Posted by: Jane Douglas

This week Tech & Gadgets has been snap happy with a couple of new digital cameras from Fujifilm. We even drafted in MSN's Photo Editor Antony Bennison (pictured) for some expert opinion.

The experience has proved particularly instructive for me, since my formerly trusty compact camera gave up the ghost last weekend. Its LCD screen now displays a spooky, spiky, purple-tinged alternate reality that only vaguely resembles the intended subject of the photo - which makes for an interesting special effect but also, and more importantly, gives me an excuse to upgrade to a newer, flashier model.

The two Fujifilm models we've been putting through their paces come from both ends of the amateur photography spectrum: firstly, the FinePix J10, from Fujifilm's brand new 'J' range of affordable point-and-shoot cameras. Secondly, and at the other end the price scale, the FinePix S100FS, announced as "Fujifilm's most advanced consumer digital camera to date."

The J10 (pictured above right) is a neat, simple digital compact camera - with special emphasis on 'compact'. This slim gadget is less than 2 cm thick and pleasingly lightweight.

Fujifilm claims that the J10 is "as easy to use as your TV remote". That's no great accomplishment these days, given the fiendish complexity of the average digital television remote, but we take their point: the J10 is probably as simple as a digital camera is going to get.

It has just the few features that your casual snapper is going to require - including a 3x optical zoom - and with an 8.2 megapixel sensor plus a £120 price tag, it's good value for money too.

Onto the meatier (and pricier) S100FS, and onto our Photo Editor's expert opinion.

In Auto mode, this camera is easy to use and effective at adjusting to different environments; the auto-focusing works well too. A casual user could get some nice photos quickly and easily with the S100FS.

It's not a true DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera, though it may look like one. Indeed, in Fujifilm's own words the camera is for "advanced amateur photographer seeking the manual controls and functionality of a DLSR without the bulk, hassle of and expense of additional lenses."

The £530 S100FS is very lightweight for its size (about 13 cm x 9 cm x 15 cm) with a big, clear LCD screen that can be tilted to the angle you want. The furtive photographer in Antony notes that "this is very handy if you're trying to be a bit sneaky when taking your photos - you can hold the camera at waist height and look down to see where it's aiming."

On the downside, we weren't huge fans of the electronic viewfinder provided by the S100FS - rather than the actual view through the camera lens that would be provided by a single lens reflex mechanism.

"When I look through the viewfinder of a camera," Antony says, "I want to look through the lens. Otherwise I'd just buy a smaller camera."

We also have our doubts about the camera's CCD sensor. Although it boasts some 11.1 megapixels, after the 7 or 8 megapixel mark the significance of pixel count diminishes and the quality of the sensor itself becomes all-important. With 11.1 megapixels you may be getting an enormous picture, but not necessarily a better result. Comparing the S100FS shots to those of a price-equivalent SLR with fewer megapixels seems to bear this theory out.

Still, after transferring to a laptop, the photos produced by the S100FS appeared to have well-adjusted adjusted colours and were accurate representations of their respective subjects. All in all, a nice piece of kit for someone who wants the manual control (and fancy look, perhaps) of an SLR but isn't quite ready to take the plunge.