On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:17:58 GMT, Jack wrote:

Based on a recommendation on this newsgroup 3 years ago, I bought a
refurbished Fuji Finepix 2600Z from Geek.com. It has been a great
camera but recently broke beyond repair. That camera was only a 2
megapix but we shot all our pictures at the 1 megapix and were very
satisfied. I see that the state-of-the-art has advanced
significantly. However, I don't anticipate needing anything with the
very large resolution now available.
. . .

Since we have the Finepix software for managing our pictures and, also,
for the convenience of using AA batteries(which we already have) we were
thinking about buying another refurbished Fuji of the A500 to A700
series. These cameras are available from $70-$100.

I would appreciate any thoughts about this idea and any
recommendations for other cameras that, in that price range, are
better quality. Thanks for any help.

Does the camera need to have the same form as the 2600? You might
want to get a more flexible camera that has aperture and shutter
priority shooting modes, and more than the 2600's 3x zoom. Three
years ago I bought Fuji's S5100, which resembles a DSLR, but is much
smaller and lighter, though not as compact as the 2600. It has a
4mp sensor, and that greater resolution can make a great difference,
even if you usually only look at pictures on the computer's screen.
It would allow you to zoom in to try to recognize small faces in the
background, or read distant signs or license plates that would be
hopelessly beyond the capabilities of a 1mp photo. When purchased
new, the S5100 (which also uses AA batteries that can take nearly
1,000 pictures per set) cost only slightly more than $200. The
newer, but also discontinued S5200 (5mp) sold for about the same
price. They both have 10.3x zoom lenses. Either could be a good
buy if you Fuji has any refurbished models for sale, or used from
eBay.

Much smaller are Nikon's Coolpix L11 and L12, both of which use 2
AA batteries. They can produce *very* nice shots, and the L11 can
be found for barely more than $100 new. The L12 is slightly more
expensive and adds optical lens stabilization. Fuji's software
does NOT require the use of Fuji cameras. I have their software
installed, and it pops up and offers to manage my new photos when I
plug a card into the computer's card reader, whether it's from one
of my Fuji, Canon or Nikon cameras.