I have been shopping for a digital still camera, and after looking into it I bought a Fuji Finepix S1800. It has 18x optical zoom (which is equivalent to a 500mm lens), weighs about 400gm, and has 12Mpixel resolution. But wait, there is more...no less than 10 modes; including full manual, tracking autofocus, it can even seam shots together to make a panorama. Here's the best bit - it cost only $NZ350. Isn't technology great.
