 aspect ratio
6.1 megapixel image resolution
2848 x 2134 maximum image resolution
JPEG/EXIF v2.21 still format
QuickTime (CODEC, Motion JPEG) video
f/2.7 - f/4.8 aperture
3x optical zoom lens
5x digital zoom lens (with 0.2x increments)
2.4-inch color hybrid LCD with 112K pixels
16 MB internal memory
Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard slot for expandable storage
NTSC/PAL selectable video output
Quickview image review
Runs on two (2) AA batteries (included)
USB 2.0 interface
PictBridge support
2 second, 10 second self-timer
Auto power off (selectable 1, 3, 5, 10 minutes)
1/4-inch tripod mount
Optical, real-image viewfinder with 83% field of view
Compatible with Printer Dock, Printer Dock Plus and Printer Dock 6000
White Balance Presets:
Auto
Daylight
Tungsten
Fluorescent
Capture Modes:
Auto
Landscape
Close-Up
SCN (Scene Modes)
Video Modes:
640 x 480 @ 15 fps VGA video
320 x 240 @ 30 fps QVGA video
Flash Features:
Built-in flash
Guide No. 8.5 (@ ISO 100) with pre-flash
Working range at ISO 140: 0.6 - 3.6m @ wide, 0.6 - 2.1m @ tele
Flash Modes: br>Auto
Fill
Red-eye
Off
Exposure Settings:
TTL-AE; center-weighted exposure metering
+/-2.0 EV with 0.5 EV step exposure compensation
1/2 - 1/4000 second mechanical shutter CCD electrical shutter speed
Auto
Portrait
Close-Up
Landscape (ISO 80 - 160)
Sport (ISO 80 - 200)
Night Portrait (ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 selectable (ISO 800 available only for smallest picture size setting))
Supported Resolutions:
2848 x 2134 pixesl (6.1 MP)
2848 x 1895 pixels (5.4 MP)
2304 x 1728 pixels (4.0 MP)
1600 x 1200 pixels (1.9 MP)
1024 x 768 pixels (0.8 MP)
Color Modes:
Color
Black and White
Sepia
Unit Dimensions: 1.3 x 3.6 x 2.6-inches (H x W x D)
Unit Weight: 5.1-ounces without battery or flash card

 

[michaeldaly]

What camera are the second set of specs from?

 

[crazy_reefing]

I have a Fuji FinePix S7000. It takes great shots as long as it's not of the tank. I wouldn't recommend the FinePix you are asking for since it is a lower model of the one I have especially if you are using it for tank shots.

 

[michaeldaly]

Where are you getting it as it is a rather out of date camera. From looking at reviews I would guess that it will offer decent performance.
If you are willing to spend a little more something like the fuji s6500fd might suite your needs.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Off an auction site.