Fujifilm FinePix F50fd

Pros: ease of use, cropping tool, user friendly menus, nice clear daylight pictures, clear lcd display, excellent value for money

Cons: Poor battery life, sluggish between shots, average dark photos, face detection works best in indoor conditions

Summary: I'm not a camera expert but I do enjoy updating my equipment every couple of years. Basically I was fed up with the poor night performance of my Sony Cybershot I owned previously. When looking at reviews of camera, I realised most of the reviews were from Camera experts etc, talking about Photo noise!!! whatever that means. Basically I was looking for a compact, easy to use camera that I can switch on and take some photos. Simple as that. The F50FD fits that bill and was a lovely companion for my recent trip to Cuba. Easy to switch between modes and the picture quality seems to be excellent. The clear LCD screen is also excellent, and the cropping tool, where basically you can zoom in on a photo you've taken and save a new image of the original photo, is another welcome feature.
The negatives, the battery life is pretty poor, I had to charge the battery 3 times in 10 days whilst in Cuba. And I was not over impressed by how slow the camera was between shots, especially frustrating when I was on a bus tour around Havana and trying to capture that moment quickly. I missed a few good shots becasue it took approx 3 seconds for the camera to be ready between shots. Fuji states on website that the F50FD is perfect for night time photos, but this is correct for close shots, but colours and detail are lost when you zoom into distant shots. Very bleak results but still better than my Sony. Face detection works fine indoors but suffers in bright sun or dark light conditions.
Overall, I would say that if you were looking for a cheapish camera with some nice features then look no further. If you are after that perfect companion, then this camera may frustrate you. One of my friends just bought the Canon Ixus960 which also has face detection and 12mp, and although this is currently £100 more than the F50fd I would say the picture quality, face detection and overall performance of the Canon is better than the F50FD and perhaps worth that extra bit of cash.